Cora: Something with a scifi time travel element would be fun! I’ve also been interested in something with siblings/twins that have to take each others’ places at various points, or a prince and pauper-like switch.
(pretty avi btw!! you look so regal )
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Originally Posted by Cora
Well, I am really up to anything these days. I've been looking for a new challenge. So any of those would suit me well enough. ^_^
I cannot guarantee I'll be a frequent responder. But I can guarantee a response once a week or so.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ghostPastry
Once a week or so works for me! Don't worry about how frequently you post, I'm just in it for fun. :)
Ok cool! So would you want to do a twin RP in a modern fantasy setting? Maybe the twins could be very different people and always had a hard time getting along, but something, maybe some sort of magical mission or quest, forces them to switch places and doing so opens their eyes to what the other is really like and they learn to understand each other. And only working together can they complete the quest at hand. Something like that?
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Originally Posted by Cora
That sounds fun! What if we made them both part of some like magical agency, like spies or assassins or something of that nature but with magic, but one of them got out. Which caused a fight between them, or something. Dunno I'm making up details as I go. Only to have this mission force the twin that got out to come back in.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ghostPastry
i like that a lot! what if they're both part of an agency that manages magic use and the agents go out to stop the use of any magic that goes against their guidelines and retrieve magic artifacts that have fallen into the "wrong" hands. but one twin had a change of heart after a bad mission and started believing that magic should be free to use by anybody and that the agency had gone too far in its pursuit of order. so they went off the grid and started basically being an eccentric sorcerer in the hills that creates potions and spells for people who can't do magic themselves. but one day, an evil force gained possession of a massively destructive artifact, and the twin still in the agency has to go into the hills to ask the twin who left to come back, maybe because the twins have a special magic power that can only be unlocked when they work in harmony? and when the twin who left does come back and they try to use the power, they're not able to and they can't figure out why, so they have to spend the mission trying to figure out how to make it work, not realizing the whole time that all they have to do is truly understand one another.
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Originally Posted by Cora
Sure! I could work with that! Do you have any preference as to which twin? I'm assuming they are identical. Male or female?
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Originally Posted by ghostPastry
i'm feeling a draw to the twin who leaves the agency! would you be all right with playing the twin who stays? and it might be fun for both of them to have been assigned female at birth, but my character identifies as masculine, so even though they can pass as identical, most of the time they just look like regular siblings? that way it could be like a secret that they're able to switch places.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cora
I'm sorta getting an image in my head of a woman who is feminine and beautiful, but also bad ass. I think she's a captain in the agency, and because she's beautiful guys used to hit on her a lot, and look down on her as weak for being a woman, but she beat every one of them in sparring with a "don't underestimate me because I'm a girl" attitude. Very strict with rules, very militaristic in nature. She's actually annoyed that she has to go get her twin, because in her eyes her twin abandoned agency and in turn her. But she knows she needs her twin because their joint power is the only thing that will work against the enemy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ghostPastry
that's awesome, she sounds super cool. and i like the idea of her being super strict, and my character could become more of an eccentric hippie after he leaves the agency, and always had a hard time following orders correctly, and was always kind of a loose cannon. i feel like he would be really guilty about leaving, knowing it's an important cause, but his guilt would hold him back and make it harder for him once he comes back, especially since the other agents are probably hurt by him leaving too. so he kind of stays closed off, and it stops his abilities from working, but he doesn't realize that's why they're not working.
what are you thinking of for a name? do you think they should have names that are related to one another, like a theme or opposites or same first letter? or should they just be normal names?
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Originally Posted by Cora
Side note - Love the changes to your avatar. Really lovely.
The names could be related, if you wish. I'm not too picky about it I can really work with anything. Same first letter would be the easiest way to relate them I think but I'm fine with anything.
I think more then closed off on her end, She's more bratty and actively shuts him out. Even though she misses him a lot, and there will be small signs of that, her strict order of her own self imposed rules wont let her be hurt again.
Do we have any physical characteristics in mind? Like hair color? Eye color? Height?
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Originally Posted by ghostPastry
tysm!! i like to think this is what my backyard would look like if i lived on an island next to Menewsha
hmmm ok, maybe something like Hazel and Hemlock? both types of trees starting with H, and i feel like the sound of Hazel fits your twin's more sharp personality, and Hemlock really sounds like an elf's name or something to me, so i think it fits the hippiness of my guy
ooo i like that too, so my twin would have to gain her trust, but to do that he'd have to kinda get over his own insecurities first.
i like the idea of them being pretty short, it could add to Hazel's whole "don't underestimate me" vibe. and dark hair? maybe my twin bleaches his hair after he leaves to differentiate himself even more, so to pass as your twin, he has to dye it back. i feel like their eyes should be hazel and maybe that's where your twin got her name, but maybe that's too on-the-nose i'm fine with any color.
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Originally Posted by Cora
Sure, I'm fine with that! I can't think of too much else we might need before hand. The best RPs always leave SOME stuff up to the story to move along at its own pace.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ghostPastry
definitely, i agree! i'll go set up the thread then. do you have any ideas for the name of the RP, or should i make something up?
---------- Post added 01-12-2023 at 03:47 PM ----------
oh, and do you want an OOC thread?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cora
My Brain, due to lack of sleep, is failing to think of anything clever so you can go ahead and make it up
As for OOC. We should probably have one just in case yes
Last edited by ghostPastry; 01-22-2023 at 10:11 PM..
Special Skills: With Hazel: TBD Without Hazel: Tea Leaf Divination, Herbal Medicine, Charmed Candles, Potions, Tinctures & Salves
Species: Human Magic-User
Hair: Naturally dark brown, bleaches it platinum blonde.
Very short and messy, sticks straight out from his head.
Has to dye it back brown when he disguises as Hazel, puts a ridiculous amount of hair gel in his bangs to keep them parted and flat in the same way as Hazel's, and adds extensions to the front to give the illusion of a bob hairstyle.
Home: At the moment, a little house somewhere up in the hills, but he leads a traveler lifestyle, and can pick up and move at any time, and is often not "home" for days/weeks at a time.
Likes:
...............................................• The taste of over-steeped tea
...............................................• The sound of leaves rustling in the wind
...............................................• Hand-harvesting ingredients for his spells;
...............................................casting spells that require natural ingredients.
Dislikes:
...............................................• Following the rules, being told what to do
...............................................• Tight, enclosed spaces
...............................................• Feeling trapped
...............................................• Feeling judged or disliked, especially by people he knows well
Ambitions: To use his powers to bring some good into the world, to learn more about herbal, crystal, animal, and earth magic instead of the more clinical magic he used at the Agency, to shield the earth and its inhabitants from danger, and to save the earth (even if it's just by recycling).
Greatest Fear: That someone will capture him and tie him up and put him in a small enclosed space, and he won't be able to use his skills to help anyone.
Biggest Flaw: He often loses important evidence, forgets what he was doing in the middle of doing it, makes reckless decisions that he regrets later, and often rebels against authority.
Name Origin: Hemlock is a type of tree, similar to his twin's name Hazel, and Haberer is an Anglo-British last name meaning "one who builds log cabins", which is the closest last name I could think of to a tree. It can also be spelled Arborer, but the H explains why their parents chose those letters to match.
WIP - will probably wait to flesh this out until after we've written a little, just so i can get an idea of his personality and the twins' history together.
Last edited by ghostPastry; 04-03-2023 at 04:10 AM..
Cora's Character Profile [WIP] Hazel Harberer Age: early 30s? Pronouns: She/Her Gender: Female Special Skills: I know she carries throwing knives, but beyond that, not sure yet. Species: Human Magic-User Hair: Naturally dark brown. Keeps it fairly short, bob style. Will begrudgingly have to cut it off when they decide to mimic one another. Home: She lives in the Capital, at the Magic Agency base.
Likes:
...............................................• Black Coffee, she basically lives on the stuff
...............................................• Order, Rules, Discipline.
...............................................• Libraries, and the smell of old books.
...............................................• It’s a secret known only to a very few, that she would kill in their sleep if they told. Cats. She loves cats.
...............................................• Music, especially classical
Dislikes:
...............................................• Chaos and disorder. It gives her anxiety.
...............................................• Most People, she finds people to be necessary but usually too chaotic for any length of time.
...............................................• Thunderstorms
...............................................• Mud, any and all types of mud.
Ambitions: She comes across as highly ambitious but that’s not really entirely true. She was drawn to the agency because it was rigid and orderly. Her greatest ambition is really to do her job the best she can so she can stay.
Greatest Fear: Abandonment. She pushes people away from her because if she gets attached to them then they can hurt her and leave her behind.
Biggest Flaw: She is too rigid. She believes in rules and order. She has a very hard time stepping outside the lines, or letting others step outside the lines.
It had been a few months since Hemlock left the Agency-- he lost track of the exact day he finally reached the end of his fuse and went off the handle on his team, severing all ties and going off on his own; but the time didn't matter because he felt like he was where he was always supposed to be. Among the gentle beings of the earth, the lush greenery dappled sweetly by the sun, and the darkest caves under starry night skies. He felt more at home with the bare soles of his feet buried in the mud than he ever felt at the sorry studio apartment he would return "home" to after a long day of casting spells for the Agency that never really resonated with his true sense of self. Although he cast spells much less prolifically since leaving there, his magic had become more potent, and a single thoroughly-researched spell could equal the power of ten of the type of spell he had been casting on behalf of the Agency.
Every day was different for Hemlock, and ironically this day was no different in its uniqueness. He kept no calendar, no clocks, and only slept when it was dark and woke when it was light. The light had filtered through a small hole in the stitching of his tent that morning, shining directly into his eye. It was as good an alarm as any, and he reluctantly squirmed out of his sleeping bag and began making a small fire to cook eggs and fish for a protein-rich breakfast.
After finishing his meal, he stood without wiping the remains of his meal from his face, and tossed the fish bones into a clump of dirt to compost. He grabbed his walking pole from where it leaned against a tree, and wrapped his tent up tight, stuffing it into a bag he swung onto his back. He had no plan for where he would go that day, but he knew he wouldn’t travel far— as he continued, the mountains became increasingly treacherous, and scaling the steep cliff faces would slow him down considerably. He had made a few friends in the area who were available to bring him supplies as he passed through, but beyond that he was alone in his aimless journey. He expected no visitors that day, as he rarely-- if ever-- left any way for others to contact him. To find him, someone would have to follow a trail of word of mouth, finding clues from each town he had visited that pointed to his direction. Someone with that perseverance and attention to detail was rare to find, and Hemlock had only ever known one person with the sort of second sense required to find him no matter where he roamed, and it was the last person in the world he would ever want to talk to.
“GRRRAWH!” Hazel’s fist met the trunk of the tree for the hundredth time as she let out all her frustrations. There was a nice fist shape splintering happening, but she didn’t care. Not today. She was cold, she was hungry, she was tired. Not even her dreams wanted to leave her alone. Dreams of the past that were better off forgotten. She had been chasing after him for nearly two weeks now. She knew she was getting closer, every day closer, she could feel it down to the bottom of her core. Their magic had always seemed to be able to sense the other. She had always been able to find him, she knew, if push came to shove but why would she want to? Not to mention the fact that he did not want to be found.
She felt a drop fall from the sky just as her fist collided with the tree again and looked up. Great. It was raining. She let her fist fall to her side, and then took a seat under the great oak she had been giving a beating to just moments before and thought back on the conversation she’d had with her Captain before she left and her eyes once more flitted up to the darkened sky. Tonight was going to be a long one.
~Two Weeks Previously~
“Cal, straighten your shoulders. You’re leaving your left side wide open” She was going down the line of her recruits sparring with them and correcting them where appropriate when he walked in and she hadn’t seen him until was right next to her but in an instant she had swept her blade around and it was pointed directly at the crook of his neck before she knew who he was. Instantly a smile played her lips, “Oh hey Lucifer, its not very often we see you down here during training, what’s up?”
There was something in his expression that instantly filled her with unease. Something was wrong. Very wrong, “Hazel, Erica wants to see you”
“Did she say why?”
“She didn’t, not to me at least but……” his eyes skittered away from hers, refusing to meet them. Yup, definitely something wrong.
“But?” she pressed him further. There was no way she was going to walk into Erica’s office without knowing why Lucifer was so uneasy.
“Its nothing really, not exactly. Only” he paused briefly to take a deep breath, “Only I’ve never seen Erica look so scared. Whatever happened this time. I don’t think Erica knows how to handle it”
****
As soon as she entered the room she knew Lucifer had been right. Erica was nervous, pacing, fidgety and suddenly she didn’t want to be there. She had a bad feeling. A really bad feeling that she didn’t want to hear what Erica was going to say.
Erica was avoiding her eye, much like Lucifer had done. Her voice strangely flat, as she said “Thank you for coming Hazel” Hazel? When was the last time Erica had used her full name, “I won’t sugar coat this. Cayron is…..well he’s back and he has the Reliquary and well, you know you’re the only one that can stop him”
“But I can’t….” she almost mention him. She couldn’t do anything without him but she swallowed her response. Her power was strong, and Erica was right. It was the only reason they had defeated Cayron the first time……the problem was. Her power only worked with him. Her magic was ordinary without him by her side.
Internally she groaned. There was only one option. And option she loathed with all her being. “I…..see. Well then Erica.” She swallowed, “Give me a few weeks to gather the supplies we need. I can’t do anything without preparing properly first.” She was going to have to convince him to come back with her. That’s all and if he didn’t come willingly. Well. She’d just have to drag him back by force.
It's funny how some memories just show up uninvited, without warning. As Hemlock plucked wildflowers to use their stems in teas and their petals in candles for later that night, the smell of a dandelion suddenly brought sweeping back the memories of his first days training as a new recruit at the Agency, of having his feet swept out from under him by his sparring mate, and the perspective shift of being face-down in the grass, with a dandelion looming uncharacteristically tall in his peripheral. That dandelion became a symbol for Hemlock; the resistance of the one wild thing in a sea of carefully-trimmed conformity. He thought of it often, how it seemed so small on the ground below him, but for an ant in the grass, it would be impossible to even see the top of the flower.
His lips formed a chagrined grimace at the memory, still mourning the fact that he had ever allowed himself to be put in that position; when all along the herb magic had been there, calling to him. How he had ever let that other kind of magic flow through him, the kind that he could only create with— no. He wouldn’t even think her name, because even thinking it would let in a flood of other sour memories, ones he didn’t know if he could handle. He turned his attention once more to the ground, and tried to search through the flowers for primroses— he could use them in an oil tincture and rub a small drop on each of his wrists to bring a sense of optimism, and to move past his youthful grudges.
Finishing his harvesting, he wrapped his collected goods in a leather sheet, tied it up with a leather rope, and swung it over his shoulders to rest comfortably in the center of his back. The sun had started to dip below the horizon, filtering golden rays through the gently swaying grass. Hemlock took a moment to breathe in the beauty.
This was why he was doing this, he reminded himself. He wasn’t running from his past, he was running towards his future. He couldn’t regret the ones he left behind, it would only hold him back. He knew he couldn’t stop the memories from flooding back, but while he was far away from the Agency, he was free to redirect his focus to the things he loved doing; the places he loved to wander.
He adjusted the strap on his sack and turned to walk up the hill back towards the place he had been staying, to go prepare his candles and dry his herbs for the night ahead. Without the twin he didn’t even dare to think of, he had no ability to cast an artificial light spell or conjure any supplies from thin air, and was reliant on his charmed candles to guide him through the night.
He was planning to charge tonight’s candles with Daisies to make the flame impervious to the rain and wind. He had forecast in his tea leaves that morning that the day would be clear, but the sunset would bring torrential downpour. With his candles and the threads of water-resistant sweetgrass woven through his clothing, the rain never stopped him from exploring, and this evening was planned to be an evening of traveling through the vast hills like any other.
The skies had been clear that morning, she should have known better. As the night began to fall upon her and that blasted tree she had been so lovingly beating to a pulp, so did the rain. One drop turned to two, quickly to ten and then the skies opened up and all hell was breaking loose. It was the kind of rain that soaked a person down to the very bone…..the very soul. Rain always did that to her, left her shivering, cold, and something else. Scared. The rain did what most humans could never do to her. She was regretting having not stopped at that farmhouse a number of miles back to ask to stay in their barn in exchange for some labor. The weather had been clear and she didn’t want to stop yet. Now, as the rain howled around her, she wished she had. Hindsight was twenty/twenty she knew.
Screams from a distant memory echoed in her mind. “No! No! Mama, Papa! Don’t go!” the screams she had heard a thousand times in her mind. Both in the awake world and the sleeping one. “NO!” she screeched against the wind, “NO! GO AWAY!” she tried desperately to use her magic, to create light, or fire, or anything to keep the rain at bay, to shut the voices out, even knowing it would fail. It was silly of her, and she knew it, only in times like now did she ever lose her composure. “WHY!” she shrieked, “WHY CAN’T IT WORK ALONE!!!!” Her words swallowed by the wind and rain never to be heard.
She slumped helplessly against the tree trunk, knowing as she had always known, that her magic only worked with him. The last person she wanted to think about right now. And the person she needed to think about most right now. This was all his fault. She scowled now, focusing her energy on that over the rain. If he hadn’t left the agency she never would have had to go on this stupid journey and she most certainly would not currently be soaking wet and thinking of things that were definitely best left forgotten. Yes, that’s right, it was all his fault.
She was just settling back into the tree trunk again, knowing she couldn’t sleep but also knowing that leaving the canopy of leaves was only going to mean she was more wet and more miserable when she saw it. Out in the distance there was a soft glow of candlelight. Candlelight? Here in the hills far away from society? Who could possibly be exploring the hills in this weather? But she already knew the answer to that question without it even needing to be asked. She could feel him even more then she could see him. She knew. She would always know. And it annoyed the snot out of her. That annoyance didn’t stop her feet from dashing of into the rain after that ball of light…..
As Hemlock splashed in puddles on his way through the hills, with rain whipping past him on the wind, and the clouds hanging dense overhead, he stayed dry as a twig, with a warmth that spread from the candle he held into his hand, up his arm, and through his whole body. His field of view was filled with light from the enchanted flame. For him, it might as well have been a temperate, mildly drizzly spring day. The grass, however, was more slick than usual, and so he was careful to walk with more caution, and he spent less time pausing to rifle through the herbs on the ground, as they would be too wet to properly preserve without some spellwork.
Hemlock had become accustomed to being alone on his nighttime treks through dreadful weather, so accustomed in fact, that at first he wasn’t sure what the shadow on the horizon coming towards him was. The hills in between him and this shadow creature partially obscured his vision, and every few seconds the silhouette would disappear into a valley, then reappear coming over the next hill.
It was moving fast... it couldn’t be an animal, no bobcat would come to this low of an elevation, and no bear would run that fast without being provoked. And it looked like it was coming right for him. He noticed with a jolt that it must be the light from his candle that was drawing whatever this being was towards him, and he had to make a quick decision: keep the candle lit and stay dry, but be a walking target? or put the candle out and get soaked, then run like hell for even a tiny chance at not being found? He knew his magic wasn’t strong enough for a fight, and in the choice of fight vs. flight, Hemlock was all about flying away. He figured the fibers in his clothing were still water-resistant enough without the flame, and he could always re-light it after he had averted the danger.
He stubbed the candle out between two fingers and instantly it was as if several buckets of ice-cold water had been dumped all over his head. He sputtered and wiped the streaming water out of his eyes the best he could, and he blindly ran towards whatever small tree cover he could find. Having thrown caution to the whipping wind, he slipped on the slick grass and fell onto his knees, splashing water up into his chest. He skidded across the grass until his shoulder crashed into the trunk of a tree, and he fell, rattled, under the cover of a small pine tree.
He had not thought this plan through. Was he going to wait here until the silhouette disappeared? Until the rain stopped? He couldn’t even see the figure anymore now, how would he know when or if it went away? He had thought he would be able to keep running, but the enchantment in the grasses in his clothing were just too weak with only his half of the magic, and the water was too torrential and icy, he wouldn’t make it half a mile without the light of the enchanted candle. So he stayed, shuddering under the small pine tree.
She could see it ahead of her, growing so close now, a fact that relieved her and also filled her with intense dread. 100 feet, 50 feet and then just like that…..the light was gone. Her thoughts instantly turned down a darker path. Why? Why did he always have to run away? Why did he run this time too? Did he know she was coming? Could he sense her like she sensed him? Is that why he fled? A sound of annoyance erupted from somewhere in the back of her throat. It was a feral sound, even if someone heard it they might assume it was a wild animal and certainly not human. “GRRRRAAAAAAA” What was she supposed to do now?
Think Hazel, think. She took several calming breaths, trying to bring her rational thoughts back to the surface. The only thing that accomplished was a nose full of rainwater which caused her to sputter. Well that was smart, Haze, totally smart. The rain was soaked straight through to the bone now. She was starting to feel as if she’d never be dry again. She called his name several times, “Hemlock! Hem! Are you there!? Its your sister” her words were being swallowed by the storm around her, she knew there was no way he could hear her. She whimpered, something rather unusual for the bull headed Hazel, and her words came out a whispered sound, “Please…..”
It was perhaps an hour or so of wandering blindly through the darkness calling his name, that she had to admit, even to herself that he was probably long gone by now. Even though she still felt him, she was starting to doubt herself, perhaps that too was nothing more then an illusion. In the end she, she knew she had no choice but to give up, not entirely, but for the night. She was going to get nowhere in this rain. In the end she too settled down under a pine tree, coincidentally mere feet from where her twin was located. She pulled her knees into her chest, resting her head on top her knees. “When did we become like this?” she whispered.
The wind seemed to howl strangely for a moment, almost like the call of a wounded beast, and Hemlock could swear he heard the leaves muttering his name as he sheltered himself beneath spindly branches. The storm raged on, so Hemlock pulled his cloak tight around him and settled in to rest until the storm tired itself out. The raindrops fell like heavy tears from the eyes of a lonely giant, and Hemlock could feel something calling out to him deep within his heart. He had never felt so bittersweet about a storm, but this storm gave off a desperation in its abrupt onslaught that almost felt like its source was human rather than nature.
Almost as if whispered directly into his ear, Hemlock heard the tearful words calling to him, and sat up with a jolt down his spine. When did we become like this… Suddenly, it was all too clear that the strange figure Hemlock had seen in the darkness had to be Hazel. If Hazel had been trying to track him down, she would have had a hard time with it. To put herself through that... she must be seeking him for something important. It was just a feeling, but Hemlock couldn't deny the unique sensation of his twin needing him.
It was as though years of bitterness had a bright light shined on them– the current thoughts couldn’t break through what felt almost like an enchantment, that strong force that always brought them together no matter how far apart. Tentatively, Hemlock lit his candle again, and stepped out into the night in a bubble of clear sky. He followed the pull to a nearby tree, almost not even surprised to find her so nearby.
Standing just near enough that she could hear him, but not so near that he couldn’t run if he needed to, Hemlock spoke, “Of course I’d find you here once again, bringing that dark sky with you… go ahead, tell me, what task do you bring me this time?”
She was shivering, a bitter cold that reflected her darkened mood. More then angry, as she would usually have been, now she merely felt utter exhaustion. Like the days events had settled into her bones and left her…….drained to say the very least. She fought them for a moment before starting to give into the urge to drift off to sleep.
She heard the crunch of his boots first. An animal? Should she run? She was far to tired to try and outrun anything that might be lurking out there, no, better to just stay still and pretend to be dead. [“Of course I’d find you here once again, bringing that dark sky with you… go ahead, tell me, what task do you bring me this time?”] Hemlock? Now she knew it wasn’t an animal…..it was a dream. There was no way he had found her huddled under a tree in the storm.
“Hem…..lock? Is that really you?” the moment she caught sight of him for real her eyes shot open, “Its really you!” She wanted to be angry at him for making it so hard to track him but right now she couldn’t muster anger, not when she was so relieved. For just a fleeting moment that showed in her eyes before she tampered it down and put on her normal haughty air. There was not much question in her voice, she wasn’t asking she was telling, “You need to come back with me to the agency”
She took a deep breath, there was almost something frightened in her eyes that she was trying desperately to hide. Silence, a moment then two, before she softened only slightly. She may be wet and miserable, but she was still willing to drag her twin back by force if she needed to only……she knew he responded better to kindness. He had always been kinder then her. So she grumbled, and a bit stiffly said, “Please….Hem, I need you to come back with me. Its…..Cayron. He’s back. Cayron is back”
The sight of fear on the features so similar to his own reflected back at him in the magicked brightness tugged at a string of his heart that he had thought had been hardened long ago. There was a fundamental empathy hardwired into him for his twin, no matter what had happened between them, he knew his destiny was intrinsically linked with hers. It had been hard to reject her before, to run away, but it was what he had needed to do. He knew some day his abandonment would catch up with him. He had assumed it would be when he was old and grey and regretting the loss of an old life, not only mere years later when he hadn't even fully shaken off the memories of the regiment and suffocating structure of life at the Agency.
"Cayron..." Hemlock repeated in a hushed tone. So it was important. Much more important than he could have prepared for. "We had defeated that evil... it was the last time we used our power together. How is this possible, how could he have come back?" Hemlock was shaken, mentally pulled back to that terrible moment, when they pushed themselves to their absolute limit, giving everything they had to unlock the only power they had against the evil force of Cayron. After that, they were completely drained for months, forcing Hazel and Hemlock to leave all their duties to Lucifer. Erica assigned junior agents to serve as their bodyguards until they were well enough to defend themselves again. It was a hellish ordeal, and it nearly killed the both of them. Hemlock didn't know if he could go through that again, if it would even work again.
"Hazel, I don't know. It's been so long, do you think... we even still have access to the power? My magic is so different now, and I'm sure yours has adapted as well. If I can help-- and that's a big 'if'; I'm not saying that I can-- we would have to practice. And that would mean we have to be near each other for extended periods of time. You know I ran away for a reason, Hazel. Can two people unite their magic who can't even unite our basic natures?"
Flashbacks of that time, the last time they had fought together flitted through her mind. They had worked together to take out Cayron. Together back then they were strong, but that move had nearly killed them. She remembered, just after watching Cayron fall, before she could no longer stay standing, thinking it was over. The battle, Cayron, herself….but she had been contented. Contented that she had protected this world with him. Her other half. True, she had nearly lost him too that day, a thought that she could never forgive herself for. It was part of the reason she grew cold after that. Obssessive. She needed to be stronger. She would never again lose the people she loved. She…..they….had lost too many. Too much.
<< Hazel, I don't know. It's been so long, do you think... we even still have access to the power? My magic is so different now, and I'm sure yours has adapted as well.>> Her eyes glassed over for a brief moment. Adapt? Her magic had never adapted, it never healed, not like his. When Hemlock had disappeared from the agency, her magic had largely disappeared. She never told anyone that fact. Not even Erica, her most trusted friend and comrade, knew. She had compensated for that by growing stronger with her weapons use. Now, there was no one at the Agency who could defeat her in weapons combat. But with Cayron…..she knew that wasn’t enough. Her eyes flitted away as she listened to him continue.
<< You know I ran away for a reason, Hazel. Can two people unite their magic who can't even unite our basic natures?">> She felt a stab of pain she had not felt since that day. The day he left her, just like their parents had years before that. The one person she always thought would be there…..gone just like that. She swallowed that thought, the muscles in her neck tightening. Steadying herself against the rage building in her stomach. Her eyes locked on his. Maybe it was the rain, or the situation, or maybe a part of her that she didn’t want to acknowledge just missed him, but there was a flurry of emotion in those eyes. Fear, sadness, anger………..hope. “I….” she hesitated for a moment, her deep rooted exhaustion that had nothing to do with lack of sleep seeping into her word, “I know that Hemlock. Don’t you think I thought of that before I even set out on this ruddy journey. But I can’t do this alone. I can’t protect them……any of them” Her mind flitted to the people in her life that mattered to her Lucifer, Erica….her friends and students at the academy……..him. Her next words were so quiet the wind might have swallowed them whole. But she knew he would hear her, in a way only they could, “I’m not strong enough”
It was strange to hear Hazel's admission of weakness. Hazel had always been the strongest person Hemlock had known. It was only her soft spot for the ones she loved that left her vulnerable and exposed. The loss of their magic really had to be weighing on her more than Hemlock had realized.
But Hemlock couldn't let himself have the same crack in his armor, not for the ones he left behind. When he severed all ties, he had to cut off the part of himself that once so deeply trusted and cared for everyone at the Agency. It would have killed him otherwise, to know they were all thinking of him with bitterness, and judging him for going off on his own like he did. He always relied so much on what they all thought of him, and that's why he had to stay away. And now, he had affected Hazel this badly, essentially leaving her powerless, impeding her training at the worst possible time.
"I can't..." he struggled to get the words out behind the lump forming in his throat. "...I can't bear the guilt, Hazel. If we aren't able... if we fail them, we'll lose everything. I couldn't go through that again." Hemlock looked away, out into the inky darkness, as if he could somehow scry the correct decision to make. “But you must be cold.” he said, cutting himself off. “This is no place to talk about something so serious. We’re not far from a small town in the hills, we can find you something to eat and some dry clothes.”
She wanted so badly to tell him that they would lose everything anyway by standing still, but she couldn’t, not when he looked like that. He looked like she felt. She was so close to him after all this time, having come so far, and yet she knew in that moment that the chasm between them was vast and deep. Was this it then? Was she supposed to go back and fight alone? Her heart was crying out in frustration but she said nothing. Right now she wasn’t thinking clearly.
Instead she simply stood up, Hemlock was right. This wasn’t the place to have a discussion this serious discussion. She closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. There was no use in crying over spilled milk. Plus she could not deny the idea that a warm meal after the past few days feasting on whatever berries she could find and dried jerky meat. Not to mention that she was so drenched she wasn’t sure she could possible ever be dry again. Most of all however was the fact that she wasn’t, no couldn’t give up. Not yet.
“Alright then” she said, just a tad bit more cold then she meant to, “The city must be in this direction, because I came from that direction and haven’t seen one since yesterday.” She hardly waited for an answer before heading off, though she did listen to ensure he was following after her. She couldn’t have him use this moment to get away again.
As they walked, she said nothing, but she kept throwing glances in his direction. It felt surreal being this close to him after so long. It was disorientating. More then she expected. One part of her wanted to rage at him for daring to leave, another wanted to ask him why, mostly though it felt as if this was still all a dream, or maybe the past few years had been the dream. She knew all of this was silly, but it was still……disconcerting. So she simply remained brooding silent until they reached the inn close to the border of the town.
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