[private] even death himself pales; crowns - Printable Version +- Beqanna (https://beqanna.com/forum) +-- Forum: Explore (https://beqanna.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=1) +--- Forum: The Common Lands (https://beqanna.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=72) +---- Forum: Meadow (https://beqanna.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=3) +---- Thread: [private] even death himself pales; crowns (/showthread.php?tid=28323) Pages:
1
2
|
even death himself pales; crowns - rosebay - 11-20-2020 Rosebay but in all chaos, there is calculation @[crowns] RE: even death himself pales; crowns - crowns - 11-20-2020 CrownS Sabbath has begun to accept that he is not the sickly newborn she used to lie next to each night, counting his breaths for fear the next would not come. Without her careful guidance, he has quickly grown careless in his wandering and he pushes his limits a little further each day. And this one will be no different. He intends to let Rosebay do as she will with him because he wants to know his own weaknesses. He wants to stare long and hard into Death’s face and know that it cannot touch him. So when she arrives, he tucks all that magic awake and bids his wings goodbye. They fall from his shoulders with a splash. Suddenly he is just a plain thing, save for the rich sapphire blue of his coat. He watches her and he smiles, an expression brimming with warmth and excitement buzzing in his bones. “I did! And a promise is a promise, Rosebay,” he says, his voice now a pitch lower than the last time they saw each other. Crowns still wears a short mane, but his chest has broadened and the angle of his jaw is growing sharper with time. These days, there is something dark lurking in the corner of his smile when he watches her draw near him. “I’ve known you as prey, but I want to know you as the predator also. Won’t you teach me?” he pleads now, bridging what little space is between them. He pushes the short length of her forelock back in a delicate kiss. Crowns wants her to think he’s handing her the knife so she can butcher him. He wants her to not even notice the way he worms himself under her skin and takes root there like a fever dream. And when all the smoke and mirrors are over with, he’ll bite into her heart like the first apple of autumn and toss her aside when he’s through. you got me on my knees; i'm your one-man cult. RE: even death himself pales; crowns - rosebay - 11-22-2020 Rosebay but in all chaos, there is calculation RE: even death himself pales; crowns - crowns - 11-22-2020 CrownS There is an itch in him to wrench her mind open and see all the things that she feels, if she will not show them. She wants to yank her back to something concrete and force her to let him kiss her face. But he draws a slow breath in through his nostrils and reminds himself that he must take turns and be fair. So he treats this as an exercise in patience as well as a test of his own mortality. He follows, just as the thread is guided by the needle, as she leads him through the tall meadow grasses. Crowns smiles contently as they approach the little thicket of plants all pushed up against one another. The little pink flowers hardly stand out amongst the leaves and other blooms. What makes them so special, he wonders? Her words draw his bright blue eyes to hers. Take a bite. And so he lowers his head, grazing on them and whatever else is near the pretty little petals. They taste bitter and medicinal despite their delicate aroma. Still, he devours them all until he’s certain their flavor will have him heaving up until even the bile of his stomach is depleted. When he lifts his head, the pupils of his eyes are already razor-thin as they contract in on themselves. There is even a wheeze whispering into his breaths already. “Now what?” he asks, stumbling as he tries to stand upright. It is only seconds before he finds himself tumbling to the ground as his legs give out. His body trembles as his chin twitches upward every few seconds. Was this what death felt like? An agonizing ache settling into every muscle even as he begged them to be still? Crowns wonders if Rosebay will make it better or if he’ll have to cut their fun short. But he waits. He creeps closer to the edge and peers long and hard into the darkness there. Would Death reach for him? you got me on my knees; i'm your one-man cult. RE: even death himself pales; crowns - rosebay - 11-22-2020 Rosebay but in all chaos, there is calculation RE: even death himself pales; crowns - crowns - 11-22-2020 CrownS The world becomes a blur as his eyes refuse to focus on anything in particular. And yet, somehow, every detail is painfully sharp. There is a soft, wet noise as his tongue chokes into the back of his throat with every twitching of his head. But he holds on and lets the poison seep further into him. He can feel the serpent of his magic awakening, yet he holds it down. Not yet. He hasn’t found the limits of this body yet. Even when she presses that sweet kiss to his face, he does not release himself yet. There is still light in his eyes and he manages to swallow an occasional breath. His heart begins to hammer against his ribs as it tries desperately to push more oxygen into his bloodstream, yet there is none to be found. His lungs have given up. A dull ache forms across his temples as his skin begins to grow cold for the first time in many, many months. He holds on until his knuckles are white and the world is but a pinprick of color, miles away from him now. Then, all at once, he lets the dam burst. Fire licks across his skin with a spitting hiss as it purges his every cell of the foxglove. It drags air down into his lungs and steadies his muscles as his eyes blink open. And he is laughing. Crowns stumbles up and gives his head a little shake as he tries to stifle the joyous fit of laughter bubbling from his chest. The flames calm and extinguish finally as he turns his bright blue gaze to her. “Do you think I’m strong enough to bring you back from the dead?” he asks her quite suddenly, stepping close so his lips are a breath away from hers. “Should we find out?” you got me on my knees; i'm your one-man cult. RE: even death himself pales; crowns - rosebay - 11-22-2020 Rosebay but in all chaos, there is calculation RE: even death himself pales; crowns - crowns - 11-23-2020 CrownS He wonders if she would falter if he tried to touch his teeth to her. Would she try to throw up that strange cloak of hers and hide from him? Would panic settle into those gorgeous eyes when he tore it down and took her by the wrist so hard it bruised? He wonders, but he doesn’t have to learn that lesson today. Because she lifts her chin and shows him the space of her small neck where he can see her pulse just beneath the skin. Crowns smiles, delighted that it is his turn at last. He presses a gentle kiss to the corner of her mouth and then he opens his jaws wide. Two curved, hollow fangs reveal themselves - just as he’d seen his family do - and he sinks them, quick, into her. Crowns lets the venom pour into her butterfly veins. When he is satisfied, he pulls his head back with her blood smeared ugly across his mouth. He has seen what becomes of the things they bite. It picks them apart, nice and slow so they think they have time to run. Then they stumble and blood pours from their nose as thin as water. Crowns steps back and watches as the warmth turns dark behind his eyes. He counts the seconds under his breath to see how long it takes her to die. Then, when she passes, he’ll count how long she is dead before he decides to bring her back. If he decides to bring her back. you got me on my knees; i'm your one-man cult. RE: even death himself pales; crowns - rosebay - 11-23-2020 Rosebay but in all chaos, there is calculation RE: even death himself pales; crowns - crowns - 11-23-2020 CrownS He watches her fold in on herself and then crumble to the ground. There is not even a flicker of movement across his face as she foams at the mouth, and then goes quite still. It doesn’t feel any different than his other games and he is disappointed by this. Of course, he didn’t know what to expect when he took his first life. Maybe it is a detached sort of intrigue because he knows he will bring her back at some point. He hums softly in thought. There is some surprise, at last, at how quickly her body begins to cool without a heart to warm it. Crowns lets a thread of his magic tie itself to her core and then he tugs. But it does not give. The door to death holds fast against him. His brow furrows and he pulls harder to bring her back as a panic settles in. Death keeps her by the throat and seems to tighten its grip, and so he pours more of his strength into her heart. He tugs and he struggles until the ancient serpent uncoils itself and sinks its teeth into the precious light of her soul. It coils tight around her and then it rips her loose with such force that Crowns tumbles backward. A thick sweat has broken out across his body and it is night. How long had he been fighting to bring her back? His chest heaves for breath and he looks to her, wide-eyed and fearful for the first time, perhaps, ever. And he is unbearably tired, he notices. "We almost learned a very hard lesson," he says with an exhausted sort of laugh. you got me on my knees; i'm your one-man cult. |