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if I could burn this town - Dantalion - 08-03-2024
Needing no reason to take full advantage of having a gods-damned portal between the Hollowed Grounds and The Climb, given that a certain gentleman butcher is off gallivanting once again, Danta has some extra time on his hands. And call him nostalgic for wanting to return to the place he'd called home for so long, but as he feels the rippling heat on the air and hears the rumble of magma cracking and oozing its way to the surface, it does feel quite peaceful.
As peaceful as it gets in The Climb, anyway.
Prowling along rocky outcrops and crags of volcanic rock, the Maverick doesn't bother to shift as he explores, preferring to feel each sharp handhold in his bare fingers, each whisper of ash on the wind against his bare arms. Dressed in something close to reasonable, even if the tank top he's pulled on has little in the way of a back and the leather of his pants leaves little to the imagination, he's nonetheless comfortable as he peers into a fissure, looking for any geodes or gemstones, or perhaps even the bejewelled eye of a rock slider to play with.
RE: if I could burn this town - Anahita - 08-03-2024
Down through the shadows, past a tight opening and a threshold of rubble, stretched a lazy ray of sweltering light. Painting a crooked yellow line across the chamber within, it found inside a discarded marionette, all dressed for the ball.
The string pulling her upward was a thick metal chain encrusted in rock and mineral, disappearing somewhere in the shadowy ceiling above. It held her by the wrist, arm extended, hand hanging over the shackle helplessly flaccid. On the opposite side, eyes would strain to spot the restraint gripping her ankle, its chain lodged in the wall beyond.
She stood there taught, as if mid-fall, eyes fixed in the distance, a leg bent at the knee, her free hand reaching for something... someone? And just like a proper doll, she was dressed with care; a single studded earring buried partially in petrified hair, a long dress cut high at the thigh and low on the chest falling around her, select jewels that long lost their luster trailing down from her neck.
Finally, quietly, somewhere behind unmoving eyes, endless dreams formed and shifted like mist. Apparitions of places real and imaginary, and a restless mind flitting from one to the other.
RE: if I could burn this town - Dantalion - 08-04-2024
It's the bend of the light through a fissure that catches on one of those faded jewels, just enough for it to wink up at Danta as he peers in. Tilting his head and squinting closer, it takes a breath or two for him to make sense of the chain and the puppet suspended against the mountainside, carved from living stone. Cold blue eyes instantly narrow, curiosity and suspicion warring for dominance, until the former finally wins out and has him climbing across the shafts of rock and ash.
Dropping into the cavern, he examines the near impossible way she's been petrified, a study of grace and a quiet sort of desperation, Danta prowling and circling as if to get a better look at her face. Only when he's convinced that he doesn't know her does he relax, dropping back onto his heels and straightening up. [say]"How lucky for you to run into me today,"[/say] he announces to her unhearing ears, his voice a purr echoing against the curve of her prison.
With nothing more than an effort of will, the Maverick summons a blaze at her feet, one that quickly climbs and consumes every part of her body, caressing stony skin and soaking through to the presence beneath. He's careful to focus around her legs at first, giving her some semblance of balance, though at the end of it all, he supposes she'll still be stuck in her chains. How interesting.
RE: if I could burn this town - Anahita - 08-04-2024
It broke through like a blaze of sunshine and spilled over her like dessert sand.
Flame.
Her first breath in centuries was hot, carmine and ravenous.
Feet scraped against the ground, seeking balance, losing and finding it again. Limbs strained as chains jingled weakly amidst the purring flame. The palm of her outstretched hand closed around something that wasn't there, and fell.
And eyes, glass-like and seeking, soaked in all the searing light, as if for the first time, no more suffering the semblance of sight put on by dreams and apparitions that had danced through her mind in the slow and quiet pace of centuries.
She raised her head, strands of dark hair coming undone from the elaborate tie that once held them. Past the blaze, the bright life-giving flame, she saw him. At first, no more than a shape in the dark and fractured light reflected off glistening horns. Then, emerging from shadow, the eyes of someone strikingly unfamiliar.
[say]"You."[/say] Her voice came up from her chest, steeped in elation borne of being truly awake. [say]"You're new."[/say]
RE: if I could burn this town - Dantalion - 08-04-2024
[say]"You have no idea."[/say] Danta's smile is one of almost elation, tipped with fangs as he watches stone become flesh, as her static movements grow fluid once more, if not still restrained by the chain at her wrist and ankle. Looking her quickly up and down - not as a predator might, but as someone who knows of locks and how to melt pick them, he glances back around the cavern for something he might stand upon, before deciding his own height will have to suffice.
[say]"You can call me Danta,"[/say] he introduces, drawing closer to her and reaching up to grasp at the chain, allowing a concentrated ripple of fire to build in his palm to heat the metal. [say]"And you, my dear, have been asleep for a very, very long time, it looks like."[/say] With a brow furrowed with concentration, he glances fleetingly down at her and cocks a smile.
[say]"Dare I ask who decided to chain you up before the party started?"[/say] He nods towards the dress and the jewels, as if those might be indication enough that her predicament is an accident rather than a kink.
RE: if I could burn this town - Anahita - 08-05-2024
She watches him watching her and looks for... a telltale coldness in his eyes, a nervous twitch in his jaw, the faintest sign of foul intent. For with the feeling in her body returned the dull tingling ache in her bound limbs, the strain in her muscles as she kept balance between heavy chains and the lingering feeling of betrayal.
And then, he does the most unexpected thing. Unprompted and uncoerced.
Danta, he said. [say]"Pretty."[/say] She mused.
No sign of malice, still. Only the pulsing heat just above. Her fingers stretched to reach it.
Relaxing slightly, she let her eyes wander over the man, lit up by the solitary flame and its reflection against crystalline horns. And that smile. Pretty.
She found herself returning it, as the elation of waking and the rush of uncertainty settled and buzzed just beneath her skin. Not asking permission, she brought her free hand to rest against his chest, finding better balance after lending him some of her weight. [say]"You can call me Ana."[/say] Her quick smile revealed a sharp fang.
Then he brings up the elephant in the room, and she scoffs in place of an answer, turning her head away as the whip of the tail behind her betrays deep annoyance. [say]"How late for the party am I, do you reckon?"[/say]. She would jump at the chance to crash and burn it, as soon as the shackles fell.
RE: if I could burn this town - Dantalion - 08-06-2024
[say]"So I have been told,"[/say] Danta says, his voice low and quiet in their suddenly intimate space, and as her fingers reach for the fire he wields, he teases a lick of flame down to warm her knuckles; a gentle caress whilst he works on the metal still binding her in a marionette's pose. [say]"And it seems I am in good company,"[/say] he adds. Pretty goes both ways in this little cavern.
[say]"A pleasure to meet you, Ana,"[/say] he continues, flexing his fingers about the red-hot chain just as her weight comes to lean against his chest. Slipping his free arm around her waist for leverage, it takes a couple of stern yanks against the near molten metal before it finally gives up the ghost, sending them stumbling back a few steps. With a fanged smile that speaks of victory above all else, he returns his attention to the woman before him.
[say]"Would it upset you if I said my guess is more by centuries than days or hours?"[/say] he ventures. [say]"By the look of your jewels, in any case."[/say] He nods to the muted shine of gems he imagines were undoubtedly flawless, once upon a time. [say]"It was centuries when I awoke, anyway. That was a couple of years ago now, though."[/say]
RE: if I could burn this town - Anahita - 08-11-2024
Her eyes flicker as the flame's caress tugs her back into the present, her fingers reaching for the warm tendrils - ointment for her temper. And then, the sudden creak of metal makes her heart flutter. Her eyes excitedly leap to the searing chains as the layer of rocky dust that had crawled over them falls away crumbling.
As the red chains stretched, she added force to Danta's efforts, pulling down with a wince and a ping of pain from her awkwardly hung wrist. A breathy chuckle left her lungs when they staggered forward, and she looked warmly into clear blue eyes, lips parted to speak their thanks... when his words reached her and gratitude remained stuck in her throat. She blinked, slipping out of his grasp to glimpse down at the truth.
Fingers found the clasp behind her neck. A moment later she yanked the delicate chain off and raised it into the low light, brushing her thumb across cloudy sapphires. Coming into focus all at once, traces of time glanced back at her from crumbling corners, collapsed walls, all the way down to her own stone-encrusted chains. In a breath, her body seemed to lose the strength that had held her in place for all those years. [say]"I..."[/say], a shy smile escaped her, suddenly completely out of grace, like a dolled-up fool chained to a wall.
Then, she burst into laughter.
Coming up from her chest and stretching into the cove, it bounced off the walls. It hunched her over before she was able to settle against the far wall, dragging her chains along the way. She caught her breath, and just as abruptly, her laugh thinned into silence.
Ana spoke to the man in the room as much as to the room itself. [say]" Did it upset you? I... I find myself rather empty. Or overwhelmed, perhaps. In any case, upset doesn't come close to it[/say], she scoffed, and quickly added, [say]I can't say I'm willing to contemplate it without a stiff drink in my hand. Well aged, preferably"[/say], she finished with morbid mirth, unlocking another burst of laughter, short and hearty.
She felt the weathered necklace, still in her hand. Muttering something to herself, sharp and succinct, she gathered up the hair that hung loose around her face, pulled it back, and wrapped the once gleaming jewels around it roughly.
[say]"Say, could I entice you to repeat that trick?,"[/say] she cracked a smile at him, eyes shining wild and awake, and slipped her bound ankle out through the slit in her onyx-colored dress, the light fabric easily parting.
RE: if I could burn this town - Dantalion - 08-12-2024
Danta's smile only fades a fraction, perhaps, as his words land with all the weight they deserve, and he releases her so she might have the space to come to terms with it - however that might look. He almost expects the laughter, in fact, having done much the same when he'd been awoken by tides of magma and flame, his hands linked loosely behind his back. [say]"It thrilled me,"[/say] he admits quietly, a predatory hunger alight in his eyes for a moment before it sinks back into the depths of his expression.
[say]"Very glad to hear that you aren't sad to be in my company, though,"[/say] he continues, his tone rising once more into something almost cheerful and he steps forward at her request to drop to one knee before her, reaching out with hands wreathed in fire for the other chain. [say]"As it so happens,"[/say] he continues, [say]"I can offer you a stiff drink. Well aged, too - though not as old as we are."[/say] Danta smirks up at her.
[say]"Not here, though. The Climb now contains a portal back to where I live."[/say] Where he rules, in fact, but something something too much too soon. [say]"If you're content with a short walk, I'd be happy to take you. There isn't that much here any more."[/say] Not worth building and living on, regrettably.
RE: if I could burn this town - Anahita - 08-13-2024
A revealing crack in her rescuer's demeanor distracted Anahita from falling headfirst into a heavy web of thoughts. The emotion behind Danta's eyes drew her gaze like a coquettish flash of skin in a courtesan's performance. There was something to be lain bare behind the attractive display.
She cocked her head and let a smile stretch across her lips. A moment later the silky flame was once more pulsing near her skin, [say]"Oh,"[/say] a fang emerged at the promise of a drink, [say]"You make it very difficult to be sad in your company."[/say], her voice rolled lazily through the air, and time started stretching forward once more. To the next drink. Then to the next kill. And the next body to warm her bed... To finding a bed.
Once the next step was decided she was pulled into the present once more, squirming as the flame grazed her ankle and sent a small shiver up her leg. [say]"A portal? How convenient."[/say] She leaned forward, bending her captured leg at the knee, resting her elbow against it and and planting her chin in her palm, all to watch the blonde work on her restraints. [say]"To think a portal and a chain are all that separate me from the closest tavern. Please, pinch me so I know I'm truly awake,"[/say] she suggested with a playful smirk.
RE: if I could burn this town - Dantalion - 08-14-2024
[say]"Is that so? My first impressions must be getting better,"[/say] Danta teases, his fanged grin one of self-deprecating amusement, though it's mostly directed down towards the fire and the chain around her ankle. With a brow furrowed in concentration, the metal soon grows as white-hot as the twin chain that had been attached to her wrist, though this one ought to be less difficult to remove by virtue of not forcing her to dangle from it.
Once he's convinced the metal will warp with his touch, Danta begins to pull at chain and shackle, hoping to stretch it enough for her to slip her foot through. [say]"It's one of my better ideas,"[/say] he agrees about the portal with a bounce of his eyebrows, though that's all he can spare until he thinks he's managed to wrestle her restraints into submission. [say]"There - why don't you try that?"[/say] he asks, glancing up just as her playful quip reaches his ears.
Long fingers made warm by the fire and the molten metal catch at her cheek for a moment, gently pinching it, and he tilts his head as if to ask for her verdict. [say]"It isn't a party,"[/say] he says with a hint of an apology, [say]"but hopefully this isn't a waking nightmare for you either."[/say]
RE: if I could burn this town - Anahita - 09-12-2024
[say]"Oh my. Are you usually not the charming do-gooder I see before me today?"[/say], a hand came to delicately lay on her chest as if to soothe a fluttering heart. A roguish sharpness seeped into her voice as she continued, [say]"I must be careful. I have a growing suspicion that you'll make for a good drinking companion."[/say]
Just a quick portal away.
She let the hand slip down and hook its fingers in the legcuff, finding it hot and malleable. She then got out of the way to let Danta work the metal, and turned a curious look at the man who seemed to spend his time un-petrifying people and opening portals. On his mark she got up and shook the shackle off like an old shoe.
It was entirely anticlimactic. She didn't feel quite free.
The pinch brought colour into her cheeks and a giggle from within her chest, drawing out like a string into a genuine smile. She would expect to be met with a lot after waking, but help and concern were not on the list. She glanced towards the murky light outside. [say]"It isn't a party... Yet."[/say] Ana kicked the still glowing chain out of the way and wrapped her arms softly around Danta. [say]"Thank you,"[/say] she pulled away, flashing another quick smile, picking up the hems of her dress and stepping over uneven ground towards the world outside.
Stopping just short of the exit, her face obscured by the light streaming in through the fog, she asked,[say]"Did you come across Azat?"[/say]
RE: if I could burn this town - Dantalion - 09-14-2024
[say]"Charming? Sometimes. Do-gooder? Rarely,"[/say] Danta says with a dramatic air of an apology, as if he's told her a lie by slipping into her rocky tomb and helping her today. [say]"Your suspicions, at least, are quite correct. I am a wonderful drinking partner."[/say] He steps back to give her room to free herself of the final shackle, still cherry red but warped to the point where she can - and does - shake it off easily.
At the sound of her giggle - very different from the disbelieving laughter that had echoed from the cavern walls after her initial realisation - Danta can't help the accompanying fanged grin, though he doesn't expect gentle arms to slip around his middle in gratitude. [say]"My pleasure,"[/say] he purrs, before she's gone again and he's giving the cave one last glance around before turning to leave as well.
[say]"Azat? Can't say the name means anything to me,"[/say] he says almost apologetically, hauling himself out and back into the rippling heat and volcanic stone of The Climb, turning to offer Ana his hand to help her clamber up as well. [say]"You never know, though. They might turn up - or they might have already made it out. Caido is a big place - a lot bigger than I remember it being."[/say]
RE: if I could burn this town - Anahita - 09-20-2024
Uncertainty persisted, the nagging suspicion in the back of her skull like the buzzing of flies. She took the hand that was offered, and stepped forward nonetheless, out of the shadow and into the heavy light, walking into an unfamiliar horizon.
And she stopped.
Green eyes went wide, searching for a trace of familiarity. The stone-crusted dreams that had wound around her mind for so long appeared fresh before her eyes, as if her waking was just another loop in the dreamer's spiral. She didn't seem to see Danta anymore, as if he was no more than a dream spirit or a trick of the light, and stood for a while, cold despite the volcanic heat, still, waiting for the earth to shift, breathing in sulfur and ash.
A feint scuttering sound broke through the wind. Her eyes darted to the side and focused, deadly, on the steep mountainside just a few lengths away. Grip tightened on her dress like a vice, Anahita leapt forward, closing the distance. She reached behind the rock, grasping at the soft, slippery caterpillar. In a blink its head was already buried in a tight opening in the rock, a split second away from disappearing out of reach.
The lava crawler found itself, instead, in between fanged teeth baring into him with abandon. It's struggle ended quickly in Ana's grip with a twist and a snap. She didn't take her time satisfying that itch, and in no time at all she was making her way back down the slope - her movements more fluid, the tension unwinding from her shoulders, and trickles of the creature's blood dripping from her lips and down her chest.
Only then did she seem to truly see her unbidden rescuer once more, her eyes now clear and gleaming. [say]"My knight in shining horns,"[/say] she called, the light in her voice ringing clear, sated, [say]"What say you we get off this rock and you tell me about the grand new world?"[/say]