The leader nodded. "Alright... Well Dom, while you're welcome to visit, I cannot allow you to stay longer than tonight- I'm sure you understand...Stay in the courtyard while you're here." Slowly and nonchalantly, Insignious began heading back to the gathering, walking backwards and still talking to Dom. "And get Tadi to take you to one of our medics, alright? Whatever you've got going on there looks pretty painful. Have a good time. I'll see you back at the pits." Turning away from the man, Sig's polite expression instantly fell into one of simmering hatred. Dammit, Etoah. Get back here.
Returning to where he'd been, Insignious walked up behind where Jeremiah was sitting and leaned down to his ear. Tadi watched her leader whisper into his soldiers ear for a while, before he raised his eyes to her. "Tadi, we'll talk later. But you can go on and bring him over."
Standing excitedly, the girl hurried back to where Dom was. "He said you can join us! Come!" She said, taking his hand. "Is everything alright? What did he say to you?"
* * * *
Meanwhile, Jeremiah had slipped out of his wooden seat and squeezed through the people. His eyes, kept low, watched Tadi and Dom as he walked past both of them to the prison.
His absolute astonishment almost showed on his face, a brow twitching in response. Too easy. He dipped his head, agreeing to the leader's terms of service and privacy policy. He slipped the mask back onto his face, covering himself from being exposed to the rest of the clan. Insignious' suspicions were spot on; the pain was still immense, even if it was a sore tenderness.
"Yeth, ther. Thenkth."
Dominic remained a ways back when Insignious turned away, waiting for Tadi to catch wind of his approval. When she rushed back to him, grabbing his hand, he took hold of hers and squeezed-- his act of reassurance.
"Mhm."
He took note of the warrior who walked past them, yet kept his eyes forward on his girlfriend for the night.
"Ah ken meet everiwun, but onleh thteh tonite. Were gewd."
Suddenly, he brought his arm up and switched the hold of her hand, palm to palm as he led her around and into a turn. He paced it to the music, a fun little twirl.
Giggling, Tadi spun with him and gave him a big smile. "Have you ever been in a clan, Dom?" Nearby, Kei was watching them with slight disdain, glaring at Dom mostly. A few of the other guys were watching as well, murmuring to each other and judging the stranger like protective brothers would. Insignious sat down again, lit his pipe, and watched them occasionally from afar.
* * * * Taking a detour to the church first, Jeremiah stepped inside the quiet, empty building. He walked swiftly past the pews, up the center platform and around to the back where a locked cabinet sat. Kneeling down and taking out a key, he clicked the little door open and gently removed an object wrapped in red velvet. The man looked down at the piece in silence for a moment before standing and heading back out and down to the prison.
The music was far away in this corner of the village. The shadows loomed and few people would be seen wandering this way. Opening the prison's front door slowly and stepping inside, Jeremiah looked around for Kahu and Zinnia in the lowlight. Upon seeing them, he walked over and took a breath. "Evening..." He started, "..We have an unexpected guest tonight. A fellow named Dom."
"Insignious has his suspicions, wanted me to tell you that he's decided it's safest to cut our losses." Jeremiah drew close to Kahu and lowered his voice. "He wants you to tell Akihito to draw a map to the hidden glade from Tempestclan. Then a map to Solarisclan. The best he can do, if he truly wants Yuuki found."
Hesitantly, the warrior rose the velvet piece in his hand and offered it to Kahu. "Then kill him."
The feeling of eyes watching his every move never once faltered, although Dom understood why. He devilishly grinned under his mask, waiting for someone to confront or approach him. At that point, he wouldn't be the one causing trouble.
"Ahv theid en the ethurn clenth befur. Yew elweyth ben her?"
Swaying to the tempo in the air, he noticed it slightly lowered in volume than what it was, dying down with the night hours. And yet, for what it was and what was left, he tried to dance a bit with her.
* * * *
Before Jeremiah entered the jailhouse, Zinnia stood behind the Warden, stealing glances at the book in his hands. The title itself was fitting for where they resided, The Prisoners of Azkaclan, although she could've sworn it was fiction; however, she hadn't had evidence for or against it, so she withheld her suspicions.
Startled from her sideline reading, the young guard's head raised as Jeremiah entered the room unexpectedly. She bowed her head slightly and took a step back as Kahu slowly switched focus from his reading to the warrior, leaving a finger on page 394 to return to. He only completely laid his book down as Jeremiah drew close, flipping it over to hold the page.
"Pity."
Grasping the sheathed weapon, he slid his chair back, rising to meet the warrior's eyes.
"But consider it done."
Rounding the table, he strapped the dagger to his side, loading up on all the precautions he had only just taken off of Akihito.
"Nia, assume primary enforcement for now. I'll resume momentarily."
Wasting not another second, Kahu proceeded beyond Jeremiah and through the corridor, passing cells of irritant, drunk, and sleeping inmates before standing before the bloody demon's cell once again. He conjured up the key, instructing the inmate-- whether he had the means to comply or otherwise.
"Rise and stand, if you know what's good for you."
As the music slowed, Tadi slid her hands up his arms and onto his shoulders. "No," She said, playing with a piece of his hair as her eyes travelled back into memories,
"I found this place around five years ago or so...Tempestclan saved me." The girl smiled softly before looking over Dom's shoulder to see Nahva.
"Now hold on a minute," The mender exclaimed, coming round to face both of them with her hands on her hips and a big smile on her face. "Who's this handsome guy?" She asked, gesturing to Dom. Tadi laughed and took a step back from him, suddenly realizing how close she'd gotten.
"Nahva, this is Dom- a traveler who was just stopping by for tonight. Dom, this is Nahva, one of our finest healers." "Oh, and Dom can't talk very well at the moment- he's got a...mouth affliction." She added, biting her cheek to hide a smile.
* * * * *
Jeremiah nodded, staying by the prison door as a precaution.
Meanwhile, Akihito looked up at the sound of Kahu approaching. Through his swollen eyes and blurred vision, the guard was only a dark shadow silhouetted behind the bars. He could feel a cold presence, though. Something like the watchful eyes of death. A terrifying essence nearby. Though he couldn't yet place what it was, it was enough to get him scrambling to his feet, nearly falling over a few times and using the wall for support. "What's going on..?" Aki muttered quietly, his ears still ringing from his concussion.
While hands traveled up to his shoulders, Dominic gradually wrapped his arms around her waist, leaving the hold loose enough for her to easily move out of their embrace. He leaned his head down as she played with his hair, listening intently to her origins. Like he suspected, she hadn't been present all those years ago.
As Tadi broke apart from him, he finally lifted his head to meet Navha-- yet another unrecognizable face. He searched her briefly for hostility, although initially found none. Smiling through his eyes, he decided to greet her, despite the handicap.
"Yep. Nath to meet yew, Nahva."
He extended a hand out and leaned towards the wise healer, yet hadn't moved from beside his date.
* * * * *
Death lingered at the side of his hip-- Kahu's orders of execution were not nearly the first of its kind. He remained stoic as he wielded the key into its socket and unlocked the door, closing in the distance from Akihito to himself before the key dissipated into thin air. Thankfully, he wouldn't need to drag the demon upright as he heeded his words, standing on his own. Considering the continuous additions to injuries, he found it slightly surprising. More accurately, he found it truly demonic in nature, his unyielding resilience.
"Nothing serious; your presence is required once again for questioning."
He tried to keep the inmate's anxiety low, leaving him compliant. First, he'd apply the iron cuffs, next the head cage without the application of the scold's bridle. For how crippled the demon was, the warden considered possibility of a verbal depiction of the path he was to inquire upon.
Excitedly, Nahva took Dom's extended hand and pulled the two (for Tadi was also holding onto him) along with her. "They just called the last dance, c'mon you two!" Without waiting for their approval, she whisked the three of them over into the dancing circle that had just begun to form. Tadi laughed, holding tightly onto Dom's hand as she was joined with another's to her right, the circle of clanfolk pulling each other clockwise to the music. On Dom's other side was Nahva, linked with another to her left, shouting some happy words at the warriors in the side of the circle across from them. The strings in the music picked up and with it the dancing formation quickened. Tadi tripped a few times, mostly buckling from her laughter. The entire scene was chaotic and good, people stumbling and teasing and pulling each other along while the musicians watched them from above with grins.
"This is my family!" Tadi shouted to Dom, beaming with pride.
* * * * *
Akihito moved however was necessary for Kahu to secure him- though flinching drastically whenever the strapped blade drew close. "W-What more could I possibly answer for you..." He murmured sadly, looking down as the headcage was tethered. As he did, he caught sight of Kahu's knife. He could feel the air around it sweltering and stinging his insides. Not his physical form, no. His soul. The demon knew weapons such as this quite well. You know what that's used for, don't you.
"You're going to kill me..?" Aki whispered, his body trembling. "Please...Please don't send me back.." He looked up at Kahu with eyes full of fear.
Now when I say 'fear', I don't mean the kind of panic a man gets before he faces judgment.
I mean the kind a child gets. The kind that cripples you. Fills your blood with ice water. Crawls up the back of your neck. Fear of abandonment, fear of abuse, fear of pain, fear of no escape. Fear of facing all of that again and again and again- and never adapting.
"Don't send me back.." The chains of the iron cuffs rattled as Aki's hands shivered.
Dominic's eyes widened as the two were pulled into the growing circle, joined at the hands as they shuffled in the direction of the crowd. Joy was contagious, the stranger snorting as he merrily watched Tadi trip over herself some, yet followed suit due to his own bouts of laughter. He was truly having a blast, as genuine as it could be.
His eyes shined with life as Tadi boasted, his grin easily seen through his mask. For a moment, he conjured a similar scene from his memories, and found himself reliving in that excitement.
* * * * *
"Keep your head on straight, I can't have you outline an entire patrol from within your cell."
He pushed at the inmate's back, forcing him out of his cell.
The warden had a conscience. Kahu wasn't without emotion, nor without his humanity, regardless of what his duty called for. Yet, orders were absolute. And Kirai was trialed, judged, and deemed a monster in every sense. It wasn't a helpless child's eyes gazing up at him-- it was that of a deceptive demon's.
As he himself moved out of cell 6, he swore eyes followed him, burning a hole into the back of his head. However, he found nothing from his quick glance into the cells nearby, most being already asleep.
"Down the corridor, to the left. Don't pause or halt."
As the final song and dance came to an end, the circle broke- leading Tadi to twirl away with Dom's hand still in hers. The crowd clapped happily for the musicians who took their bows and left the platform. A few warriors passed the couple, some of them giving Dom a friendly punch on the shoulder as they did. Tadi sighed tiredly, wiping sweat off her brow and looking at him. "You know, I was a wanderer before I came here...Do you really prefer being on your own..? Or is it that you don't have other options?" She asked, walking him over to where the remains of the food were still displayed on tables.
* * * * Obediently, Akihito moved forward. He felt as if he was taking a step closer to the Castle with every pace. His blue eyes were large with terror and his breathing was fast. As he passed Cain's cell, he turned his head just enough to give his friend a nod of farewell. "For the blood of my brothers and the wine of my field..." The demon muttered quietly, an old chant he used to shout to his warriors before they charged into battle. Following Kahu's directions, he found the room and stepped inside.
Feeling the burn of laughter in his diaphragm, Dominic rode out the sensation as he took a few light blows to the shoulder. He wasn't completely sure if each punch was a sign of approval, yet took them as such.
Hand in hand, he followed Tadi over to the leftovers, scanning the table's contents as he arrived. He answered her nonchalantly, removing his hold to pick up a roll that'd fallen from its stack and place it back upon the pile.
"Ah dunt mind et ath much. Ahm uthully treveleng with uthers."
He shrugged, searching for a chair or bench for a seat.
"Thetleng down eth thempul, moven ugen eth uh lot hardur."
* * * *
Kahu followed behind the inmate as he moved, squinting at the back of his head as he listened to inaudible mumblings before him.
Words weren't wasted on Cain, however, as he stared at the ceiling, breathing in deeply and holding in fumes of rage. He chose not to reply, instead lowering his head and closing his eyes to concentrate.
As the two reached the room, warden held the door open for the demon, gesturing to a chair before the table.
"Sit."
Shutting the door, he locked it from the inside before rounding the table himself, making his way over to a cabinet to reach for parchment paper and a pen.
"As I've previously mentioned, you're here to trace the route to the... hidden glade, was it? I cannot release you from your cuffs, so if recalling landmarks is easier, then I'll record what you recall."
"So you prefer to keep moving..?" Tadi asked him, smiling a little as she took the roll he'd returned. "Or are you just looking for the right place to settle down?" Taking a bite, she sat on a nearby bench and patted the open spot next to her to welcome him over. "Like, what are your plans?" She added, her words garbled through the mouthful of bread.
* * * * *
Hesitantly, Akihito sat at the table. The heavy iron of his handcuffs peeled the old wood as he dragged his hands over to the pen and paper given to him. They're getting the last bit of information from you. Then you'll be useless.
Aki swallowed nervously before taking the pen and silently beginning to press it into the parchment, his hand shaking. The room was full of an awful silence apart from the scritching on the page.
You're going to die again very soon. Once you finish, they have no reason to keep you alive. The Castle will not take kindly to your return, you cheated judgment and now you will surely pay your dues tenfold.
Slowly, trees and pathways began to appear on the parchment, the lines scribbled and the ink smearing under the demon's nervous fingers.
If you die now, you will never see the angel again. She may never be found.
Akihito froze. His eyes stared hard down at the map slowly developing before him.
"No..." He said quietly, his fingers gripping the pen tightly.
"I'm not going back."
All of a sudden, the quill in his grip crumpled- into nothing but dust. The demon jumped up out of his seat in alarm, "What-!" Raising his hands, he saw that his fingers had turned black. The chains around his wrists squealed with instantaneous aging and they also decayed before his eyes, falling to the ground in pieces. "I'm not doing- I'm sorry..!" Akihito exclaimed in fear, backing away, knowing he'd rightly be killed for this- but what was this? The moment he hit the wall, the stone gave way to his touch and he fell through- the crumbling ceiling crashing down onto them. Rot from his touch traveled violently through the prison's mortar, splitting the stones. With a great roar of splintering and cracking, the building began to collapse.
Jeremiah jumped out of his seat by the front door in alarm as the prison suddenly shook "Zinnia!" He shouted, "We gotta get them out! Get these cells open!" Running to the nearest chamber, he shook the bars desperately as the clanmates inside cried for help.
Dominic tilted his head side to side, wracking his brain for a proper answer. It wasn't as if he had none, rather, nothing he came up with felt satisfying enough. He only started moving when his leader abandoned them, choosing to stay with like-minded folk and disperse among the continent. Nothing kept him from settling down again, but in enemy territory of all places?
What was he thinking, even considering that option.
Strolling over to where Tadi invited him, he nearly sat down before noticing a low rumble. Pausing, he squinted as he glanced around, unsure of the source.
"The hell? Yew feel thet?"
* * * * *
Patiently, the warden waited and watched Akihito. He allowed him time, aware that his map would be his last evidence of life. In addition, with the demon's current state, he wouldn't have been surprised if he found some details difficult to recall. Beaten and bruised, broken and blemished. Observing every stroke of the pen, he remained silent, merely doing his job as the warden. Execution remained at his hip, the sentencing already given.
"No... I'm not going back."
Kahu's senses alerted, his hand moving to unsheathe the weapon, whether it be a threat or a line spoken in fear. It became obvious, however, that it was both as the pen disintegrated from his hold. His sights set on the inmate's own hands, however, leaving him to be cautious as Akihito's fingers turned black. Closing the distance between the inmate and himself, he waited for the demon to be caught between the wall and himself before bringing up the blade-- yet unfortunately, never had the chance.
The warden's eyes widened as the ceiling immediately started to crash down upon the two. To save himself from getting caught in the sudden rubble, Kahu jumped back, cursing himself for not lunging forward instead.
Meanwhile, Zinnia stirred from her waiting with Jeremiah, swift to act upon his call. She stood in the middle of the hallway, her fingers linked together as she brought them to her face.
"I've got it; stand back!"
In the same fashion that Kahu magically summoned his keys, so did Nia, each individual key forming already in the lock necessary to open them. Conjointly, the keys twisted and opened each cell down the row, allowing exit to the prisoners.
"Get a move on! Everybody out!"
Just then, as the walls shook and fragmented, she saw a flash of deep green-- followed by rapidly collapsing rubble on his tail.
[attr="class","sheng4"]The rumbles of the prison collapsing snatched Säure's attention; Jeremiah and Zinnia's cries made sure the warrior's focus remained there. Before she could realize, her hand was already resting atop the handle of her sheathed weapon. Standing at her imposing full height, Catastor shot serious looks at those nearby-- a sharp look from Säure generally was more than enough to spur her fellow clanspeople into action. "The prison. Got to lock back down," she murmured plainly before sprinting in the direction of the commotion.[break][break]
Long strides helped her cover large stretches of ground effortlessly. Waves of all-encompassing black hair flagged behind Catastor, blocking entire swathes of terrain from view until she and her hair had passed by. Thinking what Zinnia might be doing, in reacting to the sudden event, worried Säure-- if she could reach the guards in time, then she could potentially prevent damage to the prisoners without needing to let them all out completely. A quick slice of tangibility or weight could work, against the rubble, perhaps...[break][break]
The warrior drew her weapon after crossing the halfway point to her destination. Her mind continued racing as fast as she was, sparing her a second to watch her blade's silver sheen appear; the weapon's penchant for lapping up moonlight with its thin, sharp edge always created a reassuring feeling for her. As if being deposited from the handle, the round side of the crescent moon appeared at the start of the blade before sliding lower and lower as more of the weapon left the sheath. Only, Säure noticed something strange in the moon's reflection-- a floating anomaly caught her attention and saw her take a detour... upwards.[break][break]
"You can't be up here, no way," Catastor sighed and leapt into the sky, dragging her drawn weapon behind her all while having changed directions and axes of movement with the utmost ease.
[attr="class","skulloverlap"]Nunca llueve a gusto de todos.
[attr="class","skullbody"]"Ho-ly shit. Well," Sergio's eyes widened at the cloud of dust emerging from where the prison was supposed to be. In truth, his presence manifested as a result of being in the right place at, presumably, the right time. Tired of waiting, he'd left the comforts of his training ground to go and look for dinner-- or, more accurately, lift dinner from somewhere or someone else. Someone else had been in charge of that duty for today but had, clearly but unsurprisingly, forgotten about it, thus leaving Sergio to do so for himself. Seeing the hubbub, he reminded himself of what other business he could have in the vicinity; Sergio clicked his tongue and crossed his arms. "Uhh. Okay. Double or nothing?" Waiting for a sign seemed fair, if not also prudent, surely-- that being said, why should all this delegating be left on the table like that? If someone, anyone, was going to need to make some snap decisions in the face of a collapse, a prison collapse, why not me? [break][break] A self-satisfied exhale later, he raised his eyebrows and looked at the ground below. All of Tempestclan's little homes and huts looked, well, extra littler from up here. Floating some eight hundred or so feet up in the air tended to have that effect. The dark mop his subordinate-- make no mistake, Dominic was definitely a subordinate-- carried on top of his head and called hair never escaped view from any altitude, regardless of how hard Sergio might try to avoid staring at it. With half a mind to float Dominic up from where he was and fling him over towards the prison, the airborne Sergio cracked his knuckles and-- not relenting, just preoccupied-- looked back towards the prison before making any impromptu travel plans for his subordinate. [break][break] As his field of view shifted, a dark cone painted the color of void rocketed towards him from below, swiping forward with what looked like a steel-hued splinter. "Oh, come on! You don't actually attack someone's blind spot, that's not something people do!" he cried with half-genuine exasperation. Though Sergio felt comfortable defending himself from the mysterious assailant, the question of how they had made their way up here remained at the forefront of his mind; he'd keep it there, centered, before something more interesting came and took its spot, and then something else after that. Beneath the abyssal sheen, there did seem to be a person holding a sword much too long to be practical, seemingly. Rather than keeping their limbs straight in the interest of aerodynamism, they appeared to be leaping up and up and up, all while cutting the air ahead of them. Invisible platforms? No. No way. Levitation? Why the weird flailing act, then? What are you? Sergio scrutinized with a sour expression, leaning forward to look closer. Before his head had stopped moving, he realized the bladed weapon was much closer than it had seemed-- in fact, it was about to reach his neck. In a show of physical prowess, Sergio flipped backwards and knocked the sword's edge away by hitting its dull backside with the top of his foot. "You seem dangerous and I don't like you, could you-- would you back up for me? Thanks," he uttered dismissively. With a rearward kick, Sergio tried striking at the strange, spectral Tempestclan warrior. His foot seemed stuck in near-endless, hard sheets of black hair. He sighed and applied some extra gravity to this weird individual; they nearly got a counterslash in before they were dragged back down in an unpredictable corkscrew towards a distant patch of woods in a hurry. For good measure, Sergio had stuck them with both gravity and anti-gravity in a couple different directions, hoping that would keep them from freeing themselves up for a little while. "Tempestclan can't always have been this fucking weird, right? Like, that cannot literally be possible," Sergio said while shaking his head to himself. His gaze returned to the ground and he crossed his arms again, wondering if other people might try similar maneuvers against him. His interest remained in the rubble of the prison, however-- he figured whatever happened next over there might inform his next moves.
[break]
[attr="class","skullinfo"]PEOPLE ON THE GROUND BELOW
