Wandering Alone

[Novelly Skyefyre]

The delicacy of the mind facinated creatures with powers to manipulate the thoughts of others; but did they even fathom the labyrinth that most conceal behind eyes of many colors? They receive some kind of joy with twisting the beliefs of the weak minded, and make them see things that clearly do not exist..but was it possible to truly grasp the full force of the mind? All its emotions, all the thoughts and memories, the torrents of madness that lay concealed by quiet eyes? One wondered what they'd find if they searched the dark recesses of this woman's mind, tempted its secrets... What could one being find that tormented this woman so?

The smell of nature; the rotting stench of fresh air and blossoming flowers turned her stomach sour. Some might find comfort in the lingering fragrances of natural perfumes and the beauty of the wilderness, but there was no enjoyment to be had when the only company you had was yourself. Being alone didn't frighten this tyrant of old- many creatures sought to post her head on their mantle. Few have tried, none have succeeded. She was as evasive as she was beautiful, and that is probably what has captivated the ones that desired her as a trophy. The one that always got away.

She walked as though she stepped on shattering glass; every step was taken with as much care as the last. Every noise was listened to, every unknown scent studied. This world held no interest to her, now that the only thing that kept her here was no longer within its grasp. Darren's words reverberated within her mind, replaying over and over again. He had the audacity to accuse her of Vaticus' own decisions? Narrowed eyes gazed upon the body of liquid she managed to wander towards. A chilling breeze swept across the top of the water, drifting over her form. She was sullied by the chill; she despised the natural cold, though she didn't hesitate to take a seat at the bank and dig her fingertips in the sand.

How dare he blame her for such things! Blame her for a grown man's actions. Flaxen tendrils drifted against the arc of her jawline, and the fury of her rage was cooled momentarily. She hated the open water with an untamable passion, for reasons even she did not know. The side of her countenance that had been scathed by the Luminex's light had finally healed, and it survived a caress of her digits. The light hurt, but his faith wasn't strong enough anymore to cause unhealable damage. Damn that bastard and whatever faith he still clung to!

The upside down V scathed within her right shoulder still burned as though it were the very day she allowed her flesh to be branded. She could feel the sting as though he were carving out his insignia at this very moment. That was the only thing that brought her comfort.

In her solitude her physical features were allowed to change. The Tanar'Ri didn't like to masquerade around as a mortal for very long. Such a lie made the beast feel weak, and then it sought to remedy its emotions by tormenting a wayward soul. Although such a thing was rewarding in the end... denying the creature its sin was the only way to keep what little humanity she still harbored within her frame. With every moment he stayed gone, it slipped away as though it never mattered.

Tresses began to lighten; streaks all throughout began to turn stark white. Lips darkened with every moment, turning more and more to the darkness that concealed her. The fathomless pits of her eyes only accentuated a pale countenance- and even with such a distortion of her human form... Beauty lingered not far behind.

With a derisive snort she came to a decision. Darren was wrong. Just, wrong. Vaticus did such things on his own accord and she had no part in what he had done. Pools of obsidian drifted off toward the horizon. She was waiting for the knight in tarnished, blood-stained armor to ride upon his corrupt and foul steed.. The shackles of death never held anyone for very long. ...She waited what punishment that she deserved for a crime she probably already committed.




(This is after the confrontation between her and Darren. Brad kind of disappeared on me and I got bored, so...)

 

[Derrik Darglore]

From the shadows of a nearby tree, glowing green eyes watched Novelly approach and Derrik began to rise from within, the glow dissipating from his eyes leaving them a normal, human looking, emerald green.

"Long have I aspired to make the acquaintance of the one called Skyefyre. The one whom once served my brother."

The moonlight gleamed off of pale skin as he gazed upon her.

"Tell me Novelly..." then...

**BLINK**

He was gone, and just as suddenly as he vanished, he reappeared inches behind her.

"Did dear old Vat make you feel special???" he whispered in her ear, his breath tickling the back of her neck. "Did he seek to wrestle stars from the sky only to set them in a ring to adorn your beautiful hand?" Inhaling deeply he took in her scent.

**BLINK**

He vanished again and reappeared standing some 15-20 feet in front of her with his back turned.

"Or did he treat you like the rest of the wenches that came before you... acquired, branded, used, and cast aside when their usefulness ran out or he tired of their stench."

Derrik turned and faced Novelly now, his slender but strong frame gleaming seductively in the moonlight.

"Did you love my brother, demoness? Moreover, did Vaticus love you? Or were you just another object to fill his lust for a hate fuck?"

His gaze stayed transfixed on Novelly awaiting her response.

 

[Novelly Skyefyre]

Full, cherry-hued lips pulled back into what seemed a genuine grin. The roll of laughter stuck within her throat- she could bring herself to let it dance in the milieu. "A lot of men made me feel special. Power, conquest.. trinkets and even worlds. Vaticus was simply the one I remained loyal to."

Those eyes shifted, following him wherever he managed to disappear to. This was one place he wouldn't be able to hide from her; the darkness was her lover and the shadow her ally. Her eyes burned into his form, watching his every movement. Colorless pools absorbed the gleam of the moonlight, a tell-tale sign of mortality fading.

"Are you attempting to lash me with memories in hopes that this mortal heart will ache from what you have said?" A brow quirked- he was doing a horrible job, if so. "Your brother already tried to fill me with guilt for Vaticus going insane, and I'll tell you the same as I told him. Vaticus made his own decisions, and he decided to slaughter a fragment of Darren's pathetic family." A hiss rolled from her lips. It wasn't the subject that irritated her, it was Darren's audacity to accuse her of such.

"He and I never spoke of such emotions so if they existed I do not know. When he left the service of Gargauth, I followed without fear of what would happen for my disobediance. So if you could call that love from me, then yes, I suppose I did. I always had an attraction to the dangerous ones who killed without control." Hah. Such a statement made her laugh- if only for a few seconds.

 

[Derrik Darglore]

A coy smile played across his lips, this was turning out better than he had hoped.

"I care not for what Vaticus did to Darrens' family, Vat was the only sibling I held any loyalty to and now I learn that Darren himself is the one who slew Vaticus. This does not sit well with me to say the least..." his voice trailed off as he strode up to Novelly standing before her now.

"Hoping your mortal heart would ache?" he half chuckled. "What an exercise in futility that would have been! Why would I have wasted my breath if that were my goal. Indeed that could have been one reaction from you, yet had it been, I would have been greatly disappointed. No... I have ascertained what I had hoped to." Derrik looked at her longingly.

"My concern is not why Vaticus left the service of The Hidden Lord. My concern is that he is gone, slain by his own blood. And you, who claim loyalty to him, are caught up with insignificant arguments about his past with the very man who slew him." a flash of anger filled Derrik's eyes, but just as quickly as it flared, it was replaced by a look of burning lust.

"My question to you is... how far would you go to see him returned?" his emerald eyes locked on her own colorless orbs, gazing deep into her being.

 

[Novelly Skyefyre]

Fathomless pools gazed up through wayward, flaxen tendrils. She was still comfortably seated in the sand, watching the waves lash upon the shore. Shoulders rolled, speaking of that mortal heart, and her head lolled to one direction. A trail of pops emanated from beneath her flesh, but she still managed to pay attention to his words. "Well, as long as I have roamed this land.. it has been every man's strategy to cause my emotions to win over this beast that was forcefully planted in me. Everyone tries to pick at what little humanity I still have left to cause guilt to cloud my judgement, and mold me to do whatever it is they wish me to do." Digits traced along the fabric concealing her form, brushing the sand that clung to her flesh. She'd soon rise, looking upon him with mild interest. What looked to be oil clung to a certain section of her countenance, where Darren burned her with the Luminex. It was alive, whatever it was that latched onto her flesh.. it purred with content. Comforted with her being so near.

"Yes, I claim loyalty to Vaticus, but it is not my right to take the life of his own blood.. to avenge him, or take revenge on my own part for Darren taking something from me. When Vaticus himself commands me to avenge him, it would only be my pleasure."

Eyes narrowed at his last statement- many conclusions could be drawn from what he just said.

"That would depend on how far I'd have to go in order to see him returned. And how do you believe he could be brought back from the hell that stole him?" A brow quirked- she was rather intrigued now. Killing just wasn't as fun when alone... Striking fear into the hearts of humans didn't mean anything without the one man that everyone feared.

 

[Derrik Darglore]

A smile played across his face, and a slight chuckle escaped his lips as he gazed upon her.

"The question is, what makes you doubt that he can be brought back from that very same hell??"

Again he turns gliding away from her, gazing out towards a lake blanketed in the moonlight.

"Deals can always be made, my dear... deals can always be made." He turned on his heels, his eyes lit up with an unnatural green glow.

"There is only one obstacle that I can see at the moment, being that the skull of my dear brother is missing... stolen by a red-haired vixen who's green eyes swirl with a crimson hue. I can arrange to have him brought back... I can not do so without that skull."

Tendrils of darkness wrapped up around his legs, then up his bare abs, finally reaching up and scratching his chin as if in thought, his own plans playing through his mind.

"And regardless of if I resurrect him or not... I can think of none other who I would entrust to guard my brother's remains that you." With the last word of this sentence, he bows to Novelly, feigning a humble submissive demeanor.

 

[Novelly Skyefyre]

"Don't you need his soul in order to revive him, and a sacrificial body? Or do you plan on recreating his flesh and bones?" A brow quirked heavenward and her head lolled toward the right. Tendrils of gold grazed 'long her countenance- she's heard of such resurrections.. many different kinds there were, infact. Aha; her eyes lit up when he mentioned the skull. Ah.. so he did need something important to Vaticus in order to revive him. Such was the typical way.. for non-necromantic type beings, it seemed.

The black, oil-like material that clung to her visage now began to sink into her pores, crawling beneath the flesh. Like a worm, it snaked down her throat and into the bowels of the beast. What it did there, was only a mystery. A curl had formed upon those lips of cherry red, and soon followed a slight laugh, making visible the serrated arcs within her maw. "You want me to guard his remains... or retrieve them?" Both brows perked, and her fingertips danced on both sides of her countenance.. "If you couldn't resurrect him, I know someone who can. I don't play in games of "Ifs' and "chance". You either do it, or you don't. You don't linger between two decisions and make your final choice when all is said and done."

Shoulders rolled back when a laugh was released at his bow. "Come now. Do not believe me to be so naive as to think someone like you would bow before me." Her nostrils flared; she knew he wasn't human.. with the addition of green flashing in his eyes.. his scent was off. "Though what you are in flesh doesn't concern me, you are Vaticus' brother. And he bowed to no one."

 

[Blaise Feriah]

An iridescent cheshire grin gradually manifests near the tree where Derrik had initially stood, watching Novelly's approach, before their exchange of words. It was too perfect an expression and it was all that could be seen - an eerie half circle of pearly whites. Yet, that smile falters and a slender figure flickers into being.

I claim loyalty to Vaticus... brought back from hell... deals can be made... skull of my dear brother missing... bowed to no one.

Supple lips of a deep scarlet hue depress into a slight frown and eyes that gleamed like twin amethysts flicker between the Skyefyre and Darglore. She'd only caught fragments of their conversation and the knitting of perfectly sculpted eyebrows conveyed her confusion. Novelly would recognize her scent immediately, for how could she ever forget the Feriah Elder?

"Novelly... It appears I've been gone for far too long..." Raven tresses marked with threads of crimson ripple against her bare shoulders and down nearly to her knees in their silken wealth. Delicate nostrils flare briefly as she breathes deeply of the fresh air and sweet flowers that had sickened Novelly so. Unlike her, Blaise loved the outdoors... she thrived on it. Born to run free, wandering as she pleases, she was not a creature of like the other woman. It'd been so long, she barely recognizes her old friend. She shifts forward, the satin of her strapless gown whispering across her bared feet in a rich sdarkness hade of burgundy wine.

A few steps closer now, her attention momentarily deviates to Derrik. He was a Darglore? Vaticus... Darren... Lucifer... Those were the brothers she knew very well. But this one? Was her memory failing her or was this the first time she'd come across this particular man? A simple nod is spared to him before her gaze returns to Novelly.

"I gather... and correct me if I'm wrong... that Vaticus is dead? Tell me what has happened."

 

[Lord Scorn DarkTide]

Darren Darglore


A twitch, broken bark littered the grassy floor, earth. Twin beads of white and hazel leered into the darkness, night, the inky world of the living. Where monsters dwelled, perhapse he was one, where the suppression of humanity tortured his very soul, he was Darren Darglore, birthed from this mighty oak into the planes of despair, the would be pacifier of impurity.

Witnessing the rebirth of a woman his longing soul ached to meet, the visitation of a woman he yearned for in times past tense for one thing or another all carnal, yet she was so far above that, even when in times she was not herself. a companion to his guiding light known as the Luminex or perhapse that is what she was. The Feriah mother he stared, the Bagheera who warmed that cold lick in his heart that wreaked of revenge for the misdeeds dealt, he stared.

He came to kill, to purify the land of the corruption known as the Darglore blood line, strike fear into the very cortex of Novelly, a witchy woman who knew no such thing, but that presence alone left him speechless, motionless, and actionless. The purity of Blaises memory forced him to swallow his own hatred, repressing one of the many deadly sins he was about to partake of, her presence forced it's way into the human soul that wreaked of forgiveness and unleashed that warmth.

Those lips moved but words were left unbirthed, Blaise Feriah was his object of attention.

 

[Novelly Skyefyre]

"Too long."

Such words were spoken without a hint of love or devotion she once carelessly flaunted for her dear, old friend. No amount of adoration was ever enough to show how she felt toward Blaise. Blaise's scent tickled her nostrils long before the purr of her words caused her left ear to twitch.

Toes curled in the damp sand and arms draped along slightly bent knees. She never deviated from her seated position with the intrusion of these other presences; there was one however that earned her glare.

"Vaticus went insane and slaughtered Darren's family, and he boldly declares that it's my fault and accuses me of Vaticus' actions."

Her head lolled toward the direction Blaise had been standing, eyes lazily rolling in their sockets to drink in her form. Lovely as ever, but it didn't cause an expression to invade her lips. It seemed everyone abandoned her.

 

[Blaise Feriah]

Blaise couldn't say she was surprised at Novelly's lack of warmth - perhaps she deserved it. It'd been years since she'd last seen the woman and she probably could've done a better job of keeping in touch. She'd been living the secluded life with her husband and the children she had borne for him. Yet, an animal held in captivity can only be contained for so long before it must be freed... or driven mad.

A slight nod is given at Novelly's words and her attention shifts unerringly to the silent manifestation of Darren. A faint smile is offered to the man, though her old friend's words are turned round and round in her head.

"Darren... it would appear that the years have not been good to you. Bearer of the Luminex... why is it you accuse the Lady Skyefyre of such a deed? You know your brother better than many. Even I know that he's never been a stable man. Surely you were not blind to this." Her words are spoken softly, gently. "Blame not the companion of the man who slaughtered your family... but the man himself." Darren had also been called friend in times of old. He knew well enough that Blaise has had her share of family tragedies and speaks out of compassion for his loss. Yet at the same time, she was giving him a chance to speak out on his side of the story.

It was strange. The Feriah Elder knew well enough that many a man had fallen to Novelly's feet in wanting. They would do anything they could to earn her favor. Blaise had also seen a side of Vaticus that could be called romantic - creepy as it was. But to dictate that Vaticus would kill Darren's family, not simply because of his love of slaughter... but because of a woman? Unless there was a hidden history between Darren and Novelly that she wasn't aware of, the scenario was puzzling. Perhaps it was only grief that clouds Darren's judgement... or maybe there was something more missing in this tale...

 

[Lord Scorn DarkTide]

Darren Darglore.

Sad, wanting, missing deep eyes stared. Unbelievingly perhapse at Miss Skyefyre. Of course he blamed her, he hated her, she took the only solace he had in this world from him and refused to replace it with herself.

"Novelly wasn't the sheathe on Vaticus' murderous counterpart, Gargauth was, and she...made him leave."

A tear struck that wrinkled cheek.

"With out that monsters guidance Vaticus became a broken arrow veering in my direction."

Quivered lips lowered into a frown, his weight became whole against the Luminex' shaft, a walking stick perse.

"And my family paid..."

Silence, momentarily if that.

"I killed him."

Stared at Blaise, those eyes begging forgiveness, but for what? Something not yet done? Something he had already done? Those aging fingers flexed, gripping that green stone, the bane of all that was impure.

"All I wanted... was to grow old and die with my family, I spent my life protecting humanity, defending theese weak, ungrateful souls...and when that's all I had left, this cold...heartless bitch took it from me...using my own brother as her tool of destruction."

Those words, accompanied by the solace of a warm breeze, his platinum greyed hair shifting against small shoulders, an aging man afflicted by the symptoms of withering bones and muscles, weakening like any other. His mind was his weapon.

"Before you ask why!"

Ranting apparently.

"Revenge! REVENGE for when I got your counterpart to turn her into my lover! Sirvyx! WHERE IS SHE! SHE CAN HELP ME!? MAKE ME YOUNG AGAIN! GIVE ME MY LIFE BACK!"

And then he fell, to his knees it was conspicuous that the closer one got to him, the warmer it seemed, this pyrokinetic at work.

"No...he looked up..That would make me.. just as bad as her..."

The Luminex was pointed at Novelly, it's green stone igniting with the inner focus of Darren Darglore, the same focus that sent Vaticus to hell, that cleansed the land of all the im-pure, it was lowered.

"I need to start over...Blaise...Novelly...somebody...give me my life back..."

Perhapse it was grief, or did Darren's wild accusations hold some kind of ground to walk on?

 

[Novelly Skyefyre]

A low, gutteral hiss began to slither 'twixt clenched teeth; these accusations were beginning to wear thin on already fractured nerves. "Vaticus chose to leave the banner of Gargauth to cut his own legacy into the lives he deemed unworthy. He was tired of conquering land after land, army after army beneath a banner that wasn't his own. He chose to leave, and I followed in his footsteps. Do not blame me for leaving Gargauth's service and Vaticus following me."

The sound of wet snaps emanated beneath the flesh; it crawled in response to the rising anger bubbling to the surface. She didn't care if Blaise was present or not; the darker side of the stoic woman was growing tired of this blame game. She was not at fault for following Vaticus and serving under his own banner.

"It is your own fault that you wasted your life protecting these weak and pathetic souls from death and torment; for what? They only remember the ones that carve their names into legend. They remember the tyrants that corrupted the land, not the white knights that died saving them. You wasting your life long before I entered yours, is your own doing. Do not stand there and claim innocence when you made a pact with a demon so I'd stand at your side.. and then claim the death of your family as my revenge.

In response to the Luminex's green glow, her eyes changed. Her pupils bled into the rest of her eyes, absorbing everything within their path. Where the iris was, a crimson ring remained.

"Do not blame me because you were too weak to save your family from their fate. Such human attachments only breed suffering. " Her eyes shifted in their sockets, looking at Blaise through the sheet of flaxen tendrils. "..then black holes form in their wake."

 

[Blaise Feriah]

Human attachments breeding black holes... were not Blaise and Novelly examples of that very philosophy? The latter woman was more obviously changed, but Blaise had also had her share of dark times... and dark wishes.

Thick lashes flutter as she casts her gaze to the sand beneath her feet and a small sigh is whispered from her lips.

"Darren... try to still your emotions, if only for a few moments. Calm your heart. The Hidden Lord had many servants. If any of those numbers had somehow managed to tear themselves free from his influence and Vaticus then followed suit, would you blame them? If it had been me - if I... had been in Novelly's stead and if it was after my departure from the Lord's keeping that your brother followed, would you hunt me down?"

Stray threads of raven tresses play against her cheeks as she raises her eyes to the aged man, those hairs dancing against the scarlet inverted triangles that marked her cheeks. Something akin to pity flickers briefly across her visage, a fleeting expression.

"As for Sirvyx... You were a man that basked in the light of the ideal concept of goodness and virtue. You fought to save people from tyrants of the realm... and yet, you made a deal with a demon. Did you truly expect good to come of it? You made an arrangement to turn Novelly into your lover? How is it you can possibly bear the weight of the Luminex now... when such a deed would render you no better than the very evils you claimed to fight against. Novelly is not a bargaining chip... she is not an object... she is not a toy to be passed around from vile man to vile man."

Her words come quicker and harsher. One would get the feeling that she wasn't so much defending the Lady Skyefyre as she was relaying her own personal feelings and experiences. She knew all too well how it felt to be another's plaything and it caused a small tremor to course through her lithe frame.

"You made a deal with a villainess to bend another woman's will to your own. Then, when it so happens that your brother leaves to follow this very woman into madness, one who scorned you, you blame her? This is petty foolishness. I am disappointed in you... for you still have your life, unlike your family. Instead of moving on with your life and doing something worthwhile with that gift, the gift they no longer have, you seethe with your own madness. They too, would be disappointed."

Blaise turns her head to look at Novelly, her arms rising to fold across her chest.

"And as for you... you speak with such discontent about human attachments. Have you fallen so far that you cannot remember what grief is like? Is hatred all you have? Do you not remember the many times we sat around, content with doing nothing but talking, for such an occurance was a rare thing for we were always hounded. Has the demoness within erased the memory of pink tutus and a beach front home?"

 

[Lord Scorn DarkTide]

"Theese lives, the people of this land and the next need a beacon, a hope that something can save them, protect them and lead them. Ungrateful...as they may be, I don't blame them... It's why I'm here.."

Composure regained, Novelly, the subject of his attention had been regarded down the length of his nose.

"I gave selflessly, never asked for this but I accepted, asked nothing in return, never wanted fame, money, or power, just to attone for my brothers sins, and live my last days in peace...with my family..."

"Now...I'm to old to start over...I'll die alone with noone to carry my families name into the future of Ayenee.."

"I have no life...only the loneliness of my last days...This is what...I was robbed of."

Is it perhapse the lectureous tone of Blaise that caused him to rethink his words, that caused him to lessen the blame 'pon this piece of eye candy known as Novelly?

Twisted his gaze from Novelly to the ground...to the feet of theese two women.

"The Luminex..."

Eyes locked, dead set iri' peering into the soul warming monotones of Blaise.

"It understands the falsities of man, to err is human and I am... It...forgives."

Oh he knew all to well the wet snaps, the sounds emanating from with in Novelly, deeper inside he hoped she would unleash that demon with in, give him a reason to defend, to exact the selfishness that comes with mortality and raise that weapon one more time.

But would the Luminex allow it's divinity to be wielded in such a selfish display, even if Novelly was the definition of Neutral Evil?

 

[Novelly Skyefyre]

Hope..

A wonderful idea, but it's just that. An idea. A figment of some man's illusions so that the weak had something to cling to. The hope of deserving something better.

Humor was the only emotion beginning to crawl along her features. It manifested 'pon darkening lips; the gleam of serrated razors harbored behind the sweetest kiss. A low, gutteral chuckle rose up from the bowels of her form, soon forming into all-out laughter. He spoke of being robbed of something precious, of losing something dear to him.. but he never even stopped to ponder what these women have sacrificed, and lost.

Neutral evil was something she may have fashioned in the past, but she's since ascended such a path. He knew nothing of her sins although their innocent blood stained her hands. He didn't know the nightmares.. the terrifying screams and cries of her own flesh and blood.

And then her attention turned back to Blaise.. her dear, dear friend. "What little fragment of me that still remains human harbors these atrocious emotions, not the demon. It was the human that clung to the dream of one day being free.. living in that beach front home drinking tea until the sun fell to the horizon. It was the human that always believed and hoped that day would not be too far gone. And it was the human that would not let go of the dream where one day she'd wake up and be inside that house. And with every day that dream went unfulfilled, a little piece died inside. Every hour of torment or torture.. something died. Dreams die hard and you hold them in your hand long after they've turned to dust."

The left corner of her mouth began to twitch when she recalled the memories they shared, sipping tea with the ocean beside them. Her voice broke, only once when she began to speak again. ".. and it was the human that gave birth to the realization that such a dream only ever existed in fairy tales... when she realized.. everyone she ever cared for.. abandoned her."

Blaise seemed to have missed a large portion of the world when she fell into solitude, comforted by the pitter-patter of happy children. Novelly did what was necessary to survive... Or at least she'd continue to make herself believe such a thing.

 

[Blaise Feriah]

"If the Luminex can forgive the transgressions of man... can you not?"

This was asked of Darren with a brief glance, before her attention returns to Novelly. A small grimace marks her lips as Novelly speaks of abandonment. She knew it was not her imagination now. Earlier, she could've sworn that the woman had taken a verbal stab at her and here was another. A billowing lock of raven silk is wound around her right index finger, absently toying with the hair as she takes a moment to find a response.

"Sometimes... things occur that prevent loved ones from being at your side when you need them the most. They are not always aware of when they're needed... or even wanted. When you allow your dreams to die and hope to fade... you wind up thinking the worst of those you cherish, feeling abandoned, when perhaps... circumstances outside their control prevent them from coming for you."

A step is taken closer to Novelly, the sand parting softly beneath her bare feet. The strand of hair that she'd been playing with is released and she extends that hand toward her old friend. Her voice drops to a mere murmur, though it was still loud enough for the two to hear.

"I do not know what you've been through these past few years...but I am sorry I'm late. I could not leave any sooner than now to be here with you."

 

[Lord Scorn DarkTide]

Clenching fingers loosened if only to tighten and fall loose again, wrinkled didgits encumbered the shaft of his guiding light, a step was taken, the ass end of The Luminex digging into the soiled sand, he approached theese two beautiful women.

"I forgive but I never forget."

"I have forgiven Novelly time and time again. I forgave my brother time and time again, I have forgiven everyone time and time again. but when will I be forgiven, when will something be done for me out of purely...giving?"

"When will someone say...I'm sorry that happened to you Darren, is there anything I can do for you?"

He now stood before theese women, a triangle of the threesome, Novelly in one spot, Darren and Blaise in another.

Gaze cast to and fro, he knew his words were selfish, but how much can one man take? How much more has he taken than the average? He wasn't a disciplined paladin, he was a normal human being given something to big for him to handle...

"Sometimes I wish...no all the time I wish I had chosen the other route..the easy route.. Then maybe Novelly would have found me enticing, or maybe even you..." He was of course looking at Blaise.

 

[Novelly Skyefyre]

Hesitation clearly spread along her features when the hand extended toward her. Those eyes, now riddled with a crimson ring, stared upon the outstretched hand. Everytime she'd move toward it, something would freeze her muscles and she'd return to her previous position. Novelly was selfish when it came to Blaise; she might not have the perverse thoughts as the males did, or the want and desire as they did, but she felt the addiction of Blaise's presence. It was comforting and the thoughts of calm seas and colorful sunsets always brought sparks of hope when all seemed lost. ...and as the years rolled by that hope cracked and festered until only hate was left.

The small fragment of emotion that still burned inside her was just about to give in and reach for the hand that was presented, until Darren and that stick he carried drew closer. Her hand had risen to grasp Blaise's fingertips, and then fell into the earth, curling her digits deep into the corrupted sand. It was once lush, and the foliage here beautiful; but it was her aura that began to alter everything within its reach. The sand was blackening, the trees wilting.. even the water was beginning to darken.

"I never wanted, or needed your forgiveness. I have no remorse for what I've done." There was a shadow in her voice; it echoed every word as it rolled off her tongue. It would seem she had no want or desire to cage the shards of the beast that managed to surface.

Then her eyes trailed back to Blaise. She said such a horrific thing, but deep down she knew it to be true. There wasn't going to be any pink tutu's or evenings spent watching the sun creep behind the mountains.. or the smell of the sea in the early morning.. so what reason did she have to hold onto any remnants of humanity? Her children? Most of them no longer existed. ...among her other sins.

 

[Blaise Feriah]

So close. So close. If not for Darren's presence, she would have Novelly's hand in her own now. But no... she couldn't place the blame on his shoulders. It was Blaise's absence that had caused this gaping chasm to form between her and her dearest friend. Though those vibrant violet irises dimmed at the rejection given her, as she lowers her hand back to her side, she realized that there was still hope. Novelly had reached out for her, there was a great deal of hesistation... so at least she wanted to be with Blaise. That was more than she expected.

"We all have our own reasons for sinning... whether by another's dominance or our own wicked psyche. I, too, have done things I'm not particularly proud of..."

Here she stood, having reached out to both persons, looking the part of the do-gooder. Yet, she too had dark things in her closet. A darker personality that had, at one time, rendered her emotions nearly dead. Perhaps she'd become soft in her years of exile, for as Novelly had said, there had been the pitter-patter of little feet there to comfort her.

"I rarely sought the forgiveness of others. The struggle was in forgiving myself."

Her eyes remain steadily focused on Novelly's own. The two women shared a similar past. Two kind women who wanted nothing more than to bask in the love and adoration of their chosen mate... torn from a dream by wicked hands and thrust into a world of anger, hatred, and torment. Blood Hunters, Dark Hunters, Cinderbanes, Gloomshade, Vlinaarth, Swarm Lightbane, Vaticus Darglore, Scorn Darktide, Gargauth... such were among the many tyrants that constantly turned their world upside down. And here they stood, products of their many transgressions. Novelly had seemingly given in to the moldings of dark times. Yet Blaise had not. Thinking back, what was it that made the difference?

The Feriah Elder's brows knit together and supple lips purse momentarily in thought.

In truth... throughout all of her own trials, short or long as they might've been, there was always someone there to aid her. Someone always came forth to pluck her free from the darkness. A hero so to speak. In times past such names like Kaelic, Gilthendor, Batten Yuukai, and Darius Xavioss, among others, freed her. Sometimes even the tyrants themselves fought one another for possession which enabled her to free herself. But she, who thought she knew Novelly so well, had a hard time remembering if her friend had the same saviors. Perhaps she did not and thus evolved to what she is now in order to survive...

"Novelly... Don't turn away from me now. I'm not leaving you."

A mask of determination plays across her features, hardening her resolve. She wasn't going to let Novelly get away from her. They'd been friends for far too long to give up now. She could feel Darren's eyes on her, but she did not return his gaze.

"And Darren... I am sorry for your loss... But I've never willingly found the corrupt enticing. Remember the smiles and laughter of your family and remember the joy you felt in watching their enjoyment. Now think back to all the tyrants you've ever faced... have you ever seen them reflect that same joy? Do you think they've ever experienced it? No. Therefore... if you could do it all over again, would you really trade how you felt in seeing your family's happiness for an empty existance of slaughtering in an attempt to fill the void within you?"