[se] waiting for the smoke
Deimos Ignatius
the Resurrected Sword
Warden of Halo / Guildmaster

Age: 33 | Height: 6'4" | Race: Hybrid | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 14 - Strg: 72 - Dext: 72 - Endr: 73 - Luck: 80 - Int: 3
BELIAL - Mythical - Peryton (Blend) ZURIEL - Mythical - Unicorn (Healing)
Played by: Heather Offline
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Posts: 6,559 | Total: 10,652
MP: 9824
#1
DEIMOS
A brief sojourn, a sidestep, once they’d meandered through portals. Back into the outskirts of King’s End, enticed by the endless barrage of curiosity and intrigue nestled into the unknown fixtures, into the bones, into the figments, of a world that had been so close, yet so far. And not because of anything in particular, but everything all at once. Histories damned and due to repeat. An awakening, a reopening, of worlds once left to their own devices, carrying upon plains and plains of barrows and graves, catacombs breaching and branching into naught but endless calm and serenity.

Did they have any meaning? Or was he trying to search for something to grasp, some aspects of understanding, that might not have ever been there in the first place?

The Sword reached out on plumage, while his companions gathered below. Belial, normally content to follow on the whisper and flicker of wings, had been completely distracted by the moushrooms chittering and chattering, and Zuriel was far too dignified to saunter beyond the stretch of the eagle’s shadow. So he was alone in the winds, content to rise above and stare, to take the whole world in again – on different angles, on persistent liberations and freedoms, on an act of deliverance that might be disappearing into the midst.
"who's gonna let you?"
they asked. i said
"who's gonna stop me?"
Henry Walker
Advisor

Age: 31 | Height: 5'11" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 2 - Strg: 16 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 15 - Luck: 11 - Int:
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#2
HENRY
a knife twists at the thought that
I should fall short of the mark
Deimos was not alone in the winds, actually. Henry is there, as well. He rises above the valley on dark plumage, but he thinks he's alone too. Alone to his own, left to think of all that rests on his shoulders - or wings, now. Somehow, the days have gotten easier to live through lately. The arrival of Longheat brings with it the buzz of people celebrating fairer weather and brighter sun. He can't help but to feel a bit lighter with it.

So it's not with a heavy heart that Henry flies, but with something akin to peace. And peace is so relaxing, that for a while he closes his eyes as he lets the wind carry him onward and upward, only occasionally beating his wings to keep himself afloat.

It's when something both familiar and unknown catches on the fringes of his senses that he widens his piercing eyes open to see that he's heading straight towards another bird. Woah! he diverts his path with a sudden, clumsy sweep of his wings. There he slows, out of the way but still nearing this other passenger of the sky.

Sorry, I should've been paying better attention, he rumbles sheepishly, attempting to speak through that Attuned bond, hoping he's not wrong and that this is actually a person... not a normal bird he's talking to. Who are you?
middle of adventure
such a perfect place to start
Deimos Ignatius
the Resurrected Sword
Warden of Halo / Guildmaster

Age: 33 | Height: 6'4" | Race: Hybrid | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 14 - Strg: 72 - Dext: 72 - Endr: 73 - Luck: 80 - Int: 3
BELIAL - Mythical - Peryton (Blend) ZURIEL - Mythical - Unicorn (Healing)
Played by: Heather Offline
Change author:
Posts: 6,559 | Total: 10,652
MP: 9824
#3
DEIMOS
Another bird rose along, and for a few moments it didn’t bother him. Keen eyes, a massive wake, a barrage of power and precision, all made up his outer vestiges – and he presumed the fellow predator would not bother with him. Most didn’t; accustomed to some range of his demolishing abilities and tactics, but the more he inclined further, the more he realized there wasn’t any unrelenting motion, and he brushed upwards, quickly, swiftly, as the other raptor neared.

A surprise too, when a voice resounded. There was no cause for alarm in his attuned semblances, just the slightest inclination of surprise rambling through his blood, surging in the connection, before he smothered it downward. He rose and rose, before turning back, as if surveying, scrutinizing, examining the proverbial unknown – in the being and the land. It is fine he rumbled in response; no harm, no damage done, just a strange altercation when they’d both had nearly the entirely sky.

His eyes went briefly to his companions below, and he could feel Belial’s inquisition (wondering perhaps, if he should be joining in the wake above, and harassing the other bird), and Zuriel’s quiet indifference, presuming naught had happened that required her distress. So thereafter, all he had was the moment to process more thorough introductions, rather than a near collision. Deimos. And he hovered, head tilting vaguely, all predilection, perception, and primitive intimidation. Who are you? reflecting, reverberating, resounding like an echo.
"who's gonna let you?"
they asked. i said
"who's gonna stop me?"
Henry Walker
Advisor

Age: 31 | Height: 5'11" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 2 - Strg: 16 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 15 - Luck: 11 - Int:
Played by: Catalysta Offline
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Posts: 278 | Total: 1,724
MP: 0
#4
HENRY
a knife twists at the thought that
I should fall short of the mark
The other is an Attuned, and they don't seem too offended, at which Henry's feathers seem to sigh with relief.

He cocks his head to one side, stilling in the air as much as he can without losing altitude, as the other seems to examine him. He can scrutinize if he likes, Henry's just another eagle. Not much to hide as it stands, really. So he sits comfortably beneath the other's sharp gaze.

Deimos, he's called. Henry, he replies back easily, it's nice to see another attuned out here! Did you come out just to fly? It's something Henry will be able to understand, so the question is posed rather conversationally. With a pivot of one wing, he fans around Deimos in a casual circle. Or were you looking for something? Now it's he who starts to scrutinize.
middle of adventure
such a perfect place to start
Deimos Ignatius
the Resurrected Sword
Warden of Halo / Guildmaster

Age: 33 | Height: 6'4" | Race: Hybrid | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 14 - Strg: 72 - Dext: 72 - Endr: 73 - Luck: 80 - Int: 3
BELIAL - Mythical - Peryton (Blend) ZURIEL - Mythical - Unicorn (Healing)
Played by: Heather Offline
Change author:
Posts: 6,559 | Total: 10,652
MP: 9824
#5
DEIMOS
Scrutiny and examination came from battlefield tactics; one of the many he’d never been able, or tried, to shake. The other didn’t seem to mind, and the moments were assuaged, eased, in a matter of seconds – his quiet contemplation adhering to nothing in particular, when there were no threats to engage, undermine, or siege upon. Instead, he remained hovering, maneuvering slightly, as the perusal consisted and layered back against him; understood, known, as the world sized him up in one way or another.

The name sharpened through his mind but didn’t give way to anyone in particular. He had half a mind to ask him where he was from, simply by ways of curiosity, inquiry, and general intrigue, but instead some questions were returned. The raptorial predilections didn’t seize; for this was not an instance layered in enmity or hostility, and so the answers were eased, as he lingered and lowered, swinging along in a motion forward, plumage extended, riding upon a warmer breeze. Flying and exploring; because it was true – and that natural bridge of notice and wonder still led him to these proportions of the unknown every now and again. Last time I was here, I did not get to see much. Save for the stone steps that led to nowhere – but maybe that was a question for this being, if he’d been out here beforehand or seen the rocks leaning towards the earth and sky.

And you? He prospered in return; incapable of arching a brow in this form, but the gesture and sentiments was immersed in the Attuned bond all the same.
"who's gonna let you?"
they asked. i said
"who's gonna stop me?"
Henry Walker
Advisor

Age: 31 | Height: 5'11" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 2 - Strg: 16 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 15 - Luck: 11 - Int:
Played by: Catalysta Offline
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Posts: 278 | Total: 1,724
MP: 0
#6
HENRY
a knife twists at the thought that
I should fall short of the mark
The only thing Henry can truly surmise from his own examinations is that the golden eagle flying before him seems regal - as all eagles do, really. But there's something in the way he carries himself. It's different than confidence or pride, but it's also something he can't quite place. Perhaps if he were less stressed and his mind less heavy he would remember who Deimos is, from his knowledge of the history surrounding Caido. But he doesn't, and maybe that's better. Maybe it makes this chance meeting all the more innocent, not having to worry about allegiances or history or who they are to the world. Perhaps they can be who they really are, granted a certain kind of freedom where they hang in the sky.

There is a lot to see! He pipes up through the bond, gliding so that he can pass beside Deimos as the other eagle pursues the breeze. I guess I'm just... trying to escape for a while, he says with an honest answer he hadn't pondered until now.

A spark of mischief streaks through the bond, You know, I can show you a few places I've found. If you think you can keep up, In a display, his wings flap through the air and he pushes off ahead a few feet, looking at Deimos from his peripheral with a chuckle. He suddenly cuts downward, sweeping toward a garden in the distance. As they get closer, it will become apparent that it's a maze... and there is something eye-catching at the very center.
middle of adventure
such a perfect place to start
Deimos Ignatius
the Resurrected Sword
Warden of Halo / Guildmaster

Age: 33 | Height: 6'4" | Race: Hybrid | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 14 - Strg: 72 - Dext: 72 - Endr: 73 - Luck: 80 - Int: 3
BELIAL - Mythical - Peryton (Blend) ZURIEL - Mythical - Unicorn (Healing)
Played by: Heather Offline
Change author:
Posts: 6,559 | Total: 10,652
MP: 9824
#7
DEIMOS
It had been a long while since Deimos had any notion of nothing signified from his name, presence, or existence. He’d been here for years, carved his way through intrepid dares and vicious onslaughts, mired his way through broken crag, and tried to find bits and pieces to hold onto, if only for a moment. Perhaps it was a sense of liberation, in neither having those pre-requisite notions of one another. Naught exchanged in accords of failures, of stupidity, of dreams torn asunder. Left to their own devices, their own pinnacles, rather than the lofty ones carried on backs or shoulders. Just flying. Just rampaging along the winds.

No ties. No tethers.

He caught the excitement, the honesty, with some rationale of surprise – mostly because he didn’t reveal himself to strangers so openly as Henry seemed accustomed to doing. And there is always something to escape from volleyed back, pinpointed on himself mostly, meant on an amusing rumble rather than an accusatory tone.

The insinuation, the challenge snapped over his senses thereafter, and the goading had already taken its place in his chest. Too easily coaxed and inveigled into those parameters, the beast didn’t mock, didn’t ridicule, didn’t boast; had no need, when he began to plummet after.

Following, following, following on spirals and coils, descending with complete, utter abandon, for he knew himself, knew his capabilities, knew the touch of irreverence angling its way through his plumage, the wild sedition pressing in on his feathers. The Sword had no intention or inclination to pass the other bird; but his attention became focused on the motions and warren up ahead. What is this?
"who's gonna let you?"
they asked. i said
"who's gonna stop me?"
Henry Walker
Advisor

Age: 31 | Height: 5'11" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 2 - Strg: 16 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 15 - Luck: 11 - Int:
Played by: Catalysta Offline
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Posts: 278 | Total: 1,724
MP: 0
#8
HENRY
a knife twists at the thought that
I should fall short of the mark
Henry senses the amusement from Deimos easily, and offers a vein of his own in return, Oh, always! That's why we've got wings, and his eyes almost seem to crinkle, though eagles are not very well-known for their expressiveness and up here in the air, the minute look is perhaps lost to the wind - just as they are.

The other eagle's attention hones in on the vast array of green hedges, and it's because of their bird's eye view that they'll easily be able to ascertain where it leads.

Tell me, Deimos, Henry's voice has a knowing and mischievous chime to it, and it seems as if he's ignoring the question altogether, have you ever played 'chicken'? He'd be grinning ambitiously, if he could, though maybe that sentiment can be felt.

At that, his wings sweep downward and carry him down closer. Within the heart of the maze, a roaring fire seems to blaze eternal. Henry's visited this spot a few times in his flights, always to find that the flames still burn. It's not so strange to him, though; Torchline and Halo have similar fires. The purpose of this one, however? It's lost on him, as he circles around and puzzles at it for a moment.

Then, with a spark of invigoration, he swoops down over the eye of the garden. Just close enough that he can feel the heat on the underside of his feathers. Turning on the breeze, he meets Deimos with a challenging glare.
middle of adventure
such a perfect place to start
Deimos Ignatius
the Resurrected Sword
Warden of Halo / Guildmaster

Age: 33 | Height: 6'4" | Race: Hybrid | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 14 - Strg: 72 - Dext: 72 - Endr: 73 - Luck: 80 - Int: 3
BELIAL - Mythical - Peryton (Blend) ZURIEL - Mythical - Unicorn (Healing)
Played by: Heather Offline
Change author:
Posts: 6,559 | Total: 10,652
MP: 9824
#9
DEIMOS
He’d once snagged at his wings for liberation, for freedom, for deliverance – not escape – but perhaps sometimes they intertwined, knotted, and gnarled in amongst themselves. Yes, the beast agreed, the lightest of nods given. In the interim, his companions, one of which was more than eager to follow, hastened onward – Zuriel from down below looking quite irritated, and Belial surging along to meet with the rally of wings. The young peryton didn’t snag at their heights, but meandered and soared, clearly bemused and yearning to join in.

And then there were hedges, barrows, inclinations of a maze structure not too different from the Labyrinth confines back in the Grounds. However, instead of being told what it was, in case Henry was aware, there was only a similar goading back into the forefront. Childish and juvenile, mischief-laden and borne, causing a slight pause in the spanning and scanning of his mind.

Chicken?

Maybe he had played a similar game before (because it was very infantile and daring and bold – and at one point he hadn’t always been the calculating fiend, the stoic monolith). There’d been days and moments where he’d launched off the Spire alongside his friends, wild and untamed, stupid and rebellious, in similar venues.

So only a brief rumble of agreement passed through, and he dove.

The descent was vivid and stark, and something he’d done numerous times before. The wind stoked and roared, bellowing in his ears, and he welcomed every second of its grace and power, extending his speed, his pursuit, with absolute decadence. He didn’t fear fire; not when it scalded his vein and extended through legacies; it emboldened his efforts as the threat of its chord lingered in his plumage.

Only to meet Henry’s stare with his own challenging, piercing glance – content to land upon one of the sturdy, nearby shrubs.
"who's gonna let you?"
they asked. i said
"who's gonna stop me?"
Henry Walker
Advisor

Age: 31 | Height: 5'11" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 2 - Strg: 16 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 15 - Luck: 11 - Int:
Played by: Catalysta Offline
Change author:
Posts: 278 | Total: 1,724
MP: 0
#10
HENRY
a knife twists at the thought that
I should fall short of the mark
Henry circles close by and above Deimos as he watches the other eagle take to the game without hesitance. His eyes are lit with ambitious mirth as he admires the stakes being raised just that much higher. Alright, he announces across the bond, pulling in a resolving breath before Here I go!

Then he's plunging down, towards the flames that lap at the air hungrily. There's a pulse of fear, fear of being singed and forever scalded. It's drowned out quickly by the pumping of his blood as adrenaline is roused within his veins. He tucks his wings in and spirals through the middle of the flames, shooting back out on the other side.

He can feel the smoke clinging to his sleek feathers and he swoops through the air until he's certain he isn't on fire. Lucky, perhaps.

Woohoo! He glides over to Deimos and lands heavy on a branch beside the other attuned. Think you can outdo that? He asks, quirking his head and tilting his beak.
middle of adventure
such a perfect place to start
Deimos Ignatius
the Resurrected Sword
Warden of Halo / Guildmaster

Age: 33 | Height: 6'4" | Race: Hybrid | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 14 - Strg: 72 - Dext: 72 - Endr: 73 - Luck: 80 - Int: 3
BELIAL - Mythical - Peryton (Blend) ZURIEL - Mythical - Unicorn (Healing)
Played by: Heather Offline
Change author:
Posts: 6,559 | Total: 10,652
MP: 9824
#11
DEIMOS
Deimos didn’t fear fire. He probably should’ve, like most manifested beings. But he’d known the element nearly his entire life: his father’s enchantments, brandished and contorted, created and indulgent, were always there, and later on, the beast had developed his own. The surge and rise of an inferno, the decadence in the art of its disastrous wake, fed into his ichor, into his soul, into the potential ruin and demolition. Sometimes it gave more than just conflagration; warmth, guidance, a shelter, a refuge, when everything else seemed too bleak, too cold, too lost.

And now, it was being heralded into a game.

He watched, silent and scrupulous, as Henry opted for a version of trial by flames. The beast could feel the others’ trepidation – an understanding notion – but didn’t feed into it. Instead, he launched those emboldened, audacious properties back, to further spur the fellow eagle on. He may not have needed the rallying point though; a spiral, a shot, through the unwavering flickers, and he was on the other side.

At the goading, the beast rumbled in return; there would’ve been a smirk layered in there, if animals could orchestrate such features. I will try.

And so he did – launching, extending his wings, to follow on the path, to tred further into the gallows, to unfurl his ominous proportions into an echo of things he’d always known. A maddening conviction, when one stopped to think about it – but Deimos had eternally run straight into the fires, rather than permit others to do the same.

Undaunted by the smoke or fumes, he persisted, entangling and unleashing into the venue of heat, pressure, and flares; the gilded and sienna edges of his plumage touching, glorifying, in the haze. There was smoke and there was abyss, but there was the other side too – and he swiftly contorted within all of it, before breathing out of the winding fumes. A moment or two passed, ensuring he too hadn’t been set completely ablaze, spiraling upwards into the sky; and then descending again, a rapid, quick match, awaiting judgment.
"who's gonna let you?"
they asked. i said
"who's gonna stop me?"
Henry Walker
Advisor

Age: 31 | Height: 5'11" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 2 - Strg: 16 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 15 - Luck: 11 - Int:
Played by: Catalysta Offline
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Posts: 278 | Total: 1,724
MP: 0
#12
HENRY
a knife twists at the thought that
I should fall short of the mark
Perhaps the rallying was needed. Perhaps it goaded him onward, gave him the strength to put on such a tremendous show of bravery. Indeed, it spurred him on to descend upon the flames like the predator that he is, and to seek the victory of great heights thereafter - ensuring his own feathers had not caught fire.

Of course he goads; he is proud of himself and the eagle is ever-prouder. He had felt hesitation and fear, and had embarked through it. Perhaps that wouldn't be the last time he performed such a feat...

His fiercely golden eyes watch as Deimos took once more to the air, a spirit within his movements that spoke of things Henry couldn't understand - all the more, he wishes he could. So, as the beast moves straight into the heat, Henry sends him waves of cheer and excitement. He didn't need the encouragement that Henry had, and so he could have all of the support instead. Which, in a way, is its own encouragement.

As the other eagle returns, Henry gives him a ceremonious honk - for sea eagles are not capable of the cries and songs that other birds are. There is something humorous about the sound, but nevertheless he isn't shy to make it.

I don't think I can go again on my own, he warns, seceding the victory of the game to the other, but- ah! Together! Let's go one more time, together! His wings stir at the notion, eager and thrilled. So long as Deimos is in this with him, he'll take back to the flames and - damn it all - let them catch his wings ablaze if they must!
middle of adventure
such a perfect place to start
Deimos Ignatius
the Resurrected Sword
Warden of Halo / Guildmaster

Age: 33 | Height: 6'4" | Race: Hybrid | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 14 - Strg: 72 - Dext: 72 - Endr: 73 - Luck: 80 - Int: 3
BELIAL - Mythical - Peryton (Blend) ZURIEL - Mythical - Unicorn (Healing)
Played by: Heather Offline
Change author:
Posts: 6,559 | Total: 10,652
MP: 9824
#13
DEIMOS
The ceremonial honk left him stupefied and startled for a moment, before a rumble of deep laughter coaxed through the bond, incapable of being stopped. Chuckles of relief, maybe, that they were alive and breathing and not singed into cinders, coals, and embers, not fuel for the fire below. He shook his head thereafter, striving to reel and rein himself back in, to not adorn the moment in ill-fitting humor. Not with so much goading left.

The beast tilted his head at the nuances of returning to the inferno. Daring and bold and audacious again, to think they could flicker and linger back through with another chance, another opportunity, fortunate, lucky, and true. Deimos’ prosperity had never been with him long, and something chilled in the fiber of his bones: intuition, most likely, telling him he’d done enough for the day.

But he wouldn’t let the flames scorch anyone, alone.

Fine. And then will you tell me what this place is for? Wings lifting him back up again, into the air, streamlining down, to match and wait for the other eagle, for wind dispositions to align, so they could muster back through the flickering beams, so they could attempt their glory for another round.
"who's gonna let you?"
they asked. i said
"who's gonna stop me?"
Henry Walker
Advisor

Age: 31 | Height: 5'11" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 2 - Strg: 16 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 15 - Luck: 11 - Int:
Played by: Catalysta Offline
Change author:
Posts: 278 | Total: 1,724
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#14
HENRY
a knife twists at the thought that
I should fall short of the mark
Henry casts a side-eyed glance across at Deimos, when all the humor fades and becomes replaced by notions of comradery - no matter how temporary. There's a warmth Henry feels that's not brought on by the fire, but by something deeper within. He's longed for these feelings again, and he's happy that he can still find them after all that's happened in his life. Even though the places and people he's found them within are... usually unexpected.

The truth is, Deimos... he shifts to look more fully at the other eagle. But he trails off instead of finishing his point, and his wings take flight for one last venture through the fumes. His gaze points sharply towards the fire, and this time, with Deimos beside him, he feels no hesitations. His movement is bold and, just as they descend upon the Eye, he cries across the bond with a bright chuckle, I don't rightly know!

And he doesn't, not really. Or maybe he does, and he's just being fecetious. Would it matter, that they've cleansed themselves with flames? It probably won't be the last time. Not for Deimos, anyway, made of it as he is.

When they part ways, Henry will wish the other Attuned safe travels, and thank him for joining him. He might make some comment about how it feels as though this was less of an escape and more of a confrontation. A facing of fears, and so... Henry leaves Deimos with a sense of greater accomplishment than he'd even hoped.



fin!<3 ilu Heather
middle of adventure
such a perfect place to start


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