Private Tales Read between the lines

[Talus]

Talus made a quiet whining noise similar to the one that had echoed from Grey.

It was almost comically duplicate.

"Fine." He said in agreement, letting out a sigh as he closed his eyes and tried not to let the rush of relaxing endorphins completely overwhelm him. "Just the night then."

Talus didn't think he could tear himself away from her. Not tonight. "I'll leave before dawn."

If he got the feeling back in his legs by then.

 

[Zana]

Everything she loved was in that bed.

With a smile her eyes closed, one hand resting on the wolfs head as the other got wedged between hers and Talus' body.

"I'll wake you before I leave, I have to run a dawn training session before coming to the Guards," her voice was already thick with sleep as she shifted slightly to get into a more comfortable position then let out a content sigh. "Goodnight, love," Zana gave another yawn and after a few minutes she was asleep.

* * *
​

It physically hurt to pry herself out of his arms in the pre-dawn light but she managed it. Grey opened one eye and then belly crawled into the warm spot she had left behind. Zana went about on quiet feet getting herself ready until the pale pastel colours of the rising sun finally made her creep back to bed, crouching down beside it and running her fingers through his hair.

"Darling I have to go, I've left you food downstairs," her voice was feather soft just like her touch. "The bag is yours too," her lips twitched into a smile when he finally opened his eyes. "I love you, I'll see you later ok?"

 

[Talus]

Before she could pull herself away Talus reached up and gently grasped the nape of her neck. He drew her down into a kiss, ips pressing softly against hers and lingering for a few seconds as he enjoyed the moment.

Not waking up with her for the last few days had been absolute torture. He'd awoken more than a few times during the night, and each time he had ached for her. It as a different kind of pain, the sort he was sure he'd never quite get used to. Lips thinned as he allowed her to pull back from him. "I love you."

He repeated the words back to her as he let his hand slip down her cheek and fall back to The bed.

An ache still coursed through him from the night before, and he couldn't help but to squirm slightly as he righted himself and let out a deep sigh. As Zana began to walk away he called to her.

"Which ones your underwear drawer?" He was a man of his word after all.

 

[Zana]

Zana's cheeks creased into dimples with her smile at his words. They would never fail to send butterflies a fluttering in her stomach like she were some young teenage girl. As she stood she leaned down to press a cheek to his forehead then stepped away, whistling for Grey. The wolf gave a huff similar to Talus but he rolled to his paws and quickly trotted after her. When Talus spoke, she paused in the doorway, glancing over her shoulder with a smirk.

"That one," one curl of her finger and the draw jutted open. Her underwear was the one thing full of colour and personality in her every day wardrobe for the simple fact it wouldn't be seen by anyone. "Love you!" she blew a kiss over her shoulder and then ducked out of the room.

* * *
​

Zana kept to her word. She was at the large fort for the 10th strike of the bell back in the city even if they couldn't hear it this far out. A slight sheen coated Zandor's flank already after the way she had pushed him in the morning cavalry exercises but he still bunched up, eager to canter over the last few fields before the reached the gates so she let him go. Grey managed to keep up with the steady pace and the two seemed almost to be in a race with one another.

The doors swung open as she approached and a familiar figure stood on the other side. Zandor slowed to a trot then a walk as his hooves clattered over the cobbled ground.

"Morning, Major," Zana knocked off a quick salute before vaulting off her horse. "I hope you don't mind me bringing the wolf, we were training before I came here," as she spoken she took her reins and led her horse over to where others were tied up and set about briskly taking off the saddle to rest his back.

 

[Talus]

It was a wonder that Grey did not come running to Talus the instant that he saw him. In fact he couldn't help but wonder if the Wolf somehow realized what was going on. He was a smart little guy, but the fact that Talus couldn't just pick up a stick and throw it made him ache slightly.

"That's alright, Dreadlord." Talus responded with a shrug of his shoulders. "We have a few search dogs around, just be careful he doesn't mess with them."

He doubted Grey would, but he had to act like he wouldn't know.

It was hard pulling his eyes away from Zana. Even after spending the night together it was hard not to walk up and touch her. He wanted nothing more than to rest his hand on the small of her back, give her a kiss on greeting, hold her just for the sake of doing it.

How was he ever going to survive this?

"Most of the troops are already assembled. I thought we'd give them that demonstration." He told her with a smile, though she would notice a slightly odd shift in his step as he adjusted himself.

 

[Zana]

Zana glanced to Grey who stared back at her innocently. For a moment it seemed as though something passed between the pair and then an easy shrug slid over her shoulder.

"He won't leave me unless I say," almost as if he sensed it was an opportunity to demonstrate her point, when she made her way over to him Grey hopped up and followed, practically pressing into her heels. As she stopped in front of him the familiar aching need to touch him wound through her but she pushed it to the side. One of the benefits of having an empath for a mentor was her steely control over her emotions, even if these were new ones. "He's a trained wolf," there was the barest of flickers in her eyes then she inclined her head to show he should lead her to the fields proper.

"A demonstration sounds beneficial," Zana gave a curt nod as her hands came to rest behind her back. She wasn't dressed much differently than she had been the day before but she had her shield with her and her helmet today which floated beside her effortlessly. "When was the last time you sparred with one of your own?" she added the hint of disgust to her voice for any passersby or eavesdroppers. Talus had rebuked the Houses and the known after all, effectively turning his back on his own.

 

[Talus]

He knew what the tone was there for, why she spoke that way, but it would have been a lie to say it didn't sting a little. "Right around the same time they stopped being a challenge."

Talus answered, his tone curt and terse as though he were batting off a question from a little girl.

Of course Zanna knew the truth of the matter, Talus still regularly trained with his Old Mentor Fenris, a fact that he kept carefully concealed. Fen's reputation among Dreadlords was about as good as Talus', but few knew the truth about the man or his true abilities. Talus had yet to tell Zana what those powers were, though as they walked he frowned and realized that keeping it a secret from her bothered him.

He would have to tell her when they next had time alone. Perhaps she could learn something of herself from Fen.

Talus and Zana turned the corner to the training field, finding three hundred men and women standing in perfectly aligned rows, each one clearly dressed in fatiguees and ready for whatever was to come. As soon as the Dreadlords turned the corner they all snapped to a salute.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the 7th Regiment. Meet your newest Dreadlord friend." He gestured towards Zana, waiting for her to say her piece.

 

[Zana]

The little sting floated through the bond like splinter and Zana chanced it. She disguised it as raising her hand to brush a strand of hair back from her face but her thumb gently, purposefully, grazed over his hand. Pride flooded through her at his response and she struggled to keep the smile from her face; it was a good rebuke and would have shut up most Dreadlords, or rankled them into punching him. She opted for an air of quiet resentment as they continued walking.

Apprehension, nerves, even a little fear crept into her as they drew round the corner. The smaller group had warmed to her but she had been acting human then with her sparring techniques. Today she was about to destroy that image and be the Dreadlord everyone feared.

She let the shield and helmet come to a rest as she stood, relaxed, before them all. Grey sat beside her with his ears slowly laying flat. Even if she was as emotionless as her fellows, Zana wouldn't be able to mistake the feeling of hate that seemed to clog the air after Talus introduced her as a 'friend'.

But she latched onto the fear instead.

"I'm not here to be your friend, or to be liked," her tone was flat and even though it was raised it wasn't a shout. Nevertheless it bounced around the area like she had done; a small amplification spell. "I'm here to make sure you don't die on the field. To make you realise what it is you face when you go toe to toe with a Dreadlord. Talus and I will do a demonstration and then we'll see how your training with him stands up to me."

 

[Talus]

"Circle." The word was spoken, and despite their apprehension the Guardsmen immediately spread out from their gathering places on the training grounds and formed a large circle around both Zana and Talus.

Three hundred people clambered around, all of them trying to get a decent enough view of what was about to happen while also staying back from what they knew to be two of the deadliest people in all of Vel Anir.

"Sergeant." Talus said as he unstrapped the belt from around his waist, offering the sword to a woman who quickly ran up to him.

She took the blade with a sort of reverence, and then quickly ran over to Zana so she could take her equipment as well.

Slowly the younger Dreadlord turned to his love. His face was stern, expressionless, like he was back at the Academy. Yet through the bond Zana would feel nothing but love. There was no apprehensiveness about this moment, no fear. He trusted her completely and totally, knew that even now she would never truly hurt him.

They both knew what they had to do, both knew why they were here.

He took a step forward, one Zana would notice had a slightly hint of a turn as he adjusted himself again. "When you're ready."

He told her.

 

[Zana]

There was a distinct spike of jealousy when Zana registered the way his Sargent looked at him and when the woman walked over to her the thought of how easy it would be to snap her neck did cross her mind. Instead she laid her dragon forged sword across Talus' dwarfish one and offered her a look that could turn blood to ice. Zana cast her jacket to the side like she had done the day before too and rolled up her sleeves slowly. She didn't look at all rushed nor worried about the crowds around them.

When she finally did raise her eyes to Talus there was the barest flicker of an apology in her gaze but more so down the bond. She couldn't afford to be gentle like she would have been if this had been when they were alone. For a moment she berated herself for not insisting they do this sooner, learn each others moves.

Her lips pursed into a line.

The words had barely left his mouth when Zana struck. It was a solid wave of energy that had the barest of flickers colour to it when the sun caught it and it hit him at the speed of a charging rhino. If he didn't move or phase it would hit him square in the chest and lift him clear off the floor and into the crowds of his men.

 

[Talus]

He couldn't help but feel an odd sort of...joy as he felt the pang of jealousy. His mind drawing to the night before when she had made her place in his world more than clear. Lips tightened as he forced himself to keep his steely mask on his face.

Then he saw it.

Talus form suddenly flickered.

Zana had experience his magic before, had even seen small glimpses of it during their fight with the Forsaken, but there was something entirely different about watching someone and experiencing it in combat.

The slight shimmer catching the air was the only warning that Talus had to do much of anything, but it was enough. For decades his magic had been all about speed, moving in impossible ways and allowing him to do things that others simply couldn't. It had been his advantage over those like Zana.

She could bring down entire buildings on a while, but Talus could move.

His body snapped into nothingness in an instant, sliding through the barrier that had been thrown his way before a ghostly after-inage of him suddenly rushed forward. He covered the distance between himself and Zana in what seemed like the best of his heart. His body snapping back into reality as he kicked forward in an attempt to sweep her off her feet.

 

[Zana]

A spike of pure pride struck her when she saw him Ghost.

Normally, Zana was pretty sure she would have ended up on her backside. But there was something... different to the way she could see his moves now. The ghostly image moved far too fast for her eyes to register but the bond slowed it all down to normal. She could feel him move towards her. Every single step took a minute rather than seconds. So she stopped relying on her eyes and relied on the instinct instead.

As his foot came up to try and sweep her feet out from under her she twisted, cartwheeling over his leg. Her hips turned sharply whilst pushing off the ground to throw her weight behind her kick that was aiming straight for his chest. At the same time she 'yanked' on his ankle with an invisible hand.

Spoiler: If he fell without Ghosting...

Then her foot would not connect with his chest but slide across his shoulder and then her leg would hook about his neck. Both of them would go tumbling to the ground but Talus would find himself in the far more compromising position of having her thighs crushing the air from his throat.

Spoiler: If he Ghosted...

Then Zana would land on the other side, hands first, flipping herself over in the perfect forward flip before turning and throwing a nasty spike of purple energy in a flurry of unrelenting attacks which would force him to move faster than he had before. Now that he was 'slow' in her mind it was a lot easier to aim.

 

[Talus]

Something flashed through his mind.

He didn't know what it was. Didn't know where it came from. He could almost see Zana grasp for his ankle and pull him with that odd magic of hers. It was a feeling, like he knew it was going to happen before she ever did it.

Yet he did nothing to stop it.

As soon as he felt the hook on his ankle Talus snapped out of reality and took three long steps back.

Then it happened again.

There was a sense of something, a flicker that ran through his mind. Zana's face never changed, she gave nothing away. Her training was sharp, perfect. Talus should never have seen it coming, and yet he did.

The blasts of purple energy erupted, sending out shockwaves through the air, and yet where they would have struck was nothing. Talus never snapped back to reality, never returned himself to where any of the blasts could hit him. Instead one of those odd tendrils whipped off his back and stabbed into the ground, dragging him in a quick yank forward before he dropped back out into existence just to the left of Zana herself.

Confusion flickered through the bond, and odd questioning as he hesitated.

Was this her magic? Was he seeing the future? Talus didn't understand.

 

[Zana]

Zana's eyes met his when he reappeared.

Should have practised this sooner, idiot.

She could feel his confusion through the bond and the wariness in his body language. It seemed she had pieced it together a little quicker than he had but then she supposed she had been training Dreadlords for far longer than he had. Including twins. That was the only reason she had an inclining of what was happening here; a water and a fire mage set of twins who had moved seamlessly together when they fought. Sloan had told her the same had been similar with her and her twin brother too.

She gave the barest shakes of her head when she felt the question. Not my magic, she tried to push down the bond.

Theirs.

"Not bad," Zana said out loud as she slowly walked about him. She was stalling to give him time to figure out what was happening. Then she literally took the floor out from under him. There was a series of yelps as the circle in which they stood crumbled away as though some invisible force had punched a hole into the earth itself. Below them was empty nothing and unless Talus moved he would be going straight down the dark pit of a hole. Zana stood calmly on the tiniest of purple energy rings with her arms folded. If he wanted to get to her he would have trouble now.

 

[Talus]

The bond.

It was the bond. Whatever he had done to her that night, whatever had connected them by the very soul. His fingers flexed slightly, eyes catching hers as his lips thinned.

Then there was another feeling, something in the back of his mind that spoke of a dark out suddenly forming. His eyes wandered to his feet for just a brief second, and then suddenly as he felt the ground fall out from underneath him Talus suddenly jumped up and off the earth.

His body didn't snap from existence this time.

Six massive tendrils tore out from his back, they uncurled and folded outward like a grasping hand. They seemed to latch onto the air itself, and then just as they had outside of Karak they ripped him forward as though throwing him directly towards Zana.

 

[Zana]

The smile died on her lips when she saw what she had only felt before, eyes widening the barest of fractions as he hurled himself towards her. She let the platform beneath her feet drop and for a few feet she dropped so that he would swoop over her. When she landed on another platform it was with her knees slightly bent and then the disc whirled upwards, tilting slightly with her movements. He wasn't the only one who could 'fly'.

The bond was making it harder to win but she had promised not to shut him out. The other option she had discovered for hiding things from him however, was to send a barrage of different images or thoughts at him. So down the bond she went a series of violent, intoxicating images of the night before. The pleasure, the replay of the climax, of the feeling of their lips on one another. She sent down the lust and desire. In the back of her mind she planned her actual attack and as he moved this time she threw her hand towards him.

Purple energy would attempt to close around him and encase him in the bubble. She had always wondered if he would be able to pass through it, the energy crackled and changed so quickly it wasn't really a 'solid' wall to pass through. Before she gave him much of a shot to try it however - that was if the bubble worked - the purple energy would arc down towards him from every angle of the bubble.

Of course, they both knew this energy would never hurt him. It had been born from their love so it would have to down to him to sell the visual of it hitting him like it would anyone else.

 

[Talus]

As he launched himself forward Talus prepared for an attack he knew would come.

He hadn't needed the bond to know that she would try to counter him, and he wasn't going to rely on something he did not fully understand. Talus braced himself, prepared him for whatever it was she would throw his way.

Then it came.

Flashes of lust, love, passion, and ecstasy. They washed over him and immediately brought him back to the night before. The fight was forgotten for just a brief second, his face contorting in a mixture of confusion and betrayal as he understood what was happening.

Then he hit a wall.

A quiet thunk rang out as Talus struck the edge of the bubble, his face colliding first with the field of energy that began to envelope him.

Limply Talus fell to the bottom of the bubble, a sharp curse echoing from his lips as he sent a wave of intent through the bond. Punishment.

Talus thought at her.

There's going to be so much... His thoughts trailed off as the odd purple energy arched towards him. He felt the slight trickle of her attempt through his own sendings, and trying not to roll his eyes Talus began to cry out in 'pain'.

It was not the best acting, but enough for some of the Guardsmen on the sidelines who began to cringe at what their Major must have been feeling.

 

[Zana]

Zana tried to keep her face straight as his emotions flowed through the bond and, for the first time, the real impressions of thought. It wasn't quite the same as hearing him speak but more than she understand what he wanted to tell her.

I'm looking forward to it.

She hoped he felt it in a similar way. Joy, humour and lust curled about him in a sensual fog whilst all the while she filled the Earth back in and came to rest on her own two feet on the ground. She kept up the pretence a little longer and one of the men went to step towards her. Grey was on his feet in a blur of fur, teeth bared and a snarl echoing in the back of his throat. She hadn't been lying about men not being his favourite. The guard wisely stopped and Zana ceased her attack, letting the bubble go so that he dropped to the floor unceremoniously.

"It looks like you need to go back to the training grounds yourself, Talus."

 

[Talus]

He felt the words ring in his mind. Not an exact thought, but almost like an impression. It made his heart thunder in his chest. Was the bond growing deeper?

Yet when she spoke Talus had to try hard not to roll his eyes, he had to close them instead.

For a few moments he simply laid on the ground, raising a hand up and rotating it quickly to show the guardsmen that he was perfectly okay. "And worry every night about being stabbed in the back?"

He didn't like saying it, but he had to. Just as she had to say her lines. He had to counter with his.

"No thanks. I'll stay with the Guard." Just as he spoke he could feel a hand grasp his. "They know how to pick up instead of putting you down."

It was one of the men that helped scoop him up off the ground, and as Talus caught his eye he could see pride beaming in his eyes. The words had meant something to him, to all of them. He could see it as he turned his head back towards Zana.

She would feel guilt flow through the bond, he hadn't like saying the words.

 

[Zana]

That. That one hurt.

Even the guilt down the bond didn't quite ease it even though he needed to say it, to push them apart even more here. Her eyes flicked briefly to the differences in expression between them. They loved him. He was family. She was everything they hated. The man who had stepped forward as if he would have been able to stop her with a sword still hadn't taken his hand off the hilt and he watched her like a hawk.

Grief. Pain. She tried to push them away. These were the people she was betraying her family for.

Zana didn't entirely have to act the icy expression on her face this time.

"Let's see if weakness begets weakness. Grey," her command was iron and the wolf stopped growling, looked up at her and then sat with his ears still pressed back, licking along his lips. "Why don't you run them through the moves you've taught them and we'll see if it works on me."

 

[Talus]

Pain. Hurt. Grief.

They flowed through the bond and Talus felt like he had just been slapped in his face. He couldn't help the anguish that appeared over his expression. It hit him like a spike to the chest. His words had cut her deep, the guilt he felt for it could not have made up for it in a thousand years.

I'm sorry. The words were sent through the bond, apology, guilt, all of them there...none of them enough.

Already he wanted to fall to his knees and beg her forgiveness, but he knew that he could not. Knew that he had keep up the mask. All he could do was draw his expression back, pull himself back and try to match any of what she showed.

"7th." His voice bellowed. "Form up."

Talus felt his heart slip.

Was this worth it? Was the Guard worth it? Was Vel Anir? He had hurt the woman he loved. It was not a barrier they couldn't overcome, but...was it worth it?

The moment he felt her pain...he knew it might not have been. I'm so sorry.

He hated what this place had made him. Hated it all.

 

[Zana]

It's okay.

Zana slid a hand through Grey's rough coat and he tried to lick at her hand. She couldn't meet his gaze though even as she said it and pushed the reassurance through the bond. They both had to play their roles and do their jobs at the end of the day. Rolling her shoulders a little she picked up her shield and retrieved her sword and helmet.

It's okay.

There was a bit more certainty to the sentiment now. Perhaps it had been the shock of it after their mental parry back and forth that had let his words slip beneath her armour. Zana would just have to make sure she held it tighter in the future.

The Second Level Luana Dreadlord slid her helmet on and shut her eyes briefly. This was who she was here. A Luana Dreadlord. Get it together, Zana. They might not have wanted her but they needed her. As the others got ready Zana drew her blade and waited.

 

[Talus]

No. Could she hear him. Could she feel it?

Her eyes closed, helmet slipping over her head as the 7th slowly began to line up against her. His hands curled into fists, shaking violently. The Guard might have mistaken it for rage, but Talus was biting back tears.

I shouldn't have to hurt you. His heart thundered in his chest. Talus didn't even know if she could understand, if she could hear. It didn't matter anymore. In his depths he sunk, the hatred he felt so unavoidable he simply couldn't hold it down. I shouldn't have to hurt you for them.

For any of them.

For his soldiers. For the Generals. For the Houses. For the soul of Vel Anir itself.

They got to love. The Soldiers around him. The Nobles. Everyone. Everyone was allowed to have their love. They could show their affections, they could hold hands, caress and touch, even kiss.

What did he have to do?

He had to pierce the heart of the only person who had ever cared for him.

It wasn't fair.

It just wasn't fair.

As the soldiers of the 7th prepared to face Zana, Talus turned away. He didn't care. Not in that moment.

 

[Zana]

His anger and pain hit her like a physical punch to the gut and her lips turned down at the corners. She wasn't sure if he was aware quite how open he was being through the bond but it was like the door was wide open in the middle of a hurricane. Zana tried to brace against it whilst also paying attention to the people in front of her. Grim faces stared back at her.

Talus.

Even as the weapons opposite her slid out of their sheaths she couldn't not help her mind be on him. Against the storm she pushed back a summers wind of love. She envisaged it wrap about him like a warm blanket, soothe him with its caress whilst she could not.

Then she had to truly put him to the side of her mind as the first wave of Guards came at her.

A few surprised her with spells of their own; simple college magic tricks that you could teach a babe. But they did work to distract every now and then. Not enough though. Zana cleaved through them. They were nowhere near as bad as the recruits she had faced yesterday but she wasn't playing nice by the time she had reached the second wave and she had lost her patience by the third. If the Guards had thought themselves thrown around by Talus then they were torn ragged by Zana. She opened the ground beneath their feet, she hit them with bolts of energy, trapped them in spheres and took away their air till they lay gasping.

Then there was the poor soul who had tried to step in and save Talus. He was several feet off the ground in the middle of a circle of groaning men and women clutching at his throat as she held him there.

"You know," her voice was calm as she spoke. "I'm not even the strongest they have and right now I could tear every limb in your body apart," as if to demonstrate her point he grew rigid, his arms and legs dragged in four separate directions. The man screamed. She could taste the fear as others watched.

 

[Talus]

He could feel her love, sense the way she warped herself around him and did her best to comfort him even as three hundred soldiers did their best to take her down.

It should have made him laugh.

It should have made him smile and even chuckle as he watched her unleash what she could truly do, but all he could feel was misery, anger, hatred. He didn't want as Zana tore them apart, he didn't watch as she batted them away like a lioness would toss around it's children for a bit of fun.

In that moment she could have killed them all and it would hardly have been a stain.

Resentment floated through him. He hated them for what they could have. For what he couldn't have. For what had been denied to him.

It made his blood boil, it made his entire soul hurt, and all he could think about was the woman who had tossed away her own pain...and tried to wrap him in her love. It made him ache, his fists scrunch, his jaw set.

All he wanted was to love her.

To have her like any man could his wife.

"ENOUGH!" His voice bellowed out over the training grounds in a thunderous roar. In an instant he stood besides Zana, his ghostly form snapping into existence besides her with his hand already on his shoulder. "Enough."

The word was a whisper this time. The Guardsmen seemed to glance at their floating friend for a moment, almost as if they didn't trust Talus' word.

"THIS!" He jerked his head to Zana. "THIS IS A DREADLORD!"

His fingers tightened on her shoulder, a roiling storm of emotions still cascaded from him and through the bond. "I am nothing compared to ones like her. I can kill you, slaughter all of you with a single sword."

He grimaced.

"She can wipe you from this earth with a wave of her hand." Talus slowly slid his gaze over them all. "That's why she's here."

Because she loved him. Because she wanted to do the right thing. "To make you understand. To show you what we're up against. To help you."

He would not let her be vilified.

"You will learn from her." His voice still reached out over the entire courtyard, over terrified guards and those in awe. "And you will be better for it."