Fable - Ask Terse Words

[Edric]

Edric chuckled. There was little doubt in his mind that Eleanor was probably right. They were supposed to be here to kill would be assassins, not cuddle up and f-enjoy their time together.

Not to mention the tidal wave of water that was now laying on the floor.

"I won't tell her if you don't." Edric said simply, his head still lulled back against the back of the tub. His eyes were closed, and he allowed his senses simply to extend into the ether. It was a trick that he had learned not too long ago, ironically in the midst of a fight.

As he lay there, Eleanor splayed over his chest, he began to see the life that flickered around him.

Edric felt more relaxed than he had been in months. Perhaps since the Revolution. He could sense the guards on the walls. He could feel Eleanor lit up like a beacon atop of him. In the distance he could even feel the pulse of that odd Dragon.

All of it stretched out before him, echoing.

Then he noticed it. Not a spark of life. Not that strange glow. It was something else. Like a long cord, stretching, reaching far beyond where it should.

His eyes snapped open.

 

[Eleanor]

"Not a word of it," she smiled wistfully. They were both silent for a long time. She could have fallen asleep right there even in the shallow cooling water. Her breath was slow as she relaxed so completely.

The relaxation ended when she felt Edric stiffen and his heart beat speed up again. She looked up at him with a questioning look.

He looked like he had just figured out the missing piece of a puzzle and now she was curious what that piece had been as well as which puzzle. They had a few to contend with right now.

"What is it, Edric?" She asked quietly.

 

[Edric]

Edric frowned for a moment, his gaze flickering down to Eleanor. "I think..."

He tilted his head, as if a part of his mind hadn't quite connected to it's own thoughts just yet.

"I think I know how to kill those creatures." Finding them was another matter. It would take hours, maybe even days to figure out how to trace that strand of life. Yet he was confident that once they stood in front of them he'd be able to reach out towards it.

His head slowly shook.

"When they come." He let himself fall back against the tub again, head lulling. "If they come."

For all they knew that Dragon would show up first. "Suppose we can stay here until they show up though."

Edric said, his hand falling over Eleanor's backside in a salacious touch.

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor hoped he was right because they needed a win. At least there was some kind of hope. They would come. She knew that. They were great for spying on the castle if nothing else.

"Can we get more water if we are going to stay here for who knows how long? Gods know we didn't really clean up like we were meant to," she winked at him.

His hand was on her butt while her own hand explored his very nice chest. She would be content to die like this if she hadn't been been trained and beaten and tortured from a young age to fight to the death.

"Edric, will you please heal that? We are going to die anyways so at least do it not in pain." Eleanor had been careful to not touch it and yet it had still opened up and bled. She felt a little bad like it was her fault. Did she feel...guilt...

 

[Edric]

Edric shook his head. "It doesn't work like that."

Though most of his peers knew some facts about his magic, none knew the details. Edric, like most of his peers, had taken measures to never explain his powers. In the old days it had been necessary. Every trick you could hide, every little detail you could tuck away was an advantage you might need to use.

Now? Now it was just habit.

"If I heal it." He explained. "I'll have to draw from my reserve. The more I take, the weaker I'll be."

Edric had never once spoken of a 'reserve' to any of the other students. Not even mentioned such a thing. "This way I can still fight."

And when they fought, he could take what he needed from their foes. He was sure of it now.

"Besides..." Edric continued. "The Proctors made sure I was used to pain."

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor let out a thoughtful hmmmm as he explained is reserve. It made sense and it also made sense why he had given her his jerky. He could take care of himself for a little bit at least.

She closed her eyes and let out a disgusted huff at the mention of pain. She had been tortured pretty heavily, but she had a feeling her torture was nothing compared to his. She could move objects...he could steal peoples life force.

A shiver went through her body as she thought about the time the Proctors had buried her alive. Move the dirt, Initiate Eleanor. Move the rocks, Initiate Eleanor. Move the lid to the box, Initiate Eleanor. She had no fond memories of those training sessions but they had made her who she was.

Zana had been the worst of her torturers though. Mentally and physically. In fact, the former Dreadlord still tormented her dreams and thoughts. She pulled herself away from the thoughts of the past. Dwelling did little good.

 

[Edric]

Edric wasn't sure how long they laid there. How long it was before one of them finally suggested they should leave the bloody bath and get dressed.

It was long enough that he couldn't even recall which one of them had moved first.

Eventually thought the two of them found themselves standing once more, at least Edric was. Eleanor sat on the counter, gently wrapping another bandage around his wound. He stared at her as she tightened the gauze, grimacing through the slight hitch of pain.

"If it comes to it." Edric began with a grimace, lips thinning ever so slightly at the agony of his wound.

"And you see an opportunity." His voice was stern, stalwart. "Leave me."

His eyes met hers. "I'll come back."

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor glared at Edric. They had not come this far for her to leave him. It didn't matter if he would come back or not. She was not going to leave him. She did not care about many of her fellow classmates but he had worked himself onto that list during this mission. He was on that list before activities.

"I will not leave you," she said as she made her final wrap of the bandage and tucked in the end. She could stay in a stare down with him for a while or they could just drop the subject.

Ella hopped off the counter and walked into the livingroom, "come on, let's go to bed. We may not be able to get food, but at least we can rest."

She entered the bedroom and immediately crawled into the large bed. If these were their last days, they were both going to sleep in the very comfortable bed. She just hoped her didn't snore. "Let's go, Edric. No arguments."

She placed her dagger on the table next to the bed....just in case.

 

[Edric]

Edric lingered, stayed.

He stared at his reflection in the mirror. Watched himself. Doubt flickered through him. Anger.

It seemed to curl within his spine, dragging through the whole of him, carrying across every sense and nerve that it could touch. Edric studied the reflection within the mirror, Eleanor's voice reaching out to him as she walked away.

A minute passed, then another.

Finally he dragged himself from where he stood. With listless, quiet, steps he moved through the apartment and towards the bed that Eleanor already sprawled in.

He found her there, laying comfortably in a place of rest. No word was uttered as he joined her, crawling slowly into place on top of her. His fingers slowly traveled over her form, slipping across her body, dragging over her skin, until they gently wrapped around her throat.

Edric's eyes met Eleanor's. His gaze matching hers. "You'll leave me."

He all but whispered the command, lips mere inches from hers.

"Even if you see me die." Edric stared at her. "You'll leave."

 

[Eleanor]

A shiver ran through Eleanor as Edric crawled on top her, her heartbeat quickened as his fingers ran across her body, and then she gasped slightly as those same fingers wrapped around her throat. This mission was comprised of two very stubborn, hardheaded people and they were now in a showdown.

She smirked at him and ran her own hands up the sides of his broad form. She whispered back to him, "I will leave you, Edric." She was lying, of course, but she was not going to argue the point with him though. He was stronger than her and he really could strangle her easily.

She knew in the back of her mind that she would leave him though. She had left countless partners who failed her and he would be no different. She just did not want to admit it out loud. She did not want to admit that she was a monster.

Ella bit her bottom lip as she pulled his body closer to hers and closed the small gap between their lips to kiss him with all the anger she felt at being forced into this decision.

 

[Edric]

It was a hollow victory if he'd ever had one.

As Eleanor's lips pressed against his Edric knew that he had just signed his own death warrant. He was glad for it, that much was true, for he understood better than most that death was just another beginning. Especially for him.

The thought of what might be done to him did reach through his mind. If the Proctors had tried to break him, mould him into a weapon...what might the enemy do with someone like him.

But he didn't care.

Whatever happened in this city, he was determined that they both survived.

As their lips finally parted Edric smiled down at Eleanor, his fingers still wrapped around her throat, his lips feeling as though they'd been bruised. "Good."

 

[Eleanor]

"You are an asshole, Edric," Eleanor said matter of factly. It was a fact she already knew but she was still salty that he had made her promise to leave him. They would both survive this. End of discussion.

"So are we sleeping or..." Her hands were still on his sides and back. Lazily making swirls and lines. She knew they need to sleep but fuck if she didn't want him to keep touching her. His hand on her throat bringing a sick and twisted comfort over her.

Looming death had strange effects on people. Would it be weird if they did survive? No, they'd be their normal hateful, asshole selves once they were back home.

These missions were very much don't ask, don't tell. Pertinent information was giving for the reports and that was it.

 

[Edric]

A shrug, or something close to it, rolled over Edric's shoulders as he lingered on top of her. His smile quirked at the edge of his lips. "I've been called worse."

No doubts about that.

His reputation in the Academy was firmly in place. Many of their peers would gladly have slipped a knife into his back a year ago, most probably still would. Even given the chance. Edric had never minded it, he thought it made him better. Having to always watch your back was a strength, a way to push his ambition.

"Fucking?" He finished her sentence for her. "I'm not sure."

Edric's lips pressed against hers. "It's another secret we'd have to keep from the Governor. I'm not sure I could handle all the lies."

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor smiled sheepishly at him, "Yes...lies and secrets...we can't have those floating around...very dangerous..."

Their lives were lies and secrets. Even after the Rebellion, very few people knew what these kids had gone through. The Academy kept its secrets locked up as tight as possible.

"We could sleep if that is really what you want to do," she smirked as her hand traveled down his chest and then lower.

Eleanor caught his lips again and this time the kiss was fierce with passion not anger. Dying didn't seem so terrible if this was the prelude.

 

[Edric]

"Maybe later." The Initiate said with a wide smirk.

By the time Eleanor and Edric did finally get to sleep, the sun had waned fully and night was upon them.

The two Initiates slept surprisingly soundly, at least Edric did. A part of his consciousness was always awake, that same piece that drew itself towards the sparks of life that surrounded them at all times. It was aware, and not.

One of the first tricks that the Proctor's had taught him.

It stopped Edric from pulling and tugging at those strings, from dragging the life away of those around him as he slept. A necessary thing.

Here in Vel Aketan it would be the thing that saved their lives, for as Eleanor and Edric slept, the assassins crept through the shadows. They held no spark, no core of life to sense, but that string lead them around like marionette's. It was that which Edric sense.

Which he felt reverberated as they were tugged through the keep and directed into the Governor's apartments.

Edric woke, his arm snaking gently around Eleanor. He placed his hand over her mouth, waking her with a gentle nudge. "Stay still, we have company."

They needed to wait just long enough...

 

[Eleanor]

The two Initiates had passed out shortly after they had finished with their fun. Eleanor did not dream as she rested. Perhaps her body was so tired that she had lost the ability to actually produce dreams.

She was so deep into her sleep that she tensed when Edric put his hand over her mouth. Her eyes shot open and she relaxed only slightly as he whispered to her. It was just Edric. An attack was coming but it was not here yet.

Eleanor slowly nodded her head so he would remove his hand. She tried to catalog the room in her mind while they waited in the dark. What could she threw, what could she use to crush them, what could she detach from the floors and the walls...

 

[Edric]

Edric closed his eyes, hand gently slipping away from Eleanor's mouth.

He tried to concentrate.

Following those string was hard enough as it was, plucking at them? It was like a blind man fumbling through the dark for some light. Fingers tightened, and his breath began to slow as he focused. Then he found them, the small little strings.

"Now." Edric whispered just as the creatures stepped into the bedroom. There was three of them this time, those strange odd shapes, that blackness wallowing around them. It cloaked them to perfection within the darkness of night, but for Edric it didn't matter.

His eyes snapped open, and his hand extended as though her were grasping at something.

The creatures seemed to lurch, as if about to jump, and then they froze. Stuck utterly in place as Edric held their strings.

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor stayed silent until Edric spoke again. She grabbed the dagger off the side table and crawled out from under the covers. The moonlight streamed through the window and that was the only reason she could see the dark figures at all. She was not sure how she was going to kill them when she couldn't really see them clearly.

She saw them lurch and freeze. Fascinating, she thought. Edric had them and she needed to kill them now. Since they were frozen, she took the extra second to light a nearby lantern. It was just enough light to see where their hearts were.

Eleanor stalked over to them and stabbed the first in the heart, it crumpled. Stabbed the second in the heart, it crumpled. Stabbed the third in the heart, it crumpled.

"Can you pull the life force from the magicians, Edric?"

 

[Edric]

The last black figure collapsed in a heap, falling onto the ground in a crumpled mess.

As soon as it fell the odd cord of life seemed to snap away, dragged into the ether and lashing towards the man who held it's other end. He could almost feel a reverberation within the Abyss, a strange wave that rushed over him. "No."

He shook his head.

"But..." A breath dragged into his lungs as he sat up in the bed. "I think whoever was controlling these ones..."

Edric gestured towards the dead creatures. "Is probably dead."

Not to say there couldn't be more, but perhaps their enemy would learn a lesson from this. At least he hoped that they would.

A long sigh dragged from his lips, hand running through his hair. "Fuck."

He breathed softly.

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor frowned. "Fuck, I should have let them live longer for you. I am sorry," she really was sorry. She hadn't even thought about him needed to replenish his reserves and heal himself.

Eleanor set the knife on the table again and crawled back into the bed with Edric. "At least the magicians are dead...hopefully. That means they will probably send the dragon in soon."

She laid down and pulled the blanket over her. "We are fucked, aren't we..."

She just stared at the ceiling and breathed slowly. Her heart was still hammering in her chest.

 

[Edric]

Edric was still sitting up as Eleanor pulled the blanket over herself.

It should have been more disturbing than it was. It should have bothered them more than it did. Three corpses, monsters or not, lay splayed out within the room. Yet here they were, laying in bed, considering going back to sleep.

For most it would have been seminal, a stain on their minds. For the two Initiates it was simply another day. "It's alright."

He said softly, his hand coming to a rest on her skin.

"I'll be alright." Edric said softly. "We'll be alright."

One step at a time. A problem as it came. That was all they could do.

Silence reigned over the room for far too long, and then he spoke again. "I've never killed a Dragon before."

He commented quietly.

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor didn't fall asleep in the silence. She just laid there with her own thoughts and memories. Both were terrible.

She snort laughed when Edric finally spoke again. "I have never killed a dragon either, but I would imagine it is a good time...or a terrible time...or both. Fun for a little bit and then it rips you apart."

Gods, she was morbid. She wondered if anything that others found revolting and horrifying would ever phase her again. Probably not. They were fucked up and broken. They would never be whole or alright or normal even after the Rebellion.

 

[Edric]

Slowly he glanced down at the wound on his chest, then down his arm to his palm. Fingers slowly flexed, drawing into a fist.

"Yeah." He agreed quietly. "But it's a bit different for me."

Edric said softly. "Isn't it?"

His magic was powerful, strong. Life could be torn, ripped away from most everything. Some could resist it, even stop him outright. It was difficult, a contest of wills. But it was a battle that Edric almost always won in the end. That was the trick about it. There was always something to pull from, something to sustain him.

Even in the midst of the hardest fight. For a brief moment he considered.

"I guess it will be fun to find out." He mused.

 

[Eleanor]

"It's always fun to test your limits. I have been working on sending grown men flying," Eleanor smiled wickedly. It had been fun and challenging. There was a difference between objects and actual people. She could probably throw someone the Governors size but Edric or Sable would still be out of her range. Someday.

She turned onto her side facing Edric with her right arm coming to prop her head up some. She studied her partner in silence. Edric was strong and scary but he was worried. Despite what they both said, they were both worried.

"I am not tired anymore. More on edge that we will get attacked again. And hungry," the last part was added as an afterthought.

Eleanor wasn't tired but she also didn't feel like moving from the bed.

 

[Edric]

A hand slowly ran through his hair. "Guess we'll find out."

Edric said quietly.

There wasn't much else to say on the subject. There was only so long that the enemy would wait, so much time that could be allowed to pass before they made their move. Two weeks was what the Governor had been told. Fourteen days, three of which had already passed.

He glanced down at Eleanor.

"I guess we could try to find some food." Edric said softly. "Or take a peek over the wall."

Though no one had come running to fetch them yet, and the ground wasn't shaking. That had to be a positive.