Private Tales Read between the lines

[Talus]

Talus scoffed. "Dragons?"

He rolled his eyes like a teenager being told to do something they were already doing. His hands clasping her a little bit tighter.

"No one cares about Dragons anymore, Zana." Nevermind that the story she had just read had been about a Dragon. "It's Gryphon's people like we care about."

Thumbs played over her skin. "That's why we're moving to Oban. I'm going to be a Gryphon Rider."

 

[Zana]

Zana giggled and shifted closer to him as his hands tightened.

"Wow it really is true what they say, fame only lasts for five seconds," her arms wound about his neck and she pressed herself up against his torso. A soft hum started in the back of her throat. "But I could get on board with being married to a Gryphon Knight. Those uniforms are..." her teeth sunk into her bottom lip and her eyes roamed down his body slowly before making an appreciative noise. She leaned down and tilted his chin up so that she could take his lips in a slow and demanding kiss. The night air was surprisingly cool against her skin though the goosebumps on her skin were more to do with the slow strokes of his thumb up and down her thighs.

"What time do you have to get up in the morning?" her lips glided across his cheek and down to his jaw.

 

[Talus]

His lips parted from hers, the breath that she had stolen from him slowly drawing back into his lungs as she kissed his cheek. "Anirian Guard Armor doesn't do it for you?'

Talus had always thought that the Guard made quite good armor, though he supposed that it was not much compared to what could be found in Karak or the Falwood. A part of him had always wondered what it would have been like to wear Dragon Forged Plate.

He mused on the thought a moment.

"You've never seen me in full-plate." Talus' hand floated up her back. "You'll practically swoon."

A sigh escaped him as his hand brushed up her thigh. "Before dawn. Have to meet Blackforge outside the city before he leaves for the East."

 

[Zana]

Zana chuckled against his neck.

"Will I now?" she stopped what she was doing to sit back up and look at him, an amused light in her eyes. "I think I need to see this now before I see it on the field or I really will struggle to keep our secret," it was hard enough as it was. Her expression changed a little when he spoke about what he was doing the next morning. A small crease formed between her brows and her thumb brushed over his lips.

"He's not going to ask you to go with him is he?" of course he would go on missions without her but if it required Dreadlord assistance Zana would offer her help too even if it was her time off.

 

[Talus]

"I'm sure that could be arranged..." Talus said with a smile. "But we'll have to get you a costume too."

A smirk touched his lips.

He shook his head a second later in answer to her. "Not that type of meeting."

Blackforge liked him...at least he was pretty sure that he liked him. The man was hard to read and harder to understand. There was a way about him that made Talus think that he preferred to handle things on his own without much help from anyone.

"He wants to talk to me about something." Talus shrugged. "I'll tell you all about it when I get back."

There was no secrets from her. Except two.

 

[Zana]

Zana couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped her lips and she nodded.

"I like Blackforge... He..." her lips twitched in amusement. "I think he would be a very interesting man to work with," perhaps in the future they would find their paths crossed in that kind of way. She wasn't sure in truth if he would ever need a Dreadlord's help considering the sheer size of the man but if he asked she would go. It was only Yarl who made her skin crawl enough she would consider disobeying orders.

"What did you think about the whole meeting yesterday?" she had been too tired to ask him when she had gotten to the cabin. There were more pressing things she had wanted to do and had needed to do. "They all seem a little freaked out about the visions," her lips listed down into a frown.

 

[Talus]

"He...has a way about him." Talus said with a smile. The first time he had ever met Blackforge the man had insisted he drink an entire keg of ale with him. The entire experience had been somewhat...jarring.

Sometimes he still wasn't sure if he'd entirely recovered from that night, much less the hangover the next day.

When she asked her next question Talus frowned for a brief moment. A hand raised up and ran through his hair, pushing some of the blonde locks out of the way. "I think they were scared."

He said quietly.

"They're smart, they think they know what's gonna happen but...seeing the future?" Talus shook his head. "I don't think they really understand what to do with that. Part of me thinks they don't realize just what they are up against."

Talus was speaking of the Archons now. "I'm confident I can kill most Dreadlords in single combat. I know your magic is stronger, I know you won our sparring match, I know you could wipe out armies, but..."

He didn't want to seem boastful, but he also didn't want to lie to her.

"I think if push came to shove I could even kill Crane." The famed Archon who served Luana. The words were not meant as a dig at her House, but a statement of his own growing strength and the faith he held in his skill. "But at the core of me I know I can't take more than one at a time."

He chewed his lip. "They want this. They want whats best for Vel Anir, but I think they're naive."

Even Ilyana.

"You were right." He told her softly. "We need more of...us."

More Dreadlords who would join them, more mages who would stand for freedom.

 

[Zana]

Zana nodded very slowly.

"It gets more dangerous when there are more of us... do you know anyone who you believe is already more sympathetic to this kind of... future?"

She thought of Eva from Pirian but then of her love of her House. She didn't think that many Dreadlords even if they did want change would want the type of change the Guard were proposing. It made Zana uncomfortable too. The Houses were a Dreadlord's whole life as soon as they left the academy.

"I think my Mentor would... join," the empath had never been good at being conditioned. She felt too much. Cared too much. She had tried to keep Zana from the edge of insanity and from becoming truly dead to all emotion. "She used to buy me ice cream, after the vision sessions. Take me for long rides. I know it tortured her as much as me when I was in that room," Sloan often referred to her as her own daughter too.

 

[Talus]

"Sierra." Talus already knew that at least one goal aligned for Sierra as it did for him.

She and Hal had a child, that much his friend had already told him. Hal could not be trusted, not after joining Elise Virak at her side, but Sierra? If there was anyone in the world who could be sympathetic to their cause then it was Sierra.

There was a pause for a moment as he thought, and then he nodded his head as though he were confirming his own thoughts. "A few others...but all third or fourth levels."

That was mostly because they were really the only ones that still talked to Talus. Most of them were considered the 'rabble' of Dreadlords. Their magics were either weak or ill-suited for the primary purposes of a Dreadlord; war.

After she said her piece Talus smiled.

"We have to be sure about anyone we approach." His hand gently came up to push some of the hair our of Zana's face. "But if you think she would, then I trust you."

The mention of the room made his stomach turn, though he did not speak of it. He'd promised himself he wouldn't.

 

[Zana]

"I know."

Zana looked up at him as he brushed the hair from her face and pushed it behind her ears. When his hands lingered on her cheeks she closed her eyes and leaned into them for a brief moment. Her statement had been not only to his statement about being careful about approaching people but about the small twisted sick feeling she had felt down the bond.

Her hands came up to cover his.

"There are a few more... open minded Dreadlords in Luana. Mainly youngsters who have just left the Academy. I'm going to suggest to Ashur some of them come to training. I think the Guard would convince them by being how they are," by being human. "The ones I've had visions of in the new order," her voice sounded more sure.

 

[Talus]

He nodded his head. "That seems like a good idea. Perhaps I'll approach some Academy students...offer them a place in the Guard. A new path."

That was their ace in the hole he supposed. If Zana had seen them in her visions it meant that they would at least be open to the idea. Peering into the future had been a nightmare for Zana, a tidal force pulling her left and right at an almost constant pace. Yet it was beyond helpful in some situations. He wondered if would somehow be able to do the same.

Then, almost as if on cue his eyes seemed to blur and there was a sudden shift to the air itself.

Everything around them seemed to suddenly warp and then snap. The forest around then disappeared I to a massive open clearing. A mountain appeared in the distance, a herd of wild horses slowly running across the field. His eyes panned over the scene, catching sight of Zana, an older Zana, but still her, standing over the marker of a grave. Her head was bent, a flower tucked into her hands. Behind her came a girl in armor, her hand stretched out as though she were holding someone else that Talus could not see.

A frown touched his face, and then suddenly the vision burnt away and Talus took in a deep, shocking, breath.

His chest rose and fell in quick succession.

 

[Zana]

This time Zana caught it. She recognised the tension in his body and then sudden glazed look in his eyes.

"Talus..." her hands came up to gently stroke across his cheeks. She knew nothing would be able to soothe his vision but she could at least provide his body some comfort whilst his mind was in the future. Worry was etched across her face and it darkened her eyes. His heart began to race and his breathing became more ragged. When he finally broke out of the vision and he took great shuddering breaths it decided it.

"I'm taking them off," her jaw set and she tugged the key free of her shirt and began to undo the manacles.

 

[Talus]

Talus caught Zana's hands just as she slipped the key into the first manacle. "Don't."

There was a soft plea in his voice as he closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. His fingers were soft around her hand, not really clutching, not hurting her in the slightest, but hard enough to stop her from turning the key.

"I saw her again." There was a smile on his face. "Older this time."

Their daughter. She'd been in her late twenties, perhaps early thirties. He had been dead, that much was clear, but Talus wasn't going to tell Zana that. Her brow furrowed for a second, remembering how their daughter had walked as though half holding someone. Who was the person he hadn't seen? "It's alright."

Talus told her softly, reaching up and softly caressing her face.

"One more night of peace." He told her softly. "Okay?"

He had been thinking about the visions when it had been triggered, and the time before Talus had been considering their future together when he'd been granted a sight into his future.

Was he triggering them?

Talus brushed his finger over her cheek, smiling. "I think she looks more like me."

He drew her attention away.

 

[Zana]

"They're bothering you," Zana said bluntly, a little of that Dreadlord coldness entering her eyes. Her will was iron when it came to him being distressed or hurt. Her jaw clenched and unclenched as she wrestled with the emotion that was almost a creature on its own. His hands on her face helped and combined with his words it slowly drew her back from the edge and her need to protect him at all costs, even if that meant her own happiness and comfort. She was too caught up in dealing with that to notice he was hiding a detail from her.

"Yeah?" the ice finally receded from her eyes and she let the key drop back around her neck. A soft breath. "I'm glad," a faint smile. She pressed a kiss to the inside of his wrist. "What was she doing?"

 

[Talus]

He smiled. "She was standing with you in the field outside our home."

The detail was left out still, but the smile on his face and the warmth she felt through the bond would tell her that the vision had been a good one. Talus could handle his own death, he had accepted it long before he'd even become a Dreadlord.

The idea of dying with Zana at his side? That made it even more okay.

His hand slowly unfurled from around her wrist, allowing his palm to drop between them as he took a deep breath and pressed a small kiss to her nose.

"It must have been near Karak." He told her. "There was a field, wild horses. She..."

A frown flickered over his face. "There was someone else standing next to her, but I couldn't make them out."

Something he did not understand. Everything else had been so clear.

 

[Zana]

The last of the tension left her when she felt nothing but happiness and warmth through the bond. Her smile was brighter this time as he described it and she tried to picture it in her mind. A whole herd of wild horses would definitely be a beautiful thing to wake up to every morning. A soft sigh escaped her and she closed her eyes briefly; it would make sense the few visions she actually wanted to see were kept from her.

"Mmm.. sometimes when I cannot see someone it's because they're not linked to me in some way," she opened her eyes to look up at him and smile reassuringly. Her fingers brushed over his face to rub away the frown; sometimes he was so serious. "Or it might mean their future isn't fixed as being in that scene but the scene is more set in stone."

 

[Talus]

Talus couldn't help but smile still. What she said made sense to him he supposed, though he felt that neither really were true in this instance. He had no reason for it, and she would know better, but...something just told him.

"I like seeing her." He told her softly.

So far he'd only shared some of the more violent visions with her, not had any of his own. In the back of his mind an idea formed, though he decided he would let it wait until Zana was fast asleep.

Thumbs played over her skin as he took a deep breath. After a second he leaned over and kissed her nose. The hand between them came up and softly rested on Zana's belly.

"Sometimes." He was still smiling. "Sometimes I have a hard time believing you're real."

It seemed a silly thing to say, but it was true. She was a blessing, nothing less.

 

[Zana]

"I'm glad," he wouldn't have been able to stop her taking the manacles off if the visions were anything but pleasant and happy things. He would have to hide the key and something sat uneasy in her at the idea he would use these manacles against her in such away. Surely he would never betray her trust in such a way? When his hand rested on her belly a faint smiled traced her lips. She had forgone the tea as he had requested and there was a slight giddy feeling to her that perhaps she was already carrying his child. Starting their family.

Her hands rested over the top of his.

"Sadly I am not exotic enough to be something like a Fae," she chuckled and pressed a kiss to his lips. "It's getting late, you should sleep if you have to be up early to meet Blackforge."

 

[Talus]

"You're plenty exotic for me." Talus told her with a smile, pressing another kiss to her lips and taking in a deep breath as she told him he would need to sleep soon.

He knew she was right of course. The sun had already set and there was no doubt tomorrow would be at least somewhat strenuous. Even a simple conversation with Blackforge was like moving a mountain. The man had a tendency to seek out his way and his way alone.

Not that his way was often bad. He was just a stubborn old bastard.

After a few moments of considering Talus nodded his head "Alright."

He could not have denied her if he'd wanted to.

"Are you coming with?" Talus asked as he stroked his thumb softly over her belly

 

[Zana]

"Mhm," Zana didn't pull back even after he broke their kiss and instead stole another kiss after she answered. "I have nearly twenty years of sleep to catch up on," a soft laugh as she brushed her nose across his then eased herself off of his lap. She was only half joking about the sleep. If Grey hadn't woken her up she wasn't entirely sure she would have woken up on her own.

And it had definitely been worth waking up.

Holding out her hands she tugged him to his feet and then led him back inside, whistling for Grey who had been busy stalking through the shadows. She lingered for a moment but then disappeared inside; it seemed the wolf wanted to spend the night under the moon. Zana couldn't say she blamed him.

She fussed with putting away their plates and the book before clambering into bed still dressed in his shirt.

"It's been a lovely day, thank you," for protecting her and letting her have the day of normality. She kissed his nose then settled down against him.

 

[Talus]

Talus waited for Zana to fall asleep.

Without the visions, without the stress of knowing they were going to wake her up a dozen times Zana actually fell asleep rather fast. It had been the same the night before, I though he'd half suspected that was due to other reasons too. A smile crept on his face as she lay snuggled up against him, his arms tightening ever so slightly.

For a time he just lay there, and then suddenly the odd white glow crept I to his eyes.

The world around him changed, slipped into the Ether, falling into a wash of blue as he slowly peered around. His gaze slipped low, drawing to the heart of Zana's combined souls. He watched there for a time, searching, looking. He saw the odd patchwork of her bargain, could see the battle inside of her was over, and observed the bond between them.

He frowned a moment, looking down at the bond more closely than he had before.

Talus could see their connection, the tie that held them together. For a second he could swear he even saw the emotions that passed between them, the glimpses of one another they now held.

Lips thinned, and then his eyes turned back to her soul. For a few moments he just searched, watching, observing, looking at every inch of who Zana was. An hour must have passed, perhaps longer, but then he saw it. Not obvious, not at all, but tucked away deep within her depths he found it. A glowing orb at the very center of her soul, from it extending thousands upon thousands of different strings. There seemed to be an endless amount of them, all reaching, tangling, grasping towards Zana. Each time they went too far now something blocked them, stopped them from coming through. All save for one small section.

That part of the strings seemed to flitter and flutter, reaching towards...towards the bond.

Talus frowned, his fingers in her belly stretched for just one moment. His hand shifted for just one second, a ghostly appendage growing. It reached silently, plucking one of the strings and drawing it through the bond. The instant it touched the tie Talus' world snapped from blue, his vision spinning.

He stood atop a mountain, Zana at his side, a great Dragon sprawled in a valley below him.

The creature was peering up at them, cold black eyes staring hard at the two Dreadlords. It's voice seemed to rumble and shake, though Talus did not hear what it said. Zana opened her mouth, lips moving as she called back to the great beast. There was a moment of hesitation, a second of nothing, and then the great dragon took flight. It roared into the air, wings breathing powerful gusts of wind.

it rose and rose until it hovered just below the cliffs edge.

Zana smirked, a silent quip falling from her lips before she took a running start and jumped upon the Dragon's back. Talus shook his head, felt himself shake his head, and then followed suit. He could feel the dragons scales as he landed upon it, feel Zana's mirth flutter through the bond as the great Dragon shifted and suddenly banked to fly off through the mountains.

His vision shifted again, and a breath filled his lungs. Talus found himself back in the bed with his love, fingers sprawled over her belly, a smile on his face.

 

[Zana]

It was easy to fall asleep in Talus' arms let alone when she knew no darkness waited for her within her dreams.

The only sign Zana gave that she felt anything of what Talus was doing was a soft sleepy murmur and shifting slightly as if she had been tickled. There was no discomfort on her face just a ghostly smile as if she were sharing the vision but as a dream. It was the only other noise she made for the rest of the night aside from her quiet, relaxed breaths as she slept.

Even when Talus woke Zana was still sound asleep. She had shifted in the night and lay on her stomach, her arms wrapped around her pillow as she dreamed.

 

[Talus]

Talus played his fingers slowly over Zana's spine as he lay next to her.

He had not plucked at another string after the first, deciding that doing so without Zana's consent was too uncomfortable. He had done so out of curiosity, but now that it was a choice it felt almost...dirty doing it without her permission. It was her magic, and he would not use it unless she gave him the get go.

Eventually the time came for Talus to go. Slowly he leaned over and kisses Zana's cheek, fingers brushing gently through her hair as he spoke. "Zana."

He said softly as he kissed her again.

"I have to go." Talus knew that she would not want to keep the Manacles on while he was gone, too dangerous. Another small kiss to rouse her from her sleep.

 

[Zana]

A soft noise of protest came from the pillow and then a sigh at the kiss. A smile was the first sign of movement followed by a slight flickering of her eyelashes as she tried to raise heavy eyelids. She tugged at his hands and pulled him down on top of her then held him there.

"Mmmno'allowed," came the sleepy mumble as she wrapped herself up in his arms, sliding them under her breasts and across her stomach. Her eyes drifted shut again and it seemed as though she would fall asleep again even with him sprawled on her back. Blackforge could come and pry you from my arms, she thought absentmindedly through the bond.

 

[Talus]

Zana would feel the squeeze of his palm at her chest as she buried his grasp beneath her body. Talus' fingers flittered for a moment, staying in place as he offered her soft kisses.

"That so?" He asked with a smile as her thoughts flickered through the bond.

It would have been a lie to say he didn't want to stay. His heart ached to just remain there and be with her for as long as he could, yet duty called. So gently she would feel a tug on her body, his arms wrapping tight as he pulled her gently on top of himself.

"Knowing him he just might." Talus said as he peppered kisses on her. "And I'd rather keep the sight of you like this to myself."

He was greedy that way.