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Talis laughed again when Nereus walked away. The man just made it so easy to tease him. Honestly, for a knight, Nereus was rather soft. The dragon at least had the decency to look the slightest bit apologetic when Callista smacked him on the back of the head. "We're supposed to be moving anyway. Why would we tell him to come back?" The dragon shook his head and grabbed Callista gently by the arm as he began following after Nereus. It really wouldn't take the dragon many steps to catch up to the knight.
Lily had blinked, frowning deeply when Nereus walked away. Honestly though he hadn't thought Nereus was leaving them. He just thought Nereus was in such a hurry to get moving again. Lily assumed that they would all follow Nereus, Callista's words made him whimper softly. Was Nereus leaving them, then? Callista seemed to think so, but then Talis had started moving. Following Nereus and tugging Callista along with one arm while he still held Lily with his other. The fox made a soft noise of happiness, glad that no one was getting left. His arms were a bit tight around Talis' neck, but not too tight and he laid his head against the dragon's shoulder, yawning softly. |
Upon hearing footsteps behind him, Nereus groaned a little. No, why did they have to decide to follow him? Shaking his head, Nereus glanced back then turned away. Moving quickly, he slipped back into the forest to try and lose them. He'd dealt with teasing of the sort all too much when he'd been overseas, when he'd been captured. His old scars from that time still throbbed, and every memory of the ordeal remained burned in his mind. Shaking his head with a grimace, Nereus stopped walking and leaned against a tree as he slipped down to sit on the ground. He couldn't deal with anything that reminded him of then, of that time.
With a sigh, Callista let herself be tugged along. This just wasn't right! He'd looked so upset about what had been said. "Lily, what do you know about him? " Maybe there was a reason why he was so soft. Callista didn't know the man, but it sure seemed like there was a lot more to him then met the eye. Anyone who could go from being so stoic and serious, to blushing with embarrassment, had a lot going on for them and were much more then they seemed. "Talis, why do you like annoying Nereus so much anyway?" She didn't notice the man leaving the path as she asked the question. |
"What do you mean? I annoy everyone. Why do you think Violet spent more time punishing me than anything else. I'm so infuriating to be around." But the way Talis said it, as if it were something he should be proud of. He shook his head. "I was just having a bit of fun, life is full of pain, we should grasp at fun and laughter whenever we can and hold it close to our hearts." Talis brow furrowed when he noticed Nereus slip off the path. No matter, he and Lily could track the man easily. He let go of Callista's hand and lowered Lily to the ground and spoke softly in the fox's ear. "Lily, you should go find him so he doesn't get lost."
Lily nuzzled Talis one more time, and when he looked up again Nereus was no longer in sight. The fox pouted, was Nereus hiding from them? Those ears twitched a bit and he looked at Callista. Shrugging a bit. "He's very nice. Very gentle and kind to me. Isn't that really all I need to know about him?" The fox frowned slightly when Talis put him down but he let go of the dragon. That ear twitching slightly as Talis' breath tickled it. "I never get lost!" He giggled and bounced on his feet before running off after Nereus. The man was sitting on the ground when Lily came up to him and the fox didn't hesitate to plop down in the man's lap, facing him with his legs wrapping around Nereus' waist. He nuzzled the man softly and kissed his lips gently. "You shouldn't wander off, you could get lost." His ears twitched a bit as he scolded the human lightly. |
Rolling her eyes, Callista shook her head. "But, do you always have to annoy people?" He hadn't annoyed her earlier. Which reminded her of something she wanted to ask. "What powers do you have? I'm really rather curious about it." She'd never met a dragon before, not really. It was even a little hard to believe it now, even though Talis's fang hung around her neck. Thinking of the object, she reached up to run her fingers over the smooth tooth.
Nereus's thoughts had returned to his capture, and some of the worst times. They had told him they set him free, when all they wanted to do was play with him, and hunt him down once more. Shuddering, Nereus tensed when he heard something approaching him. When Lily plopped down onto his lap and kissed him so unexpectedly, the knight pushed him off and drew his sword. Leveling it at the fox's neck, he stood like that with wild grey eyes for a few moments as quick breathing issued forth from his mouth. Finally, he relaxed and dropped the sword to the ground. Sitting down once more, he reached out to pull Lily onto his lap again. "I'm so sorry, please forgive me." Clearly upset, the knight moved to bury his face in the fox's shoulder as he clung to Lily tightly. |
"I can't help it. It's in my nature I guess." Talis had shrugged, watching the space where Lily had darted off the path to find Nereus. He was sure the fox would find the man quickly. He glanced at Callista, smile on his lips. "I'm a shadow dragon, I can control the shadows all around us if I wanted to. I can breath fire, but I'm not warm blooded like most fire-breathers." He shrugged slightly. "Still I can't really do much, to many spells keep me bound, though the one you broke did give me some of my shadow power back. Only a small amount, but it's more than you could ever imagine." Talis closed his eyes and tossed his head back. "I can hear their voice again, the voice of the shadows. The song they sing. Everything has a song, as a mage I'm sure you can hear it too." He opened his eyes and looked at her. "Though you are human, so I'm sure you hear the songs quite differently than the way I hear them."
Lily made a soft noise of surprise when Nereus pushed him off. The fox sitting on his ass in the snow now with a sword at his throat. His heart pounded in his chest, eyes filled with fear. His body trembled. Was Nereus going to punish him for scolding? Those eyes closed tightly. That's right, pets weren't supposed to talk back, and scolding one's better was pretty much the same as talking back. Lily would have shouted for Talis, but fear had frozen his voice, though when Nereus reached out and pulled him close the fox let out a whimper of fear. Those eyes opening slowly as Nereus apologized and hid his face against Lily's shoulder. His body still trembled a bit, but now he was very confused. Why had Nereus apologized to him? "I...I don't understand.." He spoke the words quietly, fearful. |
"I don't hear them, I see the colors everywhere. It's such a beautiful sight! It must sound amazing ..." A hint of longing entered the mage's voice as she tried to imagine what it might be like. There had to be a way for her to hear it too. A well, she would figure it out later. For the moment she was hoping that the other two were alright.
"I was remembering being hunted down by them, and being captured over and over again. They tortured me, the red foxes ... Made me ... They ... " Letting out a shuddering breath Nereus tried to compose himself, but he just couldn't do it. "I'm so sorry Lily, so sorry. " A tear fell down his cheek as the knight sought comfort from Lily. Sweet, kind, Lily who would never dream of hurting him. And he'd drawn a sword on him! Tightening his hold on the fox, Nereus did his best to try and forget what it had been like but it was impossible. |
Talis blinked, then shrugged. She could see them, he could hear them. "I'm sure it looks just as amazing." He could also feel magic, whenever she used it or someone near him used it. It made his skin tingle but each person's magic had a distinct tingle to it. He wasn't sure Callista could feel it the way he could, Talis watched the area where Lily and Nereus had strayed from the path. Surely the fox would bring the man back soon.
Lily didn't really know what Nereus was talking about, but clearly the man was distraught. A waking nightmare, memories that were so vivid it was as if you were actually there again. Lily wrapped his arms around Nereus and ran a hand through his hair. The fox whispered soothing, comforting words into his ear. He clung gently to Nereus, reassuring the man that everything would be just fine. |
Smiling in agreement, the young mage plucked out the fang to play with it with both hands and mind. She needed to get a true feel for it in order to know which spells were where. Some were so tangled into knots that all she would need to do was find the right thread and pull it trough. To her, each spell had a distinctive color and brightness, making it easier to tell where they were. Except ... "Why are there so many more spells around this area," mumbled Callista to herself as she peered down at the spot in question.
Sinking into the comfort the fox offered, Nereus sighed and closed his eyes. Eventually the man's breathing slowed as he held Lily close. He had to believe Lily. Lily wouldn't lie, not at all. The fox was too innocent for that, and too innocent for his own good. Nereus had decided to protect him, and as he was the knight knew that wouldn't be possible. Moving his head to place a kiss upon the fox's lips, Nereus smiled up tremulously at Lily. "Thank you, so much." Pausing he reached up to tug gently at one of Lily's ears. "Don't tell anyone about this, please. Especially not Talis." He didn't think he could bear it if the dragon started teasing him again, and triggered those awful memories. |
Talis had shrugged at the question, he watched her interact with his fang. "Maybe that's the part keeping me trapped in human form? I really don't know." Of course he knew she hadn't really been talking to him. She was mostly talking to his fang, to the spells that wound around it. "Maybe if you concentrate hard enough, they can tell you what they do?" He suggested it gently, he fully believed in her abilities and capabilities as a mage. Perhaps she wasn't the strongest, and nothing compared to the wizard that had trapped him so very very long ago, but then, there hadn't been a magic user of that caliber since then.
Lily nuzzled Nereus softly. His hand running through the others hair when Nereus kissed him. He shifted slightly in the man's lap and giggled softly as his ear was tugged. "If you talked to Talis more, you might like him more." Lily kissed Nereus' cheek softly. "Do you want to talk about it? The memories?" He asked kindly, if Nereus wanted to talk about such things, then Lily would listen. He might not be able to offer much comfort, but he could listen at least. Lily did wish there was something he could do to make Talis and Nereus get along better. |
Continuing to run her fingers over the tooth, she grimaced slightly when she felt something ... Very strange. Peering down closely at the spot, Callista's eyes didn't waver an inch as she tried to read what was there. In the end, the young woman got what she was trying to figure out just as a headache was beginning to settle in. "They're color coded for what they bind." Pointing to different threads as she spoke, the mage glanced up from time to time to see if Talis was following. "I'm pretty sure this big knot of purple and black is your magic and freeing your body, these smaller red ones I think are for maintenance of the other ones and ... The gold ones, well I have no idea what those mean." Calli looked up at Talis and shrugged a little. She really wished she could say more, but she needed more time.
It felt so good to let himself be comforted for once. "I hate that man, he's always trying to take you away from me and he always reminds me of how the fox people treated me. Always playing with me, teasing me and burning, scratching ..." Shuddering Nereus closed his eyes briefly and opened them again to lock them onto Lily. It was important that he remembered where he was, and who he was talking to. "They tortured me. That's why I have so many scars over my body. They saw it as repayment for all of their people who'd been taken as prisoner of the war, the Red War. It's still going on, but ... Gods, after I managed to escape I could barely function let alone fight." Clutching the fox, he moved to kiss his neck to try and forget the guilt for what he'd done. "I was the one who caught those people, the prisoners. If they tried to escape, I'm the one who went after them and they knew that. So they made me pay." That was most of it, all of it. Nereus was fairly certain that was all that had happened to him. Though sometimes he thought there might have been more... |
Talis couldn't see the magic the way Callista did, but he could feel it and he could hear it. He didn't like the way it felt or the way it sounded, but he seemed to follow her words easily. Nodding slightly, comprehending as she explained the colors. "I see." He smiled brightly at her, then looked out over the path. Lily should be bringing Nereus back by now. Or maybe the fox really had gotten lost, perhaps he should go look for them both? Something made him hesitate though, what if they were having an intimate moment, Talis certainly didn't want to interrupt something like that. Surely if they were in trouble Lily would have yelled for him.
Lily sighed softly. "Talis isn't trying to take me away from you. He's only playing, he's a dragon and probably very young by their standards. Still a child, maybe the human equivalent of a teenager. Full of energy and playfulness. Like a fox. Foxes like to play too." Lily frowned slightly though, letting Nereus tell him about the red foxes. Ears twitching a bit and he hugged the man rather tightly. "I'm sorry the red foxes were so cruel to you, you were only following orders in the war." His head had tilted to the side a bit when Nereus kissed his neck, a soft noise of pleasure escaping the fox. "Mm. It's not really your fault, I'm sure you were just following orders. Being ordered to do something bad doesn't really make you a bad person." |
Rolling her eyes much like she had before, the young woman reached out to tug lightly at Talis's sleeve. "I'm sure they're fine. Lily would scream if something was wrong." And Lily screaming wasn't a pleasant sound. Shaking her head slightly, the young woman tried to think of something to say. "How old are you?" She still didn't truly believe he was a dragon. The mage probably only would when she saw the Talis she knew transform into a dragon as the last binding spell was removed.
The knight listened to each word but what really caught his attention was that small sound Lily had made. He wanted to hear that again, it took him away from his past and made him remember the present. Nibbling lightly at the fox's neck, Nereus tightened his hold on the other man. "I just want you to make that sound again," murmured Nereus as he let his hands fall to the fox's hips. "Help me forget for a little while..." Barring his throat for the fox, Nereus closed his eyes and tried to do just that, forget. |
"Maybe.." Talis didn't sound too convinced. He shook his head slightly though, and when she asked his age, Talis literally flinched. Looking at her with a slightly startled expression. "I..I can't remember. I lost track some time ago. I'm not too old though, by dragon standards, by human standards I was nearly ancient before my enslavement." Talis knew he had been loosing pieces of himself throughout this entrapment, mostly though it was his memories of ever being a dragon. Very slowly they had been fading, but at least with the undoing of one of the spells that bound him he was sure that process had slowed even further. Of course, he wasn't going to tell Callista that. "I don't even know if my clan is still alive." His shoulders had slumped some and he turned from her slightly. How long had he been a slave? He couldn't remember that either, if he could he would have been able to figure out his age. Talis blinked as a small fireball floated up to him, he could feel the magic that emanated from it. He knew at once it was fox fire. He cupped his hands around it and brought it to his ear. Once the message was received it vanished into nothing. "Lily says to wait a while longer.." That only made him frown deeply.
Lily pressed himself against Nereus, when the man nibbled at his neck, he made that soft noise of pleasure again. His hands played gently at the back of Nereus' neck and he came in to gently nibble and kiss along the side of the man's throat. His tongue flicking out to lick at the flesh here and there. All the while Lily wriggled and squirmed against Nereus and those soft sounds of pleasure escaped his throat at every other wriggle or squirming, his bushy tail flicked once behind him. Causing a small fireball to appear, a message to Talis, asking the dragon to wait just a little longer, then that fireball floated off to find the dragon. |
She felt bad for asking him about it, he looked so down! Moving forward after he received Lily's message, Callista wrapped her arms around the dragon and hugged him tightly. Even enslaved as she'd been, Calli couldn't imagine how it must have been for him! Not only trapped to obey, but trapped in form and in power ... The thought made her shudder a little. "Oh Talis ... I'll try and take down another spell today, I think I might have noticed another loose one earlier."In fact she was sure she had. If the mage could have, she would have unraveled all the spells at once just so he could be free. That plan would have ended in disaster for Calli. It would burn the mage out until she was using her life force to break the spells and that was not a good idea.
He lost himself in the sensations. Closing his eyes, he simply felt instead of thinking. Lifting his hips up slightly, the Knight moaned a little under the delicious onslaught of the fox's actions. Pulling Lily nearer, he rolled over and buried his hands in the fox's hair and bushy tail, cradling the other man close. "My turn," murmured Nereus. |
Talis was a little surprised when Callista hugged him, though not too surprised. For a moment he leaned lightly against her, then pulled away. "You can take your time, you don't need to overwork yourself on my account. I know you're already tired, you were dozing off in that shelter, remember? One spell a day will be fine. If Violet is chasing us, and I'm sure he is, you might need to use your magic if and when he catches up to us." The way he said it, it was like Talis expected those men to catch up to them at any moment. Though it was likely. Violet's men were still a few hours behind them though.
When Nereus rolled them over, Lily let him. Relaxing in the other man's arms. His eyes half closed as he moaned softly and made other soft noises of pleasure. A shiver of delight and anticipation ran down his spine, making his body quiver with expectation for a moment. His tail twitched slightly and Lily murred softly. |
Clutching the fang lightly, Callista nodded. Though a few questions popped to mind, mostly because she needed to keep her mind off those spells and how much she wanted to rip them all off. "do you think they'll find us? And .. Talis .. After all the spells are broken, can I keep your fang? You'll be leaving, and I want something to remember you with." She'd already begun to rely on him so heavily! The dragon helped Callista cope with her feelings, and he was so kind with her! "I'll miss you." It would take a little bit to break those spells, but not that long.
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"Violet won't give up until he's found us. So eventually, yes, the will find us." He didn't want to say it, but it was better to tell the truth, no matter how bleak it was. They could be better prepared if they knew to always expect Violet's men at every turn. Every bend they came around. Talis ran a hand through his hair, and shrugged. "Sure, you can keep it." It was a dangerous thing, freely giving her his fang. A physical part of him, and she was a mage. She could lay more spells on it, she would always be able to find him no matter where he was. Of course, Talis doubted she would ever put spells on it. Not hurtful ones anyway. Knowing her, she would put wards and protection spells over him. Still, did she realize what she was asking? Did she fully realize what Talis had just agreed to? It didn't matter, the dragon knew his fang was in good hands. But what if it fell into the wrong hands? "Perhaps it will bring you good luck." He smiled brightly at her.
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Cradling the fang to her heart, the young woman grinned back. Callista's heart was beating so fast! "I think it already has ..." It gave her something else, someone else, ,to think of other then Violet. The blue eyed woman reached out again, almost hesitant to give Talis another hug this time. Was she acting strangely? "It's, you've helped me start to get over Violet, even if just a little." And that was quite the feat to accomplish in a few hours, in a day. She'd thought she loved Violet, and she did still ... But there others who were better for her out there, whether as friends or otherwise.
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Talis laughed softly and pat the top of her head gently. "That's what friends are for, silly girl. They help each other." Those golden eyes were bright with amusement at her words. Though he glanced towards where Lily and Nereus had gone, unsure of what they were doing, but he had a general idea. At least, he assumed. "We really ought to be moving though. The longer we stand still, the closer the hounds nip at our heels."
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A blush crept up her cheeks as she thought of what the fox and knight might have been doing. Shaking hr head, Calli smiled up at Talis. "I can send them a message ... Tell them to get back here so we can leave." But the knight had looked so distraught and she was so tired of traveling already! Letting out a sigh, Callista rolled her eyes at herself. "I can't believe how soft I've grown under Violet's rule." Just a few years ago she'd loved traveling, now she was terrified. It wasn't all that surprising considering the last time she'd gone traveling and then there was the fact that they were being hunted down.
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"Leave them be for a while longer. No telling what they're doing and I'm sure they wouldn't appreciate an interruption." Though Talis did want Callista to send the message anyway, still he didn't want to upset Lily. It was the fox that had sent the message asking them to wait a while longer. Talis trusted Lily, he was sure the fox knew exactly what he was doing. "Better to grow softer under the rule of a tyrant than harder, or you'd end up acting exactly like him." Talis raised a hand to his heart. "Everyone changes, all of our experiences shape us, some times for the better and sometimes for the worst."
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Rolling her shoulders in order to stretch, the young woman shook her head slightly. "I hate being terrified of everything though ... The only reason I'm not hiding shivering in a corner right now is because you're here." The open road, it was just so vulnerable to ambushes. She remembered quite clearly how Violet had captured her. The memory wasn't one Callista was likely to forget anytime soon.
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Talis regarded her carefully for a moment before he shrugged. "Don't rely to heavily on me. You are my friend, and I will protect you the best I can. But there are things I have to do, things I need to see to and a far away place I need to return to once I'm free of all those magical chains." He had to find out if his clan was still alive, if they would welcome him back or shun him. "Everyone is afraid of something, you just can't let that fear hold you back from anything."
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Letting out a sigh, Callista nodded while running a hand trough her long silky hair. There had to be a way to make Violet lose their trail. If they followed the well traveled roads perhaps they had a chance, but only if they wre disguised in some way. The three slaves were rather recognizable, since they all had some unique features. Her extremely blue eyes, Talis's golden ones and Lily ... Well Lily was just plain unforgettable with his ears and tail. So how to solve this problem? "We need a plan, we just can't keep running around." But she had no idea where to go or what to do, not really.
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"I don't intend to keep running around." Talis shifted slightly on his feet, and rolled his shoulders a bit. "I'll just kill anyone he sends after us, and then I'll kill him. Once I've got all my strength back, once I'm truly free." He watched her carefully for a few moments, wondering if she would get upset at him again for wanting to kill Violet. He wasn't just planning to kill Violet, Talis intended on making that man suffer. Slow and painful death was what that man deserved, and Talis would gladly give it to him. "None of us can ever really truly be free unless that man is dead." He clenched a hand into a tight fist. His entire being cried out for vengeance. Talis didn't particularly enjoy having thoughts of harming another person, even if that person was Violet. Still he hungered to bring such violence against that man. These feelings, they very nearly frightened Talis. Shadow dragons were peaceful, watchers. They lurked in the shadows and watched everything, never interfering with the mortal coil. Never raising claw or fang against another. Theirs was truly a peaceful society. A rare thing among dragons.
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