Dreadlords The Anniversary of Freedom

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

She had reacted about as one would expect with the start and the stop didn't exactly surprise him either, he kind of braced for her sudden impact with his side, of course it wasn't anything extreme. He could tell that the current excursion was exactly what she needed as the entire time, there was no embarrassment, anger, anything. She was free, even if it was for just the moment.

When they finally found themselves on the rooftop, of course Kristen was there trying to be classy. Not a soul could see them (hopefully), yet there she was worried about anyone catching a glimpse of thigh. As someone who had seen and felt them, he wasn't exactly sure what the problem was, they were fine.

To maybe help her out, Drast looked about to see if he could find anything to sit on and his prayers would be answered one rooftop over. A clothesline with some sheets on it. He shot a look over his shoulder to Kristen "I'll be right back, Kris." He would then darted for the edge before hurling himself across the narrow expanse and onto the neighboring roof.

Landing kind of awkwardly, he would take a few seconds to level his footing out, before continuing onto the clothesline. One hand grazing along the various sheets, testing dryness, he would come to stop at the most vibrant sheet he could find. It was perfect for such an occasion. Reaching into his pouch he remove a gold coin and leave it on the pin where the sheet once was in payment. Draping the soft fabric over his shoulders, he would once more throw himself over narrow alley and land in a slide.

"Alrighty.. special delivery." He said to her with a grin. Drast gave the sheet two shakes before setting it nicely atop the roof and with one hand would reach for Kristens, to pull her down on the blanket beside him. "M'lady, your seat has been prepared." Once she was seated, he would try to help her smooth out the skirts, before he removed his pack and set it down on the other side of him.

Out below them was the rest of the festival, and despite it being lively, they could see it all without being surrounded by the noise. "How's this?"

Kristen Pirian

 

[AmeliaPirian]

Amelia wished for a moment that she could have just touched Lynus’ cheek to let him know the grimace was not necessary. She felt him bring her closer and she did not try to fight him. Not now. They needed to be a united front in the face of this.

Her eyes shifted back to Erich as he began to explain as demanded by the Prince. It was a long tale, but there were a few things he said that kept sticking in her brain.

"I was a coward."

"I ran. Never intending to look back."

"I...I was a coward."

"But I was weak."

As Erich finished talking, Amelia felt sick to her stomach. It was not because what he had been through. It had been because those four statements made her think of what she had been planning to do and what was still lingering in her mind.

She was going to run from her responsibilities and her husband because she was weak. She was a coward. This meeting with Erich just solidified her decision to stay. She was not weak. She was not a coward.

Fuck, the Viraks were on a roll today!

Kasim Areth Lynus Anireth

 

[Zael Castomir]

THE GAMES GROUP​

"FUCK!" Zael exclaimed as soon as his scooper broke. Rigged. Fuckin rigged game. He liked that other one better, even if the mage running it took pity on Chasmine's weird little friend there and decided to give the kid a perfect score.

Oh well. Smooth over that wound nice and slick like. He almost slipped right into a Tarrow-like string of curses but, hey, he didn't want to lose the real game that easy.

"Ha! What need have I for some silly little fae creature? I've already claimed for myself a mighty dragon!"

Everleigh Ebersol Chasmine Azzerin

 

[Everleigh Ebersol]

Everleigh was content to watch the others play the game, or to look at The fish she had successfully captured. She glanced over at Chasmine as she called the fish… a fae? Everleigh looked down at her own fish, giving it a hard stare. It couldn’t possibly be fae. Her thoughts concerning Chasmine’s mental health and how on earth she was even still alive, especially after the Winter Solstice fiasco dissipated the moment her hand felt warmth.

The poison eater’s body went entirely rigid, and she looked down to see… a sight she had only ever imagined. The boy, a careless creature, took hold of her hand. It seemed natural for him to do so and she had to look over at Chasmine almost as if she were asking for permission for something like this to be okay. It would be fine, of course, right? Everleigh glanced down, a small smile pure of genuine content was hidden by the action.

Most children avoided her. Assumed her to be a elf if not because of her strange hair and eye color. Or if they did acknowledge Everleigh, like little Miklan from Arnim, then there was always someone more eye-catching to distract their attention away. So Everleigh stayed incredibly still, as if moving would cause Azzy to let go. She could enjoy this moment, couldn’t she?

Everleigh was immensely aware of how empty and… lacking her hand felt with Azzy went to try his luck. She blinked, watching him— sheesh, how on earth could he get a perfect score in the previous game but was too dense to realize that to catch the fish you had to anticipate their movement, angle the scooper just right so that the water wouldn’t disintegrate the paper once it had weight on it and—

“Here.” Everleigh held out her fish towards the young boy. A part of her felt like she shouldn’t, after all, it would be good for him to learn early on that life wasn’t fair no matter how hard you tried, but he had just held her hand and perhaps she selfishly wanted to make him like her. “So that way yew and Chasmine can release the fae together in that stream.” She said slowly. She had her poker face on but it was clear by the tone of her voice she was still in disbelief of a fact like that.

Finally, her attention was brought to Zael’s large curse, waiting for him to mess up. But he didn’t. Darn. No matter. The day was still young. She looked around searching for their next activity when a delicious smell greeted her.

Fried dough. With SUGAR.

But there were other things as well. Various meats on a stick, sweetened cakes, candied apples, flavored sweet-ice, roasted peanuts… her mouth was beginning to water.

Everleigh poked at Zael’s bicep, and then gestured over to the area with a variety of food stalls.

“If yew and I get somethin’ different then we could share. Two birds with one stone.” Everleigh suggested, before looking over at Chasmine and Azzy. And if everything went according to plan then she could share her food with them too.

Chasmine Azzerin Zael Castomir

 

[Kristen Pirian]

"This is..." Kristen tried for another smile, and this time it stuck. "...nice."

She had taken her seat upon the blanket, the two of them situated now on a flat portion of a tenement roof which overlooked a sizeable portion of Anir Square. The vantage truly was incredible, the vast sea of Anirians below constantly on the move, going here or there or engaged in various festival games or dancing in celebration. Flags and banners waved from their staffs and from their lines. Somewhere distant there came a great POP and an explosion of red confetti went sailing high up into the air and to the delighted shrieks and laughter of those below came showering back down upon them.

She enjoyed the little moment. The commonfolk below weren't all that concerned with turning their gazes skyward and even if they did there were, as it turned out, plenty of others who had taken to top level balconies and likewise to rooftops to watch over the festival, so Drastus and Kristen's presence atop one was far from extraordinary for this day. It was as quiet and separated a moment as they were going to get.

But now came the time to talk about what weighed upon her. Painful, yet necessary, this release.

"Drastus...I must insist that what happened with Dreadlord Zana was not your fault," she said. "The fault lies with me. 'Twas my heart's own desire to see her in person, for I regard her as a true hero, a figure Anirian history will prove to be monolithic. And yet mine very own nerves could not bear it."

The slip into the highly formal use of the word "mine" went unnoticed by her. Speaking in an even higher register than usual was something she on the rare occasion did when she was stressed and tried not to appear so.

She shook her head.

"It should not have happened. What wherewithal have I for becoming a Dreadlord if I cannot even face a benign, if intimidating, encounter with at least a modicum of composure?"

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

That smile made every second worth it. Every single one, at least to him. When that pop came, he wasn't expecting it and the usually unnerved initiate jumped, before laughing at the realization they weren't in any harm.

Proper Kristen was one of his favorite Kristens and he could sit there and be absolutely confused by what she was saying and be more than content. He would reassure her initial remark by giving her hand a squeeze. "Look, I'll split the blame with you. Yeah, we need to coach ya up to these encounters but... I did get a little gung-ho, no?" He asked with a sidelong glance. "You expressed an interest in something.. and I wanted more than anything to make it happen.. to open a door that you should always have access to. Make a dream a reality.. I should have done so in a manner that wouldn't build up that anxiety in you. I know better."

He adjusted his position, one hand reaching up to scratch the scarred flesh along the left side of his face. Then came the shrug. "Ask me, the Dreadlords don't deserve you. If anyone can bring change without such a title, its you." He mused. "...but.. My offer stands. I uhh, I will help you reach that standard and one day, you'll stand higher than any other."

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

For the near entirety of her first year at the Academy, Kristen had been alone. Firmly isolated in an alien world in which she was struggling mightily to adapt. Delaney had changed that in a most surprising manner, being the first to step forward (at perhaps no insignificant peril to herself, mind you, reputational or otherwise) and to offer the hand of friendship and the embrace of humanity for which Kristen so longed. Now into her second year, things had gone marginally better, and there were others she could at least say were friendly, if not exactly friends.

But as of late, Drastus had been the refuge in the tumultuous seas of the Academy. The rock upon whom she could rely. Everleigh's Punishment Game had been a horribly trying ordeal. Horribly trying, and intensely embarrassing (if her parents but knew of it they might well have a mind to outright disown her!).

Yet it was there in the Game that she had met Drastus Tal'deneshaar, and in that regard she was happy for all that had transpired.

Now she favored him with soft contentment, two sides of her heart twinned with dismay on the one side and the warm satisfaction of togetherness on the other. His hand she squeezed back.

"I must. I must attain that title. It is not only for myself, but for my family, for they have placed in me their trust." Back into my's instead of mine's. "I must not fail them. Nor..."

The precipice. Oh Aionus, Holy Sentinel, she felt herself on the edge of a precipice, of telling someone something that she had not told to anyone. Surely there were those who might know, Liliana or Ralene or Alistair perhaps, those with noble backgrounds and thus a possible awareness of events outside of the Academy.

"Nor the other girls like me," she said at last, crossing over that precipice. She breathed heavily, sighed harshly, summoning up the courage to call forth into the spoken word those fears of years past, that life-altering trauma.

"When I was nine years of age, I was kidnapped and held for ransom by a host of Cerak pirates. A great Battle was launched to rescue me. I thought...that I would die."

Her eyes glistened as she continued.

"I have the strength to protect the other girls like me spread throughout Vel Anir, the young and the vulnerable. I do. There are men who mean naught but evil and creatures most vile upon Arethil, and they would see what has been done to me—or worse—done to them. I can fight against these villains and these fiends, I can, for I have this rare and precious gift of magic. I can...if only I could just..."

Her bottom lip intruded tremendously upon her upper, pushing her mouth into a thin frown as her brows curled in a tortured way.

And then she fought against the despondence, the sorrow, the self-pity. She took in a big breath and blinked rapidly and with great force of will shoved aside that frown and made way for the return of a smile.

"Thank you, Drastus...for believing in me."

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Like Kristen, Drast had spent much of his time in the Academy without friends. The old regime didn't approve, but most of those he had formed bonds with, were now dead. Kalix was a frenemy, Zael was a solid rock, he had a secret friendship, Ryan had gone missing, Chas was his dealer... but Kristen, she was the closest to a constant he had. She even filled voids he didn't know were there.

The humanity that the Academy had beat out of him, was slowly returning. What Proctors claimed was weakness, he found to be what made him stronger. It was a weird discovery.

Her voice demanded his attention and as she spoke, he clung to every word, every thought, though he may have missed intent. He understood the need, but he didn't understand the depth to that need. Nor would he ever. Other girls like her? There were none like her.

But her reasoning expanded into a harsh tale, one of a young girl taken from those she loved, something he had heard about but never quite knew was tied to her. "Oh Kris.." he mused softly, his heart breaking with each word.

She began to frown and in that moment, Drast would pull her to him and embrace her in a tight hug. Eyes closed, one hand would cup her cheek before guiding her lips to his in a surprisingly gentle kiss. For him, everything around them just melted away, there was no Aniria, no Arethil, no stars or even the moon. Everything fell away and was replaced by the feel of her skin, the warmth of her breath, of the reminder to himself to breathe.

It was almost too much and yet not enough at the same time, and so when he broke the kiss he would sigh. "Kris.. I will never stop believing in you.. You.. don't know it, but you helped me more than I could ever help you.." his words were quiet so only she could hear as if he had just told his greatest secret in the world.

That was when his face showed his own realization, he had done everything out of order. He wanted to confess more than kiss, but he had now played himself. So now his hazels watched her for a reaction, a rebuke. And within himself he held a silent fear. That he had misread their time in the Jades.

 

[Kristen Pirian]

The world suddenly ablaze. 'Twas as if a lightning strike had come down and upon its striking focused everything Kristen knew and saw and felt into the singular point. And that very point was the contact between Drastus's lips and her own.

The surprise was momentary (comical, mayhap, in that precise moment, the round fullness of her eyes and the way her arching brows jumped sky high). With haste it faded, dissolving as Kristen closed those once wide eyes and pressed back into Drastus's gentle kiss with a certain fierceness, a discernible hunger. A longing wish and a great curiosity had been fulfilled most wonderfully. Not a single thought need grace her mind, only the tremble of eager acceptance in her skin and the giddy dance of her heart.

They parted both at long last and far too soon. Two ragged breaths, savory in character for her air-starved lungs, and then she listened to what he had to say after.

Kris.. I will never stop believing in you.. You.. don't know it, but you helped me more than I could ever help you.

"I..."

She had meant to ask him how it was so, and she was keen to hear it. But her impulses had other plans and happily she gave into them, allowing for a brief stay of his explanation to indulge. She hardly even had a mind for what wandering eyes might be watching.

Kristen wrapped her arms around Drastus's neck and leaned in for another kiss, gladly pressing herself into him where she may. A tiny rumble of satisfaction in her throat, warm and moist breath escaping in a husky rush through her nose and gracing Drastus's skin, and here with their lips together could all the woes of the world depart.

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

During the kiss, Drast thought he felt a fierceness from Kristen that he would never have imagined, but suddenly it was over, at his own behest as he broke the kiss.

She started to speak, but she faltered, and that short-lived fear would rise a bit more. Wrongly, of course. For she suddenly lurched forward with an intensity he wasn't ready for as her arms wrapped around his neck and she pressed every possible inch of her body against him.

His heart began to race as all sorts of emotions surfaced that he had never felt in his life. Between the feel of her lips, the warmth of her breath, the feeling of contentment he hadn't felt since he was a child. Since before the torment.

None of that mattered now, none of the pain, none of the anguish, none of the loss. It was just them and a rooftop, sharing something that had haunted his dreams since they first met. He had never waited like this, never built a connection, not until now. His brother told him he would know when he knew.. and he did.

After a time, he would finally break off the kiss, his breathing labored and his heart trying to catch up. "S-so.. does this mean you feel the same?" He asked with a grin.

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Her arms she let stay draped about his neck, and she was well panted briefly for air after their second parting. Books had such vivid descriptions of these things, these delightful treats of romance, and Kristen had read her fair share of them before coming to the Academy (and even whilst in the Academy, squirreling away tomes like The Romance of House Black in various caches stealthily employed throughout her room). Yes, vivid descriptions indeed. But it was another thing altogether to experience it for herself.

S-so.. does this mean you feel the same?

And with all sincerity her cheeks rose and her smile bloomed and she gave a series of quick little nods, saying simply, "I do. Yes, I do."

Mayhap with the best unintentional timing in the world, there came from elsewhere in the Square another loud POP and another general cheer as red confetti fluttered and decorated more of the festival-goers below. It wasn't lost on Kristen, this timing. She giggled, and then that giggle became outright laughter, both of joy and a collection of many other things. Her head fell into Drastus's right shoulder, face buried between her arm and his neck for a moment as it all worked itself out.

Then she looked back up again, their faces, their noses, separated only by a small matter of inches. Riding the giddy wave of whimsy, she said through secondary echoes of laughter, "I should hope that my earlier shame has not befouled my breath too harshly!"

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Where she had found her enjoyment within the pages of romantic tomes... Drast found it in the real thing. And it was a farcry from what she read and what they were doing in this moment. And the thought of it made him feel a tad dirty. He definitely preferred this, the purity, the rightness.. there was no shame.

At her answer, which he should have expected, he released a breath he had been holding and soon his grin would match her smile. "You do?!" He cursed silently at his own excitement and minor outburst, it distracting him long enough for the follow-up pop which made him jump again.

Kris started laughing, then he burst into fits of raucous laughter. He would have likely doubled over had Kristen not been there against him. His arms wrapped tightly around her and he would let out a sigh of relief.

Had her breath been foul? He didn't remember. Smirking he would lean forward and close that small gap as his lips found hers again, this time tasting her lips. Once the kiss broke, he shook his head. "Nah.. you taste good and well, you did wash some of it down with my flask so.. You're welcome?" His trademark smile.

His forehead would rest against hers as his eyes closed. "Anything else I can do to help you, Lady Pirian?"

Kristen Pirian

 

[Chasmine]

Chasmine's eyes flickered from Zael to his stuffed dragon, then down to the stuffed Dawnbringer, "Legends say the Dawnbringer killed dragons..." and she briefly wondered what such a feat might be like to observe, but her attention drifted when the boy moved away from her.

The curious exchange between the child and Everleigh did not go unnoticed. Chasmine watched quietly, a small and warm smile on her lips as the wonder washed over Evy's face. Small, tender moments like these were such a rarity among the Academy students but they were the ones that Chas cherished most. She'd witnessed more than any, she supposed, in the way that she so easily was ignored or looked over. Moments that likely would never be spoken of aloud and were her little thimble-full of secrets.

Her gaze trailed after the boy as he tried his luck to no avail, and though Eveleigh completely overlooked the dead fish floating belly-up, Chasmine's gaze locked on it while the other Initiate offered her fish up to the boy. When she looked back, suddenly the bowl had two fish in it. Chas blinked in surprise, "Thank you Everleigh. I am certain you will have their favor for your kindness..." and it was always good to have the favor of the fae.

She smiled down at Azzerin, "What would you like to do next, little one?"

Azzerin

 

[Lynus Anireth]

They'd all spoke of running away, many times, when they were young and foolish. Perhaps some small part of him felt bitter that Erich had managed it and that he'd left them behind, and now he stood before him telling him of the paths that sons were set upon by their fathers. His fingers tightened on Amelia's hand for a brief moment as he bit back the urge to raise his voice, and instead he drew in a deep breath and let it tumble out a shuddering sigh as adrenaline burned through him.

As angry as he was, he understood. He understood the why, and he understood the pain of grief and what that could do to a man, but the elation of seeing his friend alive was having a hard time battling its way through the thick red mist of rage.

"You let us believe you were dead." Lynus' words were low and half growled, but at least it was a more discreet option than drawing more public attention than they'd already gathered. "You were our brother, and you let us mourn you. You could've sent word, somehow." the Prince frowned, and swallowed hard. He needed a drink. His head was already pounding and now he had his best friend back from the dead stood crying in front of him.

Arryn moved forward, grasping Erich by the crook of the neck and giving him a gentle shake before embracing him. Lynus only watched, his jaw clenching at the sight and the nagging urge to reach out as Arryn had, but that wasn't who he was any more. He'd been through too much grieving and he'd dived so deep into the bottom of the bottle that he'd let his old self drown and die. He was tired, body, mind and soul, and he did little to hide it.

His throat cleared. "Welcome back to Vel Anir, Lord Virak.. I hope you enjoy the festivities." He'd be the Prince. Not the friend or the brother or the husband, nor the drunkard drowning in depression. He'd be the shut off prick of a Prince that he'd been beaten into.

 

[Kasim Areth]

Kasim didn't try to argue.

There were a thousand things he could have said, a hundred things that would have kept him from doing so. Reasons as to why he had done things the way he'd done them.

Over the years he had come up with a thousand reasons not to send word back home.

A courier might be intercepted. A letter might find it's way into the wrong hands. A whispered word between those who knew might be overheard by a servant. There was always a justification, always a reason not to send word.

Yet that didn't make the decision any less cruel.

"I w-" He was about to say something else, about to speak, and then suddenly Arryn embraced him. The other man's arms wrapped around him and a smile flickered over Kasim's face. A long breath flowed into his lungs as he returned the man's hold.

It was the reaction he had hoped for, yearned for, wished for. They had been his best friends, allies and compatriots in a world where isolation and paranoia was the norm. He drew back from Arryn as Lynus spoke, lashing him with a title.

Lips thinned, one hand clutching Arryn's shoulder. "There's only one Virak left in this city, Lynus."

He was not here for any title. For any status that he might have had claim to at all. He'd relinquished it, happily, willingly. A bargain that kept his children safe, but also...finally, releasing him of a weight that had sat upon his shoulders for his whole life.

Yet that didn't change things, not for Lynus, not for Arryn.

He looked back to the Prince, the pain clear in his eyes. The anger and the hurt. Kasim felt his heart tighten in his chest. Fingers constricted ever so slightly on Arryn's shoulder, grasping for something.

"There's nothing I can say to change what I did." He told the Prince. "I didn't come here for House Virak. I didn't come here for wealth, power, or magic."

Kasim's voice half broke. "I came back to...I..."

Why had he come? Why was he even here? Wouldn't it have been kinder to stay away? To let his friends think him dead and gone, to let them simply think that he had truly died. It would have kept that stain clear at least, would have let the bandage lie.

Instead Kasim had torn it off.

"I came back because I'm selfish." He said quietly. "Because I saw an opportunity to get my friends back, because it was finally safe for me, my family. Because...because I could...and hoped there was an opportunity to see you both again. To tell you my story, and to...to have my brothers again."

His words trailed off, becoming quiet. "I'm sorry Lynus, Arryn."

He glanced at the man whose shoulder he was still clutching. "For this, for the choices I made. I'm sorry."

For the little that it mattered.

Lynus Anireth | Amelia Pirian Anireth

 

[Kristen Pirian]

"Yes, there is," Kristen said, she as well with her eyes closed and head bowed forward as they rested together.

"You said that I have helped you more than you could ever help me. If you would say how it is so, I would gladly hear it."

It was remarkable to her, of course. Drastus had survived the rigors of the old Academy, had been forged into a much stronger man because of them, so she was at a loss to say how she could compare to that. But she'd the quiet awareness that she was very likely thinking of it wrongly.

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

At her request, Drast would nod and lean back so that he could look at her. "Well.. For a long time nothing.. mattered. I have some friends here, but you can only kill so much and lose so much before you feel like your humanity is lost.." he would say softly before scratching his jaw.

His gaze would break from hers, fearful of the judgement of his next words and as he spoke his left hand would roll up his right sleeve to point out his fire rune. "So before I ever raised Rupert.. I had this put onto me. I don't remember how I got it and I tell everyone a different story.. Anyways.. I-I.. when I was six or seven I had been at the Tal'deneshaar manor house in Vel Anir. It was tiny compared to other Houses. My dad was summoned to the capital, me and my brother Doran demanded to go with, so we did. At some point.. I got this.. and I started the fire that killed my brother.. My burns happened as a result of trying to get him out. I nearly died, but our Chamberlain got us both out.." he released a pained breath, he had never told anyone the truth of that night outside his family.

"Not even all my siblings know the truth. I-i killed my brother.. my dad went on more quests to avoid looking at me.. and then he died. I summon Rupert, and I get taken to the Dreadlords.. I've felt cursed, even dead for a long time." He would pause to take a drink from his flask and offer it to her. A secret for a secret. Gods he hoped he didn't lose her the moment he got her. "Then we met.. slowly the loss doesn't feel so heavy and.. it has a meaning. I look forward to training and missions.. but only because of you.. I.. it's hard to explain, you know?"

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

There were times when words simply fell short. Tears had collected in her eyes at Drastus's recounting of the tale of his brother and the fire, the burns which now marked and marred his handsome skin.

She brushed aside the offer of the flask.

And just wrapped her arms about him and pulled herself into a gentle embrace with him. Gentle at first. As the seconds passed her arms squeezed with a sort of mounting desperation, or perhaps through some vague hope that if she could just hold him fiercely enough Aionus himself might undo the tragedy of the past. She realized what she was doing not so far into it and relaxed, her embrace returning to that gentleness.

Her chin resting on his shoulder, she tried for words.

But her mouth only opened silently.

No. Not yet.

Just hold him for a little while longer.

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Drastus hadn't cried in years, not since word came back that his fathers men had been ambushed and there were no survivors. He didn't cry when he befriended Rupert, he didn't cry when the Dreadlords claimed him. He didn't cry during his training since. They had trained that out of him.

So while her eyes grew wet, his remained dry.. until her arms wrapped around him. Until he felt the warmth of her affection and if he was asked, Kristen was a direct line to Aionus and the gods. It was almost as if, where she went, they followed.

She didn't say a word, nor did he. His arms squeezed her tightly and thats when he felt it: the pain long since buried by the loss of his brother, his guilt, he began to feel things and she would feel him tremble in her arms. A young man who could force the souls of others to do his bidding, and she had unbound him with a simple hug.

He wouldn't remember how much he cried or didn't cry in this moment, all he would remember was the young woman who made him feel again. Whether that lasted beyond this moment would remain unseen, but he did know that he felt a relief. The secret had been shared, a burden lifted.

He just buried his face into her shoulder and squeezed her tightly.

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

"It's okay."

Her words were quiet. Mayhap struggling to not be drowned in the din of celebration below. Yet so focused was she on this that the whole of the Festum Libertatis had been tuned out, and Kristen heard herself perfectly.

"It's okay," she said again.

Hands dug into his back, her breasts pressed into his chest, and her embrace again tightened along with his.

"In what capacity I have to forgive, whether I am blessed to do as much on behalf of Doran or speaking solely for myself, then let it be so."

Up and down...up and down...her hands rubbed Drastus's back, as if to soothe out doubt, anguish, grief.

"He knows that it was an accident. He knows the truth. He knows."

And she parted from the embrace. But only just enough to at last meet with his eyes again, her hands still touching his sides.

"I shall never avoid looking upon you on account of this tragedy, Drastus."

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

He didn't hear what she said, he just felt his shoulders lift and fall with each pained breath. He could feel the warmth of her hands as they rubbed along his back, expelling the grief with each pass. He could feel the beating of their hearts that had now kept apace with each other as it worked to remove the guilt.

He knows that it was an accident. He knows the truth. He knows.

Did he? Did Doran know? Could he have possibly grasped that while he shrieked in pain as Drast tried to drag him to safety. By the gods he hoped Doran knew. He hoped his family knew. At least.. at least she knew.

As she started to part, his lips would place a soft kiss on her cheek, just short enough to not affect her movements. His eyes would focus on hers as he heard her for the first time in those few shirt moments.

He offered a smile at her words, and she could see a weight lift from him as if his greatest fear was losing her. One hand would move up to address the recent case of 'lemon juice in the eyes' . He then exhaled slowly as his hands moved to take hers. "Maybe now you see just a glimpse of what you do.." he tried to force a laugh, but it wouldn't be summoned.

"I don't want to live in the past.. I want to take on the future with you.."

Kristen Pirian

 

[Azzerin]

As Chasmine schooled Zael in all things Velaeri, and Evie won her Fae friend, Azzy would glare at Zael and bare his teeth whilst he flexed on the much older boy. Team Velaeri- Two, Team Dragon- Zero. In Azzy's heart, he struck fear into Zael with his spectacular feats of intimidation! At the best, it was maybe just a cute face that caused a laugh.

When Evie returned, she had bequeathed unto Azzy a Fae slave trapped in its prison that only he and Chas could save! So when she gave him the Fae, his jaw dropped in excitement and he hugged her tightly. Pulling back, he would set down his Fae and remove his pack. Little hands digging inside, he would remove the gryphon he had won earlier and gave it to Evie! A trade! His little river Fae was then tucked into the pack and the pack pulled on.

Now he had the thing he needed most: two free hands. One hand would boldly take Evie's, while the other took Chas's.. and his belly rumbled loudly.. guess the little guy was hungry.

Chasmine Zael Castomir Everleigh Ebersol

 

[Zael Castomir]

THE GAMES GROUP​

Legends say the Dawnbringer killed dragons...

Well damn did he love a challenge. Zael favored Chasmine with a sharp smirk, a hand to his upwardly turned chin. "Well, Chas of the Meen clan, just you wait until I kill a dragon,"—he was the only one here who could do it too, oh by the way, heh heh—"then I'll be even better than that crusty old bird. The rising star Zael, with the dashing good looks and the strength of a hundred men!"

He collected up his stuffed dragon. "Come here, you rapscallion! You're gonna watch me slay one of your brothers one day!"

They were coursing their way through the jubilant crowds of Anir Square, Zael thinking about how that was a close one, how he'd almost broken character again and slipped right back into his Tarrow accent in his reply to Chas because he was just that damn excited about it, when those aromas from the nearby food stalls they were passing graced his nose as well.

Yeah, he did need to take a break from winning so much. It really worked up an appetite, and he needed to be in tip-top shape just in case some game runner decided to rig one of the games in the kid's favor just because he was cute.

If yew and I get somethin’ different then we could share.

"Brilliant play, Everleigh." Yup, that rhymed. What was anybody gonna do about it if they had a problem? Suck his dick in retribution? Ha! Call him and his fake, central Anirian accent a wordsmith!

At the stall, it didn't take him but a few seconds of browsing for his eyes to lock on to the true treat among them all.

"Spiced jerky! The choice of kings!" A look down to Azzerin, "Isn't that right, little buddy?" And then a grin to Everleigh and Chasmine, "And queens!"

Zael paid for a heaping helping of the meat, both fists full of the sticks upon which they were impaled and the stuffed dragon held in a headlock under one thick arm.

Everleigh Ebersol Chasmine Azzerin

 

[Kristen Pirian]

I want to take on the future with you..

And at this a gasp of excitement, Kristen's mouth a big "O" and her eyes twinned gray saucers. Oh how she had pondered what this moment would be like. The stories she had read all painted a variety of pictures—a variety which, curiously, all ended up being quite similar with a moment's thought put to the subject. Idealistic. Almost like unearthing a perfect diamond.

Never would she have thought that it would come in so unexpected and abrupt a manner as it had. Not to mention at the end of a chain of a most unfortunate series of events! Gosh, to have heard of Zana's presence, been carried over to her, and then meeting her, being overcome with nerves and vomiting, running away in shame, maybe even having been spotted by her sister of whom she had not seen in many years, and now taking refuge atop a roof for peace and quiet? All this amidst a celebration that was the first of its kind!

But she wouldn't have it any other way. The diamond she found was perfect just as it was.

"Drastus Tal'deneshaar..." she said, her hands trembling in his grasp. A fresh wave of tears streaked down her face after she blinked.

"I love you. I, Kristen Pirian, love you so. I do."

And forward she leaned once more, done with words for the moment and desperate for the feel of her lips to his. As she kissed him she thought not of what eyes might take true notice, of what danger they might be in.

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

He spoke and he wasn't sure if he had once more over-gauged the situation. Perhaps being together was a talk they had to have or maybe he had phrased it wrong. He didn't have the cheat sheet of romantic novels to know how to approach the topic, just the advice of his oldest brother who had berated him in Vel Ehn for not acting.

She gasped and he was still trying to decipher her noises, something he has debated with Evie during their private talks. A big "O" and her eyes were saucers. Was she shocked? Appalled? No, he was overthinking it.

Maybe it wasn't the time? It had been an eventful day, but he had set out with this intent when he left the Academy and he was going to let nothing ruin a day of celebration. Not for her. He was ready to risk it for the biscuit.

Drastus Tal'deneshaar... I love you. I, Kristen Pirian, love you so. I do.

It was his turn for his jaw to drop. His turn to be taken aback. She loved him. He had been struggling with those pesky emotions. He never loved before, not outside his family, nor had he ever said it. But in that moment the fog of confusion lifted and he knew it. Right here, above all of Aniria, as he gazed into the grays he dreamt about since the Punishment Games.. he was in love.

"Kris, I-." She didn't wait for him. Her lips found his in another one of those kisses that melted their surroundings away into nothingness. He allowed himself to be lost in it as he pulled her closer, taut against his own body. For him, it felt like hours, but it was surely only minutes later when he broke the kiss. "Kris.. I love you too."

Kristen Pirian