Speech = ``...´´
Thoughts = [... }
ºº
When a man was presented an obstacle, most of the times he could do two things about it. Either march through it, or walk around it.
A simple rational, to a simple category of endless possibilities. Sadly..man kind was not exactly such thing, not it enjoyed such endless stream of madness. And so, in their wisdom...those who could not bare the effort of the previous two used to choose the third option.
To ignore the matter and allow the thing to go unnoticed and unmourned until someone else took matters into their own hands.
But he couldn't do that, he couldn't turn around and look for an alternative, and he did not know what an elf was suppose to eat in this world nor he could just assume things..unless he wanted to poison her..
And for all the things he had in storage in the void, nothing, not even a speck of dust was of food he could just take away for a walk. And why would he had done such thing when he had no need for nourishment?
He could suck the marrow from the very bones of his foes before they could draw another breath, he could cut through time and space with the swing of his arm, reality was whatever he wanted for as long as he could force his will into it…
There was no need for him to deal with such trivialities when he had become self sustaining through each and every soul he had sowed through countless lifetimes worth of war..
He could feel his fist clench, talons digging into his palms. Scratching the fabric as they tried to dug deeper.
And now his own nature was acting against him for once in the most laughable way possible.
So he was forced to improvise to fix the matter at hand.
He had not tethered matter into being for destruction, nor he had pour atoms together the same way a needle would ran through shirt in some wayward attempt to come across an innovative idea to destroy everything and anyone foolish enough to dare cross him, not even the bare bones of a plan for the grand scheme of things in this universe...
Instead he had come up...to make a sandwich
…
…
Blacken, slick blood started to slowly drag its way down and slip pass his talons into the ground below but if he had noticed he did not give sign to it.
This was a new low he had never thought he would reach. Even if it had technically worked on what it was meant to do. It still felt like a sore spot to be reminded of for year to come...
To use such power so many would kill and die for...to make such a simple…
Meagre…
Little thing as a sandwich..
He, the bane of daemon kind..., a revenant of death, the breaker of empires and the butcher of gods...had made a sandwich because a little girl asked him to.
…
For the second time since he had met the little blond midget he could feel the shadow bewilderment rear its ugly head inside his mind at the nonsensical mess that followed what he had done. How it all came crushing down around him with a strange heaviness as if someone had dropped a battleship over his shoulders
And the worst part? She enjoyed it…
The fool was enjoying it as if it was her last supper…
He did not need to turn around to see the girl munching on her given meal with almost reckless abandon, or how she hummed in delight with each bite. She may have tried to hide it by covering her mouth with her small hands and even more delicate fingers, or just stopping for a few seconds before resuming, but she may as-well be shouting her thoughts out in the open.
Anger let way to mildly dimmed spite as he tried to block each and every useless thought coming out from her skull which he did not need or had the obligation to hear about…
But perhaps not soon enough to avoid getting a clear picture of what was going in that little head of hers. Causing him this unnecessary sugar induced migraine in the first place.
Didn't she knew that he could do more than just such meagre little thing? That what she was revelling into with such zeal had done far more greater things than the mundane need to satisfy a brats aching tummy?
She only had to ask. She only had to drop the damn thing down on to the floor and request something better..
But she didn't.
The flames of his eyes vanished for a moment, allowing for the eye sockets of his helmet to remain empty and void of life. Perhaps it was because of how things had turned out in the end, but he could not help but feel for a small, brief moment his pride wounded at the mental image of the thing that was annoying him so much. An irrational thought, devoid of any sense to anyone but him...
A mere, fucking sandwich...
How could something so small and...simple could cause such a mess..!?
He took in a long deep breath, even though he did not have the need. Nothing but a shallow, sharp breath came through the other end of metallic filters with some dried layers blood still clinging to the cool, rough surface..
Did she knew..? The question from time to time popped up. Poking at him.., as if daring to punish his attempt to ignore it.
...
He shook his head, albeit internally as this time he decided not to allow it pass unheeded. No, she did not he answered himself almost immediately, his voice echoing in the air even though..he had not even utter a word through his vocal cords..
The air starting to reverberate around him…, the air become electrified, but nothing else that a faint touch of the nether than anything too serious. The grass around him still started to wither, to die.
Consumed…, by him.
And why would she when he had not even tried to say so..? When he had found comfort in the notion that he would not have to explain what he had done, why he had sent her away with half truths so that she could have a moment of well earned respite given the titanic training her shaking, lithe body had been put through just minutes ago.
But also because he doubted he would have been able to control himself long enough not to speak out his mind into the open. Something that he would rather...not show to anyone undeserving. She least of all...
…
He shook his head internally, it did not matter. What it mattered was that the girl was going to prove a nuisance if she had to rely on him for substance. This was a forest, she was a former dweller of the wilds..she had to know, and if she didn't then he..
He halted a moment, having to acknowledge his next words carefully before even considering them. Finding much to his confusion a struggle to push through such idea.
If she didn't..then he would teach her enough before he eventually left her on her own. It was the best thing to do, for all parties considered.
Logically she would be able to fight her own battles and take care of herself, that was more than most got these days. Most got nothing at all.
In the other aspect he had already suffered Aurora long enough, he was not gonna repeat the same thing with the girl clinging to him. A selfish wish perhaps…, but it should have been expected from him.
The memory of the purple haired girl made his mind drift away from his new found charge for a moment, making him go back to those moments he had spent in that place or Sanctuary as she had called it.
More like a prison..
Her prison.
It was clear that her body had been destroyed long ago, and what physical remains had remained afterwards had been sealed away. Allowing their essence to permeate into their prisons so she could mimic the form she had in life.
She was more than a memory, she was a visage of a past life. Broken, and splintered like the shards of a ruined mirror before been abandoned and left forgotten to the rest of the world.
A terrific fate, and one perhaps..., not so much different from himself. Perhaps even a distorted reflection, one where he would have become had he lost the war...
-I will pick your pieces and pull them back together…, I will look for you, find you and make you anew because, only then...I will be able to ask the true Aurora if she..after all does wish to die..-
His eyes flared up once more, flames of scarlet glinting with an eerie blackness as they licked the ebony metallic bones of his helmet. Unblinking, yet narrowing to a half lid as they tried to discern what new foul thing had come to stain his mouth with its bitter taste. This one however was not so difficult to find out, though perhaps not as much to explain it.
Why had he made that promise to her..? What had drove him? Back then it felt right to do.., that it was the only thing he could do. Now..not so much.
Had he been drunk?
The thought came as fast as it was denied.
No, that was truly nonsensical in so many levels that it could not be overstated. He could not get drunk. He was to dead to even accomplish falling into a mild migraine. So what else could be..? The more he tried to think about it the more bumps on the road he came across.
…
"Thinking about me, are you now..? That is so romantic, rather surprising coming from you if I am honest with you"
A warm, playful voice whispered to his right. The tone soft and delicate as if dancing through ethereal wave-lines to accommodate around him as the scent of fresh roses wrapped around him. Clinging to him, calling him as if they could smother the acrid taste of blood and ashes out of him.
A novelty to be sure, and yet he had already heard this dance before.
His body remained still like a statue, not even allowing an ounce of movement to drop out or be seized by observant eyes. Yet with a side glance he caught eye of the one and only he had not been waiting to appear.
Not anytime soon as he now regarded the dark, purple haired witch of calamity herself with a discontent glare as she came into being once more. With her long, blackish purple hair dancing under the touch of the winds brushing against her, her fair skin bathing in the sun of the new day while her feet shifted and touched the coloured soil underneath them.
Ignoring the way she was trying to lean onto him and press her body against his while at it.
She had not changed. Not really…
She was still insufferable.
After what felt like an eternity, but were merely two seconds he cocked his head finally towards her, the tubes jangling softly with the motion.
``You..´´
``Me…´´
She replied with no short amount of enthusiasm the short, brief and quaint reply while she started to poke with one of her fingers his broad chest, a stark contrast with his dry tone and the stillness of his body.
He had the feeling that he was just about to have a repetition of their amiable conversations from back in the Sanctuary. The only difference this time being the fact that she appeared to be somehow far more happier and lively. A new found glimmer of life glowing under the depths of those purple eyes, lips no longer plastered over a fake, rehearsed expression over her face, but rather grinning with the ghost of a smile..
She appeared to be happy..., that was a fact.
Why..?
He decided it did not matter, nor he should bother himself with such. What mattered was why she was there to begin with, a matter he would address rather sooner than later. Casting a non verbal spell in which a bell of distortion covered the both of them.
The last thing he wanted was to draw the girls attention into this confrontation. There were too many variables to take into account. Even in death, one should not mock the body-less form of their foe.
Possession was still a thing…and she was not ready to fight something like that off. Not when Auroras blood ran through her veins.
Blood was thicker than water, and it was as much as a useful tool as it was a detriment. The latter in this case if worse came to pass..
His legs crouched a bit into position, his scythe warping under the grip of his hand, but he did not attack, he did not even move...
The idea of fighting had crossed his mind, after all.., there were supposed to be a lot more versions of her. Perhaps some more violent and insidious than the rest But with her mannerisms and the obvious fact she recognised him spoke that she was the first and only he had met. The way she held herself also spoke in length of her true intentions, none which held animosity towards him.
The thought that this ruined town could hold a shard of her soul instead of the dark, misty forest he had dealt with the lizard had not even had time to brew into existence.
With those thoughts placed in order, he took a step forward. Casting a steep shadow over the far smaller woman who cocked her neck backwards to still meet his gaze. The scythe dissipated, but it would always close to be drawn out if needed.
If she tried something...if she was there to harm her, he would cut her down in an instant. His arm would not hesitate, even if that meant breaking down another promise...
``What is it...? What do you want?´´
He grunted, not making the purple haired girl flinch by the harsh tone, but rather earning a rose eyebrow from that delicate face.
When he did not elaborate any further or seemed willing to actually do so she started to pout.
"What!? No hello there? No how are you doing?"
``Why..?´´
"Well, those are simple manners or courtesy that people learn when they are little..."
``Aurora...´´
``Ohi..! Don't sound like you are not happy to see me. After all, I would not be here without your help. If you are going to be like that you must take responsibility..´´
She said, feigning hurt in her voice as she leaned forward, placing her gloved hands over her hips while also leaning down towards him, prompting her chest forward.
He stared at her with confusion, then indifference before confusion dawned on him once more when he realized what was happening.
If she was trying to sell her womanly wares..then she had failed, the different in size made it rather hard to even get a glimpse of that.
Nor that he was interested.
``Explain..´´
He commanded, his booming voice hammering down a look of disappointment to crease her face for a brief moment before she pouted a little more. Huffing a bit while a faint redness started to spread through her cheeks, taking a step back as she started to raise her her head and arms into the air in worked exasperation...
She would have made for a good actress if she wasn't already dead..
"What is there to explain? You freed me…, you are here, I am here. Ready to continue our story where we left it. We will be the leather buddies..!"
``No...´´
"Oh please, there is no need to be ashamed. If you want you can choose the name of our band. I promise I wont judge"
This woman.., she truly was insufferable.
Was she really the demon Lord that had ravaged the world in ancient times? Or was that a fluke..? The corruption was there, and yet it felt weird to consider her as such.
Perhaps her other shards were….more in character. One could always hope.., but something told him that that would not be the case.
``I don't have time for games.., Aurora´´
"But you have time to play doll house, don't you..? Not that I mind what you do with your hobbies, but if you are partaking in such games, why can I not join..? It doesn't seem fair.."
Cinders started to fume out through the metal filters of the mask.
Could he kill a ghost..? The idea of trying was rather enticing the more he had to listen to her. In fact, he was sure he had the right tools somewhere in that endless void.
…
Still...
``You know very well what I meant, little girl…, don't twist my words at your own leisure..´´
He said, yet her grin only grew further. She rose a finger and started to poke at him.
"And where would be the fun in that..? And why are you calling me little girl again..? I am a bit too old to e considered one.."
``Brats do not deserve been addressed by name..nor age is a good way to arbitrary wisdom. Idiocy knows no bounds...you being a prime example of it no less should have been warning enough´´
"Now that is unfair!"
``How sad, how terrible. Tell me about it..´´
He replied with the most deadpan tone he could muster much to the chagrin of Aurora who could not help but stare at him with a comical expression plastered around her face.
[Now that...is a look befitting for her]
He thought to himself with a slight sense of glee at himself, it was rare the moment where he managed to shook her off her own game. Sadly, it would not last long as the purple haired witch turned ghost shook her head and glared at him with a dejected scowl while she took a step back from him.
Her eyes however were burning with a zeal and determination that left little doubt of what she was thinking. This was not over….
No, not by a long shot, but he would enjoy his victories for as long as he could.
"You are no fun today.."
She grumbled, clearly making sure it was loud enough for him to hear it. He did not know why, but why was it that those that had passed the threshold of mortality acted so...childish?
``Liar, I was never fun to begin with..´´ He droned out.
"Oh please..., you are the heart of the party my dear reaper of souls."
``Is that so..?´´
"Yep, no doubts about it..."
``I dare you to say that to my face with a straight face...´´
….
"Goddess be praised, you got me good..."
And yet, even though she had been called out, she merely smiled at him. Shifting her feet, circling around him the same way a child would while scheming its next goofy attempt at humour.
"And perhaps you are right, but I believe you are only been mean to yourself...why don't you give it a try?"
He could not help but look at her with a blank stare. What in the darkness name was she on about..?
That did not seem to discourage her, in fact she felt embolden by it as she floated and then landed on his back. Her small, slender arms trying to embrace him from behind as she pushed herself against him.
It may have meant something, but yet again, she was mostly incorporeal. And he was clad in layer upon layers of steel...
"Please? Pretty, pretty please...? Only once and who knows...perhaps you may like it.."
She muttered softly, almost whispering the last words at the back of his head as if it something so important that it could not be anything but an intimate transaction. He wanted to scoff...
If only she knew that the only parties he attended he was were he was the last one to enter and the only one to leave.
His silence was taken by her as his answer.
"I guess that is out the question.."
``Indeed…´´
He dragged the words through the air the same way one would drag a cleaver through the bones of a lamb. Slow...and crudely. Like a whip made of copper that clacked each time it slapped and peeled the flesh away of its victim.
Aurora however made a good job to act unaffected by it, placing a small finger over her plump lips as she tried to appear as in deep thought. Which failed with each moment she tried to fan her eyelashes at him,
He was having trouble knowing whether that was because she was a ghost, or if it was part of her nature.
Women...were strange creatures.
``Ok, so you were asking something..?´´
``Obviously...´´
She really was shameless.
``Ok, Ah..I remember. Now, about what you asked before... I don't know how to put it in words not I clearly understand what in the seven hells you did, but somehow the walls of the sanctuary shattered like glass when a gush of power came through´´
She spoke out, her eyes wandering away from his as they started to reminisce of what had transpired. That childish look she had been wearing dimming out and allowing for him to see once again the more mature and more worth listening Aurora.
Why couldn't she act like that always..? That senseless need to play around in circles and joke around made everything bog down to a crawl when they could have already be finished by now in their..."conversation".
He hated such waste of time…It was needles and unforgiving. Lives could be lost
Sadly it would not last long as she clapped her hands together and turned once again to meet his glare. Smirking broadly with a tinge of mischief...
"A show of power that I luckily was familiar with thanks to yours truly.."
``I see...´´
So his final attack in the capital had disturbed her prison..? Given the fact that she had explained that his mere arrival had cracked it, then a blast at point blank rage of that magnitude would have left nothing behind it.
That answered some questions. Not all though..
``You said that you would die when it was broken. Yet here you remain...´´
``A miracle, isn't it?´´
She chuckled, floating around before she decided to rest over a small boulder. Brushing away the stray locks of purple from her eyes.
``You don't believe in those..´´
She chuckle, though this time it felt a little more strained.
``Well, I had to try...haven't I told you that you really are good at picking people lying..?´´
That was who he was, and there she was playing once again her role as the little chatter box.
She wanted to talk, to derail the conversation with her own petty things and needs, but he would not indulge her. Glaring even more harder at the woman who dared not look away from him.
He had little time, every second wasted in this empty platitude between them was another second the elf would have to finish her meal and decide to come knocking at his barrier.
``I have a question...´´
He said, taking a step forward then another before he lowered himself a little bit. Allowing his size to shrink so that they could stare at each others eyes with little difficulty.
Only to realize that the purple haired witch was wearing a shit eating grin from ear to ear.
That was not good. It never was..
``What..?´´
"What..? Don't give me a what! Like..come on! I am..hearing right that you have a question!?"
``I don't like to repeat myself...´´
She waved a hand in a dismissible manner. ``Fine, fine...I guess that is normal coming from you. In fact, I doubt anyone would dare interrupt you in a conversation...´´
``Expect, you I suppose..´´
``There must always an exceptions to the rule, you know?´´
``Stop wasting time, Aurora...even I have an eternity to waste I do not view your childish games endearing enough to care..´´
``Fine, fine..less chit chat and more to the point, eh? I like that, but you should know that some small talk is not that bad for your health, right?´´
He did not deign to answer that.
``So... what is it? What troubles you that now you need little old me?´´
He frowned, she did not need to singsong that sentence.
``I didn't say that it troubled me..´´
``Sure it doesn't...´´
…
…
``Can you sense your children..´´.
A moment of eerie silence stretched between the two. Yet the way the way the girls eyes remained blinking as if she was making sure she was not asleep while her mouth remained open in abject bewilderment warned him that either she had not expected his question in the slightest.
Or she had misunderstood it in the worst way possible.
[Darkness...please, let it not be the latter]
By the time she regained her voice she made sure to let it be known what message her body had seen kindly enough to display prior.
"Excuuuuuse me..!? What did you just said..!?"
``Can you, or cant you?´´
The question came back once more, pressed this time even more strongly as his eyes narrowed into narrow slits. Sadly.., he would not get his answer.
Not when Aurora was busy with instead having her face started to heat up, fidgeting with her fingers as she tried to shirk away from his glare.
"W-well I…, how do I put this without making it sound weird.."
He gritted his teeth, his fist clenching...
``Is a simple question, girl. Answer. Now...´´
She flinched, taking a step back mortified..yet instead of looking pale she seemed ready to explode with the amount of blood that had gone up her head.
"How-how can you do this to a lady!? Is so indecent and naughty to try to peer a damsels own carnal stories! I did not pegged you for that kind of m-.."
``Spare me your jabs, witch. I asked merely to be polite, waste my breath..and you will not like the results..´´
He could track the scent of corruption that her soul had within, it was the very thing that had led him to meet her. But the possessed, they were diluted, almost covered up by the shards of the other true selfs of Aurora.
What he needed to know if she could sense them, if she could transplant that information into himself. That way finding each and everyone of the creatures the cult was using for their experiments to bring their end goal would be swift and simple. Killing them or freeing them would be then only a question of when rather than if...
But that would not happen if she could not, it was nothing but a pipe dream if she was not even able to start getting her shit together and try to act and answer his question in the first place. And yet, here she was...wasting his time, playing her theatrics like the good seed of chaos that she was. Did she really thought she would play him with such measly tricks!? HIM.!?
So he glared at Aurora, he glared at her with all the contempt he could find. Forcing a few seconds later for her to drop down the facade.
``Tsk, fine, you really don't like to play around. To answer you, no, I don't remember having intercourse with anyone. But...I can sense those with my blood´´
She looked at the girl in the clearing who was eating in her lonesome, her eyes softening a bit as they study the elf before she switched her attention back to him.
``I guess that is what you were truly asking.., right?
He granted her a weak nod, stretching his hand forward in her direction. She looked at him confused, she open her lips, asked him something but he was no longer listening.
He had the answer he sough for, now it was time to extract it...
Aurora became frozen in place, trapped by invisible bindings that kept anything but her eyes from moving. Then it started, a purple light started to emanate, before pouring out from the ghost chest as he pulled it into himself, ignoring the startled look in her eyes as she found herself a mere prisoner of her own body
His mind finding, targeting and placing the information needed in neat folds as they started to create a map of the possessed inside his head. He could have made this far easier for her, but this was his little payback for all the migraine she had given him.
He hummed in satisfaction when he finished, freeing the ghost in the process. It seemed that there was one close.
Very..very close.
"What was that for..!?"
The loud bark from the woman as she stood up from the ground she had fallen once freed which made no sense given she could float reached him. With a sideways glance he took notice of the angered look in her eyes.
Fingers twitching..
[What now…]
``What is it now..?´´
He grumbled tired, his annoyance building as fast as Auroras who did not took those words lighly..
"Don't give me that, don't make it sound like that was nothing..!"
``But it was nothing. That which I took is not something that you need to worry about…, not like you were going to make use of it´´
"Like hell it is! You touched something, you..you took something..what was it!?"
All of this noise…
She would probably wake the dead at this rate.
``The very thing that I asked you about, don't worry…, I have not robbed you of it. I merely copied it and made better use of it´´
"The location of the possessed? Is that all..?"
Huffed Aurora loudly, he merely nodded, not even bothering to hide his distaste for having to continue this conversation any longer than it had right to be.
``Yes, now, with that out of the way you can leave...´´
"What..?"
``Leave, float, vanish...it will do you some good to have a time for yourself. Believe me...You. Will. Need it..´´
Her eyes sparkled with magic.
"I have spent an eternity alone in that hell, the last thing I need is time for myself.."
``And that is exactly why someone like that would say…, my words are not hollow witch. You would do well in heeding them.´´
He did not wait for her answer, instead walking away from her, returning to his original position, making calculations of the distance and the way to approach those affected by the affliction. Perhaps finding a way to create a small community of same minded individuals who had shared the same fate as a plan B in case them shared their strange desire to not return to their families. That way they could create a future for themselves..
But just as he was about to pull down the barrier he realized something. Or in this case, felt something when something hit the back of his head.
He in fact had not felt it perse with his senses, but rather the sound it made when it shattered and rain down the ground the countless pebbles from the rock she had thrown at the back of his head.
Was that suppose to hurt him?
No, that was meant to draw his attention.
``Why are you still here..?´´
He asked at the woman who by all means had not left him alone now that they had concluded business..
She was staring at him, eyes trying to sink inside his skull in silence before they were warped with a bitter smile.
"Isn't that a question we all ask ourselves..?"
``Why are you still here..?´´
"Speaking with you…, thought about it?"
This was going nowhere. He decided to turn around. If she was so keen in becoming a thorn now, then good for her.
He had more important things to do-
"Is running all that you can do? All that you are left to do?"
``What..?´´
"Or is it that you just don't care?
``Black words can not harm me, girl….´´
"Empty words for the one who has nothing left.."
``Bark all you want woman…, is the only thing you can do´´
"You apathy driven brute…,no wonder you are a hollow of your old self. You who betrayed your kin, you who killed your own-
``SILENCE..!!´
He roared so strongly that she was sent flying, slamming into a wall..or in this case, passing through it.
He had forgotten one tiny detail. One that his mind had not dare to remind him until now at the worst of times..
She had been able to see glimpses of his mind back in the Sanctuary. When his guard had been lowered. Then that meant that she had-…
Kill her..
Kill her..
Kill her..
Kill her..
Kill her..
His every instinct, real or imaginary screamed at him to free his rage, to let loose his lust for blood and to feast into the meagre cockroach that had dared until now poke at him, to silence this breach.., to hide away what no one should ever know..
"What is it? Did I touch a nerve..?"
It took too much to control himself to not pint the little shit up into space.
"Oh, I did..didn't I..?"
The building behind him started to crumble and turn into dust, the ground shattered and died, becoming into a small pond made of sand where his metal heels sunk while the skies started to grow dark. Black, heavy clouds threatening to unleash a violent storm above their heads.
``You. Know. Nothing...´´
His voice started to grow darker with each needless repetition, but this time something worse was coming from deep below..
"I know enough.."
``No…, you don't...´´
The light around them being dry of its brightness as his body started to become nothing but a towering, hulking shadow with two red burning colas to stare at her..
His claws started to grow in size, the spikes of his pauldrons growing larger and sparse as they made way for more. The chains started to burst out in flames, licking and chewing at his arm before they spread all over the sharp length of the blade, then the rest of his body.
"Erh…, fuck. I forgot you could do that. My bad.."
He took a step forward, she took a step back..
``You are not mad at me, right? Right..?´´
Her only answer was the bitter silence of two eyes scheming how many places they could cut her without damaging a single bone in the process. He could see the way the skin colour of the girl started to drain a little bit as she could literally sense the killing aura emanating from him that threatened to drown her with its sheer thickness
"Yeep...you..you really are mad"
She muttered in a barely ghastly whisper through her lips. Gone now from her high cloud by literal death that seemed ready to castrate her. She had at least now the humbleness to look apologetic.
"I guess that is fair..."
She muttered, taking a slow, pained breath before she tried to take a step forward. Her body almost refusing to do so, yet she pushed on. Pushing aside any thought of self preservation..
"It may not mean much to you, but I am sorry..I can be quite a handful when I got overboard. When I am feeling angry.., I am just not myself any-more.."
He scoffed, jaws clenched. The scythe shrieking and withering as the mere grip he subjected the handle of his weapon pummelled it into submission. Creaking it, bending it as the blade ached for to taste the sweet blood and to find if it could nick out the ghostly arteries of the witch.
A part of him wanted to find out, the other just wanted to be done with her…
But in the end he did not pounce on her as he rein himself in…, albeit that too would have been quite the stretch given what she had done.
A sentiment shared with the purple haired brat as she stretched her hand forward, sluggish at first, but not stopping as her small fingers searched and clasped around his arm. Red unblinking flames stared down her amethyst pools, cinders mixed with the scent of roses leaving a bitter sweet aroma to spread between them.
Slowly, the dark miasma started to recede a little bit..., allowing for the body below to be exposed instead of be shrouded in darkness.
She remained still for a moment, chewing her lip with clear apprehension before she decided to resume.
`` Its just that I am having a little trouble to control my impulses now that I am out here in the open. That place was not also keeping me locked, it was draining me..mentally and emotionally. And now its gone...gone, gone...´´
Her fingers started trembling even as they tried to get a grip on his form, as if he was about to disappear. Tension building inside her lithe little body. So much that he could that she been made of porcelain she would have shattered
She may already have...
``I feel free like a bird.., devoid of any chains...and I hate it´´
Her voice was shaky, no longer able to hold out the pent up emotions going through as they flared on the outside.
"Do you know what is it to feel all of this things again at the same time? The intensity? This weight that is now inside by chest..? I don't like these strange feelings…, I had always desired them, but now that I do..I..I-"
Her words died in her throat, but she did not need words to convey what she wanted to state when she started to hit his chest with her meagre fists. Letting him know that the time for games was over, that this was the raw, unadulterated truth self of the woman that laid before him.
She was overwhelmed…
The walls she had rose around her had fallen apart, her quips and banters gone and dead as reality assessed its control over her. As it marred her face with the cruel sting of a past that had left scars..
Even in death, those memories would still remain with her.
She could barely whisper out her words between each sob, tears sliding down her cheeks as they fell into the ground below. In an uncaring world to die was easy, to keep on living was the hard part. For to live was to suffer He was well acquainted with that notion.
Strangely making him have the feeling that this event...had already happened before.
But this was not his fault. Sometimes you had to read the red print to realize what you were getting at. And she had failed to take that into account, all so used to failure...why would it have been different this time..?
"And then you...you took control of my freedom again, just for a few seconds...but I was once again chained by something by someone. I could not stand it, I could not bear again the feeling of such impotence..."
He closed his eyes, feeling the years wash over him like the tide waves of the sea. Silent, yet unrelenting as he realized what he had done….and why.
Apathy….it really was a curse for those who lived too long. A death of the soul.
The dark miasma vanished completely, leaving him and her to remain idle in place.
She did not deserve his sympathy, let alone his mercy...
But for once he started to feel something else than disdain or annoyance from her presence.
Something that he would never tell her.
Aurora finally rose her head, her eyes were puffy and her lips were still trembling...but he could easily tell she had regained a least part of her wits.
The forlorn tone of her voice almost cracked at the end, but it did not stop her from speaking out once more with all the strength she could muster
``I don't know what I am, what I am suppose to be. Perhaps I am just a silly girl who became flustered when someone made her feel something different than apathy in this shit hole that I called my home when you made a promise to me. Didn't you?´´
…
Yes, he had.
And he had meant every word. For better or for worse...
He placed a hand over her shoulder, ethereal as it was he could still mildly touch it…, startling her a little bit by the alien sensation, but not pushing her away as she slowly started to lean into it before she embraced him. Burying her head on what little she could find of his stomach given their size difference.
The sound of hear tears wails muffled down, but for him they were as clear as day.
…
The corpse and the ghost. The cynic and the temper tantrum child. What sorry little duo they made...
He did not spoke to her while she cried, he did not spoke up when she stopped and the only thing he could hear was her none existent heart beat against him.
Only when she started to stir up away from him did he speak.
``I will keep what I promised…, nothing is going to change that. Not even if I must set the world aflame..´´
She flinched under his grasp, but she did not fought back his touch. Slowly raising her head to meet his burning flames with still teary eyes, yet no longer dragged down by sadness.., but rather a sense of certainty and longing.
``I know...´´
Nothing else would be exchanged between them after that, remaining to bask in each others presence until a certain blond elf came to talk to him when she had finished her meal.
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A/N
``You thought this was going to be Rose/Alpha romcom but it was me! Aurora!´´
Now, jokes aside. This was what took place in chapter 36 from the other side of things.
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I think that apart from Alpha, Aurora is by far the closest one to actually talk to him as equals, even though in power-scale they are not. They are a pair of bitter old overlords with too many scars, acting like a bickering old couple…
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In the light novel Aurora started conversations and derailed them saying anything that came to her mind before leaving without actually telling anything of use, so I think that here she was both been petty and absent-minded much to Reapers chagrin.
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What do you think is best? Aurora as Alphas adoptive mummy or as her more experienced fellow pursuer of the Reaper? Teaching our blond elf the ways to seduce mankind..?
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I hope you enjoyed the chapter, review, let your opinion known and see you next time.