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+---- Thread: [Training] Breaking skin (/showthread.php?tid=9772)
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Breaking skin - Talyson - 07-10-2024
TW: Self harm for a god quest task
The shrine to Frey had turned out even more beautiful after the god had invested it and smoothed out the cracks in their disparate elements, but Tal had scowled and turned his back on it as he passed the altar by. His allegiance had been won by a kinder god (and he still smoldered with embarrassment over his ill-fated quest for the god of sex). Instead he had trudged down the path, muddy with Flowerbirth rain and melting snow, to an area with some benches tucked out of the way behind some soothing statuary.
Boreal was, for once, not with him. The dragon had been left at home with Alys and Sascha while Tal pursued his quest for Ludo. Alys knew what he was doing today, but he didn't want to upset his companion with the harm he was choosing to inflict on himself in his pursuit of greater strength.
"Really fuckin' hope this finishes it," he mumbled to himself as he settled gingerly onto one of the benches. He swung one leg up with him and rolled up the cuff of his pants to expose his calf, grimacing as he did so. Light brown skin, currently unblemished greeted his sight as he took his Dagger in hand and took a deep breath.
He closed his eyes until they were barely slitted open, not wanting to watch but needing to aim as he hesitated for a long tense minute before letting out a strangled shout to galvanize himself and sink the blade into his leg, managing a full inch of the steel before his arm jerked to a stop and then yanked the weapon free almost of its own volition.
Suffice to say he activated his Healing ring immediately to staunch the resulting mess, but one charge wasn't enough to repair all of the dagger's poisoned damage.
Sah
RE: Breaking skin - Sah - 07-10-2024
After sending Luka home with their captured daisy, Sah had set his sights on the shrine that he'd helped build. He'd yet to see it since Frey had accepted it, and leaving without stopping by would be a shame. Following the path, the windchimes soon became audible, as did the sound of falling water.
One more bend and the shrine was in sight. The flame flickered warmly and the Abandoned smiled softly. The wind, water, air, and earth were tangible within the shrine, and Sah could almost swear that he heard a heartbeat. It was magnificent.
Approaching, he placed a freshly picked bush of berries down and bowed his head. [say]"Frey. Rae. Thank you for continuing to safeguard the flora and fauna of Caido in the face of the rising threat posed by the Family. Thanks to you, our hunters have still been able to find food for their families."[/say] With one last nod to the shrine, he made his way back up the path.
Lilly heard the sound first. She shot to her feet just as Sah returned to her side. It was then that the scream reverberated in his ears. Eyes going wide with alarm, the Wild Thunder took off running. That voice was far too familiar, and he cursed under his breath as he pushed his legs to go faster.
Breaking through the trees, he spotted Tal and a bloody knife. Had he been attacked? There was no one else nearby. [say]"What the fuck, Talyson?!"[/say] Still cursing, Sah sprinted over and called forth his weakest magic. The mageglass beneath his shirt warmed as healing magic glowed in his hands. Not giving the other man a chance to reach, the Abandoned dropped to a knee and began mending the wound as best as he could.
RE: Breaking skin - Talyson - 07-10-2024
Tal made a lot of interesting sounds, but screaming wasn't usually one of them. He'd kept his shout to a low strangle, but it was just his luck that someone had to be near enough to hear it. At least he'd had a chance to use his Ring a second time before that particular someone appeared out of the trees, sprinting like he had a villi on his tail, and Tal grimaced an unhappy greeting.
"An' what the fuck are you doin' here?" he grumped, but relaxed as the minor healing warmed the remains of the wound on his leg, which had already been reduced to a small cut. There was far more blood on the knife than could be accounted for by that minor of an injury, but Tal set it down beside him as he pushed - gently - at Sah's hands so he could tug his pants leg back down. "If y'were in th'area y'should've come by th'house." He glared at his frenemy in genuine offense that he wasn't visiting the Glas-and-Seawright household at that very moment.
RE: Breaking skin - Sah - 07-11-2024
Sah looked at Tal incredulously. [say]"I was literally about to head over. I had to run an errand first."[/say] Pushing one last surge of healing magic into the idiot's leg, he stood up. With the wound tended to, the Wild Thunder glanced between the bloodied knife and Tal's face. His own twisted into something worried and perplexed. Sah only just managed to push the rush of questions down his throat and settled for a gentle and quiet, [say]"Why?"[/say]
The Wild Thunder had previously picked up on the courier's occasional self-esteem issues, but this felt extremely out of character. This was something else entirely, and as he scanned Tal's face, it thankfully didn't appear to be his worst fear. That allowed Sah to relax slightly, but the concern refused to leave. Not until he had an explanation, even a half-assed one.
RE: Breaking skin - Talyson - 07-11-2024
"Hmmmm." Tal glowered at his frenemy suspiciously but finally relented when he figured the other man was telling the truth about his intentions. "Well, alright then. I guess." At least some of his prickly hostility was the result of the pain and frustration of having just stabbed his own damn self, and as their combined healing magic worked its, well, magic he eased back a bit.
"Why? Why d'you think??" The scowl returned as he waved the bloody knife under Sah's nose, oblivious to the direction and worry of the other man's thoughts. "Ludo is why. I asked it t'make th'poison on my Dagger stronger an' it told me I had to stab myself with it. Twice!" The courier slid off the bench and began to pace, annoyed and filled with restless energy. It didn't stop him from pausing to stroke Lily's ears, however, murmuring a gentle greeting to the wolf before turning back to her human with a huff. "I dunno how much more o' this I can take!"
RE: Breaking skin - Sah - 07-11-2024
Sah deflated in relief as Talyson went off. [say]"Oh thank, fuck."[/say] As he processed just what the courier was telling him, he snarled. He watched as Tal paced and ranted, his own rage burning hotter the more he heard. Lilly did her best to soothe the courier but this was more than a few cuddles could fix.
As Tal's anger came to a head, Sah's exploded. [say]"Fuck Ludo."[/say] The words were dark and filled with grit. [say]"Fuck them for forcing you to do something like this. You don't need to 'take' anymore."[/say] The Wild Thunder stepped forward until he was just a few paces away, [say]"Why do you feel the need to go to them? Why not one of the others? If Ludo treats you like shit, walk away. You're not sworn to them, are you? If not, you don't owe them anything!"[/say]
God or not, Ludo had hurt one of Sah's own. Apparently, more times than he was aware of. The Wild Thunder wasn't one to hate, but by Safrin's light, the trickster deity was forcing his hand. Was this another reason that Safrin had been so pleased that he'd accidentally murdered Melita? Had the trickster god done something to her or her people before?
RE: Breaking skin - Talyson - 07-12-2024
Lily couldn't fix everything, but there was no denying that she helped. Silky ears were a sovereign remedy for many ills, and as Tal stroked them he lost some of his simmering frustration. The memory of pain was likewise fading as he ranted, but things might have begun to calm from there if Sah's fuse hadn't reached its limit as the courier's was winding down.
The pure vitriol on his friend's voice combined with the blatant blasphemy actually froze Tal in his tracks and he turned his head to watch Sah approach with something between shock and wonder in his expression as the other man stood up for him with a lot more fire than he'd ever expected. As the flood of questions and defenses - defenses for him he noted with a faint flush of warmth in his chest and ears - slowed he reached out squeeze the other man's shoulder gratefully.
"Not t'Ludo," he admitted. "But t'Mort." News that still felt a little fantastical on his tongue, and helped him calm down a little more even as Sah grew more incensed. "I guess it's not... not forcin' me," he admitted, reluctant to let the words leave his mouth even if they were technically true. "I could say 'fuck it' an' walk away. But then my Dagger wouldn't get any stronger." He gave a helpless little shrug. "Th'poison on th'blade is Ludo's. Special nightmare poison. Packs a hailuva punch," he added ruefully, thumping his leg gently with his fist. "But th'only one who can make it stronger is, well, Ludo itself. So I gotta jump through its hoops or give up years o' workin' on it." Literal years, since he'd been working on that Dagger since before the War.
He grimaced and shrugged, pulling a rag out of his Bag of Holding so he could start cleaning the blood off the blade. "Almost done with this quest. Then one more t'Master it an' I'll be clear o' th'Trickster," he assured the Wild Thunder. "But with all th'Void shit goin' down, it's not like we have time t'start shit from scratch right now. Gotta work on our weapons an' our armor an' ourselves, yeah? Otherwise we'll be fucked when th'shit hits th'fan."
RE: Breaking skin - Sah - 07-13-2024
[say]"Mort?"[/say] Sah sighed heavily, forcing himself to calm at Tal's grounding squeeze and the explanation he was given. [say]"Ok. Mort really is a sweetheart, and I can understand why you chose him. But shit...Ludo really does have you in a bind."[/say] Go figure that the god who was quite possibly the kindest would have the biggest asshole for a herald. It was probably some kind of cosmic balance. The Abandoned watched the courier carefully as he cleaned his knife, only completely relaxing when it was obvious that the man was no longer in pain.
[say]"I hate this and I hate that you have to do one more of these bullshit quests. If you need any help, just let me know."[/say] Sah ran a frustrated hand through his hair, restless and still peeved.
RE: Breaking skin - Talyson - 07-13-2024
Tal nodded in resignation, his scowl still lingering as he sheathed the Dagger and then shook himself like one of his sled dogs to chase the memory of pain away. "Well, Its point is fuckin' made. Gettin' stabbed with this thing is no joke." He patted the Dagger's handle gingerly and then turned his full attention to Sah as the other man offered support - both emotional and of a more physical kind, and the courier's scowl lifted.
"Hey, thanks. I'll do that. An' in th'meantime, maybe we can get a little sparrin' in ourselves? Might as well work up an appetite if you're comin' over for dinner after," he said teasingly. "Might be your last chance for awhile, so better make th'most o' it!"
He stepped back and brought his hands up, fingers curled into loose fists as he aimed a playful jab at his friend's shoulder. He wasn't trying to hit him hard, but he was going to hit him if the Abandoned didn't try to dodge or block!
RE: Breaking skin - Sah - 07-13-2024
[say]"Of course."[/say] Tal didn't seem too down about it all now, which Sah was thankful for. He was still rather annoyed but forced it down for the moment. The other man was right. With how things were progressing, he might not have time to visit much. Granted, he had a much easier time traveling nowadays with his teleportation.
Sah had expected Tal to propose a spar or something, not act on it immediately. The sudden shift caught Sah off guard, and he couldn't dodge Tal's strike in time. [say]"Hey!"[/say] The fist landed, and he knew there'd be a small bruise tomorrow. Twisting away, he attempted to elbow the courier in the ribs.
RE: Breaking skin - Talyson - 07-13-2024
It was weirdly easier to let things go and be less mad about them when someone else was doing the hard work of being mad for him. Tal wasn't the introspective type; he just knew that having Sah stand up for him made him feel a lot better and more capable of handling the nonsense of Ludo's quests. Maybe it was just enough to feel like he wasn't alone in dealing with the masked god's painful whimsy.
Whatever the reason, he didn't want to dwell too long on the fact that he'd just stabbed himself again. He just wanted to move past it, and nothing said 'distraction' like a good tussle with his favorite and best frenemy.
They'd started enough rough-housing games with each other like this that it genuinely surprised him when Sah failed to dodge, but fuck it, that's what Healing magic was for, and the Wild Thunder at least got moving after that, retaliating by moving in close instead of backing up the way Tal had expected. He'd been so ready to follow that he actually stepped in to the hunter's elbow, wincing as he felt a fresh bruise of his own.
But fuck it, Sah wanted to get in close and personal? That was fine with Tal! "Tryin' t'dance with me? You're gonna make Alys jealous," he teased with a wicked grin.
And went for an attempted headlock which, if he was successful, would lead to a most undignified noogy to mess up Sah's hair.
RE: Breaking skin - Sah - 07-13-2024
His elbow landed and Sah snorted, [say]"She shouldn't. I think I've only danced once or twice in my life."[/say] Granted, he hadn't done a bad job either time. He really must have been distracted today, however, because Tal managed to get his arms around him.
Sah bristled when he was put in a headlock and winced at not just the noogy but also the weight on his neck. Perhaps it was just because he was already wound up, but his eyes went wide and it was suddenly teeth at his neck and not a playful hand. With a burst of adrenaline, the Abandoned slammed his arm back to strike at the courier's knee.
RE: Breaking skin - Talyson - 07-13-2024
"More'n me," Tal admitted as he applied the noogie with a grunt of effort. It was hard to hold onto Sah, strong and slippery as the hunter was, and the courier could already feel that it was a temporary state of affairs. He was already starting to loosen his hold when he felt the man in his arm shift and the courier hissed and almost bit his tongue as he tried to shove his opponent away. He wasn't quite fast enough; Sah's hand struck a glancing blow to his knee and Tal stumbled.
He didn't fall, but he went low for a second before his knee tensed back into place and caught him. As he came back up he lashed out with a rising left hook to Sah's jaw - not as hard as he could have, it was still a friendly spar - but with enough muscle behind it to keep the other man from following up on him too quick, he hoped!
RE: Breaking skin - Sah - 07-13-2024
It was a good thing Tal needed a moment to regroup. It allowed Sah to take a shuddering breath as he got free and to remind himself that this was a friendly spar. With a heartbeat-long interlude, the spar continued. The courier went for his face, and reacting quickly, the Abandoned caught the flying fist. Grasping it tightly, he attempted to pull the courier down and knee him in the stomach. He held back enough to only bruise and not truly hurt his frenemy.
It had been a while since they'd sparred hand-to-hand and it was a nice change of pace. Ever since Tal had moved, Sah had been hard-pressed to find a regular sparring partner that was around his level. Deimos far exceeded him and Noah was incredibly busy with Demi-god business and raising his twins.