• Graded • Bloody Arrows

[Nightshade Eld]

Ymiden 23rd, 717

It was relatively early in the morning, the sun only having risen half a break ago at most. The early morning smelled clean, or at least to the mind of the half breed it did. The air was sweet, heavy with the scent of plants and still a little cold from how early it was. She took a deep breath, allowing the cold to flood her lungs. A gentle growl sounded off at her side. The grayish silver creature walked with as much stealth as it could for its size, which frankly was a shocking amount. It's paws didn't seem to make any noise against the earth. The woman had to put in conscious effort to not step on cracking branches or flaking leaves, but the Zelroux at her side seemed to have none of those problems with the terrain. She pouted, shooting a small glare at the creature as she roughly tried to string her bow. She'd never been good with bows, she knew this already. But she was trying to get better, she did practice after all! That practice had just fallen to the way side ever since the day she found Storm. When it came to hunting usually it would be the pair chasing a deer through the woods for six hours because hunting a deer with a sword typically isn't something that "works" as a better hunter might be able to tell you.

It was time to stop relying on Storm to be able to catch enough for himself and her and to start relying more on her ability to shoot a bow. If she could string it. That was a massive if. The short bow that she'd snagged was of a good quality, which was better than most of the things you got off fallen foes. It was rare if she found any prizes to write home about though. The half breed chewed on her bottom lip, attempting to loop the string over the long limb of wood. Eventually she was able to manipulate the plant fiber string as well as the bow into submission, getting the thing properly stringed. "Damn, how many arrows do I even have?" She muttered to herself as she looked inside the quiver. 24, the same 24 she'd taken from the dead Avriel. 24 horrible arrows that would barely do any damage unless she pulled off a perfect shot.

"Come on Shade, get it together and buy some good supplies," she muttered to herself. Sometimes she had to ask herself if she was actually serious about learning how to use a bow. Jerry was a good bow after all, I'd be a shame to let her potential go to waste. Jerry had also been named before Nightshade decided that the bow was more of a female. She wasn't really sure if Jerry minded or if she should call the bow Jenny instead. After a couple hours of a debate that really should have never happened she'd settled on keeping the bow named Jerry. Surely if anyone knew how she named each weapon, gave them personalities, and assigned them genders they would think her madder than most already did.

Her gaze wandered to the Zelroux at her side. "Ready?" She asked the beast. He looked at her expectantly, eyes glinting with a kind of delight. His jaws were slightly parted and his ears twisted this way and that. "Perfect," she said as she turned towards the woods. The pair left what could be considered their 'home' even thought it was little more than a slightly welcoming cave. A shallow one at that, at least compared to the likes of Noth's. What she wouldn't give to explore it sometime, but of course she'd never have that pleasure the same way she'd never have the displeasure of speaking with him again. He'd burned that bridge after all.

When her thoughts turned to linger on Noth it left a bitter taste in her mouth. She still wanted to save him, but what was it really that made her want to save him? Was it their shared kinship in the scorn they faced from both their parental races? Was it the moments they spent together that were actually sweet? Then again how could what time they'd spent together really be called sweet when it was little more than the spare moments of respite after siding with each other in a fight. That seemed to be all they ever did, and the one time she'd tried to do something different it had ended up with her being turned away. In the most irritating way possible might she add. The nerve of boy, a head full of feathers is the only thing he had! Kissing her and then basically telling her to get the fak out. She could feel her blood starting to boil and her face turning red.

It wouldn't be an understatement to say that Noth might have earned himself a little bit of animosity in the books of his fellow half breed, well earned said half breed might be tempted to add. She shook the thoughts from her mind. Now wasn't the time, now was the time to hunt. If anything she could find a deer and pretend she was shooting at something black and a bit more feathery. It didn't take long for she and her beast to find their target. Notching an arrow she took aim.

[Noth]

The hybrid cast his eyes upward, observing the wind as it slithered about the sky. It was beautiful to observe, and he found himself captivated by the simple shifting and swaying motions as the air currents carried wind to and fro. Crimson eyes locked onto another curious facet, and quickly identified a dark and swirling storm cloud overhead. He had noticed it nearly a break earlier, and had realized that it simply would not abandon his position. He had traveled several dozen bits away from home, and yet it still swirled almost directly over his head, as though it were simply a miasma birthed forth from his pores, marring the sky with an ugly darkness, a tumor of evil.

Attention was refocused upon the ground, and the twilight hybrid once more found himself staring at obvious and blatant tracks as he hunted his prey. He had determined it unnecessary to bring his armor for the trip since he was attempting to actively avoid predators, but his trusty longbow still stood ready within his palm, an arrow already present in his oft-hand for rapid notching and firing. It was not incredibly uncommon for Noth to hunt, and it was necessary for him to do so if he wished to continue his separation from society, but this trial was different. Typically, Noth hunted solely for the sake of acquiring meat or some other bodily product from his prey. In an odd reversal of roles, the hybrid actually wanted to give the animals something, though it was unlikely they would accept it as a gift.

He wanted to hurt something.

It was an unfamiliar thought within the mind of the Avriel, despite his murderous tendencies and actions in the past. He had never genuinely desired to harm anything, but he had often found it necessary to engage in such carnally violent acts. When he had awoken in the morning, however, he had found himself incredibly wracked with sudden guilt over his actions. He couldn’t get the faces of the dead out of his mind’s eye, couldn’t forget the sudden gasps that signaled the end of life.

Every single one of them had a history, had dreams, family, loves, hopes, and suddenly all of that came rushing back to him. He had been alone, and so it hadn’t mattered whether or not he sobbed, he would lose no face if his only companion was Vern. He had tried to restrict the emotions as he had done in the past, to shove them aside with work, but he had plenty of food, and there was nothing particularly urgent which required him. Other sorrowful events clouded his mind as well; the death of his father, and the absolutely dreadful situation with Nightshade.

He still wasn’t entirely certain what to think of her. She had saved his life once, and he had likely done nothing but cause her trouble. He had told her to abandon him so that she might be saved from the danger he wrought, but he hadn’t genuinely wanted her to go. He had become an oxymoron, a loving parasite, something which wanted you safe, but simultaneously needed you hurt.

It had all been too much. He distinctly remembered covering his eyes with his palms, squeezing against his cranium in a vain attempt at crushing away the memories. He remembered when his vision began to blur from the intense pressure, when his hands slipped further down his cheeks. He needed to expel the internal turmoil, needed to release it to the world so that it was no longer carried solely on his shoulders. His first instinct was to scream, but he couldn’t muster it within himself. It wouldn’t be enough, he had to scream in a voice which was not his own, a voice capable of expressing the agony inherent in his life, and he was simply incapable of doing that.

But other things were.

It was a sick thought, but one which had latched tightly to his mind. It was illogical, but it seemed correct. If he were to go out and hurt something else, to wound it, then he could transfer his own suffering into it. He recalled the many fights and combats he had engaged in, and knew that he had never struggled with any rogue emotion throughout any of those instances, but had instead been filled with vigor.

He needed a release, and a darkly disposed bird such as himself knew only one way to accomplish it.

Eventually, the deer came into view of the hybrid, and he rapidly went to work notching his arrow and aiming his shot. The wind blew only gently, and he was fairly close to the beast, which meant that it wouldn’t interfere greatly with his shot. The creature was covered in fairly smooth fur, and he imagined running his fingers through it, causing tufts of hair to rise upwards in the process. He wasn’t entirely sure whether or not it was a buck or a doe given that it did not possess a set of antlers, but he thought he saw a pair of nubs atop its skull which might have been the beginning of such growths.

It was irrelevant. Gender had never dissuaded his wrath.

There was little doubt that it was a calming and gentle endeavor for the hybrid, a circumstance where he was wholly in control of the situation, where he need not worry about external forces.

Perhaps that was why he nearly jumped when the deer raised its eyes, and stared directly towards a seemingly empty spot, a space darker than the surroundings, a simple spot of midnight feathers.

His heart dropped in his chest as realization stung at his soul, and the surprise neatly made him release the arrow. It hurtled with a twang, already halfway to its target before the sound even managed to reach his ears, and quickly slammed into the upper back of the beast. The animal bayed in surprise and pain, and quickly jolted forward, beginning its retreat. It took only a single leaping hop forward before its back legs betrayed it, and collapsed limply against the ground.

It was an animal, a wild beast, but Noth recognized the desperation on its face just as clearly as if it had been a person.

The motor nerves must have been severed by the arrow now protruding from its spine, and it now weakly attempted to crawl away from its attackers, scooting itself pathetically across the ground and leaving a light trail of blood. It was in pain, that much was clear, and whilst there was a sudden tickle of guilt which played across his mind, there was also a sick satisfaction which crossed his lips.

Something else knew how he felt.

[Nightshade Eld]

The half bred woman had a start when the beasts turned to look at her. Quickly two different arrows glided through the air at the same time. One doing far more damage the the animal than the other. Nightshade's attention turned Noth's direction, barely catching sight of him. All she had to identify him was a stop of black. A bizarre mix of emotions crawled up into her thoughts, but she tried to brush them away. Storm, not knowing something was wrong with the situation, charged out to tackle the deer as the pair always did when they were hunting. He sunk his fangs deep into the throat of the majestic creature, killing it quickly, ending its suffering and making sure not to taint the meant with his poison for the sake of his master. Nightshade darted out right after the large silvery animal, standing right beside him as to make certain Noth didn't try to shoot at it. If he dared try and hurt Storm, he'd never be forgiven. The half bird would instantly be at the top of her most hated list with Syora and Faldrun. She only knew it was Noth by a slight spattering of black against the forest around him, but she doubted it could be anything else. She rested a hand on Storm, her gaze never leaving the spot she suspected Noth to be .

Gently she nudged the Zelroux standing over the deer. Without much effort Storm lifted up the dead deer in his jaws. Nightshade continued to look directly at her fellow half breed. Her expression was completely unreadable, the chaotic mix of emotions leading to a look too twisted and constantly shifting to be judged properly. The one thing consistent in her gaze was the element of as harsh, penetrating glare. There were two options here. Either there was another hunter hiding in the bushes that Night needed to barter with for her dinner, or there was Noth in which case she was still holding just a little tiny grudge. And of course little tiny was another way of saying a determined spite. She still wasn't sure exactly what she was going to do about Noth. She was completely in the dark when it came to Noth's response to her. She had no idea how he felt in regards to his existence, she didn't know about what Paplo had implied to Noth, and she sure as hell didn't know Noth's inner turmoils. Circumstances suggested it wouldn't be positive all things considered.

Night tried to keep an open mind in regard to her once friend, but she also braced herself for a distasteful encounter just incase the situation turned bitter. "Come out," she called. The demand wasn't harsh, but it obviously wasn't a question or suggestion either. She stood tall at her full height, her back straightened and her eyes bearing right into the man the green was hiding.

[Noth]

Ailing moans and groans of painful existence crept through the forest, whipping through the trees, and sending shivers of strange tingling pleasure running up his spine. Those same ecstatic sensations quickly faded as the lone deer was slain by a far larger beast which easily snapped its neck with its mighty jaws. Immediately, his hand drifted to his back to retrieve another arrow, but he noticed the flash of midnight once again, and there stood the scorned lady who had once saved his life, protecting the predator from him. He hadn’t known that she possessed a pet such as the great silvery beast, and he briefly questioned where he might acquire such a creature.

She had quite clearly seen him, and he couldn’t quite decide whether or not that was good. He had betrayed her in the past, and he knew that if he were in her shoes, he would have taken revenge for the acts, and yet, she was a far more virtuous sort than he, and he doubted that she would be so incensed as to assail him. His fellow half-blood seemed to glare at him with a face constantly twitching in emotion, locked into an odd confusion, and he could understand it completely.

He wasn’t sure what he was meant to feel when he was around Nightshade. She had saved his life once, and from that point on, they had become fast friends. Yet, she had continued associating with him, despite his horrific deeds, and they had fought together against cruel foes on more than one occasion. She had taken a knife for him, and in return he had trudged through a forest on an injured leg to seek out medical care for her. He had told her his past, the dark history that surrounded his origin, and in return she had done the same. They had become more than friends, and then, in a splintering instant that relationship had been shattered to the wind by his own ambition, by his desires.

To make matters worse, Paplo had admitted to having started a relationship with a person who could only have been Nightshade by the way she was described. He had not quite expected the jealous inclination that had grasped at his heart, and in that moment, he knew that he might have slain Ynush if he had not abandoned the cave, and promised to abandon the relationship.

He would abandon her for ambition, and yet, he would abandon his allies for her sake. His behavior was contradictory and confused, and though the Hawk and the Hare still harried his brain with solutions, they bickered so neatly that he had difficulty determining a perfect solution to the issue.

Words of summoning reached his ears, and he quickly lay his bow across his shoulder, staring down into the slight clearing with his crimson and fiery eyes. He could retreat. He could simply turn tail and sprint in to the forest, but if she desired, her terrible beast would catch him in his run, and to kill her pet would surely ingratiate her hate towards him.

With a gentle sigh, he stepped forth from the foliage, revealing himself entirely to her eyes, and gradually began to approach, stopping several feet away from her and the downed beast now clutched in the maw of her pet. Words escaped him, and so he simply stared straight ahead, his own emotions hidden nicely by his feathered exterior, keeping him from revealing the internal turmoil rippling around his body. He preferred to conceal such weak aspirations and emotions, to keep them hidden lest he be taunted by fiendish ghouls and become an act of gallivanting for some torturous soul.

The words came to him, the slick and slithering words of a snake, a vain attempt at pretending that nothing was off with the situation.
“I see you’ve become quite a good shot. Well done.”
He paused, watching her for a response before continuing with the façade.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Such a pleasant beast you’ve tamed, there.” He smirked, a mirthless sensation which twitched nervously at the edges of his cheeks as though the deception were too much for it to be maintained properly.
“Please don’t leave.” He spoke, quietly, softly, and then internally hissed at himself for the slip. The words carried with them a clear longing, a desperate call.
He corrected himself quickly, raising his voice once more to its deceptive kindness, “After all… the deer.”

[Nightshade Eld]

The half-breed was entirely unsure of how to feel when her... comrade, stepped out from the bushes. Yes, that was what they had become again, not more than comrade's occasionally helping one another when the going get tough and it became dangerous living in the wilds outside Etzos. Of course, such a problem hadn't bothered her in a while. She was becoming famous around Etzos, which meant she was becoming infamous around bandits. People seemed to avoid her cave with the same dedicated ferocity they might have in avoiding Noth's, but for an entirely different reason. Best of all, she was still allowed a pleasant traveler from time to time, one that had a willingness to speak of work and ways to earn coin. It was a shame that words didn't seem to be completely on his side today because she demanded a good few. Annoyance prickled in the back of her mind as she simply watched the 'man'. She wouldn't even start to bring up the spite. If he was trying to somehow fix the situation and make it better, he wasn't doing a very good job.

Eventually, the beast spoke, and all it could speak of was death. Her eyes narrowed. "Yes, like you yourself said, survival is a great teacher and motivator. I guess to an extent I already knew how to shoot a bow, or at least I used to. I just needed something to remember," she didn't want to so much put her weapon away, but she realized if she gripped her bow any tighter she was without a doubt going to snap it. So it was pressed against her shoulder as her face twisted into a deeper line of irritation.

Commenting on Storm might have very well been a bit more than Noth had bargained for. "Yes, indeed he is. And I have to say he's easily one of the best friend's I've ever had. Certainly more loyal than some of those I've known within the span of my lifetime," she mused as her voice took on an acidic kind of sharpness. She stewed for a couple moments before opening her mouth like she wanted to say something and quickly closing it as if she didn't want to waste the breath. Finally, she found the words she'd been trying to figure out how to say. "Yes, it has been a while. Though not nearly as long as I thought it was going to be," her voice took on a quiet tone of melancholy. It was the kind of desperate sound between a plead and a moan someone made after they realize they lost something important or had been betrayed. Her words wavered, not quite because she was at a loss for them but more so because she was at a loss for the strength to force them out.

"Perhaps... Perhaps it would be best if I took my leave now. I have a lot I need to get done," she said, turning away from Noth and positioning her body in the direction of Storm. A sharpness had returned to her voice, and yet it was little more than the thorn prick of a dying rose that knew its days were numbered. Behind that sharpness, there was something resigned, like she always knew it was coming. To let her walk away now would very well be the end. But he didn't.

In a voice nearly as quiet and weak as hers had been a moment ago, three little words completely changed the world around her. Noth quickly tried to amend himself saying that it was about the deer, but the damage had already been done. In more ways than one might the humble narrator add. Without any warning, she turned on her heels, quick enough that she nearly slapped Storm with her wings. "Oh really? Really now," she growled in a voice full of ire. "If that's it, you can take the deer," she turned once more to Storm, tugging at the dead animal. Storm whimpered slightly, not liking the rage his master had flew into. After all, it wasn't every day that Nightshade tried to throw a dead animal at someone. If it wasn't enough of a shock that she could actually pick up the deer, then it certainly would have been a shock when she threw it in the direction of Noth. Of course, her own mind betrayed her and wouldn't let her actually throw it at Noth. That didn't mean she didn't get pretty damn close to breaking her would be boy friend with a deer carcass. These were the moment one had to wonder what their life had turned into.

"How dare you," she snarled. "String puller! Traitor! Am I only something to keep around when I'm amusing and to be discarded the moment you find a more interesting toy?" Her voice sounded far beyond hurt. The tone in a way had almost become hysterical. "This isn't fair! It isn't fair at all, you can't do this to me!" In a matter of trills, her eyes had gone from balls of blue steel to dripping liquids. Certainly, if either of them had expected this to happen that day, then neither would have left their caves.

"Of course, why would this be fair? Poor little Nightshade can't find happiness, all she can do is give it to others. The first time I found someone I cared about I had to watch them die for me and the second he practically confesses and then tells me to get the fak out of his life," she whimpered. Her lips turned upwards into a bitter smile as laughter managed to bubble its way up and into her throat.

[Noth]

The two were diametrically opposed, and yet so terribly similar. They were both half-blooded Avriel, and they had both lost their families. They had both been cared for by others, but had lost those as well, and now each of them wallowed in their own loneliness. Their backstories were close, minor changes to the renditions of a similar tragedy, and yet, they were also different.

Noth had grown into a bitter and violent person, one who took what he wanted forcibly, and who cared little for the mewling cries of the deprived, or the hateful screams of the oppressed. He was a serial killer, and anyone who genuinely knew him knew that he was nowhere near his finish, that in his palm, the land would be drenched with the blood of those he perceived to be lesser. He brought death and pain and anguish.

Nightshade was his direct opposite. She had chosen that the only way to make her life better was to make others’ lives better, and had determined somewhere along the line to act as an official mercenary. Her work was almost always good for the general public, however, and he knew that she must stalk around, hunting down bandits and other scum. Yet, she had chosen for some strange reason to allow him to continue his maniacal schemes, his slaughters. She brought peace in contrast with Noth’s death.

She spoke, and he immediately felt a soreness in his soul at the relative coldness, the clear disdain that wrought itself through her speech. The conversation drifted from a discussion on her recently acquired archery skills, to the new pet that she had managed to tame. She stated that it was one of her best friends, and that it was more loyal than others she had known. The twilight hybrid visibly winced at that, glancing away from her so as not to have to look her in the eyes as she so unsubtly accused him of his treachery.

“Glad to hear it.” He responded, some of the vigor having left his voice.

The comment on how long it had been since they had seen one another was also filled with some manner of sadness from Nightshade, who effectively stated that she had expected him to be away for longer. The cold place in his soul tightened, and he frowned, acknowledging the pain that he had obviously caused her. He had originally planned on staying away, admittedly, but his emotional state had somehow managed to drag him back to his present circumstances, and he had mentally hastened to bridge the gap between them. Opportunity had decided to bless; or perhaps curse, the hybrid with his counterpart’s presence.

She turned to leave, and he spoke, beckoning her not to retreat away from him, hoping that she wouldn’t abandon him like he had abandoned her. It was a desperate and hypocritical cry, but it was his desire nonetheless. She complied, turning back to him, apparently having determined not to flee back into the woods where he would likely never see her again, or at worst, catch her as an enemy combatant in some piteous combat. Rather foolishly, he attempted to save face, trying to be the monstrous person he knew he needed to become, and was rewarded for his efforts by a rather peeved Nightshade.

She growled at him, her voice filled with evident anger, and he simply shook his head sorrowfully.
“I… don’t want it. You can have it. I don’t need it.” He spoke in regards to the deer which she had hastily scooped out of the jaws of her pet, and now seemed intent on hurling at her former ally. The fact that she was even capable of lifting the deer up spoke of its relatively light weight, and he internally questioned whether or not it would actually hurt if the beast was tossed at him. With all of the screaming and growling and throwing, he was reminded rather quickly of a harsh domestic scene, and perhaps that was more fitting than he was willing to acknowledge.

Her frustration drove off of her in almost palpable waves, and he could feel the absolute ire in every word that she shrieked at him, accusing him of being a string puller, and a traitor. He would have defended himself if it weren’t true, if he hadn’t committed such a high treason against one of the few people he genuinely cared for, if he hadn’t left her behind in pursuit of his ambitions. In mere moments, her angered tone became hysterical, the madness seeping into her skull in apparent delirium, and he worriedly wondered whether she might faint from the exertion. For all of her anger, the tears that began to drip down her eyes revealed more than all of the yelling might have done.

“I’m…” He wanted to say sorry, but it didn’t feel genuine enough. It didn’t seem to reverberate the amount of compassion he wanted to profess, the pitiful sadness that had crept into his soul at the mere sight of his demolished ‘friend’. Try as he might, the murderous Avriel could not come forth with a singular word or phrase or sentence that would magically redeem him in the eyes of Nightshade. He could not conceive some formulaic conversational piece that would cause her to desist her emotional struggling, to rejoin him as before.

“If I had known what it would do to you, I would have stopped myself.” He spoke, his voice gentle and faint, sympathetic. “I was… wrong. I tried to push you away, because I live a life of danger and death, and if you had been harmed through some fault of my own, then I would have been…” He paused, unsure of the right word, and instead simply blinked sorrowfully at her, hoping that his features and context clues conveyed the right idea to her.

“It is difficult for me to draw close to anyone, Nightshade. The only person I ever considered to be close was murdered by my own hands. I couldn’t fathom that fate for you, and yet, I am an anathema to peace. Think, how many times have you been hurt since you met me? How many wounds have you suffered in my presence? It pained me greatly to see you harmed so, and so I attempted to drive you away… but I know I was wrong. You’re stronger than that, you can handle the crucible.”

“I’m sorry. Please…”

[Nightshade Eld]

"This isn't fair," the woman whimpered in a quiet voice. She eyes turned downwards as she tried her best to avoid making eye contact with the man across from her. "It just isn't fair," she said in a broken sounding tone. She turned away from Noth, trying to hide her face in Storm's flank. The creature gave a deep growl at the distress of its master, but Night ran a hand across his pelt to calm him. "It just isn't fair," she said once more turning to Noth. Unlike him, she wasn't afraid to show her weakness. She wasn't going to try and hide the fact that there were tears dripping downwards, her expression twisted into something pitiful and hurt.

"Why!" She growled her eyes had turned a deep gray with the lighting, only showing traces of the blue that usually glittered with spirit and strength. "You think you can just waltz over to me and ask for forgiveness!? It isn't fair, it isn't fair that you can come over here and act like nothing at all happened. It isn't fair that you can pretend you didn't do what you did. It isn't fair that I'm going to forgive you anyway! It isn't fair that you get to make me love you and hate you at the same immortal damned time! It isn't fair, it isn't fair, it isn't fair!" She crowed before moved forward and ramming her head against Noth's chest. "Why..." She whimpered quietly. "You're a drug, an immortal forsaken drug," she growled leaving the implications of the statement to the crow. She was glad that her face was pressed against his chest because her expression continued to twist and writhe in varying degrees of pain.

"Stop it, just stop it already, it isn't fair," she choked on her sobbing as she went as far as to wrap her arms around her fellow hybrid. "Make it fair, do something to make it fair!" She snapped suddenly her grip around his mid section tightening as she desperately struggled with a tidal wave of emotion she kept submerged around the people of Etzos. Even after everything that had happened, there was a certain degree of trust that Nightshade had in her fellow bird, misplaced as the trust was. She trusted him not to hurt her, she trusted him not to judge her, she trusted him not to leave her. And yet he'd broken all of these trusts before. Shattered her heart and her emotions like they were little more than the skull of another foe that needed to be defeated. He had treated her like she was an enemy and a hurdle and yet here she was, crying against him like the only person she could trust was him. The portion of Noth that she had pressed her face against had quickly become wet with tears.

Storm was quietly glaring down Noth as if daring him not to comfort Nightshade.

[Noth]

The woman that he cared for continued her crying, her emotional state clearly having been hacked to pieces by his presence. He questioned for several moments whether or not his apology had been enough, and if she were simply still getting the sadness out of her system before accepting him back into her life. Then she spoke, shouting at him, questioning why it was okay for him to do what he had done, okay for him to simply apologize for his shortcomings. She implied that he was pretending that nothing had happened, and whilst he wished that was true, because her crying moans echoed out into the forest like a wounded animal, like the beast he had just shot only moments earlier.

Was this what he did to people? Was all life simply destined to be judged at his uncaring and cruel hand? Was it all meant to be tortured for the sake of his pleasure, and for that matter, since when had he found the tortures and hackings of the living to be enjoyable? He had always considered it a chore, a work that was necessary, but unwanted, like how a doctor removes the dead from their operating table after it becomes clear that they had expired. What sadism had taken its roots at his core? What monstrosity had he become?

The one he had always wanted to become. The creature that he had always desired to be, the one seen for what it is, the one that tortures and tears and rends, the one that brings tears of pain, not joy.

Reality made him twitch for a brief instance as an uncomfortable shiver rocked his body. The cold did not care for the cold, but only for the warm. The sick did not care for the sick, only the healthy. The bloodied did not mind the presence of blood, but only of cleanliness. Here he stood, a paragon of murder and wickedness, being grasped tightly by a girl who had stated only moments earlier that she both loved and hated him. The pain that wrapped about his heart was due to the contrast. If Nightshade became like him… then there would be no difference, no pain, they would be the same, and then they could be one.

He was pleased that her face was pressed into his chest, because he didn’t imagine that the grin that flickered across his face for a heartbeat was appropriate to the situation. He forced it to vanish away immediately, taking stock of the situation, and gently pressing one of his feathered hands against the side of her head. He stroked down the length of it, parting the hair gently and running the flanges through it in a comforting petting motion, whispering comforting half-words into her ears.

“I’m so sorry.”
He repeated several times throughout the interaction, barely taking notice of the beast which observed him as he caressed its master. Fingers that strangled now attempted to bring relief, and he remained in that position for as long as she did, wary of removing himself from it lest she somehow self-destruct. In a short time, the clothes he wore, and the feathers beneath them had all but been soaked through, and he could still feel the saline-filled tears drip and dribble down his body, falling to the ground as gravity yanked them from her eyes.

The twilight hybrid bent over slightly, laying his own head atop that of his fellow hybrid, gradually shushing her in easing and sympathetic tones. “You know I care for you… all I desire is that same care from you. I know it is difficult, but I swear it by everything I stand for that I won’t betray you ever again. Come… rest your weary eyes, let us eat, or run, or do something… anything would be satisfactory so long as I am with you.”
He wasn’t sure what he expected the response to be, but he knew that her sobs were desisting ever so slightly, and he hoped that she might agree to an activity of some sort. That was the only way he had ever made himself useful in the past, through action.

[Nightshade Eld]

Her entire body was still a little shaky. Her entire thought process had been thrown through a loop just by the presence of one creature. That creature, of course, had been the lovely likes of Noth. A drug had been an apt way to describe him earlier. He was something dangerous with the potential to either heal in small amounts of kill and destroy. It would be so very easy to just give in, let Noth have his way, let him have fun, to break down and just join him, in the end, would be the easiest thing she could ever do in her life. But the god things didn't come easy, of everyone in the world Nightshade Eld knew that best of all. The mark, still burning on her hand as if it was upset at her actions, reminded her of that. And yet, was this not the right thing to do? It would be a lie to say that neither creature pulled on its opposite and tried to drag them over. True, Noth's actions were far more pronounced, but it didn't change the fact that Nightshade was hard to budge and the entire time with her sweet nature, kind words, and loving attitude she'd been gently trying to drag Noth along with her. Neither one really wanted to yield but neither one really wanted to lose the other. Noth had tried, oh how Noth had tried back in the dark and the cold. And yet, here they were like always. Perhaps just as Noth was something that brought fourth dangerous amounts of adrenaline and dark thoughts, Nightshade was a sedative that threatened to pull Noth under.

Would it really be so bad if one of them conceded? Listening to Noth, maybe they could both afford to play out this game a little longer. After her tears had all but dried she felt a smile start to pull and tease the corners of her mouth. No, if one of them could actually win then it wouldn't be so bad. But winning was where the problem lied. After all, Noth had to face down a dragon and Nightshade was going to have to catch a hawk. That was the only way either of them was going to make any progress in changing the nature of the other. The dragon, however, was strong and proud with scales of steel and iron ever since being proven its actions were justified by the Immortal whose attention it sought. On the other hand of the spectrum, the hawk was hard to catch and the hawk was hard to prove wrong. Except for one simple fact that Nightshade proved to be already equipped with an ally. After all, the rabbit could outsmart the hawk and become stronger than it too. Hawks were weak when one truly thought about it, they could only carry 15 pounds and weren't the smartest of birds. But rabbits, the largest rabbit Nightshade had ever seen was 4 feet and 4 inches. The largest in the world they'd called the beast. Perhaps if Night could raise a hare like that, maybe she'd win this little game.

She pulled away from Noth looking upwards, she sniffled slightly as she smiled at him. Her eyes had turned red and she was fighting valiantly against the dripping of her nose. She thought on Noth's offer for a moment before she actually spoke. "Okay".

[Alistair]

Nightshade

Knowledge
Hunting: Knowing how to track
Hunting: Hiding from prey
Hunting: Trying to kill a deer with a sword doesn't work
Hunting: A Zelroux makes for a good hunting companion
Ranged Combat(Short Bow): How to Aim
Ranged Combat(Short Bow): Better gear tends to help
Ranged Combat(Short Bow): Jerry is a good but a moody bow
Ranged Combat(Short Bow): Try to aim for vital areas.
Noth: Hated and adored
Noth: A giant pain
Noth: A lot like a drug

Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Fame: N/A
Devotion: N/A

Points: 15

Noth

Knowledge
Torture – Aim for Non-vitals
Torture – Crippling Causes Suffering
Longbow (Ranged) – Spinal Damage Cripples Opponent.
Longbow (Ranged) Arrows Cut Through Bone
Hunting – Firing from Hidden Position
Deception – Hiding Smiles
Deception – Giving Apologetic Speeches (Technically, this wasn’t a lie, but it’s the sort of skill that could be useful in lying)
Nightshade – Hates and Loves You
Nightshade – Decided to Accept You

Loot: +1 Deer Cadaver
Injuries: N/A
Fame: N/A
Devotion: N/A

Points: 15

Comments: Hey. So I knoooooow you're gonna be mad at me for this, but I want people to start listing out their own devotion and fame since it's easier for the reviewer... so I didn't really try to find any. I'm sorry. ;-;

It was a good thread, though. I honestly didn't think Nothshade was canon lol. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please let me know.