(( Author's Note: This post represents a slightly-edited excerpt of a roleplay that this mun and another mun participated in. Both players submitted their consent to the posting prior to the time of its release and are also content with the few, if any, notable alterations made for the sake of clarity. ))

Preface: The Knight Returns...

Her intuition lead her silent footsteps toward the Glen. She let her tracking senses lead her to where they had encountered his presence so many times before. She had planned on a night at the Inn, enjoying some absinthe and catching up with old friends. Feeling his aura on the porch had made that impossible for her. Not to say her mind wasn't on him since she arrived back, she knew she would need to seek him out at some point to continue what they had started before. She couldn't deny her nervousness if she found him. Her guilt weighed her down like a sack of bricks about her abrupt disappearance. She wondered if he would be upset with her and she hoped that she had enough time to explain what happened. When the Unseelie messenger comes to you with a high-end job, you obey or someone else is sent to you. She had left the Inn with her bottle in hand, though she hadn't brought herself to open it yet. Instead it was tucked beneath her arm. Her forest green cloak fell to the back of her knees, the hood sat against her back as she had removed it along the way. Beneath the cloak she was dressed in bleached white soft leather, the straps wrapped around her torso and the pants were like a second skin. It was flexible and soft, easy for her mobility and speed. On her feet were knee-high soft leather boots. She paused in her tracking to close her eyes, her opal-reminiscent hair wafted through the breeze, lightly tickling her face. Her brows furrowed in concentration as she tried to let her intuition and senses lead her feet.

It was near the tranquil expanse of water at the very epicenter of the valley's glen that his aura would begin to resonate and flow outward toward the more sensitive individuals. There, his unnerving presence drove most of the wildlife native to the area away from the lake's general vicinity, leaving him essentially alone to contemplate the time he'd spent searching for the keys to new echelons of ambition. He'd the heart of the Wyrmking beating in his chest and his influence was growing with each and every minuscule advance he made. Even so, he still had a fair number of tools to acclimate unto him. Little did he know that one such artifact of his past would end up seeking him out.

Her eyes opened slowly as she heard something approaching quickly and she retrieved one of her hidden daggers from the wrap on her forearms. In a combatant stance, she was ready. She sighed softly as an elk swiftly made it's way from the treeline and passed her without a glance, her head canted to the side as she noticed it's demeanor. Fear. She started heading towards the direction it was fleeing from, breaking into a sprint though her footfalls remained nearly silent. Intuition kicked in again, and it brought her towards the water. Her hair whipped behind her as her movements quickened until beginning to slow the more she felt his presence. She was close, she could feel it, though it was much stronger than she ever remembered. Thin, pale white brows furrowed as she slowly approached. Her soft, musical voice carried gently in the wind. "Scion"...." She was on edge, not knowing what to expect. She never knew what to expect from him. Whether it would be a warm welcome or not, she couldn't say. She could see the flowing water now and she reached the wooded line of trees, slipping through the opening between the fir trees to the valley. Her muscles refused to lose it's tension as she stopped walking, looking around with narrowed eyes. He's here. But where"

"You've returned to me....Dearest Knight..." Without warning, if she didn't find the time to defend herself, she would find that a truly large, magicked claw had ripped its way though her abdomen and proceeded to lift her up by that gaping hole it had made. If she looked aft of her, an imposingly tall mannequin with a relatively featureless visage would be hoisting her up by her wound whilst a shadowy figure stepped free from the darkness in its measured trek toward her. "Hmhm....It's been far too long since you abandoned me. This should serve as your first and final punishment....From this, I only have one piece of admonishment to bestow upon you....Would you like to hear it?" His words were slaked with a poisonous concoction of authoritarian malice and a doting sort of longing that would beguile even the most learned scholar. In that single moment of brutality, it would seem as though he'd all but given up his hatred for the woman who had caused his already withered heart so very much anguish.

All of the instances that she imagined, this was not it. She didn't have enough time to defend herself or move out of the way. And so it played out. The look of shock, pain both emotionally and physically was clear as day on her face. Her hands gripped his arm as she dropped her blade to the ground to hold onto him. A mouthful of blood fell from her lips as she managed to get out a few pitiful words that was so thick of hurt. "I'm sorry, Scion...." Her chest heaved as his arm was covered in her blood, her eyes fluttering. She should've seen this coming, in his words, she betrayed him. She left without warning, and was gone for much longer than she expected. What she thought would be a quick bounty turned into an 8 month trek. Her eyes filled with tears for a moment until another familiar voice flooded her thoughts. Well, I guess we deserved that. Doesn't make me like it anymore, regardless. I liked this outfit. "Fae.....no." Snow looked to be fighting something inside herself. No' His arm is through your abdomen and you're going to tell me no' You are so much more pathetic than I knew. "Scion.....get away from me...." Her aura began to shift. The visible ripple of change before she opened her eyes that were once crystal blue were now completely black, large and glaring at him. From scalp to tips, the opal color turned to onyx, her skin began to darken as her Unseelie marks turned to a dark purple. Her soft, musical voice was now deeper, slightly seductive and full of malice. "Well, this wasn't the kind of penetrating that I had in mind." A dark, sinister laugh escaped her lips as she spat out blood toward his chest. Internally, Snow was shuddering. She didn't want this. She didn't want Fae to lash out of him, she knew she deserved this. She hurt him, something that an arm through the abdomen would never make her feel better about. The physical pain of that paled in comparison to the guilt she felt. Please, don't do this Fae....

"So, there was a difference in you, then" Hush, child. You have naught to fear. This one will pose little trouble at all," he calmly reassured you as he stood firm in his conviction to face the newly awakened secondary persona in the woman. There was nothing more to be said, as he would only have need for willing servants. He would ruthlessly weed out any who would dare to oppose his might. "Tell me....Before we continue, violating darker fragment of my Knight....Who are you?" he questioned, more than ready to administer his harsh judgment and yet reserving it until she absolutely deserved it. At once, the Living Shadow made to withdraw from her and disperse into its abyssal state, only reappearing once it made it back to its master's side. He was....unpleasantly nonchalant in the way he addressed the arrival. His countenance didn't suggest that he failed to register her as a legitimate threat. Nay, it was because she was something to be feared that he regarded her with those collected, unwavering, and obscured hues. With any luck, this would be over before he needed to take off his mask. That was a threshold he didn't want to have to cross.

Dropping to her knees for a moment before stubbornly making her way to a tree to pull herself to her feet, though slumping against the rough bark. Her breathing was rugged, shallow but her eyes were unwavering and boring into him. "Name's Fae, guess you could say Snow and I figured things out. Made things a bit easier...." Another spat of blood from her mouth. "To call each other by different names." She grunted, pressing her blood covered hand harder to her abdomen as she gritted her teeth. Her eyes closed as tendrils of royal purple light twirled around her fingertips and entered the hole in her torso. Teeth grinding together, she felt her insides begin to knit back together. She hadn't worked on her healing enough to fully close the wound, but she could at least turn it away from being fatal. She began to visualize her internal organs, seeing the light fix the broken and torn tissue, pulling them together and healing her. By the time she stopped, the wound was closed enough to where she would stop bleeding internally, and on her stomach, it would look closed, though the center of the hole was still visible. Her eyes slowly opened and she looked at him with a calmer demeanor, which wasn't saying much considering Fae's personality itself was hostile. She stood straighter and pulled her neck to the side until she heard it pop, sighing. "Mhn. Better. Blood magic is such a tricky feat, though you did make it easier for me." A wicked grin, dark and cynical etched across her face as she wiggled her blood soaked fingers. "Now, a conversation can be had. To your first question, yes. I was always here. Snow thought she was mad, hearing another voice, thought it was the madness of having dark blood in her." Her tone was mocking towards Snow and she laughed. "Not even close. Think of it like conjoined twins, sharing the same body." Her arms crossed over her chest as she leaned against the tree, her previously white attire now stained red.

Stepping closer to her, the masked magus would soon find himself nearer to her than she probably would have liked. He did indeed sense the hostility; however, it was not by mere will alone that he had attained all he had. For a weapon to refuse to be wielded now would be just shy of incorrigible: an unforgivable failure. To be honest, he didn't want to erase either of them if it could be helped. Her cooperation was needed, however. Without warning, he extended a quiet command to her, uncaring in regards to her demeanor. "Bare yourself to me....There is something I must do, and I'd rather it not be contested by trivialities."

Her eyes instantly narrowed but she didn't shy away from him. No, Fae would never back down from anyone. "Sure go ahead, you already know what my insides feel like around your wrist. What else could you want?" Her muscles were tense, ready to strike defensively if she needed to. Snow trusted him, but Fae was weary. She always thought Snow trusted too easily, she was the more cautious one. A few moments before, she knew what it felt like to have someone's arm through her stomach, she was in a weakened state and she refused to let her guard down. Luckily, if needed, she had another dagger hidden against her other forearm. Fae couldn't deny something she felt towards him, though she hated it in a way. Love made her feel weak, and she refused to accept weakness. But she couldn't deny him. Not to say she wouldn't would him slightly if he tried to pull that again though. A second wound she didn't think she could heal. Not so soon. Her not pulling away, and not striking at him gave him the okay he was asking for. Get on with it, then...." Her eyes pierced into him, watching his every move.

With a gentle grazing of his own gauntlet's claw against the supple skin of her stomach, he would find and press his palm against the wound, gingerly poking at each of the points whereby his claws touched the area around the wound. Soon, a violet light would be emitted from the gauntlet's epicenter, a sustained flow of energy similar in essence to magic, yet different in practice, winding its way into her wound and mending it with extreme precision. A hissing could be heard as the unknown spellforce set to work both healing the wound and searing a mark into her soul that she would nary be able to trace. She likely wouldn't even notice until the process had finished. Additionally, she might also have felt the soft droplets of sullied, salty self-loathing that fell past his mask's scope of security onto her shoulders and hair. Be you Snow or Fae....Light or Darkness....Love or Hatred, I will not suffer to have you leave my side again. Both of you are to serve as my Sword and Shield....That was your oath to me. I have not forgotten this pact, nor will I ever. You are my Guardian....My Savior....My Knight, and above all else....The person I love more than any other. So, I ask you only this....Do not rebuke me, that I might serve to keep my sanity intact." Was he weeping" He loved so openly now....What had changed over the period she'd been gone" Though his features could not project his feelings adequately enough, hidden as they were, his sentiments were made all too clear.

Fae didn't know how to deal with this aspect, she was here to protect Snow and fight when she couldn't bring herself to. She left the diplomacy to the lighter side of her. Snow, having been fighting Fae the entire time, finally emerged to the surface. Her dark appearance turned brighter as she shifted into her previous appearance. How she changed to Fae, she turned to Snow seemingly in reverse. Instead of looking as if Fae overcame her, it was as if Fae withdrew. As she could feel herself being healed, unaware of the rest other than the healing, she had closed her eyes. Once opened, the crystal hues had returned, from tips to scalp the black hair receded to opal, her skin and marks paled to the soft lavender flesh. The sinister voice was gone, leaving behind her soft, pleasant tone. "Scion...." As she looked up to him, her eyes held no hostility, no anger toward what he had done, only guilt to what she had done. "About Fae.....I'm sorry....I hope she wasn't too horrible to you..." Fae allowed her the memory of his words and she nodded in understanding. "Yes.....yes I accept these terms. Allow me to make up for my mistakes, to prove the loyalty that I first intended to you, and promise that I will not disappear on you again. But I must warn you as well, my Queen will not like this at all. I will become the new bounty that I spent most of my life hunting. But with that said, I am willing to face that with you by my side." She knew what she was asking was a lot. But if he truly wanted her, he needed to know that it wasn't going to be easy. For her to pledge her loyalty to him was easy, yes. But taking her from the Unseelie Queen, it was dangerous. Snow's bounty record was flawless. She was the Queen's bounty hunter and the Queen will not be pleased to know she has pledged herself to someone else.

"Scionius is my true name. Learn it well, love..." Though he was both eager and resolute in taking her into his arms once her wound was truly seen to, he still had plenty he needed to make certain to do to prepare her for the task he had predetermined for her in his grand design. Her having been a Bounty Hunter would do little more than aid her in becoming the proverbial Right-Hand of his ambition. At that moment, however, he was merely content knowing that his lost love had not forsaken him. "I fear none who would dare to drive a wedge between us, my dear. You are a very, very rare jewel....You're the first one to make me feel anguish of the heart. For the longest time, I had thought it to have withered away with time; however, a burgeoning semblance of one has returned to claim its place within my breast....There are many trials ahead for us both. I should hope you are ready ere long."

The opal locks bounced as she nodded. "Scionius it is then...." Her hues looked at him, with her small frame, barely hitting five feet tall, he towered over her. He made her feel safe, which made Fae laugh considering he was the one who had rammed his arm through her upper half. She slumped slightly. Between the blood loss and the healing, she felt drained. She swallowed hard and struggled to lift herself into her upright position. "I have been alive for three hundred years. I am Fey, as I believe I've already told you. We allow ourselves only one mate for our entire existence. We are creatures that believe fully in being faithful and loyal. I want none other than you, Scionius." She wasn't sure what to do. A part of her wanted to rush into his arms, the arms she had wished to be in the entire time she was gone or if he was still angry with her. She didn't know if he would allow her to do so. She had a feeling they still had many i's to dot and t's to cross. "I was not expecting to be absent for so long. A week or two turned into a month, then two and so on. I wanted to send a messenger to you, but unsure if it was a good idea to do. I wish to make no excuses for what I did. I should've informed you personally before I left. I guess my fear of the Queen took the best of me and I rushed myself toward the job." Her eyes lowered to the ground, the guilt that she had felt for the past months welled inside her and she sighed. "But I'm here now, and I will do anything in my capabilities to make up for my mistake."

Despite his efforts to form a coherent response, his mind was taken once again by ruminations of both the pleasure of her company and the manifold desires he had in store for her. "Do not dwell on the past. The past deserves not our thoughts save for what we can glean from both our shortcomings and our victories. You have pledged yourself to me of your own volition and endured my wrath as a result of your error. You are relieved of further responsibility. In its stead, I would have you work toward a new task once you have had time to rest. Will you hear my demand?"

His words could not lighten her guilt, but she swallowed her grovelling. "Yes, Scionius. What is your demand?" She looked up at him, canting her head to the side. She wasn't expecting a task so soon, but she wouldn't complain. She was ambitious, always have been. She hated sitting around and twiddling her thumbs, she needed something to do. Granted, at the moment she was barely more than useless.

As the streams of tears that he'd displayed for his beloved dried, his heart once again hardened: a fitting demeanor for one who lived the life he did. Although he'd failed to answer her prior inquiry, it was merely due to the urgency with which he sought to make his next request. "There is someone I would like you to find for me....There is a youth by the name of 'Shard' that has ties to one of my personal projects. I would have him submit himself to my tests. Alas, I have not been able to sense his energy since he split from my influence. If you could apprehend him in spite of his draconian powers, I would be more than willing to proceed with the foundations for my greatest work yet..." Well, a task was a task. Shard, huh..."

Her brows furrowed. "Shard...." Do you know where he tends to spend most of his time?" Even though she was completely drained and her knees were turning to jello, she was immediately in business mode. "I'll need to seek information, try to find others who know him....Spoken to him. Track him down." She was looking towards the ground now, brows furrowed as she was thinking of where to start. No longer concentrating on her stance, her legs gave out from beneath her and she stumbled, grunting as she fell into the tree, her shoulder scraping against the rough bark. "Hmph....What are the use of legs if they don't allow you to stand on them?" She grumbled, her crystal hues narrowing at her somewhat useless legs at the moment.

The Dread Lord came to her side and proceeded to help her steady herself before pulling her beleaguered frame up against his own. If all went well, the both of them would be seated leisurely against the oak's mighty trunk in a restful stupor, her in a position wherein she could use him for support were the need to arise. "You will need to seek out his grand-elders, Lady Icer and Lord Aurthur, as well as others of his family....He belongs to the Shimmerscale Clan of Dragons. Tread with care."

Unable to control her desires, she leaned against his side, she understood if he pulled away from her but she couldn't help but to reach out to him. His presence was something that she had longed for for many months. Her legs pulled up toward her chest as she had leaned against him. The folds of her cloak she pulled even tighter around herself to fend off the brisk breeze that tickled her shoulders. "Yes, I know of Icer. I have seen her around Andu at the Inn. I don't know much about Aurthur. I may be able to get a hold of him if I can get his location from Icer. Tread with care is an understatement. From what I've noticed, they are weary when it comes to their clan. I will be as slick as a fox."

To Be Continued...