driftfleet | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Who: Mikleo (

nerdeology), Sorey (

monolike), Allen Walker (

save_the_souls), Zaveid (

airily), Lailah (

sansseraph), Eithan Paine (

deviances), Stefan (

stefanged), MORE TO BE ADDED
Broadcast: N/A
Action: Solrius's surface
When: forward-dated to 9/11

[Despite the destructive nature of this dastardly duo, there have been surprisingly few resident deaths as a direct result of their combined rampaging. Still, the property damage is mindboggling, and Sorey and Mikleo both have spent the past few days soaking up and sewing malevolence like there's no tomorrow. The people in their territory are terrified, homeless, helpless and hopeless. Despite the steady streams of people hunting down the boy and his dragon, no one has succeeded in killing either of them.

Sorey, more hellion than human now and growing more unstable by the hour, is beyond reason, a mass of the anger and frustration in more than ready supply by the system's inhabitants. Mikleo is nearly mindless, is no longer content to listen to orders for the sake of keeping his deteriorating partner happy. Soon, it won't be enough to just rip up trees by the roots and brutalize those coming after them.

Soon, nothing will be enough.]

(( starters inside! ))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Lailah swallows when she sees Mikleo's soul like that. It's a sight she'll take to her grave. A sight that she wishes with all her heart that Sorey doesn't have to see. She chokes back a sob at his screaming plea. Her eyes get a bit glassy, but no tears fall. Not now. She can't do that right now. So, Lailah denies herself the luxury. Slowly, the fire seraph gets off of Sorey and helps him to his feet.

There's no fight left in the dragon. It's safe enough and she knows that Sorey needs this. Lailah might be losing a friend and Sub Lord, but Sorey's losing a partner he's had for his whole life. How can she deny him this?

She gently pushes her Shepherd's back to encourage him forward.

If anyone tries to stop him this time, they'll be met with a warning flame. She has neither time nor patience left for being polite. All Lailah wants is for this to stop and be over. Sorey, Mikleo, Dezel, and Zaveid have suffered enough.

I should've been here sooner....]

[Sorey already knew.

He gazes up at Mikleo there, being slowly pried apart by darkness and pain, eaten away like morning fog, and plods forward as if entranced, Lailah's hand all the permission he needs.

He knew.

Mikleo's voice should be like music; Sorey can't count the number of times he's woken up, fallen asleep, come home to the way Mikleo calls out a request, lobs a playful insult, murmurs his name. But hearing it like this, coming from- from the wraith above the dragon. Mikleo. What his soul looks like now, after what's been done to it.

After what he did to it.

Sorey enters the bubble of Zaveid's arte and shudders for just a moment, pressing a hand to his chest. It's fine; it's fine. The arte's focused on Mikleo, so it's not so bad for a small human, with small lungs to fill. But he can hear Mikleo wheezing into the bloody muck, can feel the weight on the ground of his surrender. As if dreaming, Sorey falls to his knees beside the great head.

He picks the circlet out of the muck and tucks it inside of his shirt.]

I have your treasure. It's safe with me.

[Sorey leans forward to peer into one great eye, sparing a glance for the Mikleo suspended above. Can Mikleo see him like this? Is it just a representation? No- his body is still the dragon's. He's in there.

Mikleo's eye fixes on his face and Sorey knows.]

Hey, [he wheezes, draping himself over Mikleo's head and stroking the ridge of his eye. His eyes burn but the tears stand still, unwilling to fall. Sorey drags a palm over the scales of Mikleo's muzzle.] It's okay. Shh shhhh, it's okay. It's over now, I'm here. You can rest if you want.

[no, please]

An- [Sorey chokes, shudders, takes another breath,] and when it's all over, we'll go exploring together. I'm not sure where, but, hey. [He laughs, light, gasping. Mikleo's wheezes quiet; Sorey presses his mouth against Mikleo's head, just in case he can't hear anymore, just in case he needs to feel it.] Not knowing where we're going is half the fun of exploring, right?

[You're impossible, Sorey.]

I know. [Sorey closes his eyes. Don't leave me. Don't go, Mikleo, I can't-] That's me. Reckless. I'm going to have to ask you to wait for me; I need to make up for the trouble I caused. I know I told you it's okay if you explore without me, but just this one time- just this once, [no] just hang on until I get there, okay?

[no]

You know how I hate falling behind.

[This entire time, Stefan had taken a step back and observed. This was far, far deeper than he had ever imagined, and even though he'd just gained the ability to perceive malevolence and seraphim and their whole world - he couldn't say that it came without a price - and -

Allen, Allen's legs -

Stefan hadn't been around to see Allen's legs get injured, let alone understand that those ribbons were what kept his friend walking. Without thinking, Stefan rushes to Allen's side, hastily cradling the guy as if his entire life depended on it. At this point, he's sure he looks like a hot mess: his hair's all ungelled, flopping down in front of his eyes and blocking his vision; he's got mud on basically every single inch of his body; and none of that matters. Not anymore.] You've got nothing to apologize for.

[Really. Allen, Eithan, Lailah - they were the ones who purified Sorey, and they weren't the one who walked back fifteen minutes late with far too much coffee for one person to consume.

As he peers up at the dragon, at the shell that was once Mikleo, he lets out a horrified gasp at - he's not even sure, Mikleo's - if Stefan feels like this, then Sorey - then let Sorey handle this the best he can. Just as Stefan's focusing on keeping his friend stable and secure, so too is Sorey (in his own right).]

Edited 2016-09-14 02:17 (UTC)

[Dezel isn't sure what everyone is looking at, since he can't see it, but he can hear Mikleo perfectly. His cries of pain make even Dezel wince. It never should've been like this-- it never should've ended like this, and Dezel feels some responsibility, just like everyone else. He'd gone with Mikleo to try and stop Sorey's fall. It'd been too late. Too late for all of them. Mikleo had saved his life by telling him to break the pact, but Dezel can't do anything except watch him die.

It's Sorey who steps fearlessly up to the dragon, Sorey who wraps his arms around him, Sorey who makes little promises and speaks of the future like Mikleo has one. Freeing himself of Zaveid's wind, finally, he moves over to the other wind seraph and props him up with his shoulder.

This isn't a victory. There are no winners here, only suffering and war wounds that will never go away.]

[ The scene unfolds and it hurts to watch; something burns in the back of Zaveid's throat and it's punishing more than anything else. He's caused this, and he's aware of it - it's his wind that's trapping Mikleo down, draining the air out of him, his wind that's reshaping itself around Sorey so that the human doesn't suffocate too. All of this is him, because he's the one that came up here with the sole purpose of killing Mikleo. He was taking that burden onto his shoulders, and watching as Sorey moves to speak to his friend... He knows that things won't ever be the same.

Maybe it's selfish, but he'd kind of liked being a Sub Lord. He'd enjoyed wandering around with the others, kicking hellion ass and doing something good. It had made a change from being alone, from only having himself, from haunting a mountain where the dead-but-alive friend he'd loved curled through their air as an omen. He'd even thought that, maybe, one day, he'd end up travelling with the next Shepherd, and the next one, because he believed in Sorey, believed in his mission, his cause, all of it.

Now? All of that seems a distant memory, something swiped from his fingertips before it could really become an actual dream.

(Who really wants to travel with a murderer anyway?)

The artes are draining his strength, and with everything that's happened to him over the last few days - the fear, the horror, the tugs on his soul that knocked him down each time, knowing that Sorey was searching for him and would create something unspeakable with him, all tied up with coming face to face with the pinicle of it all... It's too much. Zaveid is exhausted, and when Dezel comes over and shifts, propping him up, he finally drops a little, letting go. He can't stand tall anymore, not with all his strength being sapped away, and he grits his teeth as he does everything in his power to make sure this is really, truly the end.

And then all he can see is black, dropping against Dezel and passing out. ]

[The ghost of Mikleo's soul goes still and silent the moment Sorey's hand touches his scales. As if recognizing that his cries have been heard, he merely waits for the end. Below, the dragon shivers, his remaining violet eye glazed and unblinking as it stares up at the human speaking to him. He offers no response to the words directly, holding in the last remaining gasp, yet he takes in each and every word with a sense of peace beyond the capacity of a wild animal.

"It's safe with me."

safe

"You can rest."

rest

"Wait for me."

wait...?

The words are so calm, the voice so familiar, one he couldn't name even if given a hundred years to try and remember; one he could never forget, even so. He feels safe. Dying, and he feels safe.

know him

know you

Slowly, he closes his eye, allowing the voice and those gentle hands to guide him towards the sleep his body is crying out for so desperately. And then the wraith speaks again, the sound of it nearly lost in the breeze, as hushed as the gentle flow of a forest stream from a mile away. His voice is in Sorey's ear, like it should be. Like it used to be.

Like himself again. Almost, almost like music.

it's okay.

you'll be okay.

thank you.

The dragon, no, Mikleo exhales one final time - it's light and cool, and it wraps around Sorey like an embrace. It smells like spring, the air just before it rains. One last flicker of purity as a corrupted monster dies.

He does not breathe again.]

Stefan...

[He doesn't notice Stefan approaching until he's being pulled into his arms, getting cradled. He's surprised by the sudden support around him, but it's very appreciated. He slumps against Stefan, feeling drained.

He moves his head to look at the scene. At Sorey talking and at the soul finding its salvation. He's a little surprised...seeing the soul get released instead of destroyed by the darkness...how's that possible? Zaveid shouldn't be under the pact anymore...

But Allen is not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. With the Akuma disappearing, his curse deactivates, no longer urging him on to fight, to destroy the Akuma. ]

Pitiful Akuma, may your soul find salvation...

[He murmurs his old prayer, quietly, right before he loses consciousness and goes limp in Stefan's arms. It's over, he's allowed to rest.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only