#Raven!Elijah

[crimsonlyinglilly]

Beartrap

Hi unplanned return to Hollow Bones with thanks to @febuwhump febuspecial DAY 2: body modification and DAY 3: bear trap

takes place after Escape Flight and before Found

---

Elijah knows he shouldn’t be doing this; the ghost of mothers words haunt him.

Clean yourself.

Be clean and no one will know the monster

But that’s long gone, the monster he was, was clear to all that saw him as blood dripped from him, there was no clearing his mess.

Even now he knew his suits were useless to hide it, after all, how exactly was he going to hide the white feathered additions to his person with tailor fabric.

White had alway been a pain to clear blood from but at least the feathers- his feathers seem easier to clean off it.

His wings in question ache with every pulse of blood, stiff from the breaks he can’t fix and the only thing numbing them, these strange limbs that shouldn’t be his but were and the instincts that came with them, was hunger.

For centuries he had smothered the full extent of his blood lust refusing to give him to the blood baths he wanted to indulge in, he couldn’t manage his siblings if he fell as far and then eventually the countless innocents would weigh on him, these weren’t innocents.

The only thing keeping him decent was the stolen pants from the first hunter he had found.

Hunters in the bayou, a threat to Hayley and her pack, a perfect excuse to stop holding back.

The newest pack of hunters had arrived this morning and had split up, leaving Elijah forced to keep his attention on all of them to make sure they didn’t venture too close to any of the dens the crescent pack had been hiding.

Elijah had already failed twice, and arrived too late to save a wolf he would prefer not to fail again.

Since he arrived he had noticed the pattern as the hunters appeared to lay traps during the day and return at night with guns, sadly they had yet to work out guns were useless against him nor that he had been letting them come and go during the day to get more information.

So far he had gotten little besides the fact they had been sent by Kingmaker Land Development Inc. which had cause him to discover the witches in the lab had managed to mess with his memories as he found the name familiar but when he had tries to think back he realised more his memories of his time a blur of emotions but no solid memories.

He remembered what their plans had been and the earliest time of his captivity but much after his wings had appeared was muddled.

More of a reason to go to Freya to see if his sister could clear it up but he couldn’t risk leaving the bayou to the hunters. He could-should call her but the few times he had tried with a phone pick up from one of the corpses he was littering the area with his hands had frozen.

So he was going to stay and indulge in his bloodlust until the full moon and he could find Hayley and whoever was bringing Hope to see her, and they had better kept that up since his adoption or he would be having words.

He frowned as he once again found himself distracted by clearing dried blood from the-his neck feathers, it was a little too easy to fall into a mild trance when preening, another way his control had been taken from him.

He felt his teeth sharpen from the rage he was failing to calm, he took a breath and closed his eyes to enjoy the unfiltered sunlight on his skin.

The sole positive of this whole mess so far, a millennia since he had been free to feel it without the danger of burning and now he could, it was calming.

“Fucking mangy mutts.” a low voice carried to him from supernatural hearing shattering his short lived peace.

Hayley and her pack, those that had been trying to protect Hope, left vulnerable because of Klaus’ spite and Dahlia, collateral damage like Gia.

Elijah, it seemed, was done giving them the days free of his hunting, he was gaining little information and surely the sooner he finished all the pawns, then those playing the game would have to make an appearance.

He moved from branch to branch, going almost silently through the tree as he went for his first target when he spotted it, the perfect way to get them to come to him and without hesitation dropped from the trees to land on a bear trap.

Letting out an honest howl of pain, even as he bent down to rip the thing apart, fragile bones under feathers or not he was still a vampire with hands unlike the poor wolves these things were hunting.

The damage to his leg was healed completely by the time the first hunter arrived clearing, the sounds of the rest following to converge here.

The first hunter died without letting out a scream, dead before he even knew it, Elijah looked up to meet the eyes of the next still licking blood from his lips.

Those that followed were not so fortunate.

[dcvina-claires]

i love it when a piece of media is like: is there anything more painful than knowing your sibling? is there anything more tragic than knowing they are the only person who will ever share the same experience as you? they were the only constant in your life. they were there since birth and now, no matter how they betray you, you will still love them. you will always feel the need to protect them even if you can no longer bring yourself to talk to them. will anyone else be able to understand? will anybody be able to love you and hate you and fear you the same way a sibling loves you and hates you and fears you? no, probably not

[lesbianfakir]

Mytho fans id like to issue a formal apology. I realized I, too, know how it feels to have your special little guy mischaracterized and trampled over by his own damn media and now everyone hates him but YOU understand you understand him and they’re wrong they’re all wrong and also there’s this other guy everyone insists is better like it’s a competition and it’s really annoying and you just want everyone to see your pookie bear the way you see him. I understand. I’ve always understood. I am a better man now.

[cadrenebula]

We Meet Again

Ronove sighed as he ran his hand over the top of his head. Naturally he’d also forgotten he now had fuzzy ears up there. Getting used to the homunculus was still a work in progress with some areas. At least he’d gotten the movements down enough. He could successfully pass the homunculus off as a living body now.

Of course this fake body had the added benefit of being adjustable. Plus he’d picked to make it look like a viera male. Over his year avoiding the void hunters and taking time to think, he’d done a little research into the races he was less familiar with without his old memories. Viera had seemed to be the best candidate since they seemed to have naturally long life spans. No one would think twice to see a viera that never seemed to age. If this form did fall under suspicion, he could just change it up. Though he would probably ask for Fen’s help with doing so. Just to make sure he didn’t mess it up. This was his first homunculus after all. But at least now he’d be less noticeable to the void hunters.

The toys Stefan had spelled to allow him to hide in hadn’t really been spelled against detection by void hunters. Ronove tucked the toy back into his clothes where he always kept it when he wasn’t using it. Even with the homunculus, he wasn’t leaving the toy behind. He’d grown attached to having the little bat to hide in. It did give him the freedom of flight as well as navigating smaller spaces. Naturally he still had the little cloaked doll back at Ely’s apartment even if he rarely used it now that he had the bat.

Ronove looked up as he began to walk now that the bat was safely tucked away. His footsteps halted as he heard a familiar voice talking to someone. But the voice didn’t come from the face he expected to see. The troupe member he wasn’t familiar with walked off and the viera man turned to face him. 

The hair was styled differently. Fluffy viera ears topped their head. But… Ronove recognized those blue eyes that stared back at him as much as he knew that voice. He hadn’t missed that flicker of hurt that passed over the other man’s expression as they looked away from him. It had been roughly a year since they’d last parted ways. Not under the best of terms. Ronove had been angry and hurt. They’d both been hurt. That year suddenly felt like an eternity.

“Elijah…” Ronove frowned as he put his hand on his hip to avoid reaching out to the other man.

“Apologies. I wasn’t intending to run into you. I’ll head the other way. Have a good day, Ronove.” Elijah apologized as he looked anywhere but at Ronove.

Ronove felt like his heart was being squeezed. They’d hurt each other enough. Even if neither had meant to do so. Some of his memories had come back over that long year apart. Not all of them but enough of them. Mistakes were made on both sides. One thing was for certain, Ronove wanted to see if they could keep some part of what they were before. Even if things wouldn’t be entirely the same.

Not giving Elijah a chance to run away, Ronove closed the gap between them and grabbed a hold of Eli’s arm. Eli looked at him in shock as he finally met Ronove’s golden eyes. Ronove pulled Eli close, foreheads nearly touching as he reached a hand up to lightly touch Eli’s cheek.

“I don’t want this. I don’t want you to leave.” Ronove responded thickly as he caressed his fingers against that cheek. “I don’t know if we can be exactly as we were before but I… If you want to try again… I don’t want to lose you again…”

“Ronove…” Eli blinked back tears as he rested his hand against Ronove’s arm that was raised to touch him. “I don’t want to leave either. I’m still so very sorry and I miss you so much. I never meant to hurt you like I did… I don’t deserve this chance…”

“Just tell me you want this…” Ronove whispered as his lips hovered near Eli’s. Waiting for permission. “Just stay with me and we’ll figure out if it meant to be or not. Just… Stay please…”

Eli couldn’t stop the tears that fell down his cheeks as he nodded his head slightly. “I want this too… Even if you deserve more than a ghost in a false body.”

“We both deserve more than fate has handed us.” Ronove gently wiped away the tears on Eli’s cheeks. “But we’re with the troupe now. We’ve got years to figure things out. To find something better for us. Also… Don’t tell me what I deserve. What I deserve is the love of the man I fell for back in Mhach. The man I sacrificed my mortality to try and save. Or at least I deserve that chance to see if we can save something of that love that once was.”

“Ronove…” Eli was about to suggest again what was deserved and wasn’t but instead shut his mouth as he nodded. They could argue forever about what was and wasn’t deserved. But this chance between them wouldn’t exist forever if it was shut down now. It had been a year since they had parted with the understanding that they may or may not be over. Here Ronove was offering him another chance. A chance for things to be different and yet the same between them. A chance to learn who Ronove was now that he was no longer Jesse. “I’d like that…”

“Good.” Ronove smiled softly before closing the small distance between their lips to kiss Elijah tenderly. “Help me remember.”

“Always, my dearly beloved.”

[archives-of-genevieve]

InStyle Magazine | March 2011

Pages 225 - 228

"So, what's your poison tonight?" "Meat." - Tina Fey

[artandthebible]

Elijah Fed by the Raven

Artist: Giovanni Girolamo Savoldo (Italian, c. 1480-1548 or after)

Date: c. 1510

Medium: Oil on panel transferred to canvas

Collection: National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, United States

Description

This painting of Elijah Fed by the Raven is taken primarily from 1 Kings 17, but other moments are also superimposed. In the upper right-hand corner you can see a raven feeding Elijah, as commanded by God, during the drought God was imposing to demonstrate to the people that their false Baal worship would not bring them the bounty they desired. The huge black bird seems to have a chunk of bread or a roll in its beak for the prophet.

Opposite the raven, in the upper left of the painting, you can glimpse a scene from the end of the Elijah adventures: Elijah's translation to heaven in a chariot of fire with horses of fire (2 Kings 2). Elijah's blessing of perpetual presence with God is an early pointer to God's power and plan eventually to defeat the forces of death and Sheol that fight to separate us from God and the community of faith.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Elijah is Fed by Ravens

2 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, 3 Get thee from here {hence}, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, which is before the Jordan. 4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. 5 So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD; for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, which is before the Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. — 1 Kings 17:2-6 | King James Bible: Purple Letter Edition (KJBP) The King James Bible: Purple Letter Edition © 2009 by Jim Musser. All rights Reserved. Cross References: 1 Kings 17:1; 1 Kings 17:7; 1 Kings 17:9; Jeremiah 36:19; Jeremiah 37:21

Read full chapter

Commentary on 1 Kings 17 by Matthew Henry

[secondgenerationnerd]

Do the Logan twins wear gems on their temple like their mom?

Well, it’s a chakra like gem used to contain her inner demon. I don’t think it’s as permanent as hers is, but she uses something like it when teaching them how to control their powers.

I do like the idea that one of them has a demon form like Raven and the other has a beast form, like that episode of TT03

[kinglyisms]

Ship tags.

♚ — ( connections ; worldlydiversity ) you touch me and suddenly there’s flowers on my heart ► Luka ❤︎ Hanabusa. ♚ — ( connections ; mundanemiseries ) my soul has loved you since the beginning ► Elijah ❤︎ Raven. ♚ — ( connections ; ensxrcelled ) i may not be everything you want ; but i can give you all i have ► Luka ❤︎ Rikuto. ♚ — ( connections ; ebresos ) if you stay just a little that’s enough ► Casimir ❤︎ Eluin.

[redemptivexheroics]

Continued [X] @xinthesewallsx​

Raven smiled. “They have, I was wonder when the gods would bless me with maturity, took their sweet time on that” she commented. “Seeing as you and your brother are the only ones I will allow to call me ‘bean’ I guess I can stick that nick name” she teased.

[crimsonlyinglilly]

Day 23: feral / possession / fate

Day 23 for @augustofwhump.

also for Randowhump's Birthday Whump Event for Prompt 4

Back to Hollow Bones - Elijah goes missing while looking for a cure to the crescent curse and ends with him a few changes of his own.

Jackson goes looking for someone he finds someone else.

Follow on from this

—--

Jackson wasn’t having a great night, he had transformed after being unable to find Hayley and before he could go looking for her, he got reports of new attacks on his packs.

He had noticed the increase in smell of blood throughout the Bayou for the last week, he had separated from Hayley to check it out; he found three dead wolves, three people of his pack forever stuck in animal shape.

But for every dead of his there was a trail of human corpses, hunters, proving none of his people had been taken as trophies.

He managed to find survivors and learnt that there would have been more deaths if something hadn’t been helping them, something faster than they were, but by the time any of the wolves that retreated had returned all that was left was dead hunters. Those that had stayed to fight could only tell him the hunters vanished with a pale blur even for their eyes and the smell of blood and feathers.

So that had left him, instead of looking for his missing wife who hadn’t met him before the full moon, following an impressive trail of bodies. The hunters it seemed had arrived in full force the day before the full moon and yet whatever was killing them hadn’t slowed down. 

The lack of claw marks compared to the many throats torn out and holes where their hearts should be were leading Jackson that it was likely a vampire but if it was one, they were feral given by the aggression, bodies thrown and scattered about as they were.

Everybody had been fed from from, one of the men had been impaled on a tree branch by the force of a throw and fed from after.

A small part wondered if it was Klaus but that man had no reason to bother with saving any of the pack he cursed and he would know which of them was Hayley if he felt a need to protect the mother of his daughter.

This was rage and hunger.

He finally caught the sounds of conflict and moved faster in that direction.

He arrived at the tail end of a scream as it was choked off. In the middle of a new collection of bodies stood a man, a blooded white sheet hanging off his back as he lifted another grown man close enough to feed from his throat.

Definitely a vampire even if something was off with how he smelt.

He made a noise as he landed behind the man and he turned to him, red eyes faded back to brown.

Jackson blinked.

And blinked again, doubting his eyes as well as his sense of scent and hearing.

Because that was the missing Elijah Mikaelson.

Face and chest covered in blood, but despite the blood he didn’t smell nearly as much of a blood sucking vampire as he should and as much as he wanted to believe the tattered white hanging from his back was a coat of some kind, it smelt, sounded and looked like a pair of white wings.

Large wings as he quickly calculated, they had to be over half of Elijah’s body weight, not large enough to fly with them but close.

“Jackson?” Elijah called, bringing his attention from the impossible pair of wings hanging oddly behind him to the feathers that also wrapped around his neck from his collar bone to behind his ears. He realised they likely stopped at his hairline at the base of his neck.

“What the hell?” the words escaped him before he could stop them but as he thought on it again there weren't any other words that fit.

“Where’s Hayley?” Elijah asked, ensuring it was definitely the older Mikaelson 

“How’d you get wings?” He replied in return because he didn't have an answer to Elijah’s question and he was sure that would be his wife's first concern. 

He had come to terms with her feelings for the other man as he had watched her concern for him grow over the last two months even trapped in wolf form. Besides, the man had tried to help them escape with Hope, putting her before his brother and had vanished while trying to find a way to fix the curse. 

Even if it was only for Hayley, he owed him a little at least and he owed him more as he realised the strange white blur that had been protecting his pack and hunting the hunters was him.

“I don’t remember.” Elijah admitted forcing Jackson’s thoughts to stop’

“How don’t you remember that?” he snapped, how could a person not remember how they got feathers and wings.

“There was a lab and witches,” Elijah forced out, dropping the corpse as he started to wipe the blood from his face, a bit uselessly as his hands were just as covered as his face and Jackson realised he was bare other than the pants that matched the same the hunter’s wore, “everything else is a blur.”

“Witches- someone was able to mess with your mind?” he questioned as unease grew, someone was powerful enough to not only catch and hold an Original but they had managed to experiment and interfere with his mind.

If someone was going after the Originals they were a threat to Hope and Hayley.

“It would seem.” Elijah said tightly, staring at his hands and he seemed to realise the futility of it. Jackson ignored the strangeness of Elijah Mikaelson without his suit, “I believed the spell was tied to the one that broke my wings when I turned back.” he added.

“Turned back?” he asked, and pushed the fact Elijah seemed smaller to the fact he was seemingly dwarfed by the new additions on his back.

“I flew here, as a raven,” Elijah explained, “Transforming was the only way I could escape.”

Which explained why Elijah Mikaelson was appearly wearing the pants of one of his victims, not that Jackson really cared for them; they were threats to his pack, he owed Elijah for their deaths.

“How long ago was that?”

“Six days.” Elijah told him before he repeated his earlier question. “Where’s Hayley?”

So Elijah had been hunting the hunters from the moment he arrived here, was it luck at the timing or had the hunters been sent because Elijah had escaped here?

He ignored that thought quickly because if they had been hunting for Elijah they wouldn’t have been prepared for his pack.

“I don't know,” he sighed, some part of him had been hoping she would suddenly appear while they were talking, “She was gone when I transformed back, I was going to go looking for her but ended up following your trail of bodies.” he answered.

“And Hope?”

“Your sister had been bringing Hope.” he explained, Freya had taken Elijah’s task of looking after Hope and bringing her, her concern over Elijah matching Hayley’s, although she didn’t share Hayley’s, and his own suspicions, that Klaus was behind the one Elijah disappearance. “when she hasn’t been looking for you.” he added, Elijah’s blank expression shifted into a deep frown suddenly.

“I- ” Elijah started before swearing to himself in frustration as he brought his hand up to his head.

“Elijah?” he called, reminding himself Hayley would be pissed at him if he found Elijah and still let something happen to him, when they reunited, as much as he wanted to focus on her, Hayley could look out for herself for the moment.

Elijah had been missing for months, returned changed and while he had been protecting Jackson’s pack there was something off about him to Jackson’s scream instincts.

“There was something i should remember but i can’t-” Elijah started before his voice trailed off, a left over from whatever the witches had done to his memories apparently.

 “We should go meet them at the cabin.” he offered, if it was a witch's work Freya likely was their best bet and from what Jackson had seen of her he doubted she would take the news of other witches interfering with her missing little brother well.

He still had the faint hope he would find Hayley there with her little girl, safe and sound.

“There aren’t any other hunters left.” Elijah told him as he nodded.

Elijah started to walk towards him but was unable to hide a wince as Jackson noticed how stiffly the wings moved.

“Your wings are broken.” he realised, the thing that had been screaming at him besides that Elijah didn’t smell as much of a vampire as he should, the wings were being held wrong.

“I know.” Elijah snapped, before taking a breath “I can’t reach those breaks to break them again.”

“What?”

“My original landing was far less than graceful,” Elijah explained, “I wasn’t fully aware of changing back into his shape but as soon as I had the witches spell activated. My healing meant my wings healed before I could straighten them.”

“And healed wrong.” he finished for him. 

“I rebroke the breaks I could reach.” Elijah told him to make Jackson wince because that had to hurt.

“How many?” he asked.

“I wasn’t counting.” Elijah told him flatly,

“You want me to do the last ones?” he offered.

“You know what you're doing?” Elijah said with oblivious doubt.

“I can tell a break healed wrong, thank you.” he snapped.

“They’re not exactly normal limbs.” Elijah replied, making Jackson freeze for a moment as he noticed the discomfort in his voice, a clear sign Elijah wasn’t as accepting of his new changes as he had been trying to show for it to appear past his normally perfect confident mask.

Then again he supposed a thousand years is a bit old to adapt to new limbs and the ability to shape shift.

“I had an interest in birds as a kid.” he offered in reassurance, as he stepped around Elijah to get a better reach of the wings, it wasn’t any less surreal when his hand touched silky soft feathers.

They weren’t any different from a natural bird's wings other than the fact they were much larger, the flight feathers were likely longer than his arms, but he ignored them to find the bones beneath them.

“As did I,” Elijah shared dryly “but this wasn’t how I-” his breath hitched as Jackson’s hand brushed feathers aside to find the first knot of broken bone under thin skin, “expected to see- them up close.”

“You can feel all of these.” he asked about the feathers, as he moved on to the next knot, better to find all the breaks first.

“Yes.” Elijah hissed, but remained still under his hand.

The air was silent for a bit as Jackson worked though both wings, three breaks on the right and two on the left, both were as Elijah said out of reach for him to be able to reach himself with enough movability to break them without making them worse.

“It’s going to hurt.” he warned as he moved back to the first, deciding to go from wing to wing to give each a break to heal before he had to damage them again.

“They haven’t stopped since I landed.” Elijah snapped growing tense under his hands.

“How long ago was that?” He repeated his question without any interest in the answer, pulling his hands a way for the moment to cause Elijah to relax slightly.

“Six d-” Jackson snapped the first break suddenly, cutting Elijah's words off as the man choked on a scream while holding the fragile bone carefully straight to heal correctly.

“That’s one.” he said, “four to go,” he doubted distraction would work again as he moved to the other wing to find the next break quickly.

“Joy.” came the sardonic reply through gritted teeth and Jackson ignored the shudder he felt under his hands.

[mothinashes]

my guys that i love x))) going to post more about them, but its all a ttlotfk inspired post-apocalyptic universe based entirely off an anarchist group and 3 brothers!! i will LOVE to use tumblr to write about them :)) maybe someone will come across them and think theyre cool

TW FOR NEXT IMAGES: 4mput4t10n, bl00d, implied 1nj3ct10n, h34dsh0t, being held at gunp01nt, just general vent art

[hiphopvibe1]

Jameis Winston quotes Eminem after Browns victory, fans react [VIDEO]

“You Only Get One Shot”: Jameis Winston Channels Eminem After Browns Win Continue reading Jameis Winston quotes Eminem after Browns victory, fans react [VIDEO]

[cadrenebula]

Unforgiven

(This was supposed to take place before the holidays in 2023. I just happened to write it this month. Yeah 2024 wasn't my year in getting much done. There will be a more updated piece for this past holiday season soon.)

Ronove took a deep breath. A part of him didn't want to turn around. Fen had left them alone as he had wanted. The others of the group had moved along. Now it was just Elijah and himself. Alone. Ronove had wanted this but at the same time he didn't as he looked at the anima lamp he was holding.

Where to start? He had so many emotions over everything that had happened. Over everything that he had learned. The truth of everything between them.

Carefully he placed the lamp down nearby. He didn't trust himself holding it. Damaging it when it wasn't his didn't seem like a very nice thing to do. What they needed to talk about was emotional and he didn't trust himself not to do something to the lamp, even accidentally. Even if it could be replaced. That wasn't the point of this talk.

He took a shaky breath as he closed his eyes and tipped his head back. He could delay this all he wanted but it was a talk they needed. It was emotions he needed to deal with. Even if he didn't have the memories of his past self. Eli was waiting patiently for him to be ready. Waiting wasn't a pressure since both of them technically had forever to deal with this. But Ronove knew his own feelings on this needed to be dealt with.

Elijah knew it wouldn't do him any good to push this. He'd already offered apologies. There wasn't anything he could fix. Right now he just simply waited to hear his fate. Would he be staying or moving on after Alberich was dealt with? He would let Ronove decide that fate. His hands itched to reach out to his former partner. But he kept his hands clasped in front of him. Waiting. Waiting was something he'd gotten very good at over the two thousand some years since their tragedy together.

Gold eyes finally turned to meet blue. A long tense moment of silence between them. Both faces carefully blank and their eyes searched each other for answers they wouldn't easily find.

It felt like memories were at the edges of his fingertips as he stared at Elijah. Felt like he could feel the beat of a musical rhythm. Something forgotten stirring inside of him. His heart felt like it was being squeezed as he stared at Eli. Part of him wanted to cup Eli's cheek.

Instead his hand met the wall beside Eli's head as he snarled softly. But Eli didn't flinch from the action. The other merely looked away, crestfallen. Somehow that reaction hurt more than expected. Ronove blinked in surprise before he scowled again, leaning in closer to Eli's face. Waiting till the other finally looked back up at him.

“I don't forgive you for what you've done. You might have thought it was the best you could do. But you never considered MY feelings, Eli! You never considered how I would feel. You never considered how much I would suffer. I was doomed with or without my memories. But I might have fought harder to get back to the Troupe if you hadn't taken that away from me too. Fen might have been able to help us.”

“I know... I can't undo what I have done. I can only apologize for it. I can only wish you hadn't suffered for my mistakes. I had no true knowledge on just how powerful Fen might be. Or that there was enough skill among the Troupe to possibly stand against Alberich or the Vanguard. I had no way of knowing. I don't expect you to forgive and forget. I would never ask that of you, Ronove.” Eli sighed heavily as he closed his eyes against the tears he felt welling up inside of him. The only thing they had ever fought about had been leaving Mhach. But that wasn't the same. It wasn't full of hurt feelings and sadness. It wasn't attached to thousands of years of suffering. “I didn't want to risk the Troupe's safety against the Vanguard...”

Ronove scowled. He knew Elijah was right. He could feel it more than remember it. How much would he have been willing to tell about the Troupe? Probably not as much as he would have needed. Not as much as Eli would have needed to make a better choice. Ronove was silent for the moment as he digested this truth.

“If you never want to see me again once Alberich is gone... I'll move on. I know we might never be what we once were... We're not the same people anymore.” Eli didn't want to say Ronove wasn't Jesse anymore. It didn't feel right because some parts of Jesse might still remain. Eli knew he hadn't changed much himself. It was hard to change much when trapped in one place with no one who could hear him. “You don't have to decide now though. I'll remain here till you decide. Or at least till Alberich is gone. So that I know future Vanguard are safe. I'll stay for now because what I know might be useful.”

His throat felt choked with emotions as Ronove stared down at Eli's now opened eyes. He could see the tears that were being held back. The other wasn't going to cry. Not in front of Ronove. Eli wasn't going to use tears to try and sway Ronove's decision. They had both suffered much in the things that had happened. Elijah had to helplessly watch while Ronove suffered terribly. But most of his suffering had been more physical than Eli's.

His heart hurt so much as he moved to rest his forehead against Eli's. “I don't forgive you. Not right now... Maybe not ever...” His voice was choked. “I don't know what I want right now.” His heart wanted Elijah. He wanted to hug the shorter man tight and not let go. It was probably the parts of him that were still Jesse. He could remember the feel of their hands joined. “But.... I don't want you gone. That is your choice, not mine.” Now his hand did caress over Eli's cheek as he felt his own were warm with tears. “I don't forgive you... But I don't hate you... I just... Need time...”

Eli sniffled as he reached a hand up to gently wipe away the tears on Ronove's cheeks. “We have all the time in the world. The joys of being mostly immortal.” Giving a strangled chuckle as he tried to give a tearful smile to Ronove. “Take all the time you need. I'll be here with the Troupe no matter what you finally decide. And I'll honor that choice. Whatever it might be... Even if it means the end of what used to be between us.”

Ronove moved quickly, tipping Eli's head back enough to kiss him. It was a hard kiss full of mixed emotions. A kiss that was both a goodbye and a 'I still love you'. It didn't last long before Ronove pulled away completely. He scrubbed at his cheeks as he moved to snatch up the anima lamp. Only for Eli's hand to stop him before touching the lamp.

“Could you leave it here? I'd like some time alone please...” Eli offered Ronove a sad smile. “May the gods smile on whatever paths you take, Ronove.”

Ronove nodded as he left Eli alone in the room with the lamp. He resisted the urge to turn around and go back to Eli. They both needed time. Ronove especially. He still needed to figure out who exactly he wanted to be. That wasn't something he was sure he could figure out living in the shadow of his past self. For now Ronove headed to find Fen. He could definitely use a hug right about now.

[judahmaccabees]

You ate meal;

I ate the bread.

You drank water;

I made wine.

I went to Hell,

And returned with Shaddai's blessing.

[lordgodjehovahsway]

1 Kings 17: Elijah Announces To Ahab a Great Drought

1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”

Elijah Fed by Ravens

2 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: 

3 “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. 

4 You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.”

5 So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. 

6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath

7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 

8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 

9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” 

10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 

11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”

12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son.

 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”

15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 

16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 

18 She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”

19 “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 

20 Then he cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” 

21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!”

22 The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. 

23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!”

24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”