towerofanimus | 1 Bite

Current Mood: curious
Current Location: dorms/cafeteria

Entry tags:

1 Bite

Characters: Duzell and you!
Setting: Dorms/cafeteria
Format: Action preferred, but I’ll match!
Summary: Duzell’s arrival and wondering what the heck’s going on. It’s just an innocent cat strolling along and taking in the sights. Nothing suspicious here!
Warnings: Maybe biting?

[As soon as he reads the letters, he sets out of the room to see what’s going on outside. The room looks like something of Pheliosta castle. If Lassen and his pawns were trying to trick him into thinking he got teleported to some random place, they had another thing coming. Duzell isn’t going to be fooled by them again.

In case this place really is dangerous (not like he is worried; he is way more powerful than whatever humans he could run across), he decides to prowl around the halls as a cat. He could get away with being cute and no one would suspect a cat of doing anything funny.]

[Duzell finds his way to the cafeteria after hearing some humans talk about it. He just looks at the bowl of oatmeal and sniffs at the weird slimy goop. He makes a disgusted face (as much as a cat can) and bats the bowl aside with his paw. Whoops, looks like he just made a mess. He makes it even worse by stepping over the oatmeal and then walking all over the floor. He’d much rather have blood.

Humans are trusting of cute little animals, right? The kyawl perches on the table and lazily stretches his hind legs. He’ll just curl up and wait for some poor sap to show up and feed him. What cruel soul would let a defenseless cat starve?]

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[What kind of question was that? He bares his fangs to show her, and then snarks.] (No, it's some other talking cat.)

[He spares a look at her sword, and easily shrugs it off. Not like he believes she would ever use that. As far as he knew, Ishtar is terrible at fighting, and would just trip over Sidia if she tries to use it.

The cat sits down on his furry butt and lazily begins licking at the back of his paw. His long fur moves in waves from every twitch of his ears.]

(Real funny prank, princess. Who wrote the letters? Keld?)

[ Ishtar reached out slowly, to his head before petting him. He didn't feel fake, in fact, everything was real. The fur, his fangs. She stroked his ears a little bit. It might have seemed strange for him, but it's been a long time since she had seen him, since knowing what had happened to him back home. She couldn't help but be a little strange. ]

I'm serious here, Duzell... [ Her tone was soft, but firm when she said that. She clicked Sidia quietly back into its sheath as she sat there. Unfortunately, for Duzell, there were things he'd be really surprised with when he saw what she was capable of now.

Ishtar eventually picked up the cat that was sitting on its butt, and cradled him in her arms. ]

It's not a prank....it's far from that...

[Duzell looks at her weirdly. She is touching him like she thinks he will break or suddenly turn into a bat and fly away. He doesn’t care that she was touching him, and the cat in him enjoys it. His chest starts rumbling with purring sounds, and he rubs his head against her hand.]

(Did I say I was joking?)

[He has no idea what she’s talking about. Before he can ask, she picks him up and cradles him in her arms. Ishtar does this all the time. It doesn’t bother him anymore, not really.]

(I can’t stay with you forever, Ishtar. You’re engaged to that soldier boy. I bet he’ll tell you to get rid of me.)

[Might as well get it out of the way. He doesn’t want to stay with them after they get married. He can’t stand seeing them acting all lovely dovey everyday.]

[ Ishtar lowered her eyes a little when her retorted back. It was strange that she was talking to a cat that was probably 'meowing' for all anyone could see, but she was definitely talking to him, like it was the most normal thing ever. Ishtar was glad that he still reacted this way, when she was petting him. It proved to her how real he was, and how he was here.

He was here...why? She didn't know why but she didn't question it right now. ]

Normal cats can't talk the way you do, Duzie.

[ She replied in a half attempt to joke. Clearly, he could see she wasn't exactly in the brightest of moods right now. She hugged him a little tighter to her chest. She did think that he would disappear again, and leave her. He was already gone at home. ]

It doesn't matter how long you stay with me, Duzie, I won't let you go again.

[ She closed her eyes. ]

Darres will have to deal with it. I'm not getting rid of you, at least not that easily.

[ She replied. By now, he might have noticed that he was getting hit with water droplets.

Hey was that Ishtar crying?

Yes, it was. Ishtar had her eyes closed, but tears, were rolling down her face. It didn't matter right now, if she looked pathetic, or out of place. She was happy, relieved, because he was here...and alive. ]

Edited 2012-07-17 23:28 (UTC)

(When the hell did you lose your sarcastic edge, Ishtar?)

[He would have to be as stupid as ~~Darres~~ some people to not know that she is upset right now. They didn't spend all that time traveling around Pheliosta together for fun and games. He knows her moods pretty well. She probably knows him too, a little bit.]

(Maybe I won't wanna stick around.)

[That's a weird thing to hear her say. She isn't going to let him go? What made her all weepy like this?]

(Princess, get a hold of yourself.)

[When she doesn't stop crying, he shifts back into his vampire form and picks her up. He darts back in the room where he'd woken up, and locks the door behind them. Plop, down she goes on the bed, with his serious face looking right at her.]

What are you crying for? Did someone try to hurt your friends again?

[ He didn't get much of a response from her, only more tears that streamed down her face. Ishtar was beyond able to talk right now. The emotions were rushing in.

She wondered, what he would think about her not really being, well her? That was also a possibility that she had to consider. From what she knew, she wasn't the real one, just a mere imitation, but that didn't stop her from thinking that she could go home, or being able to see Darres and everyone again. She might be a fake, but her memories were real enough to her.

When he said that, she didn't really argue, but rather softly mumbled through sobs. ]

...I want...to to stick around..

[ the words were half jumbled but she was getting her point across, even if it sounded weak.

Nope, those words fell on deaf ears, as Ishtar sobbed even more now. When he picked her up, she didn't move, just remained there, stiff, while trying to recover herself.

What the hell was she suppose to say?

She didn't know. There was too much to talk about, too much to say. She didn't know where to start. When he dropped her on the mattress, was when she realized they were no longer outside. She looked at him for a moment, a forced smile through her lips as he asked her. ]

I don't know..where to start.

[ She whispered, still half jumbled as she tried to wipe the tears from her face. Unfortunately, there were more tears to replace the ones she wiped away. Screw this, she was going to cry until she couldn't cry anymore, even if Duzell was confused about all of this. ]

[He heard her words, but they could talk later, without people gawking at the princess and wanting to stick their grubby little noses in her business. The vampire didn’t give a damn about what they thought, but if one of Ishtar’s hundreds of servants or friends stopped by and saw her like this, they would pamper and annoy her to death. Humans loved to gossip. It was like their life would be boring without spreading wildfires.

Once they were inside the room, Duzell takes a closer look at her. He didn’t remember all those scars on her arms. Where the fuck did those come from?? Was it Lassen? Had to be. That spineless little mongrel probably sent one of his puppets out to cut her up like a cat on a scratching post.

One long claw pressed over a nasty scratch on her arm. It had healed, but the scar would stay for a long time.] Ishtar, who did this to you?

[If she was crying because of the cuts, it made a little sense. Other than that, he didn’t see a reason for all her tears.

God. Why were humans so bloody delicate? Duzell couldn’t remember the last time he saw a vampire bawling her eyes out like this. What the hell did Ishtar expect him to do? He didn’t deal with sensitive and emotional things. Only humans did, and maybe some vampires that had a couple of strong emotions.

Ishtar always did like to hold him in his cat form, so he went back to being a kyawl, and crawled over to her.]

(The beginning, ‘cause I have no idea what you’re crying about. I’m not leaving right now.)

[ Ishtar didn't really care about what people were going to say when they saw her. It was far from that right now. She was upset, and she wanted to just let everything out. It had been so long since she had cried like this, but it was helping her get over it.

It was helping her prove that one of the people she cared about deeply, was unharmed and safe. He was out of Lassen's grasp, and out of the way of the trap that would have been laid out for him. She didn't understand why he had fallen for the trap, but she couldn't help but blame herself for being part of that reason. It would have been a long story to tell him who did it. There was only one person that she had known who could use plants that way. She didn't want to remember it, but she had also recalled the why it happened.

She didn't move as he traced the nasty scar on her arm, shaped like the veins of her arms.

They didn't hurt anymore. She couldn't feel the pain, only the scars that remained. ]

...

Edited 2012-07-18 19:36 (UTC)

[ She sat there, wiping the tears away, quietly, and no longer sobbing. After a few moments of hiccupping, she stopped crying, but she wasn't ready to talk yet.

She only stroked his head. Duzell, her Duzell, the vampire king, and her cat. She still felt that he would disappear again. ]

I don't...think I can take you seriously if we talk when you're in this form, Duzie.

[He let her pet him on the head, offering what little comfort he could without knowing what else to do. His ears perked up when she said she couldn’t talk to him in this form, and he just stared at her with those serious red specks.

If Ishtar wasn’t crying this much, he would’ve rolled his eyes. After all this time, there were still so many things about Ishtar that he couldn’t figure out. He thought it would be better to call in one of her human servants, or even Darres, to help her get through whatever mess she was in now. If someone hurt her, he could kill the bastard, but dealing with emotions and tears? Duzell was clueless.]

(Fine, fine.)

[Back to vampire form he went. He sat on the bed next to her, and pulled her close to him. He stretched out one of her arms and started looking at all the scars on it. For every one he found, he would cut down the bastard that did this to her, and make him really suffer.]

I’m gonna kill him, you know. [He declared after counting the fifth scar.] Don’t even think about hiding anything from me.

[ It was more than enough for Ishtar as she closed her eyes. At least, she could still feel him and know that he was still here with her. That was all that mattered right now to her. She didn't want to think about anything else at the moment.

Ishtar was dead serious when she said that. It was nice to talk to him when he was a cat, but it wasn't right, considering what she had to tell him. He'll probably thought she was crazy or something, telling him things that didn't make any sense, but when did she ever lie about stuff like that? She didn't pick crazy stories and caused herself injuries.

It was weird, having that strange closeness they used to share, but it also felt a little foreign. She was certain that he wasn't the same one, but he was still Duzell. Either way, it was Duzell, she wasn't going to complain, and the doctors didn't get him this time. She watched as he looked at her arms and softly touching them. She shook her head. ]

Lassen didn't do any of this Duzie. Lassen's....he's dead.

[ She bluntly stated. There was no remorse for her cold cousin. Ishtar did not like Lassen and they were always like cat and dog. ]

I'm not going to, but you're probably going to think I'm crazy.

He’d better be dead. [He growled, feeling disappointed that he hadn’t been the one to kill him. He remembered chanting the “La Gamme” spell to use on the cowardly bastard, but it must not have worked, since he was still alive. Damn. Maybe he didn’t learn the spell right. He felt doubtful of that, though. Duzell had always excelled at magic. Something wasn’t adding up here.]

I already know you’re crazy. [He snarked, but then toned it back down.] Not like you’re gonna change my mind now.

Just spill it, Ishtar. Maybe you’ll feel better after you get it off your chest. [Duzell wasn’t normally this nice to anyone, and if she ever let it slip about his attitude, he would deny it. He even touched her arm carefully and made sure his sharp claws wouldn’t accidentally add anymore scars. He never thought of Ishtar as being fragile, accident-prone as she was. It was weird to see her acting so raw and meek like this. Lassen must have really done a number on her. That fucking bastard.

Fourteen scars he counted, just on one fucking arm. He switched to her other one, and the number kept going higher and higher. Too bad Lassen was dead. If he ever got reincarnated, Duzell would hunt him down and torture him then. He could wait; he had already lived for centuries.]

He is, and you've killed him...at the cost of your life.

[ Seeing, he might have already knew what was going on and not asking questions about Lassen. Ishtar kept her tone even as she continued. ] No, it's not like that Duzell. This is on an entirely different level.

[ She shook her head. ] Fine...don't blame me if you don't get what I'm talking about here.

[ The girl mused, taking a deep breath before speaking again, while dealing with the uncomfortably gentle touch that he was giving her. They were not done by Lassen, and she just stated that. Why did he continued to think it was Lassen? Lassen would have done things far worse than this. ]

Lassen didn't hurt me. He never got his hands on me. When you died...I was in this place...it was an experiment facility, and that's where these scars came from. I've been there for three and half years Duzell.

[He did? But there was no way he could’ve survived the dangerous Holy spell.] La Gamme kills the caster too, Ishtar. Not that I have to tell you that. [She should know because of her grandfather.]

Try me. [He was probably going to think she fell and hit her head really hard on something. He thought the letter about getting rescued from his destroyed world was full of bull. Some brainless moron trying to get his jollies off by pulling a prank that wasn’t even funny.

There was no limit to what her crazy cousin could do. Duzell could just look at Lailis and figure that out right off the bat. But on the same token, no one else hated Ishtar this badly. Her other relatives were tame compared to Lassen.]

An experimental facility… right. And it’s this tower?

[ Ishtar shook her head as he said that. ] You're probably take from the period you cast it or before you used it.

[ She replied looking off. ] I know what La Gamme does. It's a spell that I wouldn't use unless it was a life or death situation....I still don't...understand why you did it...even though, I kind of do at the same time.

[ She folded her arms to her lap. There was nothing funny about what she had said. Her tone had been dead serious from the moment they started this conversation. Lassen was someone that Ishtar would rather not see anywhere. It was better to not have to deal with him, or have anyone deal with him. She felt for Lailis, seeing she was incapacitated and probably been done terrible things to. She couldn't imagine the extent of Lassen's cruelties.

She still believed that bastard killed his own parents. ]

No, another place, far worse than this tower, and much smaller. I've...been there for a long time. You were there too...but then they...took you.

[He knew why he did it. Lailis had helped him realize why he treated the princess differently from other humans, why he was more lenient toward her than anyone else. When she and Darres had come rushing into the room to confront Lassen, Duzell had already made his decision. Since Lassen knew he was the biggest threat standing in his way, he would live up to that and prove it.

Ishtar said Lassen was dead; he did what he set out to do. But why was he still alive? None of it made any sense.]

You don’t need to know, princess.

[The vampire let go of her arm, having already counted all the scars on it. He bet there were other ones too, that she was hiding under all those clothes. He moved closer to her and went around to her back, pushing her dress aside. More fucking scars.]

So these bastards from the other place did this to you? [Damn. No matter, he could teleport there after she told him where they were.]

I don’t remember going to some experimental facility, Ishtar. I just left your castle and-you already know what happened.

[ Ishtar could have guessed if she wanted to, but she might either get right or wrong. She wasn't sure. She wanted to know, but she knew he wouldn't easily tell her what was on his mind. Duzell seldom talked about himself, and she hardly knew much about him, now that she thought about it.

They were close, but she was always the one talking. Duzell never revealed anything more than him being the vampire king, and he was the enemy of her great grandfather. ]

It would be nice to know....It still wasn't worth it, even now. I still don't think you had to do it....and I'm sorry, I couldn't protect you.

[ She gripped the fabric of her clothes. She was wearing a blouse, instead of a dress though. That's not something that she would usually be seen in. ]

A couple of them, yeah. One of the doctors stabbed me with his scalpel, because I didn't want to hurt someone.

[ She shrugged, not really feeling the pain anymore. ]

You don't, but I do.

[ She mused, looking off. ] Yeah, I know what happened at home, but it's different here. Time flows differently, and I'm not really who you think I am...

[ She closed her eyes, leaving it at that. She remained quiet after those words were said. How would he feel, to know that she wasn't really the real Ishtar, but a clone of the original? ]

Don’t be sorry, you moron. You didn’t force me to do it.

[He snorted and shook his head.] Like you need more complications in your life. Your head is gonna explode.

[He wasn’t stupid enough to go at something he had no chance of succeeding at. After listening to Ishtar sing praises about Darres all this time, Duzell knew exactly how she felt about him, how intense her emotions were. They were engaged to be married, thanks to Yujinn’s sneaky plot. Was he going to jump in the middle of this and mess it all up? If he didn’t care a whit about Ishtar’s feelings, maybe, just to get a rise out of them. (Yujinn would so approve.) But he would have to take a risk on something he didn’t know how to even deal with, and he already knew what the outcome would be.]

I don’t need Darres riding my ass.

[He rolled his eyes and pulled the blouse back even more to see where the scalpel scar was. The collar might be choking her at this point.] A whole lot of good that did. [Ishtar developed a pretty high tolerance for pain, after everything her crazy relatives tried to do to her.]

Oh yeah? Then who is that under here?

I still feel responsible. It was Lassen, he was my problem, not yours. I can't let it go, not that easily.

[ She looked at him frowning. ] It won't bother me. It's not like my head can get anymore messed up than it already is, Duzell.

[ She added quietly. It was true, she had been through so much, and it wasn't going to change how she thought, if he told her. ]

Darres can deal with it, like I said. He wouldn't treat you unfairly, or anything like that.

[ She shrugged. It might been a little uncomfortable that he was pulling at her clothes and that caused her to cough a little from the slight choking. ]

.....If I tell you, I'm not the real Ishtar, and that I'm a clone, originally from that place...would you believe me?

[ She looked serious when she stared at him dead in the eyes when he said that. ] I'm not the real one, just an imitation, with her memories, and her personality. I even look like her, but I'm not her....how would you feel about me now?

Shut up about it already. I'm not a kid, all right? I made my bed; I can lie in it.

[He rapped his knuckles against her head, knocking on the thick skull covered by all that hair.] Sounds like it.

[He couldn't tell her the truth. Even if she was stuck in some weird experimental dream, she'd snap out of it sooner or later and get back to her regular life. He should have died after casting La Gamme on Lassen. If this was Purgatory, then it just meant he'd die in a little while.

Then again, what did he have to lose by telling her? It wasn't like they could really be together, not with her heart already set on Darres.]

It's not like that, princess. [He muttered with a scowl, still skirting around the truth. He had already died for the woman, but he would balk at telling her the reason for it?] You're gonna marry him. Nothing'll change that.

[Duzell let go of her collar when she asked that weird question. He stared back into her eyes, and moved without telling her anything. He had her pressed down on the bed, with his claws circled around both of her wrists. He stared her for a while longer, then started asking questions.]

How did we meet, Ishtar? What happened to Yujinn? Who's Falan?

It doesn't matter what you did, I still feel responsible for it, and nothing will change my mind.

[ She replied as he did that, making no effort to flinch or feel any pain from it. She got flicked in the forehead a lot, so this was hardly anything. She wanted him to tell her the truth. That was something she always wanted from him, but clearly, he didn't want to tell her. She couldn't force him even if she tried. The vampire king was a proud and secretive guy, he wasn't going to tell some lousy princess what he was thinking. She just shrugged a little.

She hadn't seen Darres in three years....three and half long years. She wondered if he changed at all. She knew that time would not move in their world, but it didn't help her thought process. ]

Yeah, I guess so right, and yo won't be there to help protect me anymore?

[ She mused with a small laugh, a small bitter laugh. ]

I know...I still love him even now, Duzie....but it's different....maybe a little different now....I don't know.

[ She tightened her grip again. Ishtar was used to the strange things he did. He was always doing something strange when he was with her. If it wasn't making fun of her, he was touching her. ]

You were the baby kyarru that bit me. I thought it was sad that you lost your mother, so I took you home and named you Duzell. Yujinn's.....Yujinns...dead...

[ She closed her eyes. ]

Falan is my cousin. She's from Ci Xeneth. She's the sweetest thing...I really miss her.....

Oh yeah? And what the hell would you and Darres have done against the bastard? You think you're strong enough to take him on? He got Yujinn killed.

[He wasn't some emotional or sappy vampire, like some of the others that had been seduced by humans. He would never be the well behaved gentlemen that treated Ishtar like she was special because she was the princess. Hell, she was going to be the queen someday, and his kind wasn't welcome in Pheliosta, to say the least. It was better that the princess got who she wanted, even if Duzell didn't like it.]

You've got all those servants and your husband's the head soldier boy. That isn't enough protection?

[He would have spent the rest of his life protecting her, even after she died long before him. Just not like this. It hadn't been that hard to decide to sacrifice himself to save Ishtar from her cousin, all things considered. He'd reincarnate, and maybe by then, Ishtar and Darres would be dead, and he'd go back to his old ways. He'd forget he ever had this silly little attachment to one insignificant human.

Ishtar would never choose him.]

I know already, Ishtar. You'd do anything for him, just like always.

[Duzell didn't sound bitter or anything; he was just saying the truth. He wasn't be stupid enough to lie to himself.

His brows curved down and he stared at her some more before asking.] If you're a clone, then why do you remember everything?

I--I don't know, but we could have figured out something.....

[ She bit her lip, not wanting to think about Yujinn's death at all. His death, it still bothered her, because he was with her in Facility, and they were able to protect and support each other. She learned things about Yujinn that she never did before.

Even if that was true, she wouldn't be able to replace Duzell, just like she couldn't replace Darres. He was someone important to her, someone who had also been at her side...when they were at home, and when she was at Facility. Duzell might have been a cruel person, but he was kind to her, and that meant a lot to the princess. She never got to figure out his feelings for her. She was still confused. ]

They can't replace you...not even Darres can replace you. You're you, you're Duzell, and no one can be Duzell for me.

[ She lowered her eyes. She didn't want to start crying again. If only Ishtar knew the extent of his feelings, or at least understood them. Maybe that way, she wouldn't be stupidly ignorant about them....and that really hurt that she was. ]

...Just as I would do anything for you....or Yujinn right now.

[ They were important to her. Even if she said that before, she didn't mean it to be exclusively for Darres. She would die for Darres, but she could also die for everyone else that she loved and care for.

Ishtar closed her eyes. ] I'm sorry, Duzie...I didn't know.

[ She looked at him, still. ]

Because I'm a clone with her memories. Didn't I tell you that a moment ago?

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