Kel hesitated, just outside of Dru's home, fingers toiling idly with the Panther's Claw that now hung around her neck. She frowned, looking up at the night sky a moment, before slipping up the front door. Another slight pause, before she knocked lightly.
No sounds came at first, just the stillness of the night.
"Please be home...." She knocked a little louder, this time, leaning her forehead against the wood. "Please, Dru..."
After a few moments a light clicked on inside. "Whoisit" the words thrown together in a drawling mess of interrupted slumber.
A sigh of relief escaped her lips. "It's Kel... I didn't realize it was so late... Can I come in?" She rubbed her arms. It had grown chilly, and despite her ability to shift her clothing, she'd left the simple loincloth and strip in place. "Please?"
No response to her words, just the opening of that unassuming door.
Through that gently swirling portal showed an unassuming interior, for once, of simple painted walls the shade of a warm burgundy and hardwood floors. The first room that of a living room with a black sofa and matching loveseat around a large coffee table of some dark wood, perhaps cherry and a comfortable looking recliner near the lone window to the room. "You can, what brings you by so late?"
She stepped inside, letting the door close behind her. She blinked crimson eyes a few times, trying to accustom them to the lower light. She looked around for him, still fingering the prize from the tournament. "I... I'm ready, Dru. I... don't need them, anymore."
The old man was in the middle of scrubbing his face when she opened that letter-bomb. Hands fall away so he can actually look at her. "This instant tonight?" His brain was still attempting to catch up to the events as they unfold.
She nodded, crimson eyes studying him closely. "I'm shielded from them. I have been for days." She shook her head slowly. "The shields are enough that I cannot feel them. It was...an experiment, you see. I can do this. I am strong enough." She squared her shoulders, offering him a small smile.
Back to rubbing at his face a breath was softly exhaled. "You sure ol' beastie ain' just bein' patient? Waiting on you to go through with this then it lashes out? They play that game you know..."Moving around Kel, he drifted towards a wall lamp and turned twice bringing a light up about the strength of a candles luminescence. "Once I do it, there'll be no going back, for anyone."
She stepped forward, following him. She laid her hand on his arm, gently. For a change, her hand was warm, instead of cold as it often was when she was raging those inner wars. Her eyes lacked that distinct glow they had taken on for since she had returned from the disastrous job. "Dru... I can't be tethered like this anymore... And... if it is just the demon..." She stepped in front of him, looking deeply into his eyes, fingers reaching up to brush his mask. "I'd rather die."
"Well, I'll tell you up front it won't be pleasant. Bonds such as this latch onto pieces of your energy, chakra points. They link your chakras with theirs like pieces of a puzzle. Severing them can have side-effects on all ends. Shielding as you've done simply built a wall where nothing goes in and out unless you wish it." Druid pretty much spoke for himself since he could figure Kelathe all ready knew all of this.
"I'll contain it within me. I'm the one who created the link, even if it was an accident. I will be only one affected by all this." She sighed softly. "It's the right thing to do, Dru. They need to be free to be on their own, without me..."
"All right. I'll need coffee for this. Follow me." A turn he drifted around the closest corner down a short hall into a decked out kitchen. Range-top in the middle of an island. Pots and pans hanging above, double stacked stove. Not bothering to do everything manually he just flicked his wrist and set the coffee pot instantly percolating. "Sure you don't want me to put in any safeguards or the like?"
She leaned against the doorway, arms folding over her chest. "I either do this by myself, or you kill me. It's that simple, Uriel..." She used his real name. She must be serious.
No reaction came right away, just a hand falling behind for a butt-scritch pondering this admission. "All right, all right. No need for threats." Takes up the mug that had been filling and drank of the black tar within. "You know I have to ask what I do. Wouldn't be what I am if not."
"I know...." She closed her eyes a moment, and ran her fingers through her hair. "It has to be done. I can't...live with them in my head anymore..."
"It's all right to talk in your head, but when the voices answer back it is time to find a good medication." laughs at his own joke for a bit before setting the mug down. "All right, lets' do this. And, promise not to freak out? I'll have to shed some skin to do this...."
"I've seen you naked before... and I've seen you... at least up here..." She tapped her forehead. "After this is done, though... do you mind if I stay here for a few days? That little hunting preserve you have hidden away for me?"
"Trust me...what you've seen ain't nothin. Which reminds me....need more room...." Tracing a symbol on the counter set the whole room shifting. Kitchen fell away to a wide open grassland just after a gentle rain. "Don't want to ruin the kitchen...and you may stay till you can stand."
"Until I can stand?" She looked around, taking in a deep breath. She took a few steps, taking in her surroundings. Her clothing slowly shifted along her spine, allowing her wings to spread upward, and out. She shook them, and turned to face him once more.
"I really hate taking this form, but it can do a lot I can't. Might want to close those sensitive eyes of yours Kel...." Even before saying so his head went back, eyes and mouth opening impossibly wide, emitting a blinding radiance that quickly began consuming his entire form. The mask fades into featureless coverings as his robes turn into a brilliant red, too close to the shade of blood, expanding a sextet of wings. Hair like living fire begins to flow where his robes normally hide it from view, each lock writhing in place, guttering and flickering. The image quickly one revealing the stained glass and books had it wrong where it came to his kind. His, if such a gender could be used, facial features were neither male nor female in their design. Even the body hinted at a form of androgyny though powerful as pristine robes slowly envelope him.
She closed her eyes just in time. Still, she was driven to her knees by the sheer power she sensed before her. Head slightly bowed, she waited. Not a single trace of ebony worked its way through her hair, nor did she tremble in fear. This was her friend, the same person she had taken as a mentor and eventually, into her bed. This was just another form.
Eyes more pitiless than any demon fell on her with a shade of violet that gleamed as though made of cut-glass. "You wish the telepathic bonds connecting you to the changed ones severed." The voice that rang like living thundered didn't ask. It stated. Hovering before her as though about to announce an ill-omen. "This is the third time it is asked that you are sure of your choice."
She looked upward, crimson gaze meeting violet. She made her way to her feet, hands falling at her side. Wings mantled tightly behind her. "I wish to sever the bond. It is time... And I am strong enough." Her gaze was near defiant, daring him to say otherwise.
"So it will be, tainted one. " As though a deal had been struck. The world would explode into white.
Within the haze events would rewind before her eyes, everything involving the binding until that point in time. Undone. Severed and sealed as though it had never truly been and yet events remained as they had unfolded. First rewinding and then replaying into the current frame. "What was done. Has been undone."
She blinked once... twice. She twisted her head, looking around, and seeing... darkness. Yet, she could feel the grass beneath her skin. Could smell the rain that had fallen. Softly, she called out... "U...Ur... Dru?" A hard swallow, her throat suddenly scratchy, as she struggled to sit up.
Coughing and a bit of wheezing would come to her ears as he stood slapping at his dingy robes. "Really hate that guy, so pompous."
"Dru?" She cradled her head in her hands. It was that same, soft hissing voice she had been born with, not harshened by the battle with the demon. "I can't see anything..."
"Oh for fuck's sake..." The old man actually cursed! "Told you to close your eyes...but noooo. No one ever listens to the old man when he says something. Always getting ignored." Some grumbling before something wet is splashing against her eyes. "That won't fix it, but should help." Hands a thousand times stronger than they look are then helping her stand.
She raised an eyebrow, though she couldn't see him. "I hope that was water..." She laughed, leaning against him. "I feel better... So much better..." She could still hear the chiming of the wings, the shift of her clothing as they faded from her back at her will. Another soft laugh, as she leaned into him a little more. "Hey Dru? Want to see if I can still keep up? We still haven't broken your place in yet..."
"Could be fun. You wouldn't know what I'm using where..." A very potential threat as he curled an arm around her to offer support. Another symbol traced in the air set the plain fading back to his kitchen.
She let out another soft laugh, almost delighted, as she took a few steps forward, away from his support. She spun to face him, reaching out her hand to trace her fingers over the lips of his mask. She replaced fingertips with lips briefly, before whispering, "I'm free... finally..."
No sounds came at first, just the stillness of the night.
"Please be home...." She knocked a little louder, this time, leaning her forehead against the wood. "Please, Dru..."
After a few moments a light clicked on inside. "Whoisit" the words thrown together in a drawling mess of interrupted slumber.
A sigh of relief escaped her lips. "It's Kel... I didn't realize it was so late... Can I come in?" She rubbed her arms. It had grown chilly, and despite her ability to shift her clothing, she'd left the simple loincloth and strip in place. "Please?"
No response to her words, just the opening of that unassuming door.
Through that gently swirling portal showed an unassuming interior, for once, of simple painted walls the shade of a warm burgundy and hardwood floors. The first room that of a living room with a black sofa and matching loveseat around a large coffee table of some dark wood, perhaps cherry and a comfortable looking recliner near the lone window to the room. "You can, what brings you by so late?"
She stepped inside, letting the door close behind her. She blinked crimson eyes a few times, trying to accustom them to the lower light. She looked around for him, still fingering the prize from the tournament. "I... I'm ready, Dru. I... don't need them, anymore."
The old man was in the middle of scrubbing his face when she opened that letter-bomb. Hands fall away so he can actually look at her. "This instant tonight?" His brain was still attempting to catch up to the events as they unfold.
She nodded, crimson eyes studying him closely. "I'm shielded from them. I have been for days." She shook her head slowly. "The shields are enough that I cannot feel them. It was...an experiment, you see. I can do this. I am strong enough." She squared her shoulders, offering him a small smile.
Back to rubbing at his face a breath was softly exhaled. "You sure ol' beastie ain' just bein' patient? Waiting on you to go through with this then it lashes out? They play that game you know..."Moving around Kel, he drifted towards a wall lamp and turned twice bringing a light up about the strength of a candles luminescence. "Once I do it, there'll be no going back, for anyone."
She stepped forward, following him. She laid her hand on his arm, gently. For a change, her hand was warm, instead of cold as it often was when she was raging those inner wars. Her eyes lacked that distinct glow they had taken on for since she had returned from the disastrous job. "Dru... I can't be tethered like this anymore... And... if it is just the demon..." She stepped in front of him, looking deeply into his eyes, fingers reaching up to brush his mask. "I'd rather die."
"Well, I'll tell you up front it won't be pleasant. Bonds such as this latch onto pieces of your energy, chakra points. They link your chakras with theirs like pieces of a puzzle. Severing them can have side-effects on all ends. Shielding as you've done simply built a wall where nothing goes in and out unless you wish it." Druid pretty much spoke for himself since he could figure Kelathe all ready knew all of this.
"I'll contain it within me. I'm the one who created the link, even if it was an accident. I will be only one affected by all this." She sighed softly. "It's the right thing to do, Dru. They need to be free to be on their own, without me..."
"All right. I'll need coffee for this. Follow me." A turn he drifted around the closest corner down a short hall into a decked out kitchen. Range-top in the middle of an island. Pots and pans hanging above, double stacked stove. Not bothering to do everything manually he just flicked his wrist and set the coffee pot instantly percolating. "Sure you don't want me to put in any safeguards or the like?"
She leaned against the doorway, arms folding over her chest. "I either do this by myself, or you kill me. It's that simple, Uriel..." She used his real name. She must be serious.
No reaction came right away, just a hand falling behind for a butt-scritch pondering this admission. "All right, all right. No need for threats." Takes up the mug that had been filling and drank of the black tar within. "You know I have to ask what I do. Wouldn't be what I am if not."
"I know...." She closed her eyes a moment, and ran her fingers through her hair. "It has to be done. I can't...live with them in my head anymore..."
"It's all right to talk in your head, but when the voices answer back it is time to find a good medication." laughs at his own joke for a bit before setting the mug down. "All right, lets' do this. And, promise not to freak out? I'll have to shed some skin to do this...."
"I've seen you naked before... and I've seen you... at least up here..." She tapped her forehead. "After this is done, though... do you mind if I stay here for a few days? That little hunting preserve you have hidden away for me?"
"Trust me...what you've seen ain't nothin. Which reminds me....need more room...." Tracing a symbol on the counter set the whole room shifting. Kitchen fell away to a wide open grassland just after a gentle rain. "Don't want to ruin the kitchen...and you may stay till you can stand."
"Until I can stand?" She looked around, taking in a deep breath. She took a few steps, taking in her surroundings. Her clothing slowly shifted along her spine, allowing her wings to spread upward, and out. She shook them, and turned to face him once more.
"I really hate taking this form, but it can do a lot I can't. Might want to close those sensitive eyes of yours Kel...." Even before saying so his head went back, eyes and mouth opening impossibly wide, emitting a blinding radiance that quickly began consuming his entire form. The mask fades into featureless coverings as his robes turn into a brilliant red, too close to the shade of blood, expanding a sextet of wings. Hair like living fire begins to flow where his robes normally hide it from view, each lock writhing in place, guttering and flickering. The image quickly one revealing the stained glass and books had it wrong where it came to his kind. His, if such a gender could be used, facial features were neither male nor female in their design. Even the body hinted at a form of androgyny though powerful as pristine robes slowly envelope him.
She closed her eyes just in time. Still, she was driven to her knees by the sheer power she sensed before her. Head slightly bowed, she waited. Not a single trace of ebony worked its way through her hair, nor did she tremble in fear. This was her friend, the same person she had taken as a mentor and eventually, into her bed. This was just another form.
Eyes more pitiless than any demon fell on her with a shade of violet that gleamed as though made of cut-glass. "You wish the telepathic bonds connecting you to the changed ones severed." The voice that rang like living thundered didn't ask. It stated. Hovering before her as though about to announce an ill-omen. "This is the third time it is asked that you are sure of your choice."
She looked upward, crimson gaze meeting violet. She made her way to her feet, hands falling at her side. Wings mantled tightly behind her. "I wish to sever the bond. It is time... And I am strong enough." Her gaze was near defiant, daring him to say otherwise.
"So it will be, tainted one. " As though a deal had been struck. The world would explode into white.
Within the haze events would rewind before her eyes, everything involving the binding until that point in time. Undone. Severed and sealed as though it had never truly been and yet events remained as they had unfolded. First rewinding and then replaying into the current frame. "What was done. Has been undone."
She blinked once... twice. She twisted her head, looking around, and seeing... darkness. Yet, she could feel the grass beneath her skin. Could smell the rain that had fallen. Softly, she called out... "U...Ur... Dru?" A hard swallow, her throat suddenly scratchy, as she struggled to sit up.
Coughing and a bit of wheezing would come to her ears as he stood slapping at his dingy robes. "Really hate that guy, so pompous."
"Dru?" She cradled her head in her hands. It was that same, soft hissing voice she had been born with, not harshened by the battle with the demon. "I can't see anything..."
"Oh for fuck's sake..." The old man actually cursed! "Told you to close your eyes...but noooo. No one ever listens to the old man when he says something. Always getting ignored." Some grumbling before something wet is splashing against her eyes. "That won't fix it, but should help." Hands a thousand times stronger than they look are then helping her stand.
She raised an eyebrow, though she couldn't see him. "I hope that was water..." She laughed, leaning against him. "I feel better... So much better..." She could still hear the chiming of the wings, the shift of her clothing as they faded from her back at her will. Another soft laugh, as she leaned into him a little more. "Hey Dru? Want to see if I can still keep up? We still haven't broken your place in yet..."
"Could be fun. You wouldn't know what I'm using where..." A very potential threat as he curled an arm around her to offer support. Another symbol traced in the air set the plain fading back to his kitchen.
She let out another soft laugh, almost delighted, as she took a few steps forward, away from his support. She spun to face him, reaching out her hand to trace her fingers over the lips of his mask. She replaced fingertips with lips briefly, before whispering, "I'm free... finally..."