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Parents |
Valas Dhaunae
Shar'ryn Silinrul
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Siblings |
Kor'inth Dhaunae
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Children |
Aran Datari
Aella Datari
Megaera Datari
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It was only logical the portal opened from the Dryad into the stands of
the Pit... after all, beneath the sands, beneath the toys of the gnomes
and their gods awful contraptions, lay the barracks of the Guard, Black
and Silver. The entire warren was set up like a co-ed dormitory with
communal showers, a mess hall, and...thank the gods, small but private
chambers, each with a sunledge that hung right over a sheer drop.
For a moment, Areq's head reeled, and it wasn't from drink... aside
from the one swallow he'd had and the mouth washing, all that was gone
from the bottle was what had sloshed out at various points in time. The
reason for Areq's spinning head was the torn shoulder muscles of his
left wing and bloodloss from the same wound... on the backside of his
weak shoulder.
"Gods rotting, crazy ass, Black Bitch... Erinya Dhaunae... Fury of the
Plague Dancer..." he mumbled, "damn well fits." He spat out the words
out and plopped down in the Emperor's box and leaned forward and sat
the bottle down on the stone floor of the stands. Silver wings slowly,
carefully retracted, armour slipped away, then the lapis shirt
beneath... leaving him bare from the waist up. More head reeling as he
caught his breath and forced his left wing to fully vanish along with
its mate...his shoulder now looked more like hamburger than freckled
half-elven flesh.
Yes... Areq had freckles on his back and arms, they had appeared
shortly after arriving in the Keep. Never had his flesh seen so much
sun; Silvers were lovers of the deep forest, not the open sands and
high reaches of the mountains. Even his hair had gradually bleached
out... it had been something of a dishwater blonde before coming here,
now it looked more like pure sunlight than anything.
"Oh gods..." Areq swallowed hard and his eyebrows knitted together in a
grimace as his eyes rolled shut. With the Rage gone, the full impact of
the pain in his wing... now shoulder... Erinya had inflicted on him
struck the Silver full force and Areq's forehead dropped to the carved
wooden rail as he fought the urge to retch right there in Callan's
private seating. Several seconds ticked by as he sat there, the setting
sun on his back, trying to find his bearings. Finally, his head lifted
and black emerald eyes looked into the vivid tangerine, pearl grey,
lavender and coral western sky. A low bank of whispy clouds had moved
over the sun, making the cloud-scape look like land and glowing water,
islands and a coast in the distance as seen by a diving dragon.
"There's only one like her... and I have the misfortune of being teamed
up with her in EVERY training flight... every war-game..." Foul
language directed at Callan flowed freely... he knew they'd kill each
other eventually, he had to, and yet time and time again, he and Yarwin
put Areq's Wing and Erin's together in a Flight. Invariably, the two
Captains would end up in a throat-cutting, back-stabbing, fire and ice
brawl that sent them both plummeting to the sands of the Pit... and
invaribly, it took Daemonorel, Elandriil, Callan AND Yarwin to get them
apart.
The shredded flesh on his back slowly began to mend then stopped,
leaving the wound only half-healed. He wasn't a Black... but he knew
enough to understand if he healed it fully, it was admitting he
couldn't take a 'hit'. It was a matter of pride to the Black Guard to
bear battle scars, and Areq healed only enough to deaden the pain
marginally and slow the bleeding. This scar would join the others on
his body, most of which were from her, some from the War, and even
fewer from various, solitary moments of training in and with Sha'tris.
The fingers of his left hand slowly curled around the railing, tried to
tighten... and managed only half the grip his right hand had. While the
scar from the balefire wasn't such a closely guarded secret, the entire
Guard knew it was there, even if few had actually seen it, the fact
that his left side was rendered almost useless WAS.
More foul words tinged the air as he rose to his feet and kicked the
bottle, sending it spinning to smash into the granite and masonry
dividing wall to his right.
"ONLY ONE OF HER! ONE! AND I'VE HAVE TO BE THE IDIOT TO.... AAGGGHH..."
Areq bit off the rest of his sentence, not willing to say it, not
willing to admit it, not willing for anyone to hear it... and he
suddenly had the feeling he wasn't alone...
The portal closed behind her as Erin stepped out onto the sands of the
pit. Dark hair blew about her face, softening the arrogant lines of her
aristocratic features for a second as she tipped her head back to feel
the sun on her skin. Ah, that was better. This was where she belonged.
The dry heat of the desert, not the humid jungles or cool forests of
Whispin. Black dragonscale armour melted away, reforming into the black
corset-top that the Black typically wore.
Grains of sand crunched beneath her booted feet as she walked forward
into the centre of the Pit. She seemed to be spending a lot of time
here lately, both with the Guards and by herself. It seemed to be the
only place that she could ever find anything approaching peace from the
demons within. Here she tested herself, pushing herself harder and
harder until it was all she could do to drag herself to her chamber so
that none of the others would see her exhausted collapse.
Her concentration complete, unaware of the presence of any spectators,
she somersaulted lithely onto a wooden platform set within the arena.
Beneath her feet she sensed the faint whirring that meant that the
gnomes were aware of her presence, and had prepared one of their usual
surprises.
She waited...
Perhaps it was something of a mixed blessing that Areq stood downwind
of the new arrival to the Pit. The constant, cooling breeze that
carried the warm scent of the desert and the crisp scent of mountain
evergreens swirled and danced across the shifting, shuddering sands of
Sha'tris, swept around Erinya's form, teased her hair and blew it into
her eyes, then was gone as it flitted into the stands.
Areq's back had been turned to the sands during his shouted rant that
had ended so abruptly. He stood there, frozen, then felt the Blackthorn
mark writhe slowly. It was a form of a bonding, what the Silvers had
accepted, and while nothing like that between lovers, it still offered
a way of keeping track of one another, and more importantly, for Callan
to know exactly where every one of his elite warriors were, at any
given moment. All one had to do was 'tap' the bond... but this one had
tapped him.
Slowly, Areq's blonde head turned and black emerald eyes looked over
his bloodmarked shoulder. It was hard to tell if the mark had flared
because he had been thinking so strongly of her... or perhaps the other
way around, but one thing was certain, the breeze carried on it the
scent of her, the scent of blood, sweat and Rage... and beneath that,
her true scent, a smell that reminded him of the wind off a growing
storm and all things darkly feminine. The Silver's teeth ground
together as he felt his body go rigid in more ways than one. He should
leave, he knew this, moments alone in with the Pit were often
excrutiatingly painful and private, yet his curiousity bid him to
stay... and the smell of her had him ensared.
Slowly and quietly, Areq slipped into the last seat in the Emperor's
box and slumped down, not only because it was his usual posture, but
apparently, Erinya hadn't picked up on his scent and was unaware of his
presence... the only bright side of his being downwind of her. With a
stifled yelp, he bit back the urge to grunt and jerk himself completely
upright in pain as his raw flesh touched the back of the seat. He'd
been so caught up in watching her, how she moved, how her body seemed
to flow like molten alabaster and onyx, he'd forgotten the fresh ground
meat his shoulder currently was.
Grimacing, Areq leaned forward drew in a quiet, shuddering breath as he
peeled his back away from the wooden seat, then grew deathly still as
the familiar rumblings began beneath the Pit... but these rumblings
seemed... different. The sands beneath the wooden platform Erinya stood
on began to shift, like some large fish circling beneath her.
It seemed there was one other here... Sha'tris herself seemed to feel the need to play...
Eyes closed, Erin let the scent of the deserts surround her, fill her.
The presence of the Pit was a tangible thing, imprinting itself on her
senses in vivid colours and smells. "V'ran Duan, Sha'tris" the Black
murmured as the sands swirled up and around her. Her hands hung easily
at her sides, apparently relaxed, and yet there was a coiled tension
within her frame like that of a hunting cat, poised and ready to spring.
There was a dull clunk, the air whistling. Deliberately blind, the
dark-haired woman whirled and dropped as a crossbow bolt flew passed
her ear. Sensitive hearing picked up on the mechanism reloading off to
one side and she was off, moving before the conscious thought had even
entered her brain. Below her she knew the gnomes were tracking her,
setting up more traps and deadfalls. They seemed to view her frequent
presence here in the Pit and the gauntlet, or more particularly here
continual survival, not only as a personal challenge, but also as an
affront. Each time she arrived they had added some new trick, each more
fiendish than the time before.
As the last bolt fired she paused, heart pounding in her chest. The
arena was deathly silent. Too silent. A shiver ran down her spine. This
wasn't the gnomes, this was the spirit of Sha'tris herself.
It was the smell that hit the dragon first. Raw meat and old blood. Her
eyes snapped open to view a Pit very different from the one she had
entered. Instead she could see the Hanging Gardens. Not as they were
now, but as they had been when Nargus was Emperor. Erinya froze, barely
able to breathe. The cloying stench wound its way into her nostrils and
made her gag.
"Why this? Why are you showing me this?" she demanded, sensing the
unseen presence that inhabited this place. "I've seen this before. I
don't need to see it again."
Unwillingly, and yet following a compulsion she couldn't name, her dark
eyes turned to view a bloody figure hanging from a frame. Skin flayed
from its body, it was hardly recognisable as a living being. A gaping
wound in the belly spewed purple and red guts like worms onto the dusty
ground. This was the past, memories can't hurt you, she told herself
over and over again as she viewed the remains of her father. She knew
that if she turned Nargus would be standing just behind her, waiting
for a reaction, just as he had so many years ago. Knew that if she gave
him one then she would join her sire there amongst the pools of blood.
Her fingers clenched into tight fists. "Dammit, Sha'tris. What the hell do you want?"
Dark, narrowed eyes watched the events unfold in the Pit around Erinya
with a mixture of disgust and Rage. It was difficult to understand that
the little slice of paradise known as The Hanging Gardens had once been
something else entirely.
It had once been Nargus' own little slice of Hell; being told and
actualy SEEING it as it had been were two very different things.
Round, half-elven pupils narrowed to serpentine slits as he heard the
sound of a voice he recognized... but saw a face that did not belong to
Nargus. The creature that slipped up behind Erinya and stroked a bare
bit of flesh along her marble-pale arm was not the two-legged form of
the dragon Areq had watched die at the hands of Callan Blackthorn. This
was who he had been before. This was Nargus as he had been before Task
Half-Elven had ended his life when Areq was little more than an
adolesecent. Thin and short, delicately boned, Nargus hardly looked a
threat. The sun shown on a balding pate and for just a moment, ember
eyes flicked to the Emperor's box and met Areq's.
A chilling smile curved the mouth of the old Emeperor and made Areq's
blood run cold. Did the long-dead Black see the Silver truly? Or was
this a trick of the past? He caught himself nearly standing, then
realized what Nargus was really looking at.
From a set of chains, stretched out in all for directions so tight Areq
could count every rib, every vertebrae... was Daemonorel Asmoor. His
body was facing Areq, his chin sagging against his chest, his sides
barely moving to draw in life-giving oxygen.
"Let him down boys..." Nargus' eyes went to Erin's profile, "He needs
to breathe, unlike our old friend Valas Dhaunae. Tell me Erinya..."
Nargus walked slowly around her while a single finger slid to the back
of her right shoulder blade and tapped it, lingered there for a moment,
then slipped across her shoulder and up under her chin to tilt her head
sharply back, "What has he offered to make you so gods. damned. loyal?"
Areq followed the line of her vision and nearly gagged as he fought
down so many emotions. The Pit was projecting the entire Gardens now,
and the feelings it provoked in him caused the Storm to course in his
veins. Overhead, on various ledges and small rocky outcroppings, hung
chained bodies in various stages of decay. The vision suddenly swelled,
and ironwood gallows could be seen. From these swung people of all
races, their faces a blotchy mixture of green, blue and black, their
bodies bloated with death and the oppressive heat the bare rock
generated; before Task, the Gardens were one gigantic oven.
The single finger shifted, became a razor sharp fully unsheathed onyx
talon, "Why do you protect the others? They believe in a dead dream, a
lost hope for insurrection and salvation." Nargus' tone was deathly
soft yet laced with acid and malice.
Nargus suddenly removed his claw and stepped back a pace and to the
left, allowing her to see her dead sire then gave her a sickening
smile, "Take off your shirt, Erinya Dhuanae... now."
Areq felt his fingers reach for a dagger that was not there as he found
himself on his feet, snarling in Rage. So much was understood now, the
reasons for his own father choosing to take up the banner of Callan
Blackthorn were patently clear; and he was quit suddenly and painfully
aware that he had never known Death as well as Erinya Dhaunae and
Daemonorel Asmoor had.
"He cannot see you... none of them can. They are not real." Areq heard
the husky purr of Sha'Tris behind him, heard soft footfalls as she
approached. "In fact, there are few things there that are. Only
Erinya... and her nightmares."
Warm fingers, slender and elegant gripped his arm as Sha'Tris forced him to look at her, not the scene below.
"Why have you stayed, Areq Datari. You could have walked out of here at
any point after her arrival. These demons are not your own." Sha'tris
released him and settled gracefull into the seat next to Areq's, "Why
would you care one whit about a... what were your words? A crazy ass,
Black hearted bitch?"
Erin froze, her heart pounding so hard she was sure Nargus must be able
to see the vibrations. Dark eyes lifted, their expression the
deliberately cool one she had all but perfected by now. Never let them
see. Never let anyone inside. That way led only to pain and betrayal.
"Take my shirt off, my lord Emperor?" she repeated in a soft, smooth
tone. "Might I ask why? I do not generally enjoy making a spectacle of
myself for the troops. There are some things that are better for
retaining an air of... mystery, until the appropriate moment. I'm sure
you understand." Deliberately she forced herself to relax, although
inwardly she was searching for the one slip she must have made.
"Would you deny your Emperor, Erinya?" a male voice asked in a dark,
slow drawl. "We are his to command. All orders must be obeyed, no
matter what our personal preferences might be."
Porcelain features turned slowly, almost reluctantly shifting from the
snake-like hypnotism of Nargus' gaze to the dark-haired man in the
livery of the Emperor's Guard. Suddenly she knew. Knew who had
delivered her father to his executioners. Knew who had set her up for
this particular fall. "I would never disobey my Commander" the
dark-haired woman replied coolly.
Why have you stayed, Areq Datari?
The Silver dragged his eyes from Nargus and Erinya to the embodiment of
Sha'tris. Today the Pit had chosen to use its feminine gender, the form
of a woman, deadly beautiful with dark hair and pale eyes. Her lilting
accent was like none anyone had ever heard... it was an amalgamation of
hundreds of thousands of years and hundreds of races and dialects.
Why did he care? Why, for the second time today, would he
find himself enRaged all over again in something involving Erinya?
She'd spilt his blood countless of times, had left him more scarred
from day-to-day encounters than a full-blown war had. He absolutely and
completely hated her with every fiber of his being from their first
meeting, and yet here he stood, wanting to rip Nargus to ribbons.
"How... devoted... my dear." Nargus purred, his voice, "You wouldn't
disobey your commander?" Ember eyes flicked to the betrayer, "She is a
resiliant sort, isn't she? Much like your mother was..." his eyes
traveled back to Erinya's sculpted features.
"The question I have is this..." Nargus tucked his hands behind his
back and walked around the Black female, even as massive cogs began to
ratchet, Daemonorel was slowly being lowered to the stone floor not 50
feet away, "Which commander, Erinya?"
The talon was unsheathed again and hooked just under the hem of her tunic, then slowly began splitting the fabric.
"You find it difficult to watch?" Pale eyes shifted to Areq, "I am
surprised. I rather thought you'd enjoy this, considering the..
strong... feelings you harbour for her. I even had the notion to
provide drinks and a snack for this bit of entertainment. Now of
course, I get the feeling you'd consider that grossly inappropriate."
Sha'tris reached up and wrapped her fingers around his wrist and gently
began pulling him back to his seat, "She cannot see you, Areq. The
illusion is complete from her point of view. I've even provided the
stench of the Gardens and the sound of the flies..."
The same teasing breeze that had earlier carried the warm, provocative
scent of Erinya into the stands now carried something else. The sweetly
nauseating scent of rotting flesh, a scent abhorred even by Blacks,
washed over Areq, and accompanying it, was the low hum of insects. So
real was the illusion, that Areq could swear the annoying buzz was
right in his own ears.
"As long as you are... hanging ...about, you may as well
have a seat. Though, I must warn you, your time alone with me is coming
soon, Areq Datari. Very soon."
Softly glowing, black emerald eyes darted from Erinya to the body of
Daemonorel as the Captain was dropped suddenly from high enough in the
air to cause a crunching pop of broken bones, then looked at Sha'tris.
"And here I thought Nargus was the sick bastard. You're no better than
he was, are you?" Areq sank into his seat, "You like this... you... feed off it, don't you?"
He knew, or at least strongly suspected. There was no doubt in Erin's
mind about that. The mark on her shoulderblade would condemn her just
as surely as any words. Every cell in her body seemed suffused with a
chill that was soul deep.
Moving suddenly out of reach, the dark-haired woman said coolly, "Lord
Nargus, I really must protest. A lady has a right to say no after all."
Her dark eyes locked on his. "I am loyal to the commander that compels
my allegiance by actions rather than words, the one person capable of
taking this country forward rather than backward."
The sound of booted feet as the Guard closed in around her only brought
her head up high, natural arrogance inherent in every line of her body.
"The question is, my Lord, whether or not you trust my word."
"Me? Worse than the abomination that once called himself Emperor?" Rich
feminine laughter echoed through the Pit and even filled the false
Gardens, "You woefully misunderstand my motives, Areq. I was not
responsible for any of this. I merely replayed that which was, and I do
not do this for idle pleasures... but to teach. Every event in your
life, in hers, in Araxmarr's or even Elandriil's, is a lesson Areq, and
the sooner you learn to look for the reason you are in a certain place
at a certain time, the sooner you will understand far more than you
ever imagined."
Areq slowly chewed the lining of his jaw, he could sense the truth in her words, sadistic though it seemed, she was right.
"Watch Captain. Even as we speak, she wakes from the nightmare. Even as we observe, she realizes she is not alone."
Emerald eyes watched as a black and blood liveried soldier flung the
heavy ironwood doors open with a resounding boom and stormed into the
Gardens.
"Our Most Sovereign Lord Emperor? She is here... they are within the Keep."
Nargus leered at Erinya one last time as he reluctantly removed
sheathed his claw and watched her hungrily. "Ohhh... I trust your
words, Erinya, I am CERTAIN you serve the one you believe most in..."
Orange, glowing eyes flicked to the betraying Black who stood several
paces away. "She is your sister," he spat out, "see if you can... reason ...with her."
Nargus turned on a heel and stalked out of the Gardens...and with his
departure, so too did the scene begin to slowly fade, leaving Erinya in
a semi-transparent, surreal world that was slowly receding into the
past.
"So. I'm here now." Areq asked softly, "What lesson am I to learn in this moment, Sha'tris?"
"Sha'tris?" Areq's attention went to the empty seat next to him. Aside
from a few grains of golden sand, Areq too was alone, and obviously
plain to Erin's sight.
Erin drew in a relieved, and shaky, breath as the stench of carrion
faded away as if it had never been. The scent that replaced it hit her
with the force of a punch to the gut. The rich green scent of cool
water and dark forests wound through her senses, calling to the most
primitive part of her being.
Areq.
Dark, slightly stunned eyes locked on the fair-haired man as he sat in
the stands. The one person she would have sent to Hell before seeing
her like this, and there he was. Delicate fingers clenched tightly into
fists at her sides as fury swept through her, a hot tide that
obliterated that fragile vulnerability like a river sweeping through a
gorge.
"Seen enough yet?" she spat out.
Now was the time to strike... now when she was weak, vulnerable. The
desire to cut her to the quick was there, so dangerously close to the
surface... and yet he could not for the life of him, force a single
hate filled word to come out. Silent, Areq rose, and slowly walked down
the carved granite steps to the sands. Well aware he was putting
himself dangerously within her reach, Areq walked across the sands and
stopped a few feet before her and forced himself to look into angry,
haunted eyes.
"My apologies, Captain," he answered quietly, "I should not have stayed."
By now, the sun had set low enough to leave the Pit shrouded in shadow
and the darkness that comes with heavy dusk... something Areq was
grateful for. Hopefully it hid the raw emotions in his dark eyes... and
hopefully, it hid the full extent of his own scars.
Scars that seemed so superfluous compared to the scars Erinya had never shown.
Angry words she could have dealt with. Angry words would have given her
an opportunity to lash out, to fight back. But a simple apology...
Erin closed her eyes for a second, shuddering slightly as she turned
away from him. Fury still boiled within, fed by the pain and sense of
betrayal she still felt after all this time. At least it was an
emotion, not the cold aching void she sensed within her soul. Sometimes
she wondered if anger was the only thing left to her, the only emotion
she would ever feel again. She knew that she ought to draw away, throw
the shields back up and wall herself off, but she couldn't. At the
moment it just seemed far too hard.
"Why?" she asked Areq, "why did you stay?"
Once she'd turned away, Areq had nodded softly and had made his own
moves to walk away, and was partially turned toward the main doors that
led below when he heard her question.
"Why? Well, I could say it was because I was here first and wasn't going to give it up to you."
There was a pause as he cut his eyes to look at her back, the memory of
just how close Nargus had come to slicing the shirt off her still fresh
in his memory... the Emperor had been interrupted mere threads away
from revealing the mark Areq knew was there.
"I could say that... but I'd be lying. I can't honestly give you an
answer. I'm not sure myself." Areq drew in a deep breath, then
swallowed, "Look. I need a shower... annnd... you look like you need to
be left alone, so..."
Areq took two more steps and paused, "Erinya?" he asked softly, "What
happened then... what happened here, just now, will go no further than
you and I. I swear it."
"You swear it? Why should I trust you, Areq? You've never given me good
reason to do so before." The Black's words were cold, cutting.
Half-turning, she met his gaze, defiance straightening her spine. The
same defiance she had shown at the end before Nargus. The defiance that
she would probably show to the ends of her days, before Death itself.
If there was a brittle quality to her voice then she would be damned
before she acknowledged it. Never back down. Give no quarter. Not to
your enemies, not even to yourself. The creed by which Erin had lived
her life by for millenia. Instead she lifted her chin with an arrogant
pride dredged up from generations of equally arrogant relatives and
faced down the one man whose very presence made her feel as if the
pillars supporting her world had been knocked out from beneath her.
"Because," Areq looked over his shoulder, at her alabaster face framed
by ebony hair, "I may be alot of things, but I am no oath-breaker.
Because... I don't know why. I just find quite suddenly I have no urge
to be a witness to the horrors that haunt you, then bandy them about."
Areq shrugged one shoulder, then winced as the half-healed flesh broke
open slightly. He managed a rueful smile, then, "And because contrary
to popular opinion, I am not the kind to cheapen an experience so rare
and precious, Erinya... I doubt I'll have the opporunity to see beyond
your walls again."
The Captain nodded thoughtfully, then gave a short snort of humorless laughter, "Besides,"
He turned to face her fully, "I think the rumor mill already has plenty to keep it going, don't you?"
Dark eyes widened as Areq continued to speak. Rare and precious? Part
of her wanted to laugh. There was nothing precious about what lurked
behind the walls that locked the world out, just moments of pain and
betrayal so deep that they had forever scarred what remained of the
person Erinya had once been. Scars that cut through the garnet and
black ribbons of her very soul, swirling around the cold void deep in
the centre. A void created partly by others, partly by herself, she
acknowledged that now. That what Nargus and her Kin-slayer of a brother
had begun, she had finished. It had been she who had torn out the last
remaining traces of hope, of gentleness, of trust, and tossed them
aside as items of no worth. It had been necessary. It had kept her
alive. But the price had been a high one to pay.
"The rumour mill always has plenty to keep it going" she said softly,
"sometimes I think the Guard, both Guards, thrive on gossip."
Instinctively she had moved closer, an intent frown appeared on her
face as the Silver flinched. Without thinking, her fingers curled
around his bicep, turning him so that she could see the torn flesh of
his shoulder. "Areq..." An unexpected twinge of guilt struck her.
"Should I apologise?" she asked him quietly.
Caught completely off guard when her touch didn't involve talons,
daggers or her fist, Areq could only look at her fingers around his arm
for several seconds that felt more like minutes, then shook his head
slowly, "Apologise?" His black emerald eyes met her near "For what?
Being who you are and reacting accordingly? Don't ever apologise to me
for that. It will heal... and I'll wear the scars with pride, Erinya
Dhuanae."
Areq cleared his throat quietly, suddenly aware of an... awkwardness...
to the moment. He'd expected fury and wrath from her, not this quiet,
almost gentle yet incredibly intense creature who was standing here.
He'd also not expected his body to react as it was. The Silver had
always thought the burning in his blood was Rage-born in her
presence... yet at this moment, the Storm that was surging through him
wasn't caused by anger at all.
"I'll be okay... I just need a hot shower, dinner and a nap. Though,
not necessarily in that order." Areq gave a shadow of a smile,
carefully pulled his arm free, then stepped back warily, unsure how to
handle the situation further and not trusting himself to not react like
he had earlier outside the Dryad.
Something he very much wanted to do.
Another throat clearing and quiet laugh, "Its been one hell of a day off, I'll say that much..."
A faint, slightly crooked smile curved Erin's lips. "Yes," she agreed
quietly, "I suppose it has." Noticing Areq's discomfort she began to
retreat once more. It was odd, but until this moment it had never
really struck her how alone she truly was. Perhaps that was the lesson
Sha'tris wanted to drum into her head? She did not know, but it was
true nonetheless. The Guard were the nearest thing she had to friends
and family anymore, and most of those considered her to be the 'crazy
bitch' Areq had called her. Locking people out might keep you from
being betrayed, but the price you paid was loneliness. Shadows
flickered fleetingly through her eyes, her gaze dropping to the sands.
"For what it's worth," the Black said, not quite meeting the Silver's
eyes as her head lifted again, "thank you. For not telling anyone I
mean. There aren't many that do. I'd prefer to keep it that way if I
can."
Dark emerald eyes watched as Erinya began rebuilding the walls within
even as he was nodding slowly in acknowledgement of her last sentence.
A single heartbeat had gone by, a heartbeat where he weighed every
option he had at this very moment in time, one of which was to tell her
he'd catch her later, another was to ask her to join him for dinner
after they'd both had time to clean up and re-dress and yet one more
was to repeat the kiss he'd forced on her earlier today.
Against his nature and better judgement, all of those lost out to this option...
"Don't do that... not when we're alone." He said softly as he felt her
self-made shields slide back into place. He stepped forward again, his
boots making soft grinding sounds on the sand and the fingers of his
left hand slipped under her jaw to force her head up and her dark eyes
to meet his.
"Treat me like you always have when we're in a crowd, when we're
training, when we're in war games... but not when we're alone."
Rich brown eyes widened fractionally, her heart seeming to miss a beat
and then restart once more, faster this time. The fight or flight
instinct, or something else... Erin wasn't sure.
"Areq..." she began, her words dying away once more at the expression
in those dark emerald eyes. Involuntarily her breath caught in her
throat. Uncertainty flickered through her gaze, an emotion that only
ever seemed to happen around him. "What do you want from me?" the
dark-haired woman whispered. "I am the way I am. I don't know how to be
any other way. It has been so long since then, since that..." She gestured vaguely in the direction of where her nightmares had been so vividly recreated.
How could he expect her to be something different with him than she was
in public? Erin wasn't sure she would know where to begin. And yet...
it had not seemed strange until that moment when his discomfort had
been so very clear. And how long was it since anyone had touched her in
any way other than in training or by accident? Her very deliberate
examples of what would happen to people she didn't want to touch her
deterred even the most persistent and eventually her reputation had
started to do the rest for her. Perhaps that was why she was so vividly
aware of where his fingers rested on her jaw, so close to where her
pulse beat so frantically in her throat.
"I..." Her words ground to a halt once more.
Areq himself wasn't sure what he was asking of her... or why. What
difference could it possibly make, this small glimpse he'd been given
of a pivotal and surely traumatic moment in her life? Suddenly he knew,
at least the benefit to him, at any rate. Seeing what he had, had
forced him to look beyond his own defenses, to allow the armour to thin
and allow him to feel... something... again and for someone he
suspected was a most extraordinarily passionate creature.
It was also dangerous ground for both of them.
"I uh..." Areq paused briefly to think, "I don't... I don't know what
I'm asking, Erinya. Maybe I'm just tired..." Calloused fingers slid
away from her face, "Just forget it annnndd... I'll forget what I saw
today, alright?"
"Wait." Erin caught at his hand as it slid away. She wasn't sure what
it was that made her stop him, but something inside couldn't let him
walk away like that. Hesitantly, her free hand reached up to brush
across Areq's cheek, turning him gently back to face her. "Perhaps
we're both tired... or perhaps we're both just being honest for once.
Does it really matter why?"
Dark eyes searched his. It hadn't been until the incident at the Dryad
that she had realised his walls were almost as thick as her own. His
front was better perhaps, it blended in with the crowd more than her
own did, but it was still there. There had been something in his eyes
then though that had caught at her, tugged on a sense of recognition
deep inside. Somewhere inside his walls was a person she wanted to know.
Slowly, she rose up on tiptoe and brushed a gentle kiss across his cheek.
Once again, several options and reactions went through his mind...
first and foremost was the nagging voice that was telling him to run...
far and fast. Another was the desire to pull her against him, kiss her
even more deeply and passionately than he had earlier today, then run
far and fast. Instead, the Silver Captain remained motionless, not
stiff and cold to her hesitant kiss, but as if he were in the presence
of some wild and beautiful creature that might bolt back into the
forest if he so much as cleared his throat.
As the seconds ticked slowly by, Areq's eyes closed, his head slowly
angled closer to press fully into her feathery kiss... which brought
the corners of their mouths agonizingly close and her dark hair
brushing against his nose, the scent of her tickling something deep
within him.
At that moment, Areq Datari knew... KNEW... if he dared draw in a deep
breath, let the complex and rich smell and taste of her linger, his
head would reel.
The scent of him tugged at something deep inside that she couldn't...
wouldn't... put a name to. Just once, she thought vaguely, just so that
she would know. Because the idea of not knowing bothered her more than
she liked to admit.
Erin's head tilted slightly, her eyes drifting shut as she let her lips
trace that final increment until they met his. The kiss was light,
delicate, the merest brush of her skin against his, yet the taste sent
her head spinning.
With a faint gasp she started to pull back.
Strong fingers caught Erinya around the wrist, but the grip was half
what it should have been. Areq's left hand tugged her back, preventing
her from escaping too easily. "Its not just you..." Dark green eyes
searched her warm browns, "I feel it too... and it scares the absolute
hell out of me.."
Before she could break free and bolt, Areq Datari let every defense he
had drop, pulled her back against him and kissed her soundly, with
every ounce of passion, heat and... something he felt for her, but
really... really wasn't ready to admit out loud... love.
Heat washed over in a wave so strong it seemed to take her feet out
from under her. The dark-haired woman's lips parted on a soft moan that
was muffled by his kiss, an answering passion rising up to meet his.
Without conscious volition Erin pressed closer, her free hand sliding
up his chest to tangle in the sun-bleached hair at his nape.
For a second she was lost, and yet it was that very sensation that drew
the chill of fear from within her soul. "No. No. Definitely not" she
muttered, pushing away from Areq. Her chest heaved with the need to
draw in oxygen, her dark eyes wide as she stared at him as if she had
never seen him before. Then, without another word, she spun around and
all but ran from the arena.
Areq all but staggered on his feet when she broke away so quickly, his weight almost tipping him over on his face in the sands.
Astounded, he watched her back as she fled on foot, then he rolled his eyes upwards.
"Oh... that went well. That's that's the exact response I hope for in a
woman... kiss, freak... bolt. Granted there's usually a slap or a
stabbing in there somewhere, but..."
OH GODS...
"What the hell did I just do? Sweet Mother of Mercy... It must be the blood loss..."
A hard swallow and a deep breath later, one that left him ranting
internally... it had just re-confirmed his horrid suspicion that he
LIKED her a little too well...
"Now would be a good time to take up drinking... and lots of it..."
Which was exactly what he planned to do. A quick stop in the wine
cellars, a short visit to Master Stophecles and a bit of coin would
ensure enough to get him more than a little drunk. A hot bath to soak
most of the soreness away that was setting in and perhaps a little to
eat, and he and the bottle were going to have a long, soul-searching
talk later...
Dirty and bloodied fingers raked through his hair as he stood there.
Areq gave Erinya time to get well out of his path, then set off in the
same direction into the Keep.
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