Fable - Ask Dread No More

[Chasmine]

This is a spin-off thread from The Anniversary of Freedom

They had sidled on up to the vendor and Azzy just gazed in awe, his mouth hanging open in disbelief at this funnel cake. As the vendor responded with the name, Azzy would mouth along with it, though no voice would accompany it.

The nice one, Chasmine, then looked to him and ordered one! Behold! The cake of funnels! Or the funnel of cakes? Either way it was both or neither all at once! All he knew was that they had succeeded in acquiring one of these delicious smelling snacks!

She offered up another adventure they could go on and he would excitedly hold onto any free hand or excess clothing item before nodding vigorously. They were going on an adventure!

And just like that, the pair were off to the river, away from the crowds, away from the noise. Away from onlookers who could bare witness to their liberation of these poor trapped Fae.

Though the day was slowly wearing on under the warm glow of the sun, the festival's activity had not let up one bit. In fact, it had become nearly impossible to navigate through the crowds as people continued to arrive from far-out towns and villages of the Republic. The warmth of the afternoon made people thirsty and hungry ... and exceptionally pushy! She struggled to juggle the funnel cake and giant gryphon under her arm while maintaining some semblance of attachment to her small companion. But the boy managed to get a handful of her skirt to latch on to, and that seemed to work just fine.

Once she'd cleared the main bulk of the crowds and made her way into a side street with smaller vendors, she looked down with a feeble smile after such a harrowing endeavor, "Still there?"

And of course he was! Chas adjusted the gryphon under her arm and scooched her way between customers looking at vendor wares on either side of the street, then lead him off with a slight skip to her step as they found their route clear all the way down to the docks. She lead the boy out to the end of a pier for smaller boats before setting down the gryphon and taking a seat on a stack of crates. A pale, delicate finger tested the treat and upon finding it no longer scalding to the touch, gently tore off a piece to hand it over to the boy before pulling a piece off for herself as well.

"This looks like fae food," she remarked in a hushed tone, "what do you think? Is it safe to eat?"

Azzerin

 

[Azzerin]

Oh the crowds, the pushing and the pulling, it seemed to scare the young boy l by how he white knuckled her skirts. One large man bumped roughly into Azzy and a crimson glare would cause him to collapse in a screaming heap.

If Chas looked back, she would be greeted by a concerned look as the boy flutterstepped away.

Still there?

She had expressed concern by looking back and he offered a big smile, his grip tightening as he shuffled to get closer. She skipped, and so did he. The crowds grew smaller, the noise dimmed, and soon they were at a part of the pier where the small boats waited.

She found a spot on a crate and he clambered up to sit beside her, his legs kicking back and forth where they dangled. He grinned at the morsel he was offered and practically inhaled it. Powdered sugar went everywhere, his face, his hands, his clothes. Seemingly everywhere but his mouth.

After he looked at her expectantly, scooting closer, before looking out to the water.

Chasmine

 

[Chasmine]

What a mess. But perhaps the mess was an indication of deliciousness? Gently amused, Chas took a small bite of her own portion and chewed.

"Oh my," her first remark sent a puff of sugar cloud from her lips, making her giggle, "it's so light and sweet. Like sunrise clouds." The soft texture and the spritely sweetness was almost exactly what she imagined those clouds would taste like. Bright, warm, airy, saccharine. Perfection in a single bite.

Upon looking down she discovered that the magic of the pastry had littered her with powdered sugar, "Oh but I've made a mess as well. I suppose that is the nature of the fae and their food." Smiling, her gaze shifted to the boy's bag as she pulled another piece of funnel cake free for him, "We shouldn't wait much longer to release the fish."

 

[Azzerin]

Upon looking down she discovered that the magic of the pastry had littered her with powdered sugar, "Oh but I've made a mess as well. I suppose that is the nature of the fae and their food." Smiling, her gaze shifted to the boy's bag as she pulled another piece of funnel cake free for him, "We shouldn't wait much longer to release the fish."

More powdered goodness scattered all over the pair from her own morsel. When she spoke of Fae his gaze shifted to her and he returned the smile. It was such a good day, a great day, even.

He would nod at her remark on the time before he nipped out and grabbed the piece of funnel cake with his teeth while she still held it in hand. He then shook it vigorously upon her release as if he were a gryphon feasting upon a horse.

With more powdered sugar making a far larger mess, he then turned to his pack and opened it, pulling his little pet Fae out.

 

[Chasmine]

It was inevitable, this mess. Yet Chasmine smiled brightly in spite of the amount of powdered sugar now littering both herself, the dock, and the child. She continued to nibble alongside him, taking a few more bites until the sweetness became too much. Now with the goldfish extracted from the bag, she dusted herself off as best she could and picked up the bowl, "Will you help me let them free?" Chas asked of the boy, moving to the edge of the pier where she took a seat. There her legs dangled over the end, a foot or so above the water, and held the bowl out to him, "Together."

Inside the bowl the two little fish continued to swim circles, delicate fins billowing about them and scales gleaming in the sunlight. Chasmine waited for him to clutch the other side with his smaller hands and then slowly tipped the bowl forward over the water.

Plop.

Plip.

Two fish spilled out and swam away, their glimmer disappearing into the shadowed waters below. Just fish. No fae. But that mattered very little.

She spent a few moments smiling down at the ripples, gaze shifting across her own reflection to that of the boy which seemed ... strangely warped. Still, Chasmine looked warmly at him. A warped reflection was not nearly the strangest thing encountered in her very short but strange life.

"Your parents must be worried," a gentle remark as her pale gaze lifted back to his sugar covered face. Chas took the corner of her cardigan and wiped at it, "I can walk you home if you like?"

 

[Azzerin]

Will you help me let them free? Together?

Azzy would clamber down from his perch, struggling some due to the limitations of his child-sized body, but eventually he was down at her side. Flopping onto the pier, he took one side of the bowl and smiled at her with a nod. Tip.

The "Fae" were free, diving deep to the depths to avoid being recaptured. Perhaps they were kelpies and needed to get deep before they could change shape and betray the mortals that had freed them. But for now, they both watched the water ripple, and it was then, that he noticed his reflection was distorted but not due to the ripples.

Looking to Chas, he was set to ease by her warm look. As if she didn't notice or didn't care. Both suited the young boy.

Your parents must be worried, I can walk you home if you like?

His face scrunched as she wiped his face, the flesh moving rather freely with each rub. It would be subtle to those not looking, but glaringly obvious to someone who knew the signs. He would sneeze, turning from Chas, his hand wiping his face, to resettle it, before looking back to her with a single, happy, nod. He would like nothing more to be escorted home.

---

Chasmine

 

[Chasmine]

"I suppose there are worse ways to return home than covered in pixie dust with a giant gryphon in tow..." the gentle laugh was small and contained as Chasmine pushed herself back to her feet and helped the boy up as well. She collected the stuffed gryphon with one arm and held out her free hand to the boy. He would have to lead the way home, of course, as Chasmine could do many things but reading minds was not one of them.

At times she could barely read her own.

Though not very late in the day, with so much exposure to people and activity it felt to her that she'd been out for many more hours. They skirted the main bulk of the festival, avoiding crowds to make the journey easier. Chasmine did not spy another Initiate of note the entire way, but the boy's home was quite a bit farther afield than anticipated. As they continued to drift further and further away from the noise of the city toward the outskirts she began to register a fleeting concern that she might not be able to find her way back to the pick-up location where she was to wait with the other Initiates who had traveled to the festival together.

The sun was already beginning its early evening descent in the sky, casting longer and longer shadows across the rows of buildings and narrow lanes.

"Is it much farther?" she asked after her little guide. Any normal person would have found it curious the boy had been allowed to wander so far all on his own, but this did not seem terribly out of the ordinary to Chasmine who had long since experienced anything that would be considered normal.

 

[Azzerin]

They were off!

Long was the journey, at least for short legs such as his. The streets grew more sparse, the buildings less grand, and soon they were all alone as they shuffled their way along the way to the slums.

Soon they were on the final edge between the elvish slums and the poor humans that had to share a district with them. Since the transition, the area had risen steadily in crime, whether it was humans attacking elves, or vice versa. Either way, the any faces they did see at this point, would no longer return a friendly smile.

Is it much farther?

Azzerin would slow to a stop, his hand still clutching Chas's. He would shake his head no, and point to one of the last decent looking houses. Iron fittings lined the doors and windows as protective wards against the Fae, and iron bars behind the glass served to keep the Elves from breaking in and rubbing the home.

As he crossed the street with her to the home, she would see the door slightly ajar.

---

Chasmine

 

[Chasmine]

Having very little idea of what constituted a "nice" home from one that was not, Chasmine held no reservations or judgement as they drifted further toward the slums and outskirts of the city proper. There were much fewer people here, however, and the cobble-lined streets had given way to worn dirt roads. Stone houses, primly trimmed with gardens and colorful paint had degraded into wood and thatch hovels. The warmth of the city dissipated to a weary, neglected chill. The sweet smells of the merchant quarter went rancid with the stench of refuse, waste, and rot.

Chasmine frowned slightly, wondering where it was that the people had gone, and turned her gaze down to the little boy at her hand to follow his hand to the indicated home.

The door was open ... perhaps someone was home?

She indicated for him to lead the way and followed after him with an air of curiosity. As he pushed the door open it revealed an unlit interior to which Chasmine was growing more unsure of.

"It seems no one is home," she remarked as she tenatively followed him inside. There were no lights, the windows had been shuttered, and the home appeared strangely empty, "are you certain this is the right house?"

The row of homes all did seem to look quite similar to one another.

 

[Azzerin]

He would push the door open cautiously, eyes glancing back at her with a hint of fear, before pushing the door open wider. The entryway was covered in runes of the like she had never seen, and at the apex of the semi circle.. a bloody set of footprints.

They would lead deeper into hovel and Azzerin jumped in fear, before hiding behind Chas. She could feel the fear radiating through his body with every quake.

From where they were, she could see a pair of legs jutting out from behind a table. She could feel his desire to inspect, but his fear to take the lead. So Chas would bravely begin to step forward, to maybe give the poor boy some closure, some way of knowing what lie ahead.

Each step was slow, and each advance revealed a few more inches of the hidden body. No, make that bodies. The legs belonged to a man who bore a significant resemblance to Azzerin.. but whatever fate befell them found him in two halves. Azzerin's hands would leave her body as they rounded the corner into the kitchen.

Lifeless eyes would look up at Chas with neck bent at such an angle that it could only mean it came after the death. One hand outstretched towards where the second body lay, a woman, likely his mother. Her chest cavity had been ripped open and she held her own heart in one-hand, guarded from the husband. She reached elsewhere.. to a third form, a smaller one but this seemed more heinous than the other two. The skin was missing, as if perfectly flayed.

It would be at this moment, that Chas would hear something fleshy hit the ground, a deep and rumbling voice growling behind her. "No... This is the right house.." a darkened laugh. If she turned she would see the cause of all the violence. Gone, was the scared boy and in place stood something dark, and a mace swinging for her skull.

---

Chasmine

 

[Chasmine]

It was not customary for Chasmine to take charge in situations such as these. Though not particularly brave, she could hardly be called a coward considering everything she'd seen and done in her short life thus far. As the present caretaker of the child, it fell upon her to assess the home for the missing parents. Chas shifted herself further inside, pale gaze slowly sweeping through the dark rooms for any sign of presence beyond their own. It was upon drifting through the entrance hall that she felt the first ebb and flow of a dreadful darkness.

The sort of darkness that commonly plagued her during bouts of weakened mental blocks or illness.

At first she did not want to believe that such a thing could be here, unchecked, within the limits of the great and mighty Vel Anir, but her eyes and her senses did not deceive her. The boy's hand slipped from her side, and Chasmine's movements slowed as she rounded the corner to the gruesome, horrific scene.

Chas frowned, feeling the static crawl of alarm circle the length of her spine. All the blood, the gore, the looks of abject terror on their drawn faces - nothing quite yet so frightening than the nightmares she'd grown accustomed to in her life at the Academy. The Proctors could sometimes be so viscerally cruel ... and so could her fellow Initiates. The slap of flesh against the floor behind her alerted her first that something was quite wrong here.

The drifting miasma of dark energy followed swiftly after.

She knew before turning what stood behind her, but she could not stop her body from shifting to look at it head on. The sight of the demon was the last thing to fill her vision before everything abruptly went black.

Chasmine Grey crumpled to the floor, blood slowly seeping from the wound on her scalp where mace made contact with skull.

 

[Azzerin]

Chas crumpled on the floor, less than a foot away from the parents. Azzerin smiled at his own good hunt, his own fortune. Though.. there was something disconcerting. He knelt down and grabbed the skin of the boy and tossed it beside the body.

Once that was done, Chas was picked up in a bridal carry, his darkened gaze focusing on the runes that should have teleported them back to his home, to his plane. Instead, they hadn't worked. He would need to leave with her, to gather more of his minions the old fashioned way.

Through the door he carried her, his gaze flitting about as some of the poor paused in their tracks once they were beholden to him magnificent form. A toothy grin passed from the Son of Abbon to the now fear riddled vermin that had begun to circle in awe.

There would be a faint pain along his shoulder blades as scaled and leathery wings pushed their way through flesh and unfurled, causing the awed fear to slip into uncontrolled chaos. Screams lifted to the heavens as his wings flapped, slowly carrying them to the heavens. It would only be a matter of time before Vel Anir was naught but a small collection of houses and walls beneath them and he dipped into a glide.

North. North to the Jades.

---

Chasmine

 

[Chasmine]

Several hours later...

When she awoke it was to the sound of the wind wooshing about her and the thump of his wings cutting through the skies. The rush of cold air over her exposed skin bit without mercy, causing her to coil further into the radiating warmth of the one who carried her. There the searing pulse of pain in her head mingled with the poignant scent of spruce.

Chasmine released a short breath and the words, "Find...more pinecones..." dribbled from her lips.

 

[Azzerin]

The flight thus far had been quiet, perhaps he had killed her? No, he could feel the beating of her heart before she coiled closer against him, seeking to feel the heat he knew he radiated.

Find...more pinecones...

An odd thing to say, he didn't understand why mortals spoke so oddly at times. It was a wonder they didn't create more harm then good with their words.. or perhaps they did. No matter, they would make excellent pets for the return of his kind.

"Where we will land, you will find pinecones a-plenty." He dipped into another glide. They were high enough to see the start of the Jades and the circling gryphons of Housr Tal'deneshaar far below them. "We will land soon.."

---

Chasmine

 

[Chasmine]

Now mostly conscious, the sudden drop in altitude of her carrier gave the girl quite a startle. Were ... they falling? What was happening? Chasmine was not afraid of heights so far as she could recall, but falling was certainly something she'd become intimately familiar with given how many times she'd accidentally phased while at higher elevations.

"Haaa-" said the started Dreadlord Initiate, eyes immediately flaring open and pinning in the shock of sudden and inescapable freefall, "I'm falling!" the cry was quiet, as though she shared with him a secret.

One moment she was in his arms, the next she was not, and the spectral form of Chasmine began its plummet to the ground.

 

[Azzerin]

Haaa- I'm falling!

What an odd thing to say when pressed against another. "No.. You're fi-." And then she wasn't. He figured as a "Dreadlord", a silly name for mortals that were far from intimidating, she had some powers. He hadn't expected this.

Nor had he expected how weird it was to have someone phase through them. It was... unpleasant to say the least. But less about him, she was apparently falling to her death. Well that was just not sporty. All that effort to catch her only for her to splat? Not on his watch.

His wings curled as his body rotated, allowing him to do a controlled dive alongside her, his wings flaring out to keep just enough resistance to hold him within reach. "What are you doing, mortal?! Take my hand." He would extend a hand to grab her, nothing as he swished through her torso. "Take it."

Chasmine

 

[Chasmine]

Falling as a spectre was slightly different from falling as a corporeal body. For one, there was a distinct lack of wind now and the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach had gone. The science of gravity counted very little for a ghost, but there was such a thing as momentum and that - Chasmine had learned rather quickly - was a bit harder to stop when one was recovering from a very severe concussion.

A hand swiped through her as she wildly drifted toward the ground and for the briefest of moments Chasmine faded from view only to reappear dozens of feet below several moments later. Somehow she was whole again, a physical being plummeting to her death with the wind clawing at her long hair and billowing clothes.

She winced into the wind as she tumbled through freefall, eyes watering and loosing globs of water into the air, "Help!" she yelled, stretching a hand out toward the beastly thing. Anything was better than splatting.

 

[Azzerin]

He wasn't sure how it worked, he just knew it was irritating. What should have been a simple transport was now clawing at the seams of his patience. Flickers, poofs, it all took a strain on his wings to maintain her ever changing descent.

Until finally, she flickered again this time reappearing some feet away. This time, she was tangible again. And her screams would verify that simple fact.

Ah.. the screams of a mortal, so delicious. It was music to the ears of a son of Abbon and he took several moments to revel in that sound. When he had been sated, he slipped into a dive to get below her before those leathery wings flared and he soared back up towards her. Scaled arms wrapped around her as he caught her, the wings now beating to lift them back heavenward. "Let us avoid doing that again, yesss?"


Chasmine

 

[Chasmine]

Certifiably terrified, the moment he caught her he would find himself quite entangled by her limbs. Chasmine was not physically strong by any means, but she was determined to cling to this stranger, her savior, with all her might so that under no circumstances would she repeat what just happened.

Eyes tightly shut, arms clinging about his neck, Chasmine feverishly nodded in agreement to his statement, "I'm sorry! I can't always control it."

The story of her life, really. Falling through floors. Getting stuck in walls or doors. Why, she even discovered the abandoned catacombs deep beneath the surface of the Academy out of sheer inpetitude of controlling her power. If nothing else, they'd become a welcome retreat for her when she needed an escape. They were also where she'd first really met and connected with Delaney Lennox, though Chasmine could not recall the last time they had spoken. She was quite busy with missions, but someday they would talk again, she was sure of it.

Then, just in time to catch a flash of gold through the air far below them, Chasmine forgot all about her fear and leaned to look back and over his shoulder, "Is that a...gryphon?"

 

[Azzerin]

He had caught her, and now she wormed her way around him. Was it all a ploy? Was she trying to bring him down too? No.. no, just fear. Another tasty scent. She had stopped her struggle and her arms were now wrapped securely around his neck and her eyes squeezed shut.

I'm sorry! I can't always control it.

"Really?" Perhaps all these Dreadlords lacked control over their powers. Perhaps their reputation had been wildly exaggerated. They hadn't even crushed the Elves in the last six hundred years.

Then the fear was gone.

Is that a...gryphon?

"Yess.. we are near the Jades.. and Vel Ehn." It didn't matter if she knew, there would be no escape. Especially if she couldn't control her own powers. "Enjoy the glance, for we will not be going any closer."

Chasmine

 

[Chasmine]

There was silence for a few moments while she watched and the cogs within began turning once more. Amazing how quickly they could work when not stalled by terror. Chas might've smiled at the sight of the creature, a mere golden shape far below, swooped and glided through the air. She'd always loved gryphons and the stories of the Queen of the Skies, the Dawnbringer. Having never been given much opportunity to travel and see lands afar meant that she'd nary an opportunity to see a gryphon.

Or much of anything at all beyond the Academy. Why, if she gave it a thought, the furthest she'd been was the city of Vel Anir itself. The Proctors had deemed her incorrigible and rather much very inept. Mission assignments had all but ground to a halt for her after the Revolution and every mission she'd returned from prior-to had given the Proctors no joy.

They'd wanted her dead, but death had other plans for her it seemed.

Now here she was, carried by this strange demon, gliding through the air on her way to the Jades ... a mountain range if her memory served her correctly.

"How nice," she said after some time, "to be so close to something you like."

He had, afterall, appeared to her with a stuffed gryphon.

 

[Azzerin]

The girl grew silent, watching the gryphons soar beneath them, circling about as they with their riders scouted the various passes and trade routes, securing them from bandits.

For them, it was cold, they soared just above the lowest peaks of the Jades, and in his natural warmth would be only source of it, this high up. His glide dipped, so those leathery wings would flap once more, rising with a draft as they ascended another twenty feet and re-entered the glide.

When finally she spoke, he could only question if she had any idea what was going on. As if she wasn't being spirited away by a demon.

How nice, to be so close to something you like.

He hadn't yet made the connection between his arrival with the stuffie, and the gryphons below them. "You like demons? Or just being taken by them?" His tone seemed tinged in amusement. Mortals, how cute they were.

Chasmine

 

[Chasmine]

"Most demons I have encountered were not very pleasant," Chasmine replied, losing sight of the gryphons as they disappeared beneath cloud cover. She settled into her present seat of predicament with a weary exhale, "but they were also not where they belonged, and I suppose that would be reason enough to be unpleasant."

 

[Azzerin]

Most demons I have encountered were not very pleasant, but they were also not where they belonged, and I suppose that would be reason enough to be unpleasant.

As she spoke, his wings tilted, and their glide slid into a smooth descent towards one of the highest peaks within the Jades. Her words, though some would consider them childish, bore far more wisdom than any mortal he had ever known.

"It is a fact we know all too well, mortal." He mused, the growl of his voice naught more than a gruff rumbling. "Was not always so, our people could come and go. But that was long before your people came to settle in this place."

---

Chasmine

 

[Chasmine]

Chasmine had never understood there to ever have been a plight of demons. Or that the demons were at any point the victims here. Hearing this from a demon's lips should have struck her as suspect or a lie, but of all the things that Chasmine was, her faith in others remained strong. Truth, an earnest recounting of his people's lore.

Who was she to find fault in things well beyond her scope?

"Are you very far from home?" Her pale gaze looked up at him, lacking fear but full of curiosity. He was, after all, the first demon to hold a conversation with her.