#but damn does listening to Deep Stone Lullaby hit hard

[thesulliedone]

I'm way past burnt out on D2 at this point (and given the way Bungie's behaved i'm not exactly inclined to it much either), but I will admit, listening to some of the OST leaves me somewhat melanchloically nostalgic...

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Earth is Space Australia, “Blood of the Gods.”

Humanity humanity is a strange thing, 

She plays with the elements 

Holds hands with the stars

And is rocked to sleep by the fury of nature 

 - Preface from the “Human Enigma” By Dr. Krill 

Rain thundered down from above.

Rivulets of water as large as small waterfalls cascaded over the side of the room and onto the soft-sandy dirt below. The sky above was a deep cloudy grey shot through with veins of white sunshine managed to peek through the cloud cover. Dr Krill poked his head around the side of the door and out onto the porch.

Adam was sitting there in a T-shirt and shorts just on the front step not a few inches away from the cascading water. Little droplets of water had already beaded on his exposed skin.

“What are you doing out here?” Krill wondered stepping onto the porch and raising his voice just to be heard over the cascading water.

“I like watching the rain.” he motioned krill over with a hand, “Come, sit, watch with me.”

Krill was not so sure about all this. He didn’t see the appeal of water falling, but walked over anyway and floated on the step next to the human. Water still continued to pool in great puddles by the side of the house, and the air around them was unusually humid and hot.

The human tilted his head back and took a long deep breath, “Too bad you don’t have a sense of smell doctor.”

“Why?” He looked around, “Water doesn’t usually have a smell.”

“But RAIN does.” He took another deep breath, “Probably one of the best smells in the world…. It's comforting, refreshing, makes you feel like mother nature singing you to sleep with her most beautiful lullaby.”

“Waxing poetic this morning?’

“Days like this do that to me.”

“I thought you would hate the rain.”

The human turned his head to look at Krill frowning, almost as if he was offended by such a suggestion, “What would make you think that?”

“Can’t fly on a day like this.”

The human shook his head, “I COULD it would just be inadvisable. Besides flying and the rain like this are two different things. One is a release, and the other is just…. peaceful .”

Krill turned his head back to the cascading water and the darkening sky above. He supposed it made sense, the white noise mixed with the slight darkness would be enough to put a human to sleep. He had used some of the same principles in medical work to calm agitated humans 

“Some scientists think our love of the smell of rain is an evolutionary response to how important rain is for humans.”

That too made sense. Humans were more than half water.

Adam closed his eyes, “The word for the smell of water is petrichor from the greek roots Petri which means stone and ichor which means blood of the gods.”

“That is… surprisingly poetic.”

“I always thought so.”

The human sighed and lay back onto porch letting the warm water cascade over his bare feet. Krill watched quietly as the human napped peacefully on the wooden planks of the front porch simply listening to the rain.

After a while, the human opened an eye and looked over at him, “There is one other great thing about warm rain.”

Krill sighed and waited for whatever the human was about to do or say that was completely dumb. 

The human smiled at him, and as he waited the smile grew bigger and bigger until the human was grinning fit to burst.

“PUDDLES!” 

Arms raised knees churning, the human raced out into the rain becoming immediately drenched in the torrential downpour. Krill hurried to the edge of the porch in shock and concern and bewildered fascination as the human danced around in the thundering rain.

His clothes were already soaked, his hair was plastered to his head, and water dripped down from his chin in a cascade. 

He whooped with glee as he danced through the rain kicking up water with his feet from the large puddles that had accumulated in the yard. Some of the puddles were so deep they went up over his ankles, but the deeper the puddle the better as the human splaished and frolicked in the rain.

Dr. krill sat back and watched shaking his head as he watched the human playing out in the elements, seeming so happy and carefree as water poured from the sky. Mist rose up around him from the once hot pavement giving the air a sort of hazy quality.

He spun around in a wide circle amrs threw out to either side.

He paused and looked at Krill still standing under the protection of the roof. With one hand he waved him over. His T shirt and short were dark with water and sagged against his frame, sticking to his chest and legs, “Come on, its fun.”

Krill shook his head, “I think Observation is enough to sate my curiosity.”

“Oh come on Dr. Water wont kill you, and besides, there is no better way to learn than from experience.”

“I don’t think so.”

The human shook his head and trotted up the sidewalk. Krill tried to back away, but a hand passed through the torrent of water from the roof -- now spilling over the gutters-- and dragged him into the rain.

Krill was suddenly doused with a cascade of warm water that had him sputtering before he came out the other side.

Rain roared down from above spattering against his skin and rolling off his antenna.

It was surprisingly warm as it pooled around his feet.

The human tugged him along as he danced through the puddles sending waves of contaminated water up against krill’s chest.

The human tilted his head back, arms held out to either side allowing the rain to fall onto his exposed face.

Krill watched him for the longest time before finally tilting his head back allowing the rain to roll down over his face. Then, with some trepidation he held his arms out to either side.

The sensation was surprising. He suddenly felt as if he was falling upwards into the sky. Warm water trickled down his body and his mind stilled a bit as the rhythm of the rain took over. Rivulets of water ran from his hands and arms and off his legs onto the water beneath.

Beside him, the human was doing the same.

They were close to the porch now still looking up at the deafening sky.

Krill turned to look over at the human still playing in the puddles when he suddenly stopped and grew very still. Krill saw his eyes go wide as, around them, a sudden buzzing seemed to fill the air. It even began filtering in over his radio receptors.

The hairs on the human’s arms were standing up despite the rain.

Krill didn’t have time to react as suddenly the human launched forward tackling him back onto the porch, through a runnel of water. They hit the deck hard, rolling over the damp wood and onto the dry patch just beside the wall of the house. Krill yelped in surprise and pain ready to yell at the human for his strange behavior.

But the human had his ears covered and eyes shut.

Krill had no time to react as he was suddenly blinded by a horrific bolt of light so blinding it took up his entire vision, and then a massive repeating explosion that sent shockwaves through the air around them. The ground shook and sparks flew in every direction as the massive sound rubbled away into nothing leaving him dazed, blinded and reeling.

The human sat up from where he had landed on the deck.

“Hot damn! That was close.”

Krill turned his head to glower at the human as another distant bolt of lightning cut across the sky.

“What was that!”

“That my friend was a lightning strike.”

“A LIGHTNING STRIKE! A lightning strike! You mean to say you brought me out during an electrical storm! You wanted to play in the WATER during an ELECTRICAL STORM! I cannot believe you!”

“Hold on, now in my defence I didn’t KNOW it was an electrical storm.”

“Well you were WRONG and we almost DIED.”

“You were enjoying it before earth decided to be a bitch.”

Krill turned in an exasperated and panicked circle, “Is this something that you humans do a lot! Like intentionally go out into electrical storms and dance in the PUDDLES.”

The human shrugged, “Getting struck by lightning is a very rare occurrence, and I had no idea that one was coming to visit.”

“This planet with all of your unchecked electricity running rampant!”

“Well what do you want me to do, control the weather! Harness the elements, krill?”

Krill waved his hands over his head, “I am going inside. I should never have trusted your judgement about earth weather. Electrical storms! Honestly!” He turned around and marched inside, followed by the human a few moments later dripping wet and rolling his eyes just slightly.

Off in the distance, another crackle of lightning lit up the interior of the room sending a rumble through the ground. Krill toweled off while the human went to change his close.

The room darkneened, and suddenly there was another horrific flash of light and thunderous eruption. All the lights went out and krill squealed in shock hiding behind the couch as hail began pelting the windows now darkened.

Another crack of lightning sent stark white light to illuminate the front room before plunging them into blackness.

The hail grew heavier,

Krill curled up in the corner.

A light flicked on somewhere in the distance, and he looked up to find Adam walking down the hall spinning a little lever on a flashlight which grew brighter with every rotation of the elver.

“Pretty cool huh!”

“COOL IT JUST TOOK OUT THE POWER. WE ARE GOING TO DIE.” 

“Calm down and take a chill pill my four legged friend. IT does this all the time, probably just hit a transformer or something. The power will be back on soon.” He set the flashlight down on the table beside Krill and went scrounging around in a nearby drawer, “We will be safe just as long as we stay away from the pipes and outlets if we can.”

He withdrew a small box, reaching inside and striking a small wooden stick against the outside of the box. There was a sudden flare of fire the stick sparked to life. Krill leaped back as the human held the little fire stick between his fingers, reaching into the drawer and lighting a string protruding from a block of wax. He set the block on a dish and then out on the table.

The flame flickered and cast orange light around the room as he walked over to sit next to krill leaning his head back, “That was always one of my favorite sounds.’

“What?” Kril Asked still staring at the open flame the human had left unattended on the table 

“Thunder”

Krill glowered at him, “you like the sound of eminent destruction.”

He shrugged, “I don't know what to tell you. Its Calming.”

Kril was about to explode on the human about how NOT comforting the sound of thunder was when he raised a hand to silence him, “Well not when its right next to my head, but from a distance it is so…. remote , beautiful, and powerful. Lightning and thunder are the greatest unchecked power of nature, the bolts of which can burn hotter than the surface of the sun. He stood, walking over to a chair not far away and retrieving a blanket which he wrapped around himself before coming to sit back down, throwing his legs up on the couch as he leaned his head back to rest against a pillow.

He almost looked sleepy as the rain intensified.

Waffles walked over and jumped up to lay with him resting her head atop his chest with a soft grumble.

Krill stared at the both of them in near horror.

How was this ok?

Outside the window just before them, distant bolts of lightning cut purple and blue branches across the sky. In a way it reminded krill of human veins and arteries. As the candle flickered on the table, Krill’s mind was brought back to the word petrichor. Rock and the blood of the gods. In a surprisingly human turn of thought he mused at how the forks of lightning were like the veins of those gods that brought the rain leaving the human body a distant echo of something much greater.

He turned his head to the side, where the human now lay sleeping, wrapped like some kind of strange burrito with his head sticking out of one end and his feet sticking out the other.

Topped with a dog.

Krill sighed and rested in the darkness continuing to watch the storm as it passed overhead.

Beside him, the human hummed gently in his sleep once or twice.

Rocked to sleep by mother nature.

[anotherdayforchaosfay]

Ghanima Music Drabbles

This is a warm-up I like to do. Here are the rules:

One fic per song.

You write that fic only while the song is playing

When the song ends, so does the story.

You cannot edit while writing the fic, only after all the songs are done.

Do at least 10 songs, at any length.

I did this for Ghanima so I can share more of her. Music is from Pan’s Labyrinth OST, a total of 21 songs and 21 fics. Not sorry if I make you cry.

You can read this on AO3

Song: Long, Long Time Ago 2:11  

She remembered her mother’s humming. Late at night, when she was cold and alone, she could hear it as though her mother were still holding her. The song put her to sleep within a minute, as she  was rocked in her mother’s arms. She couldn’t remember her face very well, but her eyes. She remembered those eyes looking into hers as she fell asleep. Blue as the sea, deep and bright in the dark of the night. She would  look into   them and see her own as she fell asleep to her song. So long ago...so  very long ago.  

Song: The Labyrinth 4:07  

Along in the dark. Any other time, any other day, it wouldn’t bother her. But she  couldn’t see the walls, couldn’t feel them, and the echo came back so lonely. Where was she? She didn’t dare pace, there was no telling how lost she was. A light! Better than remaining cold and alone. She followed the light, step after careful step. A rock, the sound of it rolling, as she kicked it in her movements. The light never faded, it kept going, at pace with her. Was it waiting for her? She rushed a little more, eager to not be alone in whatever this place was. Now she ran, following as the light turn a corner. No slipping, just running. Faster now! Her lungs were burning in the cold of this place. She grew closer to the light and saw a figure. It was holding the light, or was it the light? No sounds but what she made. She kept going as it turned again, rushing after it now. No thoughts but to reach it, no time to think. Keep pace, keep your steps. Reach it! 

Song: Rose, Dragon 3:36  

She looked at the dress on the stand. A gift, a sick gift she wanted to burn. It had his signature all over it, no doubting that. Why would he send this? Now, of all times? Anger burned inside her, made worse by the breaking of her heart. She had just put the pieces back together, and now her she was, staring at this thing. She laid her hands on her belly, then balled her hands into fists and let them fall to her side. The dress was a wedding dress, of all things. It appeared to  be made of magic and flowers, of wind and spring breezes. The train of the skirt was several meters long, heavy with the flowers. The bodice deep and the middle...no thought for her belly. He  didn’t know, she never told him. She had planned on it, but then he changed all that. He still  didn’t know, probably never  would. She set the dress on fire and watched the ashes fall.  

Song: The Fairy & the Labyrinth 3:36  

“If you were here, I don’t know what I would do. I would rage at you, scream at you, wish you dead. I would cry, beg you to tell me why you left, hope for an honest answer. Were you ever honest? I like to think you were, in moments between lies and loathing. I loved you, love you, want to love you and be loved  by you. Would telling you about the pregnancy have changed anything? I don’t  know. I’m afraid of what your answer would be. Would you have poisoned my tea, just enough to end this life we made?” She stood on the balcony overlooking the courtyard, imagining Solas somewhere out there, listening to her. “You lied. It was all a lie. I loved you as I never dared love anyone. To be that intimate with anyone was forbidden by my clan. I told you this! I broke the rules because I fucking could, it was my right. Now here I am, shunned by my Keeper for daring to be my own.”  

Song: Three Trails 2:07  

She listened with full attention, to every word, every nuance, every shift of tone. I will be a better Keeper. All of nine years old and here she was thinking herself more.  

She watched with full attention, to every movement, every change in breath, every shift of body. I will be a better Keeper. All of 15 years old and here she was, knowing herself to be more.  

I am a better Keeper. All of 35 years old and Keeper of so many.  

Song: The Moribund Tree and the Toad 7:11  

Steps light, soft, hand on her waist, hand on his shoulder, a sharing of hands and touch. Around and across the floor, skirts flowing around her, his eyes never leaving hers. A moment together in the crowd of mannequins. The only living, the only moving, the only ones really here. No one else in the hall, no sound but what they made.  

They didn’t speak, didn’t need to. Here they were each other and themselves. 

In her youth, she loved to dance. The soft and slow, the fast and burning, but never so intimate. Those dances were as ritual as this, but a different kind. Drawing power and connection, certainly, but in completely different worlds.  

Different worlds. Was that what it is? She lived in so many. The world of the Inquisition throne. The world of the Winter Palace and The Game. The world of war room with all the choices and none of them what she wanted. The world with her companions, and each of those worlds different. Some brought together as pieces to create a world among many.  

But not this world. This one was where she could be herself, where she could be with him. Let them  guffaw, let them cover their mouths with their fans as they whispered. Leave them to their sad little world where they locked themselves in cages and claimed to sing freely.  

Here she was as free as she was trapped. By his grip, his eyes, his smile. The promise his breathing told her. A promise of later, of a much later, and more after that. A world in waking, in sleeping, in between.  

What would happen if all these worlds met? If any of them simply vanished? She let the thought pass, giving it no piece of her mind as it flitted away like a rumor.  

Song: Guerrilleros 2:08  

The place was as alien as any she could imagine. Too much structure, too much stone. No life, no growth, just cold and snow.  

She kept her distance, observing as the Keeper had instructed. Never interact, keep away, watch  and learn.  

Except she couldn’t. The stone was cold under feet, and something was wrong. She felt it in the air, a wrong magic, a twisting that burrowed into her mind.  

She followed it.  

Song: A Book of Blood 3:49  

Giggling was the first thing she learned not to do when playing this game. It gave her away, and that would mean death for her. She learned to breath  just right, to keep it slow with her heart. The hunter cannot know the prey is so near.  

Sprinting was the second thing she learned she must do to win this game.

Sprint when spotted, do not pause. Run as fast as you can and zig-zag, never a straight line. Some may have bows and a straight line is easier to hit.  

Jumping and reaching was the third thing she learned. There are  nearly always   perches to grab hold, be it trees, a wall, anything. Move up, always up, and then over when you  can’t go up any more. Zig zag and keep the breathing controlled.  

Closing her eyes and trusting her ears was the fourth thing she learned. Her people’s eyes reflect the light, and always her people  are found. Be as a cat, if you must, but do it from down low and  squint to keep the eyes smaller. Better to be blind and hear instead.  

Hide and Seek is never a game. 

Mercedes Lullaby 1:37  

She held her daughters, one in each arm, swaying back and forth. So tiny, so very tiny. Three days of labor and a pair of twin girls. It had been hard, but she refused to let go. Now, alive, she holds them and sings the song her mother gave her. They slept as swiftly as she had.  

The Refuge 1:34  

A tree is a good place to hide, especially in summer. The leaves obscure everything, especially when the right clothes  are worn  . Never too shiny, never too dull. Remain still in a way like a tree limb. Blend in so well your eyes are that of a predator.  

So young and so well learned in survival. Hear the silence and up you go.  

Not Human 5:53  

She was an observer first. Learn the field, any battle. That’s what it was like with the  Orlesians. She couldn’t  even think of them as people, not with their ridiculous masks and behavior. Always thinking themselves clever and sly, but the  subtlety was more blatant as a fart in a chantry. Yes, that’s what they were to her. A stink in a room she didn’t want to be in. Their whispers were loud as wind on a poorly sealed window. Creators, why couldn’t just shut up for one fucking minute? She wanted to leave as soon as she saw them, but knew she couldn’t. This a battlefield and they must never believe they have the high ground, not for one damn moment. She put on the mental armor, ready for war, armed with everything her Keeper, companions, and advisors had taught her. She left her opponents afraid, sometimes more socially wounded than they thought they could recover from, and often receiving the respect they never wanted to give in any situation where they didn’t win. Yes, it’s better this way.   Watch them  squirm and writhe.  

The River 2:52  

She lounged on a warm stone near the creek, on her belly, head resting on one arm as the other hung down far enough she could dip her fingers in the water. Birds sang, the halla grazed nearby, and she could hear her clan at work. But today was for herself, a gift from the Keeper for paying better attention during lessons.  

The sun was warm on her back, as was the stone she rested on, feeling like home. It was a home she vaguely remembered, from before she was made   part of this clan. What were her people called?  

 A Tale 1:53  

In a tree overlooking a lake, she sat with the quiet of the night. The Keeper had told her this was her clan, to never ask of where she came from. Those who had come with her, from home, were now banned from speaking to her and sent to other areas of the clan. Their skin was like hers, why couldn’t she know why it was so different from who they were now?  

Deep Forest 5:48  

Run! That was the only thought in her mind. Humans never came so far in the Woods! This what’s their place, never was, and now they chased her. She yelled at her companions to run faster. They couldn’t fight like her, but they could run faster. Up! Go up! They leapt, just like they  were taught, and up they went. Leaping from limb to limb, high as they dared. An arrow shot up at them, but missed and hit and branch. She was behind them now, and she was okay with that. The men would be a nice meal for shadow cats that lived here. She went off one tree and to the next, leaping as best to could, and caught an arrow in the calf. It hurt, Creators, it hurt! But she didn’t release the branch she caught and instead pulled herself up.  

Never pull the arrow, and break it if you must. That’s what she learned from the hunters. If it went through, try removing the head first. Humans didn’t seal the tips on well. Leaning on the trunk, well above the humans and out of sight, she gritted her teeth and twisted the tip while holding the arrow. It hurt, and she saw stars, but it came off. The end was smooth, pull it out, and bind with what you have.  

The humans were yelling, shooting aimlessly.  

She pulled out the arrow out and pulled the bindings on her legs tighter. Would she be a shadow cat meal too?  

Vals of the Maldrake  3:41  

Beaches of red sand, warm sea water hitting her feet. She kicked her legs and the water sprayed. A squealing giggle came from her as the hand hold hers tightened a little. Jump, pull back, stay a little longer. They did and she splashed more.  

The cliffs were back! The big hill with rocks and sand, then up and flat so high they needed rope and wood. She didn’t was so sleep, so tired. Kicking is hard work. Strong arms lift her up.  

The Funeral 2:46  

She watched her girls play in the hall, giggling and laughing, Iron Bull on the flooring reaching for them. It made her smile, seeing them like this. He didn’t   know a thing about raising children, and had been so afraid the first time he held them. Now at  almost two years old, Iron Bull is playing with them rough as he dares. The jump on him, knocking him to the ground. Limp, dead, and the girls go to investigate. She remembers feeling this, a long time ago, and hopes her daughters remember it always.  

Mercedes 5:37  

She had refused the bed at the Winter Palace. All the running around, finding every passage, every hidden door, she  couldn’t feel safe enough to close her eyes. Thankfully her advisors agreed it was too dangerous. At an inn now, with Solas beside her, she was still on edge. Was this place filled with hidden ways? Were the walls hollow? It made her skin crawl, thinking someone could watch them, come in while they rested, and kill them. She felt safer in the damn  bog   than she did here.  

Was that a footstep? Yes, but outside the door and down the hall. Creators, she was not going to sleep. Solas shifted, pulling her closer to him. He wasn’t   asleep, eyes open and aware. No assurance he gave her helped her relax, not a damn word. She got plenty in herself, stating how ridiculous this is, but she couldn’t shake off the feeling they were watched.  

Then the sun was up, Solas holding her and keeping her safe.  

Pan & the Full Moon 5:07  

Sleeping was different now. It took only one attempt and she had crossed into the waking world of the Fade, shocking Solas and setting off a new path she hadn’t expected. It was motivation beyond necessary to learn this skill. How much could she learn in these dreams? The Redcliffs were what she didn’t   want to learn, but she knew it was necessary. Know the history was what her Keeper taught her. Solas guided her when she stumbled. Here were her people, the memory of them, ghosts. Then it was the building of the castle and village. There was hope, and she saw it  was made of a little boy. The hope became pain and was gone, replaced by betrayal in the shape of a woman. Solas had told her all stories have many sides, she learned all the sides. The little boy, she knew his name and what it meant to many people. The woman reeked of betrayal and fear, of losing what she loved. Then it got ugly. Creators, how could this happen? Keep your own emotions under control or you’ll change the narrative. Watch. So, she did.  

Ofelia 2:20  

The flowers on the cliffs were bright orange and full of warm. She plucked a few with the long stems and gathered more as she walked on the wood and rope way. Never take too many; they must be able to return. A thick bouquet of orange was growing in her hands, and when she was  satisfied, she sat on the landing with hammock and table. It had taken practice, but now she could make a good crown of sunset.  

A Princess 4:02  

She held her head high when they could see her. Especially on the throne. A casual position had become difficult in recent months, with her belly swelling like it was. She felt the kick when she set her hands on it.  

The humans from Denerim had arrived today, dignitaries and bureaucrats. At least they were visibly honest. They weren’t even a little bothered by the pregnancy, unlike the Orlesians who implied she was a whore who had better learn to be careful. These humans brought a small trunk with gifts. Blankets of soft warm wool, a mobile to hang over the basinet, some wood toys and soft dolls. It was a formality, but it was honest.

Pan’s Labyrinth Lullaby 1:52  

She hummed the song to Cullen several times, to comfort him when he didn’t   suspect. He was a good human, a good man, with a past he couldn’t forgive himself for. The addiction didn’t help. So, she gave him a song.  

Then she needed comfort and he gave it to her by violin. Her mother’s song made solid for her.  

[autumnpawtribe]

Complications Part 7

((TW: Abuse etc)) Vol finally got Tarja to calm down and sleep, many lullabies and a bottle later.  He had a harder time getting the one he called his Flower and his young sister to be responsive.  No smoking around Tarja, so he was digging in his pack looking for any remnants of his chocolate.  He found a small peice, wrapped in foil and unfortunately, Kit'raka's recipe.

"Better than nothing...". He snapped the piece in half, putting one part under Janaret's tonuge.  "When I get you back to calm, sweetheart, well figure out if your sister can tolerate this shit.". He put Aret's head on his shoulder, waiting for the candy to melt, peering through Xiao's eyes.  "Xiao.  Tonight we both serve Bwonsamdi."

Xiao sent back through the link. "I am more open to that than I expected. You said you wanted to watch... will the connection suffice or should I wait for you? His attention, however, remained on Pahre now. He barely understood her, his face scrunching up as he tried to scrounge words together. "Janaret... my Lok'dim... Bal'a... Wassa'dim." It seemed Xiao had been listening, using all of those terms before smiling gently at her. "I bring safe for you, I am safe." He extended his hand down to her, hoping to help her up. "Behind..." He pointed over at the two paralyzed Trolls, hoping she didn't panic. "P-... ah..." He grumbled, muttering 'Paralyzed' in Orcish a few times as he tried to think of how to translate. "Body... like stone, from... small sharp." He then reached over for the pouch to pull out a dart and the hollow tube, showing her the tool in hopes of her understanding what he meant.

Pahre stared at him almost blind and blank.  She was as if waking up from a deep sleep, staring up at her home, mouth agape.

"Talking to her is gonna be useless.  Do what you will.  If you can get the hearts...  I’ll give mouth presents?" He needed to cut the seriousness of the whole thing.  Aret was snoring on his shoulder and Nielka was asleep in the corner.  "I'll watch, you'll have to bring her here...  Somehow.  This is a loa damn mess."

Xiao just sighed and nodded at Vol's words. "You wanted... tusks too?" He asked a tad nervously, his edge fading a bit after healing Pahre. He needed more energy, pulling a small vial from his pouch and drinking it to make himself less exhausted. It wasn't a super potion like the other, this one just rejuvenating the Chi he already had rather than overpowering him with it. He knelt down in front of Jansevet first, carefully but forcefully jamming a finger DEEP into the side of the man's neck, almost near the back. It would hurt a fair bit, but not as much as the next. He went behind him and lined up his fingers, placing a sharp jab backed by a burst of Chi that would render Jansevet a quadriplegic. This wasn't a temporary nerve block through pressure points, he severed the spinal cord permanently. He reached for a small vial of herbs and shoved the man's immobile mouth. After a moment, he'd find he could move again, at least from the neck up. His other limbs loosened, no longer like stone, but instead he now just laid on the floor, limp and unable to feel or move a muscle. That was one plus, he couldn't feel anything below the neck anymore. "Vol I want you to translate for me. I am going to tell you what I want to say, you are going to repeat it back in Zandali. When he speaks, you repeat back to me what he says, no matter how cruel or vile. Now..." He paused, giving Vol his first line. "What do you have to say for yourself, Jansevet. You are a father, a husband, and a grandfather. You bring shame upon all three titles. You are not worthy of the ground you lay on. What do you have to say for the atrocities you have committed?"

"Yes, tusks and heart"

Vol watched and listened, translating slowly so that the words would work correctly, making the syllables flow as they should to be understood.

"I have no grandchildren, filthy Pandaren.  My son is a worthless cunt and those three bitches are useless.  That old bitch is dead, so who cares.  I have done nothing wrong save let them all live.". Xiao would feel Vol'raka cringe before he spoke again.  " Especially since that useless fuck is screwing a Darkspear man.  He can rot with Rastakhan."

Xiao actually chuckled a little, moving to repeat the process of crippling Aket now and force feeding him the herbs to reverse the toxin so he could speak while being numb and permanently paralyzed from the neck down. "You are a fool... you are  a grandfather twice over. Naddja did not crush her daughter's head with a rock. Those ashes were as false as the supremacy you think you hold. Her daughter is living with her real father... all three of them." He grinned now. "Also, your son is not screwing a Darkspear." He crouched, grinning down at Jansevet. "He is being screwed by a Darkspear..." He then reached to pull his mask off to reveal his face and thus his furry self and his race being made apparent. "AND and a Pandaren... and that is OUR daughter. Naddja, our daughter, and even her first born... the Frost Troll you despised so much... all of them are safe in our home, protected and far beyond your reach." He leaned down close, almost face to face with Jansevet as he spoke in a low and nearly dominant whisper. "Your grandchildren will grow up in a world where they not only do not know you exist... but in a world where you CEASE to exist... and they will be all the better for it." He stood up and looked over at Aket now. "You are just as pathetic. It is only fitting that nature deemed you too little of a man to be able to procreate. Ironic, is it not? How it was your infertility that lead to Naddja finding my Lok'dim... which lead to this very moment. Life can be funny that way sometimes. I suppose it has to make up somehow for putting monsters like you into existence. You are not a man for hitting your lover, your wife, your son, your daughter... you are not strong, big, important... it makes you WEAK." He then grinned, letting his tail flick almost tauntingly from side to side. "Otherwise how would a Pandaren not even five and a half feet tall manage to do away with both of you without even breaking a sweat."

Of course Vol had to translate all of this, but Xiao repeated it back as he said it, enunciating and putting emphasis where he needed. These men would know their place in this world before they left it, that much he would ensure.

"you know...  That was oddly sexy.".

There was a smile on his face and in his voice as he added to it.  "Tell them... " He gave the words, a hint of evil in his voice as he said it in Zandali.  "Darkspear never die, and the Pandaren drove you back.  The greatest among you shares our bed and will forever shown love, something you will never truly experience."

Xiao grinned at Vol's addition, eagerly mirroring it word for word with just as much edge to it. This was going to be delicious to watch unfold.

Jansevet tried to roar in anger and move desperately.  Aket looked absolutely shamed, the attack on his very manhood and his secret being out to the world.  Not even Jansevet knew of his inability to father children.  The Old mon growled at the younger troll, spitting his words.  "You buffoon, you told me your wife, that i had exiled for you, could not bear for you,  It was YOU who could not get it up.  I could have sent her to a better family, with more power than a mere priest!"  His words were narcissistic in their tone and accusation.  "You are just as much of a waste!  As for your fucking children, I don't care if those half-breeds rot in hell!  If I could I would kill them myself!"

Xiao seemed entirely unphased by the yelling, smiling down at him almost smugly. He crouched down, just inches out of his reach since all he could do was thrash his head around, Xiao making sure to stay out of tusk-reach too. "If you could? Hm, that is a shame... since it seems you are just as limp and useless as your son in law's manhood." He grinned widely now, looking over at Aket. "That is even funnier, hm? You cannot bear children, but the one you two deem to be worthless, under you because of who he loves... the one who loves other men, is going to be a father when you never can." He then looked down at Jansevet again, eyes narrowing. "Guess who is going to have his baby?" Oh man, Xiao was really letting them have it and Celestials he was enjoying it.

"I do not care if he does or not!  Should castrate the lot of you, then feed you to the spiders!  Quashi Nejho!"  He devolved into a slew of Zandalari words, Vol having a hard time translating fast enough.

"Yeah.. short version. on that one... You are Dirty gutter whore, I am a dickless wonder and Aret is a cum guzzling slut who should have a spear shoved up his ass..."

"There is no way for you to give him a child, you piece of Jani shit!  I wouldn't want my blood marred by animals as it is  I disown that rotten meat that used to be my son!"  The prelate was hissing and spitting his hatred.

Xiao just laughed now, shaking his head. "You cannot castrate anyone, you cannot even touch your own anymore." He then swayed his tail as he swayed his hips, the gesture almost playful, remaining entire indifferent to the words of hatred, knowing it'd piss him off even more. "There is this wonderful thing called magic. Your son? He is going to become an 'animal' for nine months, I am going to become a woman for the same... and he is going to have a child with me along with our other mate, the 'lesser' Darkspear who will also be an 'animal'. Your mighty Zandalari son has opted to forgo his own blood to have fuzzy little love children with the men he is happy with. How is that racial superiority treating you now, hm? The 'animal' has made you nothing more than a spitting writhing head who cannot even hold his own stool or urine." He then sniffed. "Come to think of it, I think you voided your bowels when I severed your spine. As you spew shit, you are literally stewing in your own. How incredibly fitting." He had such venom in that last sentence, his dominant aura really coming out now.

That head spit in Xiao's face before cursing at him again.  Spiders began coming from the woodwork, but strangely ignoring the pandaren.  All were tiny, smaller than Tarja's thumb, covering the prelate of Spiders.  They began biting him, the old male unable to feel any of them until they began radiating to his face.

Aket began screaming, seeing what Jansevet could not feel.  He was unable to move as the same began happening to him.  Pahre, slowly coming back to herself, backed up into a corner, crying.  Vol watched between the two through Xiao's eyes, sighing.  He pet his mate as he was passed out in his lap, letting Xiao get a glimpse of him with a sleeping Nielka, Tarja, and Jararet.  "I think I'm the animal in this family..."

Xiao merely wiped the spit off, though his attention was pulled away when the spiders came. "Uh oh, Vol I think I may have-... wait..." He trailed off when he saw what they were doing, brows furrowed now. "... What are they doing? Is he... killing himself and his son in law so I do not get to? I am confused..." He simply watched, letting them writhe and scream, unsure how to move forward.

"I dont speak spider...  I serve the Loa of Graves.."

It was Pahre who spoke up, a bare whisper.  "His Loa is displeased.  He shows weakness.  She does not like weakness."  Vol translated for him, scowling.  The woman kept going, hiding her face.  "Torcali forgive me.  I have failed."

"I gotta get Aret awake and come get her before you slice them up, Xiao love."

Xiao ignored the two men now, turning to Pahre. "You have not failed, Pahre..." He shook his head. "You are safe now. I am Janaret's Lok'dim, or... I will be eventually. He is my Ba'la, my Wassa'dim. He makes me happy and we make him happy. We know...we know what these two have been doing to you, your daughters... you do not deserve it and you cannot fail because of the actions of others. Your son is on his way, he has your other daughter with him at his old apartment. Nielka is safe, Naddja is safe at our home in Pandaria... your grand children, Pahre... they are safe. You will be too, I promise. I was not going to let you meet Bwonsamdi, not tonight. It is not your time." He spoke through the link now. "Vol, get him up and get him here fast, she needs to be with her family."

Xiao would only hear Vol trying to wake Aret up, it taking a bit more work than it should have with Kit's chocolate in his system.  Once he got the younger prelate to his feet and mostly awake, he bundled up Tarja in her sling and wandered out with them both.  the girl was asleep in a corner, locked safely in the apartment.  "Give us some time.  I don't want them seeing Tarja...  Understand?"

Aket was screaming louder as tiny spiders moved into the orifices of his face and no matter how much he shook his head, he could not rid himself of them.  Jansevet was shaking in anger, his body unmoving, but his tucks scratching on the floor and teeth chattering.  "Shut up you cunt!  Torcali will not help you!  No one can help you!  Mother of sluts!"

Pahre turned to look at the pandaren, sniffing him.  "You know my son..."   Her brain was starting to figure it out.

Xiao ignored the two men, smiling and nodding. "I more than know your son, Pahre. He is my love. I know your poor excuse for a husband knows your son is laying with a Darkspear... well he is also laying with a Pandaren. All three of us are a family. I know it is not traditional, but we love him and he loves us. We keep him safe and happy. The man Naddja was pregnant with... it was not Aket, it was my mate, the Darkspear. I will not go into the details how it happened, but that child is not dead. Those ashes were not hears. Your grandchild is alive... and she is our daughter. Naddja's first child lives as well. Your entire family is safe, Pahre. You are, too. Your son is on his way now, we will take you to safety. You do not need to see what happens next, what these two deserve." He said with a look back toward the two writhing men, letting the spiders do his work for him.

"Naddja's baby?"  That woke her up, letting the blue eyes that her children had inherited look up into the emerald ones of her son's lover.  She became distracted as her son came in, accompanied by his taller mate and a little baby who was making happy little noises and wiggling.  It was a stark difference between an infant's giggles and the priest's screams.

"Muuka..."  Aret moved to sit next to his mother as she cried, holding her and tending to the hysterical woman.  Vol stood above the pandaren, squatting down to kiss him on the nose, just to see the look of disgust on the old man's face, then the rage as he figured out that there was a child in the Darkspear's arms.

"Tarja, dis be ja Chaadoi, Grandfathah.  He gonna not exist in about.. fifteen minutes ef Ba an Papa got anytin ta say bout et."

Xiao smiled up at Vol as he came in, leaning in to kiss him gently. "I thought we did not want them seeing her?" He asked in Orcish now, knowing they couldn't speak it. He looked to Aret and moved beside him, nuzzling the man gently on the cheek and murmuring in Pandaren. "Are you okay? Is there anything I can do to help? I tried telling your mother she would be safe, be with her family, her grandchildren, but it seems to be too much for her to process all at once..."

"No choice"  the words were in broken pandaren before he stuck to the link.  *"Let them see a tiny beautiful girl before they die.  Let them suffer, one from never knowing his grandchildren, the other the child he wanted to torture to death."

Aret turned tired and crying eyes to Xiao and Vol, whining, but not freaking out.  "We can't leave them here...  I can't leave them alone."

"Ok with a few more in the house until that guest house is built, Xiao Chun?"

[alittledangerx]

This Lullaby: Prologue

“When the rain is blowing in your face and the whole world is on your case. I could offer you a warm embrace to make you feel my love..”

The storm was brewing outside the windows. The rain hammering against the glass panel; the wind swaying the trees to and fro as lightening lit up the night sky. God, I never wanted this. I never thought that here after everything; I would be standing outside looking out into the pouring rain as my heart broke into a thousand pieces. All because I was such an idiot and gave it to the one person who had the power to break it…

The tingling sensation ran up my back, “What are you doing out here,” his velvety voice asked from behind where I stood.

No sound came from my lips as I just wrapped my arms tighter around myself. What did he expect me to say? I smiled, pretended I was alright… wasn’t that enough? I just needed five minutes, I just..

“Elena,” he asked, stepping closer to me, causing my breath to hitch.

“Damon, please,” shaking my head as the back of my eyes burned with unshed tears as my eyes closed. “I’m fine. I have a headache and I just needed a minute to–”

“Are you seriously expecting me to believe that,” he cut me off as his voice hardened, and more than likely his eyes narrowing as he gazed at the back of my head.

Swallowing the lump that built up in the back of my throat I turned around and faced him. “No, I don’t,” trying to give him a little watery smile, “But I am no longer any of your concern,” my voice cracking at the end of the sentence, all the while avoiding his gaze because the moment I looked into his eyes I knew I’d be screwed.

“Look at me,” his voice stone cold as he took a step closer causing me to take one back.

“You should go back to your engagement party,” a knot twisted deep in my stomach as I continued, “Katherine would be looking for you.” My eyes focused on the painting that hung on the wall as I tried to steady my breathing and attempting to appear as nonchalant as I possibly could. Hopefully, for once he could just listen to me and not push it. Just standing here in this room, that was sparked with tension and only a few feet away from him –hurt more than he could ever realize. I came here tonight thinking it would be the perfect way to get over the fact that… he picked her. Not me. That I could just drink and dance without having to pretend for every second that I was around him, and her; my best friends, that I was okay. Maybe getting on that plane tomorrow would be the best thing. Maybe I would be able to breathe.

A course hand gripped my chin unexpectedly, causing me to look up into his crystalized blue orbs. The same tantalizing eyes, that sucked me in all those years ago…eyes that you willingly drown in. So many emotions floated past his eyes as he looked down into my soft brown hues, “Why,” he demanded, knowing that his touch was sending another wave of shivers through my spine.

“When the evening shadows and the stars appear, and there is no one to dry your tears. I could hold you for a million years to make you feel my love..”

“Please, stop,” I whispered in a soft voice, raising my hand to cup his own.

“Why,” he said again, not moving his hand nor taking a step back, his eyes glued to mine in the way only he did.

“Damon…” my head tilted into his palm as tears started to spill from the corner of my eyes.

“Tell me why, Elena” he demanded in a hushed tone.

My eyes closed as my breath hitched, the tears pouring down my cheeks as I whispered beneath my breath, “you lied to me.” Parting my lips slightly to catch a breath before continuing “You promised you’d never leave me.”

Opening my eyes once more as his peered down into mine, “I didn’t have a choice, baby.”

“No,” shaking my head and pulling out of his grasp. “I’m not your baby. Not anymore.”

His hand gripped mine, lacing our fingers together as he pulled me into his hard chest, “You’re still mine… I’m still yours.”

Catching myself on his shoulders, an inch between us as tears continued to fall from my eyes, “But you can’t, Damon. You can’t be mine when you are marrying her. It’s not right and it’s not fair.”

His grip on my arms tightened, locking me against him as his eyes darkened, his voice thick with emotion, “Damn it, so that’s it then?! 2 years, Elena its been two fucking years and that’s it… a ‘Katherine would be looking for you.’ Well let me ask you something, when were you gonna tell me?”

The pounding of his racing heart hitting against my chest as I gazed up at him, already knowing what he was angry about but praying he wouldn’t guess correctly, “Tell you what,” I asked sheepishly.

“Tell me that you are leaving. That you said your goodbyes and by this time tomorrow, you are no longer going to be here,” his grip holding me against him, like he was afraid the moment he let go I would escape past his fingers.

“I know you haven’t made your mind up yet, but I will never do you wrong. I’ve known it from the moment that we met, No doubt in my mind where you belong..”

“How – ” I mumbled with widened eyes. Shit.

“Did I find out? Caroline can only hold her tongue for so long,” He cut me off answering the question that was on the tip of my tongue. This was not good, not good at all.

“Damon..” I tried to push at his chest. Having this talk was one thing, but being in his arms … no, shit.

“Do you know how hard this has been? I have been stressed to my limit and I had to make choices that would end with one of the two most important people in my life hurting and you…” he continued like he didn’t even hear me, his arms tightening, the angrier he got. “Dam – ” I tried before flinching at his yell.

“WHY, HUH?! Why, Elena! Can you tell – ”

“BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!” I cut him off as I yelled, pushing his shocked body from my grasp as silence mixed in with the tension in the room. “Because every moment when you are with her, I feel nothing but pain. Cause I know that I lost you and I know everyone expects me to be this selfless person but… baby I can’t,” tears falling at a faster pace now. “I can’t stay here, and not have you in my life. The way we are. Not the way we used to be. I can’t be around you and watch you ride off into the sunset with someone who isn’t me. I love you so much, but I can’t. I can’t,” my heart ached as I let out every fear. Every emotion I felt these past two weeks finally spilt over, showing the wreckage of my true emotions. Not the sweet smile. The pretending. But every raw emotion that I could tell no one, because, it wasn’t him. My best friend. The guy I fell in love with. They wouldn’t understand.

Looking up at him, I knew he understood, and some part of me felt like he felt the same way too. His eyes looked glassy and he looked like he had a hard time breathing. As if instead of listening to me break apart in his arms, I had just kissed him breathless. “Elena, I – ”

Shaking my head at him, I paced a second, before running my fingers through my hair, “YOU WANNA KNOW? You feel so angry that you found out from someone else about me leaving… why didn’t you tell me that you asked her? That you picked her? I had to find out from everyone else! That hurt the worse. It’s been two years.. and I still didn’t come first,” I exclaimed, just as angry as he was.

“I’d go hungry; I’d go black and blue, And I’d go crawling down the avenue. No, there’s nothing that I wouldn’t do to make you feel my love..”

“How can you not know how important you are,” his arms waved around as he rose his voice.

“How can you not know that I’ve always known,” I shot right back, “that I came after everyone else. First Katherine, and then Andie, and even Charlotte… I was just a stand in. Nothing even important to you!”

Suddenly he was back in my personal space, his arms wrapped around my waist and pulling me back into the safety of his arms, “Don’t you dare tell me how I feel about you,” his voice low and deep. “God Elena, how can you even think that? Do you think that low of me that you thought that what.. I wouldn’t want to be here. Well guess what I am here. I did what I had to do, but that does not mean I didn’t love you. That I don’t want you in my life –”

“But that’s the thing Damon, I CAN’T! I can’t be in your life and watch you get married, have kids, and grow old with someone who isn’t me. Like we planned. I told you a long time ago, that as much as it hurt that I would let you go. If you didn’t want me anymore. That’s what I have to do now. I have to let you go. I have to let you live your life, find the one thing that will make everything okay. I want your ten year plan to come true. Get married to the person of your dreams.. start a family. I want you to have a happy life. Even if it’s not me in it,” my voice completely broke as one hand gripped his black shirt and the other rose to place a finger over his lips to stop his interruption before he started. “I didn’t want to say goodbye to you, because of this,” motioning between us, “The way we are. You have been my rock. You helped me through the hardest times of my life and I can’t thank you enough for it. You have a way of always bringing a smile to my face. Your arms were the one place I truly felt like I belonged… And you are right. Before when you said I was yours. A huge part of my heart has your name written on it, and no one will be able to take it. You taught me so much about myself in such a short amount of time. Nothing was sugar coated, nothing was fake. We were real. We are real.“ Taking a deep breath I just soaked him in, God why did this have to hurt so much, "I love you. Baby, it’s always been you. You are the crazy to my nerd… and who knows, what happens in the future.” Brushing my nose to his, meeting his eyes, one last time as gently as I could, “You need to let me go… because if I stay, I can’t take it, Baby. I wouldn’t be able to.”

Swallowing deep in his throat his forehead rest against mine, causing us both to close our eyes. Two years of talking everyday, of little kisses and big explanations.. all came down to one whispered sentence, “I don’t want to..” his husky voice just as broken as my own, wetness building in the corner of his eyes.

"The storms are raging on the rolling sea, and on the highway of regret. The winds of change are blowing wild and free, you ain’t see nothing like me yet..”

Raising a thumb, I gently wipe it away, as my breathing shallowed like his, “I know.” Biting down on my bottom lip as a sob escaped past my lips, causing him to hold me just a little tighter, “I don’t want you to either. But Damon, you have to..” my raspy voice a bare whisper as I slowly pull back from him, his arms dropping from my side, although our fingers were still linked together. “Goodbye?”

His eyes closed, as he squeezed our intertwined fingers hard before taking a few breaths and reopened his eyes once more. “Goodbye,” he whispered in a pained voice.

The further I walked from him, the looser his grip on my fingers became until slowly, they were released altogether. Raising those fingers to my lips, I bit down on my bottom lip and turned toward the doorway.

“Elena.” His voice stopped me. It’s deep cords winding deep into my heart. “If not today,” he stopped like he was having a hard time getting the words out “then when?”

A flash back to the two of them sitting in her living room flashed through her head. It was just as they were getting closer before the scene shifted to their one year, and he asked her both times, will she tell him why she picked him? Why was he so special? Each time she teased him and batted her eyelashes before whispering with a glint in her eye.

Biting down on my bottom lip, I looked at him over my shoulder, “Someday.” A small smile playing over my lips as I took one last look of this tormented love of mine. The man who thought he never was good enough although he was beyond amazing, who felt like he wasn’t enough. Raising my fingers I gave him a little wave, before walking out the building and leaving the biggest part of me behind. The air thick with the unspoken always. Not needing to be spoken because it will always be the truest thing between them.

He was my always.

And I was his forever.

Who knew what would happen next…

I could make you happy, make your dreams come true. Nothing that I wouldn’t do. Go to the ends of the earth for you, to make you feel my love..“