[SE] a fort to be reckoned with

Deimos

Unfortunately, despite the ongoing experience, wisdom, and sagacity over the years amidst a multitude of circumstances, Deimos simply didn’t have the answer for her. She might be better off coming her way through tomes or asking her mother; the world might alter again or she’d find herself with the incantations one day. In time, knowledge would come – he just wasn’t certain she was the type with enough patience to withstand it.

Though it seemed her interest had chiseled back to other realms, and he withheld the sigh beginning to threaten through his lungs. Glancing upward as Belial circled overhead, offering nothing but a less-than-helpful and encouraging hoot, the Sword shook his head, then continued on his pathway, turning down an icy road for the next portion of delivery.

Were Nova of his own flesh and blood, he might’ve edged a warning in between nuances and questions – but perhaps he was simply not one to pry so significantly. If he were more haunted by the aspects she asked, he could’ve simply refused to grant anything too, but instead a long breath filtered through. “I was born in Isilme, but I also traveled to Helovia. I have always had magic. Those worlds are gone now,” heading off the inquiry before it arrived, and his jaw clenched, just a little, before another home appeared on the horizon, smoke curling from its chimney. “The Voice brought many of us here around Leafchange 308.”

we exhume our enemy's bones
we are battling, hungry beasts

Nova

She slowed just enough to think through what he'd said, already losing ground with the slower pace, but her breaths were coming in large puffs of white in front of her face, her clothes feeling hotter than they had before. "Ooh. So you were.... in your twenties? When you got here?" It would put him about the same age as her, making it all the more intriguing - although Vesper had made it very clear she wasn't allowed to go anywhere. 

It didn't make her any less interested in the other worlds and dimensions that might exist out there, and she sped along, continually trying to make up for her shorter stride with boundless energy. "What kind of magic did you have there?" Was it the same as what he has here? Different? Stronger? Weaker? All her curiosities were apparent on her face, amongst the flush that was slowly growing there.

Life is nothing
without a little chaos to make it interesting

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Deimos

Taking far more careful strides along the icier contortions, he tilted his head, studying it, before unfurling magic, sweeping Air, Water, and Earth onto the road, clearing the pathway for any entrants – colder fixtures melting and melding at his discretion, to be chiseled off to the side, parted like some snowy sea. At her question, of which there always seemed to be many, he arched a brow, nodding. “Yes.” Younger, but not wholly inexperienced in the wakes of the earth, unfurling from one region to another, locked behind barriers within the Grounds, trying to find a way for many of them to avoid bending and bowing their heads to Zariah.

Why magic mattered on another world, especially to someone who lived here and had no means to go elsewhere, made him shake his head, but a shrug of his shoulders took the brunt of the exchange, forging onward to the occupants on the street. “Much more limited, but similar to Life Drain and Fire here.” Except death would’ve come to anyone he’d touched, unless he took massive precautions – a fixture he was glad to have rendered not the same in Caido.

we exhume our enemy's bones
we are battling, hungry beasts

Nova

Sometimes the one thing you can't access is the most intriguing. Like the mysteries at the bottom of the ocean or the back of a cabinet that you can't quite reach. It's even worse when someone tells Nova she can't do something, like lick her elbow or travel to other dimensions. It's why there was a distant look in her eyes, their blue glimmers looking like the galaxies that she pictured and the magics they held. "That's so cool!"

But, until the day she somehow managed to open portals to other worlds, Nova would have to settle for the one she lived in, her feet planted firmly in Caido. Her voice was taking on a breathy quality, her words more stuttered around the icy cut of the air. "Wh-what's your favorite magic? Do you th-think you'll get more?"

Life is nothing
without a little chaos to make it interesting

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Deimos

Pausing to make his next round of deliveries, he stacked the logs and packages one on top of the other, taking more long strides and utilizing his strength to ensure some manner of efficiency. He noted Nova’s intonations getting a little more raspy and stuttered, so his brow arched, wondering if she was finding it more difficult to breathe simply due to the air, or the exertion.

But he didn’t have time to voice that inquiry before she was heading for another, and as he dropped off one portion, then another, he snorted, mildly amused. “Fire,” came first and foremost; his affiliation with the incantations a firm preference to many – though loyalty to Life Drain held another bountiful measure in his primordial, minatory heart. It was difficult to shake away the endless possibilities and potential of all the elements stored within his frame, but those were the denizens highlighted the most. “Do you have a favorite?” He presumed it’d be something to do with glamor and highlights, but asked just the same.

As for gaining more, he gave a slight grin. “I do not see why not.” Hadn’t stopped him before.

we exhume our enemy's bones
we are battling, hungry beasts

Nova

Always approving of fire and bright explosions, Nova nodded her head at his preference, trying to grin as her foot nearly caught in a pile of snow. She righted her steps and quickened back to his side, encouraged to hear that more magics might be on the horizon. Who knew what kind of fun abilities might arise in the next few months?!

When he directed the question back at her, she didn't even have to think. "Water. It sparkles." And definitely had nothing to do with the fact that Jack liked it too. Her illusions were also a close second, but that was hard to say when she was already out of breath, the distance and speed having finally drained what seemed like a bottomless pit of energy. She was still keeping up, but the flush on her cheeks and the dim shimmer of her magic when she said 'sparkles' were all the more apparent through her struggling sentences. 

Nova wouldn't be caught lacking - even if the man was much larger and better trained - so she pushed through, glaring up to inspect Deimos like he was some kind of superhuman mutant. "Do you. Always. Walk this fast?"

Life is nothing
without a little chaos to make it interesting

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Deimos

He snorted at her response, not surprised in the slightest, as he advanced further down to the road, bearing more gifts to those deserving and needing of them. The jerky and wood stores continued and persisted to provide for the incoming LongNight, and her next question was far less serious once he returned to the sled. “Most of the time,” he shrugged. “I always have much to do.”

Such was being a Warden – regardless of a lack of war on the horizon now; it meant he was freed up to gather supplies, train soldiers, and patrol far more often, rather than beseeching the world to defend and condemn. Uncertain of what Nova did in all her time, and preferring not to ask, he arched a brow at her once more, before contorting a smile, and purposefully going just a little faster.

we exhume our enemy's bones
we are battling, hungry beasts

Nova

Nova was always moving, bouncing, hopping, skipping her way through a plethora of activities like a squirrel darting from one tree to the next. She'd never seemed to run out of energy - until now. It wasn't that she felt any less motivated, but her body's endurance was becoming blatantly apparent in comparison to Deimos as he sped through his deliveries, which appeared to be part of his many things to do. "Looks. Boring."

Then he was speeding up. 

Her eyes widened, indignant. "Hey!" There was offense in her huffing tone, another pout forming on her face as she stopped dead in her tracks, arms crossed. Nova might have a thick skull and thicker skin, but it was becoming very apparent that Deimos didn't much care for having her there, and she didn't like that feeling. There were plenty of other people who would appreciate her.

Life is nothing
without a little chaos to make it interesting

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Deimos

He shrugged at her statement, wholly indifferent to her opinion. They weren’t her tasks, nor her people to take care of – so he continued, amused, granting a small smile when she gave a huffing tone. It wasn’t his duty to tend to her every whim either; he had far more to do, focus on, and had already answered her litany of inquiries as if it was an interview process with far more patience.

Regardless, he still had to slow down to take care of the next set of deliveries, extending a wave to the Halovian settled upon their porch before handing off the assorted packages, and then returning to the sled to rinse and repeat the gestures.

we exhume our enemy's bones
we are battling, hungry beasts

Nova

Nova didn't move from her spot until Deimos was slowing, noticing a very distinct lack of an apology. She knew her incessant questions and tagging along hadn't been something he asked for, but there were plenty of other ways to get rid of her and Nova didn't like how he'd chosen to mock her with his monstrously long legs rather than just say he didn't want her there. He hadn't even bothered to look at her, and it was beginning to feel distinctly similar to someone turning off the lights as they leave a room - with her still in it. 

She only stepped close enough for him to hear her, deciding that she didn't have to put up with being teased and ignored. Her arms were still crossed over her chest, her breath having caught back up with her as she glared her disapproval. "It's mean to play with people like that." It was highly likely that he didn't care, but she'd voice her opinion nonetheless. 

Lifting her head with what dignity she had, the light caught at the stars dotting her cheeks. "Thanks for showing me the creation stuff, but I don't want to hang out with you anymore." Then she spun on her heels, happy to find someone who would be more enthusiastic about her presence, pointedly ignoring the ache forming in her chest.

Life is nothing
without a little chaos to make it interesting

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Deimos

Unbothered, Deimos persisted in his task, ensuring each home received the parcel of jerky and lumber – tilting his head to hear Nova’s words carry. Brows furrowing, he wasn’t certain what she meant with the playing portion – he often teased or taunted, and received the notions in return, but other than moving on with his task after being granted only rudeness in return, he opted to remain nonchalant and apathetic to whatever was bothering her.

Granting her a wave as she spun away, he shrugged, figuring she’d gotten what she wanted in the interim of incessant interviews and then abject rudeness – but it wasn’t his role to babysit or coddle. “Take care.” And from there, he continued, until that part of his occupation was done for the day.

[FIN]

we exhume our enemy's bones
we are battling, hungry beasts