Fandom The Dragon Prince: Deep Trouble [Closed]

[cleopat]

Aaravos chuckled in his amusement at Viren’s exasperation. “Oh, Startouch elves also procreate like everyone else.” And of course it was his preferred way.

But the creature was a different story. One born from desperation for freedom and vengeance.

His amusement slipped into something of disbelief and into the beginnings of anger as Viren denied his opportunity to live. “So you’re just going to waste all of that hard work your daughter put in to saving your life?” Of course he wasn’t actually angry about that. He was angry at Viren saying no to him.

“Tell me, do the stars speak to you?” Aaravos looked up at the night sky, constellation of stars painting the horizon. “You seem to stare at them quite often, as if they are telling you something.”

The Being cocked his head and looked up to where Aaravos was also looking, but he didn't see anything that immediately caught his attention up there.

 

[Lucyfer]

Viren sighed at Aaravos’s chuckle. Of course he would be amused at this, and of course Startouch elves also made children normal ways. He still wasn’t sure how that made this…thing his child, but he also did.

He was responsible for its creation. Without him, it wouldn’t exist.

Shame it was going to lose him and be stuck with Aaravos.

So was Claudia….

His own anger rose as Aaravos seemed shocked he remained resolute. “And you’d just sacrifice your child for my life?” Viren snapped in turn. “Knowing it owes its existence to me, makes me want to extend my own life, less. Or did you learn nothing about me from watching me all that time?” He would do anything for the betterment of his children.

Perhaps now…in a way, he was picking Soren.

But he had picked Claudia for so long.

“Perhaps she’ll find some solace in knowing she has another…sibling.” He said, and did indeed look back at the stars.

They did speak to him.

He didn’t understand the language, but he…felt something more. If he had the time to study it, no doubt he’d puzzle out his arcanum, but…he didn’t. “The same thing they tell everyone, Aaravos,” Viren sighed, his anger not gone, but simply…exhausted.

“Hope.”

 

[cleopat]

Aaravos looked less than amused at Viren’s outburst, but he let the man have his moment. He needed it, and it may be his last one, though some would wonder why a dying man would spend his last moments blowing up in anger.

And he felt nothing for the Being. A creature he spent no time with, and in his millenia of living, Aaravos grew indifferent to death. The lives of many beings were a mere blink of an eye for him.

He didn’t address any of Viren’s questions born from anger. He stood there silent and contemplative. Their child walked up to Aaravos, right at his side, and looked up at the Startouch elf. “Blood of child?” it asked with a tilt of its head.

Aaravos chuckled and shook his head. “It seems that your melancholy father does not wish to take your blood for his life.” The wings on the back of the Being drooped, understand what that meant for Viren.

He turned back to the man in question as he spoke of what the stars told him. “And I thought you said to ignore a star if it talked to you,” he said, referring back to a conversation he had listened in on between Viren and that half-elf woman. “You go from that to hope. Why the change?”

No doubt Viren didn’t want all the questions on his deathbed. Too bad.

 

[Lucyfer]

Viren snorted at Aaravos’s assumption he was listening. “Nothing changed. I’m not paying them any attention. Doesn’t stop them, or you, from talking. Unfortunately.” No, Aaravos continued, and wouldn’t give him peace at the end. He looked at the Being as it drooped, apparently saddened not to be used to extend his life.

Tough luck.

It would have to figure out how to live for itself, now.

“You don’t intend to stay here until I die, do you? I was hoping to have some peace at the end.” He drew his knees up and folded his arms over them as he leaned forward. “You surely have far better things to do, like plan the demise of Sol Regem, and organize your disparate new group of allies.”

Some of which clearly didn’t seem to like each other. Not that Viren could blame any of them. He wondered how long Aaravos’s own charisma and power could hold them together, and silently hoped it wouldn’t be for long.

 

[cleopat]

Aaravos cocked his head in a silent observation, gaze flickering between the despondent creature and the man who accepted his mortality. Such a pity that he was going to waste his potential like that, just because he didn’t want to do one more dark magic spell.

Oh well. There were others he could use.

Pity. Viren could’ve been one of the greats.

“Very well.” Aaravos clasped his hands behind his back and took a few steps away from the dying man. “I know it will be impossible to change your mind.” The Being crouched on the ground and continued to glance back and forth between the two, unsure of who to go with.

“It has been…a pleasure to know you, Lord Viren,” he said with a bow of his head before walking off and leaving the man to be alone for his final hours.

 

[Lucyfer]

Finnegrin did not find Claudia as he went to search the ruins of Elarion for anything of use. He didn’t find much at all in a city turned over by both hungry dark mages and fearful elves. Not even old wine. Sure, he found some houses that weren’t in complete tatters, some that even still had shreds of beds left upon them – and some that had, obviously, newer beds put in them, used by people who sought Elarion as a hideaway.

None of those people revealed themselves in the ruins.

He instead came across Lethe, parted from Aaravos, speaking into the wind. A spell, no doubt, though not one he knew. He stayed back a few moments, debating an approach, aware she was the one who released Aaravos and seemed to loathe herself for it.

There was weakness there – and there was also Aaravos, who likely intended to use that weakness himself, which put Finnegrin in a dangerous place if he sought to manipulate it instead.

“Arcanum Antiquis.”

Lethe let the words go, unsure if Callum would even deign to hear them. It wasn’t an apology; she could hardly apologize for what was done. It was simply information, and the promise to send more information, while she could. She let out a sigh as the words left her, carried on the wind, before a voice disrupted her thoughts.

“Something tells me Aaravos wouldn’t enjoy what ye just did.”

Lethe turned, touching her fingers to the collar that hadn’t choked the life out of her, to Finnegrin. “Go ahead and tell him, then,” she let her fingers lower. She wasn’t going to be intimidated by Finnegrin.

Finnegrin, instead, held up his hands, “I’ve no intention of it. I’m curious. Ya seem…distressed with this decision. An evil for an evil, is what I’m understanding. Do you have any plans for what to do when Sol Regem is destroyed?”

Lethe didn’t quite like where this was going, but it was easy to follow. Finnegrin was offering help, but it certainly wouldn’t be free. Lethe shook her head. “Putting him back in the prison would be best.” Speaking this way, didn’t seem to cut off her oxygen, either. What the hell did the collar do? Well, she’d find out eventually, no doubt. “I don’t know how to do it.”

Finnegrin clicked the top of his tongue on the roof of his mouth, “Might not be possible anymore, either. What sort of threat is he then, love? Everyone seems to have differing opinions, Claudia near worshipped him, but you knew him from way back, didn’t ye? Before he was imprisoned.”

“The sort you can’t trust. He’s murdered all of his friends,” he’d murder her, eventually, “Aditi, Luna Tenebris, many others…he charms them all and kills them.” Finnegrin didn’t need to be charmed. He may be terrible, but certainly, he didn’t deserve that, did he? “But he’s powerful enough to deal with Sol Regem without charm. He needed that to retain his position amongst society, to go unknown, but now he doesn’t have that to worry about any longer….”

“Mmm. A man with nothing to lose,” Finnegrin hummed. “Quite dangerous indeed. And locked you in some charm,” he gestured up, at her neck, “So you can’t do much at all, can ye?” A question she didn’t need to answer, “Well, seeing as I don’t want to die, and don’t quite want to be under anyone else’s heel, why don’t we work together?” Lethe narrowed her eyes.

“You were going to kill children.”

“You’re used to picking lesser evils, love. Am I not the lesser evil here?”

Lethe bit her bottom lip and glanced away. “I’ll give ye time to think. We don’t know much yet of what’s to be done, so you have…time.”

Finnegrin left her alone with the thought of an alliance against Aaravos, aware he may have put himself in a very dangerous position, but not too worried about it. Lethe seemed…far too soft to risk telling Aaravos, when it could lead to Finnegrin’s death.

Besides, he was the lesser evil in her mind. He was certain of that.

 

[cleopat]

While everyone was…doing whatever it was they were doing, Willow scoured the area for anything that was edible, or anything else of use. Behind one aged wall, in an area she could imagine was a small garden in a time long ago, she found a bush with some berries on it. Not many, it could be easily overlooked.

My mother told me, someday I would buy
Galleys with good oars, sails to distant shores

She softly sung the tune to herself as she glanced around the area, before spotting what she wanted and making her way over to where ivy and vines were covering some of the ruins nearby. Willow grabbed them and pulled, tearing the vines away from the ruins they covered, and with technique her mother taught her, she weaved together a makeshift bag.

Nothing that would last forever, but it would suffice as she plucked the berries off, and used her earthblood magic to start growth of more berries on the bush.

Stand up on the prow, noble barque I steer,
Steady course to the haven, hew many foe-men

Willow went around the area, collecting other edible things she could find, some leafy greens, edible fungi, colorful berries and other fruits. Not much actually lingered, but the seeds were there for growth, and her primal magic would encourage them to speed up the rest of their growth, so that everyone may have something more to eat that night, morning by latest.

~~~

The foolish, dying man got what he wanted. He finally got the peace he wanted before he expired, even pushing away his daughter in the process, after pushing away his son a while ago.

Aaravos had never talked to the son before, but he would talk to the daughter. Wouldn’t this be one of their first true conversations, since his previous interactions with her was through his worm familiar? He smiled in slight amusement with that.

He quietly strolled up to where the girl was, no doubt upset by everything. Upset that her fool of a father wasn’t appreciative enough of what Aaravos did for him. Maybe she would see through the haze of already mourning her father before he actually died.

But he would be lying if he didn’t quite…know how to approach Claudia. Still very much a child in some aspects, but becoming an adult in others. It was an awkward time.

“I know the time isn’t ideal, but Claudia…I’ve never had the opportunity to thank you and commend you for everything you have done. You are no doubt one of the brightest dark mages I’ve met in my time.” For a second, his mind wandered over to Lethe, and the promise she showed once upon a time with dark magic.

Someone else who ruined their chances of obtaining more power.

 

[Lucyfer]

Willow was roaming the town, still at the task that Finnegrin set for her. Food.

And he was hungry.

It wasn’t like he’d gotten the best servings in the brig, and so he didn’t hesitate in approaching her, and reaching for one of the berries held a bit loosely in her hand, to pluck from her and pop into his own mouth. It wouldn’t be nearly enough to sate his hunger, but it was at least a start, and better than what she’d suggested.

“Well, and here you thought you wouldn’t find anything,” Finnegrin noted, “it seems you are useful,” that’s what she had to be, after all. “Doesn’t look like there’s nearly enough to feed everyone,” not that it mattered as much to him, so long as there was enough to feed him.

The startouch elf could figure out the rest.

Wherever he was now.

Still no talk of what they were going to do, or how they were going to proceed with the threat of Sol Regem, but he supposed the elf had a few things to do in touching base with his mages first. Then they could get down to business.

~***~

Claudia knew the area, even though she had only been here once before, as a young girl. She had arrived with Viren, as she truly began to master the art of dark magic. Now, it seemed it would be his grave, and she couldn’t help but feel a mess of emotions at it all.

She was going to lose her father.

Aaravos was free.

Terry had turned on her.

Soren had turned on her.

Fury and loss coated every thought, and so when Aaravos arrived, she did turn on him quickly, that anger reflected even as he tried a gentle approach. She pursed her lips together. She didn’t deserve the gratitude; she hadn’t released Aaravos, in the end. And it came with no reward. All of her dark magic, for what?

She couldn’t save her father.

She swallowed it back, but it was a bit too much to keep down completely, “You’re going to save my father…right?” She didn’t care about Aaravos’s praise. “You can, can’t you? Or you can teach me…whatever it takes.”

 

[cleopat]

Willow instinctively tensed when someone grabbed a berry she held loosely in the palm of her hand, and that tense didn’t relax when she realized it was Finn who stood next to her.

She didn’t trust him enough to let her guard down. Not yet.

She ignored his slight comment on her usefulness, and ignored how her heart ached, before looking down in the bag at the other food she managed to forage. “Not enough for dinner tonight, no, but it would be enough to sustain us until the morning.” When hopefully there would be more food to eat.

Unless that damned Startouched elf could do something.

Willow held open the bag towards him. A peace offering. “Feel free to take some. I know you must be hungry.”

~~~

Aaravos…didn’t quite know how to feel about Claudia’s questions. It left him with a sensation he wasn’t used to, and one he wanted to push aside. But he couldn’t, no matter how hard he tried.

So he ignored it, like he was used to doing to uncomfortable feelings in the past, that he didn’t immediately want to manifest into some type of vengeance.

“Your father can only save himself right now,” he admitted without a pause after Claudia’s question. “The spell to save him requires a sacrifice only he can do, and he refused to do so.” He let a little of his anger at the man seep out.

Anger that he would refuse help that was so easy to do! But Aaravos maintained his promise. He promised he would offer a way to keep Viren alive, and he did.

“You are free to try and talk to him further.” He motioned the way where Viren went. “Or to…be with him in his final hours.”

 

[Lucyfer]

“No food is technically enough to sustain us,” Finnegrin grunted, as he knelt down to pick up the bag, “we’re not going to starve after just a night without food.” He knew that too well. Not from experience on himself, but he’d certainly starved prisoners for longer. He rummaged through the bag, a bit disappointed with just how much of it was greenery.

He expected it, really.

But he wanted meat.

He also wanted to take it all, but knew he shouldn’t really slight the strange new elf like that. He didn’t know what the other was capable of, so he just took one of the root vegetables from the bag and bit into it, as if he could bite his anger at not being on his ship out. He couldn’t, of course. No crunch was loud enough to dispel his foul mood.

“I was able to locate a house that looks like it’s been used recently enough to be repaired. I have Deadwood guarding it. We’ll stay there.” Willow wouldn’t be given the luxury of finding her own resting space apart from him.

She’d want to get used to that.

~***~

Claudia didn’t enjoy the answer. She wanted to be able to save her father. She did all this – so many unspeakable things to even bring him back for a month – and she couldn’t complete it? Her father refused to complete it? Her fists balled up at her side, her expression torn between shouting, crying, and just…giving up.

Aaravos sounded angry, too.

When he motioned in the way Viren went, Claudia pointedly looked away, tilting her nose up. “No,” she would not go to him. She would not try to convince him, “If he wants to leave me, he can leave me.” Everyone left her.

Aaravos was going to leave her now, too, wasn’t he?

The haughtiness faded in an instant as that realization hit. Aaravos had no reason to stay. He…was going to go…do…well, she didn’t know. And her posture slumped, before it regrouped, and she looked back to him. “I…suppose I should thank you for trying. But it’s just what happens to me. I really should have known,” there was a bit of a crazed laugh at the end, at her own stupidity.

And she had to beat this. She had to leave first, here. She had to go off alone to do…well, she also didn’t know that.

But…she’d figure it out. On her own. Definitely. She’d find something for just herself, for once.

 

[cleopat]

“I’m aware,” Willow mumbled as she reached down to grab a couple of more berries. How often had she gone to bed without food for the entire day? How often did she wonder when she would eat again?

Far too often, and she vowed to never let herself get into that financial position again. Hence one of her reasons to create her own business with Drake.

She frowned a bit at Finn’s silent declaration. That she wouldn’t have space to herself. She understood what he was saying, and she said nothing on the matter. There was no point, and any additional words may push her into further trouble and closer to death.

For now, she will accept whatever fate awaits her thanks to him. She didn’t really think he would stab her or choke her in her sleep.

Maybe.

Pucca came rolling up to Willow’s side, stopping to show her the insect it found for its dinner. She smiled, patting Pucca’s head. “That’s a good Pucca. You’re at home here, aren’t you?”

She didn’t look at Finn, still occupied by the berries in the bush, but she did ask him, “Does it seem like that mystery elf is going to do anything else tonight?”

~~~

Aaravos…almost felt angry on Claudia’s behalf.

But no. That would be ridiculous. She was a mere child who would be in his life in a mere blink in his eyes.

Still, he didn’t see any reason to abandon her after the expiration of her father. In fact, he could use her. Mold her. Train her to become a powerful dark mage.

“Someone of my age knows a thing or two about others and loved ones leaving me.” He spared a glance in the direction he’d last seen Lethe go. “You learn to numb yourself from the disappoint that is inevitable, and instead focus on yourself, and prove to yourself and to them that they made a mistake in leaving.”

He stepped forward and brushed back a few strands of unruly hair away from Claudia’s face. “Don’t worry, I have no plans of leaving you. In fact, I was hoping we could become a team of sorts. You have the potential to become a powerful dark mage, if you would let me teach you all that I know.”

 

[Lucyfer]

Willow made no comment on the sleeping arrangement. Finnegrin expected something, and he wasn’t sure if he was disappointed or satisfied when nothing came of it. The interruption of Pucca drew his eyes downward and thoughts away as it seemed Pucca, at any rate, was satisfied to be on land.

He wasn’t.

His crabs were without him, in the command of others. He was frustrated with that, too, but he didn’t think those children were going to abuse his animals. He could at least rest easy with that in mind. They were too soft.

“I have no idea,” another part that bothered Finnegrin, as he folded his arms and shifted his weight, “I haven’t seen him in a bit. I presume he’s still dealing with personal matters before he deals with the important things.”

Like how to deal with Sol Regem, for one.

That was a problem for all of them.

“You’re welcome to find him and ask him yerself,” Finnegrin wasn’t quite at that point yet. He was bold enough, but he wasn’t stupid. Aaravos was something he hadn’t figured out yet, let alone his own situation.

He hadn’t quite won Lethe over, yet, either.

He had to be patient.

~***~

Aaravos didn’t back away. He expressed empathy, and a similar position. One who lived as long as him, it was likely easy to abandon others. He said as much in how easy it was now to deal with abandonment. He numbed himself to it. It was inevitable. Even so, he offered to stay at her side.
To teach her.

She turned her head away from the kind gesture, doubtful, but with that terrible hope still there. She’d just lost everything. How could she trust this? The truth was, she couldn’t – but Aaravos could teach her to be prepared for his inevitable loss, too.

At least, so far as power went. He’d taught her much already, after all.

She swallowed her doubt. She knew, without asking, who had left him. The one he still protected. Would she do the same? She wasn’t sure. She hadn’t…really been put in that position. “Yes. I still want to learn more,” she said. “We still have another dragon to kill.” And more after that. Plenty more.

They had to fix this broken world.

 

[cleopat]

Dealing with personal matters.

After transporting them all to their current location from Finnegrin’s ship.

Granted, he did just get freed from a prison after several hundred years, she gathered. And someone he seemed to know quite well was there with them. That warranted a few words or more, she supposed.

Still, Willow hummed in acknowledgement as she placed more food into the bag before straightening. “I think I’m good at asking him, or doing anything that may annoy the elf who has been locked away for several hundred years for who truly knows what reason.” They still didn’t know anything about him, except his name.

She wasn’t even entirely sure what he was, but she knew to stay on his good side. Like Finnegrin.

“Where did you set up for the night?” If nothing was going to happen anytime soon, she may as well relax and get some sleep.

~~~

Aaravos’ calm look evolved into a wide grin with Claudia’s proclamation. “Good, I need you to keep that fire in you to kill Sol Regem. Kill fire with fire.” Not quite, but he will go down.

He wasn’t even sure if he needed the help from the others, but he had dragged them along, so they will have their use as well.

But this was personal. And he would see it to the end.

“Now, get some sleep, sweet Claudia. Tomorrow we will begin our next adventure.” There was the matter of Viren, but there was no more Aaravos could do about him. Maybe Claudia could talk some sense into him, if she wanted to waste his last precious moments, but he was done. He was going to plan their next steps.

 

[Lucyfer]

Well, at least they both had some common sense relating to Aaravos, the elf who was likely beyond pissed after being locked away in a prison for years. It could wait until the morning, that much was certain, when he had time to regroup. Sure, Finnegrin would far rather act, but he wouldn’t push it.

Yet.

So for now, it would be showing Willow where they would be sleeping, “Come this way,” Finnegrin encouraged, walking towards the home he’d found that wasn’t as ruined. Deadwood was standing guard, which he would remain doing through the night.

There was still the chance Willow might try something.

Or someone else.

“This home was built into the hill here, so it wasn’t as badly ruined as some of the others by Sol Regem,” the door was completely burnt off, but other mages who had come by here had taken to this home, and improved it, bit by bit, so it could sustain them during their visits. “Figure it’ll work well enough for us.”

The others could fend for themselves.

~***~

Claudia wanted to feel enthused. She wanted that fiery, fighting spirit back, but it didn’t rise with the declaration, or with the elf’s smile. She gave a somber nod, which she knew wasn’t encouraging – but how else could she respond?

Everything was lost to her, except her potential.

And she’d find that, through Aaravos. And then, she could set out on her own…she could finally be something, not beholden to anyone else, ever again. She would never have to feel this terrible, again.

But for now, she would feel terrible. She would feel angry, bitter, sad, unworthy – everything that made her resent herself and the people around her – and she would nod again to confirm she understood it was time to part, even if that also made her angry, and she wanted to lash out about being cast aside so quickly, with her agreement.

But she could recognize that, at least, was irrational.

“All right. We’ll…talk in the morning.”

When Viren was gone.

She wouldn’t wait for much more than that, and turned to try and locate some place to at least rest, even if she doubted sleep would take her.

 

[cleopat]

Willow followed Finnegrin to their resting area for the night, a quaint home built into the hill. Stepping inside of it felt…as if she was at home, with the earth all around her. Vines poked through the walls here and there, but they looked more like they belonged there than reminders that the home was part of a long-ruined city.

She stepped up to one of the vines and touched it. Her skin glowed for a second, and she stepped away to see flowers growing on the vine she touched.

“It’s cute,” she commented, glancing around at the rest of the home. There was basic furniture, including a sofa, which is where she assumed she would be sleeping. “I’m guessing this is my bed?”

At least it looked comfortable enough to spend the night on. No visible springs or mold. It almost looked new. The entire place didn’t look as decrepit as the rest of the town.

~~~

Aaravos tilted his head in thought as he considered Claudia. Granted, it hung over her head that her father was dying, so she wasn’t going to be as enthusiastic about anything, which included slaying an archdragon.

He would leave that thought for the morning and only gave her a look before he left her. Claudia would eventually find a comfortable bed to sleep on, one Aaravos magicked into existence. It was the least he could do, after all.

The others were finding their own way through the night, he knew.

There was someone else he wanted to visit once more before turning in for the night. Or in his case, meditate while contemplating how to best attack Sol Regem.

“We’ll be facing Sol Regem very soon,” he said once he found Lethe, trying to relax for the night. “Since I am sure that you won’t help destroy him, I want for you to stay out of harm’s way.” He definitely wasn’t thinking of how he could lose her so soon after getting her back in less-than-desirable circumstances.

 

[Lucyfer]

Finnegrin watched Willow touch a plant, glow a bit…and just grow some flowers. He couldn’t help but scoff and roll his eyes. The earthblood elves really got the short end of the stick so far as magic was concerned, it seemed.

“Yes,” Finnegrin confirmed that the couch was hers to use. There was a bed in another room he planned to use, after all, and he still wasn’t planning to invite her into it. Not while the situation was…well, uncertain. Not while there still might be hope in her heart that she could escape.

He didn’t believe she’d fully given up to the fact she wasn’t leaving. Not after she tossed him in a prison cell and saw to the loss of his ship, and all of his crabs.

He hoped they were eating well.

“Try not to ruin this place by destabilizing the soil around it with your plants,” he didn’t know if that was possible, but he didn’t want to find out, either. “Deadwood is going to stand guard, so don’t try to do anything stupid, either.”

~***~

Lethe knew she was unlikely to sleep that night. Not after betraying everyone and releasing Aaravos. Already, she was beginning to doubt it had been the right thing as she found a partially destroyed roof to settle on, and curl her knees up into her chest as she considered if she wanted to just try and escape then.

But she knew the answer.

She at least had to stay to make sure Sol Regem was dealt with. Then…then, she didn’t know.

Lethe hadn’t expected Aaravos to return to her, which was certainly the stupidest thing to not expect, so she jolted a little when his arrival startled her, then forced herself to relax and look over at him as he settled besides her. His words were focused on Sol Regem, as well as her role, which was…nothing.

That was for the best, and she knew it. She’d be no good against any dragon, let alone the most infamously cruel of them all. It didn’t matter that she thought Sol Regem deserved to be put down – she couldn’t do it. She’d spare him, every time.

And in a way she still wanted him spared. Just…decommissioned.

‘Like Aaravos.’

And she knew how cruel that was. Crueller, perhaps. Both had been put out of commission for a time, and both, she suspected, were much angrier for it.

She looked away from Aaravos, “I won’t engage him,” she confirmed, “I know I will only be a hindrance.” She knew her shortcomings only too well. She might have been a decent distraction – but then again, this was Sol Regem. Odds were, she’d be batted out of the sky in a second.

 

[cleopat]

Willow heard the scoff, but made no comment towards it. Some people just didn’t appreciate the beauty in nature like she did. Like most earthblood elves did.

She scoffed at Finn with a shake of her head. “If it somehow does destabilize, then I can just as easily fix it.” Not that she had plans on creating that many flowers on the vines, or anymore flowers, really.

She’d just missed the connection with the earth.

“I can also just as easily send this hill collapsing on top of us,” she said with a smile and sat on the couch, her makeshift bag dropped next to it. Pucca followed her and climbed on top of the sofa, perching on the top of the back of it.

“But don’t worry, I don’t plan on doing that, or anything else stupid, but who knows about tomorrow. It is a new day.” No, she didn’t plan on it either. She rather liked living, so she would avoid any confrontation with Deadwood if possible.

~~~

“You’d only be soft,” Aaravos clarified, “not a hindrance.” Well, not quite, if they actually used her strengths to their advantage. “You may not be able to harm anyone physically, at least in the time I’ve known you, but your strengths lie elsewhere.”

Like distracting the victim. Betrayal. Inflicting centuries of emotional pain.

Is that how she managed to free him? By betraying her friends? By lying to them?

No one who knew about his name would willingly allow anyone to free him without some subterfuge.

“I suspect things will get…very messy, and despite my anger, I still don’t want to see anyone else to do harm upon you.” Him? Maybe, with words. But he couldn’t bring himself to see Lethe harmed in any way.

Maybe centuries locked away softened him in some ways.

 

[Lucyfer]

Of course, Willow had to offer a threat on top of it all. Finnegrin looked away from the hallway that would take him to his room to give her a dull stare, daring her to be serious about it. He was too aware she wasn’t, too afraid of dying. Her words fell on relatively deaf ears. She couldn’t kill him without damning herself to the same fate, or to death at Deadwood’s hands.

He returned a saccharine smile, “Love if you want to die, there are far less painful methods,” he said it as a playful tease, “you shouldn’t waste your breath with empty threats. We both know you’re too coward to go through with any of them. It’s only gonna make ya sadder in the dark night, all alone, thinking about choices you can’t make, and I don’t even want that for ya. Better you keep your head in reality. It’s a little kinder.”

Not by much.

Not with her reality ahead of her, but that was of her own making, wasn’t it? If she’d never sought to anger him and betray him so often, well, she might not even have to deal with all those thoughts all alone!

Alas – she would.

~***~

‘Same thing.’ Lethe didn’t say that, of course. Her softness would be a hindrance here, and she was quite aware of it. The thought of things being messy, however, was a new one. Aaravos had killed so…well, cleanly, before.

Then again, he’d deceived people. That made it easier.

She kept her gaze out as he reminded her that she was his to hurt. As if she needed the reminder, when it was all she was likely to know for the rest of her life. Aaravos wouldn’t end it prematurely; that’s what she hoped for, after all. No, she hadn’t ended him, he’d drag out her torture, as well.

So she would say nothing to her doomed sentence.

“Can you not kill Sol Regem as you killed Luna?” Perhaps not. She didn’t really know how much preparation that took, nor how much Luna’s ignorance played into it. Sol Regem wouldn’t let Aaravos spin pretty words to distract him.

He’d attack.

Immediately.

 

[cleopat]

No, Willow wasn’t serious about the light death threat. She wanted to maintain some sense of dark humor in her position. It’s how she didn’t completely go off the rails and perhaps end up dead, by her own hand or Finn’s.

It’s only gonna make ya sadder in the dark night, all alone, thinking about choices you can’t make.

Her arms crossed over her chest, and she stared at a corner of the room, gaze unfocused on anything. Willow hated every word of that sentence, and she hated how Finn seemed to get it exactly right. How she hated being alone in the dark. How she hated having her choices taken from her.

Hated, hated, hated.

“Reality has never been kind to me,” she said softly. Her legs stretched out on the sofa. She may not be able to sleep well that night, but at least she could try and get comfortable with Pucca safely nearby. “Not for an abomination like me.”

~~~

Luna, the archdragon that banished the humans after initially wishing to annihilate them.

Reasons why he felt the archdragons held too much power which must be stopped.

Aaravos scoffed and shook his head. “Luna took time and patience to gain the upper hand on her. Sol Regem is brash and arrogant. He shall serve as his own downfall.” And then maybe, once and for all, Sol Regem will be done for, instead of having the luxury to brood for a thousand years.

Sol Regem wouldn’t stop to listen to Aaravos. He’d attack without hesitation, and Aaravos must be prepared for a sudden initial attack. The others shouldn’t be in the way, especially Lethe.

“And once he’s gone, then so shall more archdragons fall into their rightful place.” He reached a hand out and gently stroked the strands of hair that fell in her face, eyes softening for a moment in reminiscence.

“Oh how I wish things were different,” he muttered lowly.

 

[Lucyfer]

It was obvious the comment hit a nerve, which had been the exact goal in the first place. Finnegrin couldn't help but smile to himself at her reaction. All that fire which let her joke went out.

“It's not that you're an abomination, lass,” he said, “you're just no good at making decisions and holding onto anything,” reality wasn't kind to those who didn't know what they wanted. They lost it too easily.

Willow hadn't seemed able to decide what she wanted at all on his ship. One moment she wanted him, then she destroyed something dear. She swayed back, then helped to imprison him. Her own freedom even seemed up for debate. She'd likely sell out her friends and Pucca given the right push.

“But you don't need to worry about that anymore.”

She didn't get choices anymore.

“Good night, little stone,” he bid before he'd head down the hall to rest.

~***~

Lethe wouldn't express her doubts on how easy it would be to deal with Sol Regem or how he may not contribute to his downfall. He had lived all these years after going blind. He seemed like he'd be difficult to bring down for good.

But what did she know? She never had known Aaravos and the power he contained. Not enough to free himself, but plenty to keep her immobile as she kept her gaze ahead while he touched her, and bemoaned the present situation.

“Perhaps you should try wishing on a star.”

It was a terrible joke.

No Star would hear him, and certainly none would grant his wishes. Or hers, for that matter. The Stars had to hate her now for releasing him from his prison, and bringing him back under their sight.

Shame that they could do nothing from their lofty heights.

“What is the plan for Sol Regem?” She attempted to redirect from that poor humor. “Or will that wait until the morning?”

 

[cleopat]

But she did hold on to something.

She held on to her love for Pucca and Drake. She held onto the hope that one day, someone else would love her back.

But maybe she was bad at making decisions. Maybe she needed to give herself a chance to truly think about the choices she made, before she allowed irrationality to win before she could truly think about her decisions.

Sighing, Willow got comfortable on the couch, sans the comfort of a blanket and pillow, and stared at the ceiling. Pucca climbed onto her torso, sensing the restlessness of her mind, and laid there in an attempt to make her feel better.

She didn’t sleep a wink that night with her restless thoughts.

~~~

Aaravos gave Lethe a dull stare at the poor attempt of a joke, one she knew was in bad taste. No, no one would listen to his wishes or pleas. Certainly no other Startouch elf. No other elf.

Very few would listen to him now.

“My Little Star.” His hand touched her cheek before pulling away. The warmth from her body disappeared under his skin. He wanted more of that warmth, but he also wanted the veracity of his anger and disappointment known.

But somehow, he hated how he didn’t want to actually hurt her. Just remind her of what she did to the point where she would never do it again.

“The reveal of my plan will wait until morning.” Aaravos didn’t wish to mention that he was still planning some things. Or that he held some doubts about other matters concerning Sol Regem. But he will win. He had to. “For now, get some rest. Tomorrow will be an important day.”

 

[Lucyfer]

Lethe flinched at the touch, the name, but did not move away or try to stop Aaravos. He was aware enough of her displeasure with his presence, she didn’t need to speak it. It was likely why he persisted. Well, part of why. The other reason was as obvious to her as it was him – they both wished things could be different.

Aaravos did not linger long. The question was one that would wait till tomorrow, so he had little to say. Lethe hummed acknowledgment that she heard him, but sleep wouldn’t find her. She wouldn’t even waste time trying.

She’d waste time trying to read the stars, but like Aaravos, they told her nothing at all.

The sky changed to dawn, and only then did she begin to realize how long she had been there. ‘I should find his body. I should bury Viren before….’ Before he became ingredients. Lethe didn’t know if a dark mage could become ingredients, but it seemed like it. Anything magic-touched could be used. ‘Burn the body.’ Perhaps she should have asked Viren how he wanted to be…well…taken from the world.

She rose, sore from sitting and staring up. Sore from the pounding in her head from a broken horn, and stretched. Exhaustion sunk into her bones, but it made moving on autopilot easier and she left her little hill to try and find where Viren may have wandered.

It was such focus that ended up making her completely oblivious to a living person, and she nearly ran into the half-elf who had been brought along. She noticed just before, and was quick to step back, “Ah – sorry,” she intended to walk by her to resume the hunt for Viren’s corpse, gaze shifting down automatically once she’d glanced at the other woman’s face.

 

[cleopat]

Willow woke up early. She was sure Finnegrin hadn’t stirred yet, and unable to sit still on the couch in wait, she got up and walked over to the entrance to the house.

Oh yeah, Deadwood was in guard right on the outside. “I’m just going for a little early morning walk. Surely Finn wouldn’t mind that too much?” Deadwood hummed and eventually let her go. As long as she didn’t bring anything back to harm Finn, he saw no issue with it.

So Willow walked aimlessly, Pucca nearby, roaming the bushes and ruins for any bugs it could snag and eat. Everyone else was still asleep, except for…Except for Viren.

He would be dead.

She frowned at that thought, wondering if they should honor the body somehow. She hated how she didn’t know too much of human customs for burial, but she could give him an earthblood one!

Her own thoughts were interrupted by the elf that let Aaravos free from his prison, and she seemed to be distracted, distracted enough to almost collide into Willow. “Oh, it’s okay, I wasn’t paying attention either.” Not when her mind was in a million different places. “Are you looking for something?” She could surmise it from how the skywing elf’s eyes adverted to the ground, as if searching for an item she dropped.

 

[Lucyfer]

As Lethe stepped back, the other elf asked if she was looking for something. She shook her head. It wasn't exactly a lie. It was a someone, not a something. She didn't really know the relationship this elf had with Viren, and she didn't really need anything to hinder, well, keeping him from being turned into parts so she hesitated to clarify.

“I'm just…hoping to find Viren before he can be a scene for his daughter. I don't know what his death will look like.”

That wasn't quite the full truth but it wasn't a lie either.

“I'll be okay,” she wouldn't invite Willow to share in the wretched moment of discovery as she stepped to the side to move by her and continue on the path she had started to try and locate the corpse. “But if you do find him first, would you tell me? I don't think he'll be in the city, so if you stay within the confines, it should be alright.”

She assumed Viren also wouldn't want to be a scene. He seemed very done with everything.

 

[cleopat]

Willow nibbled on her lip and nodded her head as her posture slumped. Oh yeah, Viren would be dead by now. There was a soft ache in her chest as she recalled their brief conversation together.

Many would probably say he deserved this, but Willow disagreed. He seemed like a man who truly deserved a second chance, despite what he had done. And now he was dead, without mending his relationship with his children.

“Do you want some help?” she offered, following Lethe as she continued on her path. “When you do find him, you may need some help…” she trailed off, not quite able to finish the thought of them carrying his body.

She carried a dead body only once before, to give her mother a proper earthblood funeral with just herself in attendance.

It’s not something she wanted to ever do again.