brave_kreyu | OOM All Skate Skellig Dream Magic Weirdness -Part 12

It is something that he does truly just KNOW - he is not sure HOW this is the truth, but it is without question - and so he decides to test it, mentally thinking back to the day that the Fates aligned and she found him wandering in the desert, stumbling and lost...

(They did not spend time outside on that first night - and he has always wondered what things looked like in the skies above, on that first night...)

Things rotate and shift a little faster - not MUCH, as in the reality of time, that night was not truly that far in the past, considering you have the entire expanse of time and space at your fingertips - and Skellig watches as things realign, the moon changes phase, the Great Stars slowly shift backwards in their orbits above.

There are cries of delight and surprise from the others as the 'sky' moves to show it as it was on THAT night.

A tiny sphere of gold appears in the sky, a comet, its 'tail' streaming out behind it. It blazes through the sky like an omen or a sign from the gods.

Is it an echo of his soul, of his arrival in this world? A coincidence? A path that he walked and can not remember?

His eyes are drawn to the comet and he tilts his head curiously, studying it as it blazes across the sky.

Is that how he came to be here? It is a sign? An echo?

There are questions to which there are no answers that can be 'set in stone' - despite the fact that they are all currently surrounded by dozens (if not hundreds) of different types of it!

Night of the day you found me, he 'says' to her. Always wondered.

She crouches next to him, wraps an arm around him. It's beautiful, her mental voice full of awe and wonder. Rare to see such a thing in the sky, generally held to be an omen.

"A wandering star, I remember seeing that," Ajax says, voice soft. "The priests and the sages were all saying it was a sign of a great change coming." He chuckles. "Always a safe bet to make about the future, change."

"Much goes, much remains," Koschei rumbles.

"Many things have changed since that night," he says quietly. "Perhaps even more than any of us are aware of."

He is grateful for the contact, for her presence close to him. Hearing her heartbeat, breathing her scent, feeling her touch as she wraps her arm around him - all of it works to solidify the connection between them, strengthen it even deeper.

As he lifts his hand, the sky slowly begins to return to 'present' day, though the motion is slight and smooth, the mechanisms that drive the machine flawless in operation. That way, if one of the others would like to try, they are free to.

Privately, he turns his head and presses his lips to her temple. "Love you, my mate," he whispers. "With all my being."

"Yes," Kreyu replies. "So very many things."

She smiles so wide at his kiss, love filling her heart. "Love you, Skellig. With all of me that is mine alone."

Koschei touches the floor, and the stars begin to move far more rapidly, cycling back over many many years.

There is a surge of rage in the distance strong enough to pierce the echoes that cling to the Procession of the Heavens. As the 'sun' hangs overhead, providing bright warm light, Koschei stands, something drawing his attention.

Skellig hears a guard's last breath as he is violently gutted with a blade. SOMEONE more than human is coming, and they're PISSED!

"Company," Skellig grumbles as he pushes himself back to his feet, bringing Kreyu with him - and turning his attention to Ajax, who is the most vulnerable out of all of them at this moment as SOMEONE growls and pays no heed to the 'don't open the door' rule...

But at least, they still have a brief moment to plan.

Kreyu and Koschei, he is not (outright) concerned for their safety.

"Ideas?" He asks, pushing away the sounds of a man choking on his own blood and he lies on the sandstone outside the tower.

"Will ambush," Koschei growls. He strips off his chiton, then sinks into the stone of the Procession of the Heavens, heading for the floor.

Ajax picks up Koschei's chiton without really thinking about it, his stomach in knots.

"Will take him time to get up here, in a human shape. I can throw fire at him once he starts to ascend. If he gets around me..." She glances at Skellig. "We might have to trust Ajax with a secret, but I think you can get him out of reach of anything human shaped."

"And if he's ever dragon shaped I'm going to be running away as fast as I can," Ajax quips.

Then, the door slams open with such Force that it actually falls onto the floor! Gorgon stalks inside in his human shape, every line of his body naked threat. He hasn't bothered with clothes, and he's already splattered liberally with other people's blood. He tightens his fist around the hilt of the sword in his hand as he stares at the Procession of the Heavens. "What happened to it?!" he snarls. "It's just a useless trinket!"

"Won't have to worry about running away," Skellig says. "And not worried about secrets."

And that is all he truly has time to say, before the door below slams open and Gorgon's voice - a deep growl, full of rage and fire and so many echoes of those he has harmed along the way to get to the point where he stands at the foot of the Procession.

Wordless, Skellig puts a hand on Ajax's shoulder and takes a half-step backwards - they can still clearly see all that is going on (he can feel the concern Ajax has for Koschei, wherever he has gone off to) but they are out of view of Gorgon, in more ways than one.

It likely is not that Skellig is strong enough to hide their presence entirely, and the nudge he is purposefully keeping subtle, as to not draw attention to his energy.

"Know you're here SOMEWHERE," Gorgon growls. He stalks forward, confident and unafraid, which proves to be a fatal mistake.

Most beings are accustomed to the earth being solid. Therefore, Gorgon is taken entirely by surprise when Koschei's draconic head, jaws open wide, rises out of the stone right under Gorgon's feet. Like Kreyu, Gorgon is far more vulnerable in a human shape, and he doesn't have TIME to change that.

Koschei's jaws close around Gorgon's body like a snapping trap, easily holding and hiding his entire body in Koschei's gigantic maw. Thankfully, that also constrains the...mess as the inside edges of his teeth tear Gorgon apart in a matter of seconds.

That was...surprisingly efficient, and Skellig is impressed! Which Ajax may be able to sense by the not-so-subtle sound of appreciation that escapes Skellig's throat as Koschei's jaws SNAP shut firmly around Gorgon's body.

It is probably better that Ajax's hearing is not as fine-tuned as Skellig's however, given what sounds filter through his ears in the few (thankfully brief) seconds that follow the initial 'catch'.

That's definitely for the best. Once Gorgon is dead, Koschei retreats back under the earth to dispose of the body. And, well, probably clean his mouth out. He's not a CANNIBAL!

Ajax is staring at the spot where Koschei was. "He's MAGNIFICENT," he breathes. "Clever tactic, and such power."

"That should postpone any trouble with Gorgon for quite some time," Kreyu says, relieved.

"He is," Skellig agrees, nodding as Koschei retreats and disappears - relief also entering his system now that the overwhelming sense of rage and anger has begun to dissipate from the room. There will still be hints of those echoes that remain, but they were so very, very brief...that in the overall aura that surrounds the Procession, they are nothing more than a fragment that can be swept away.

He rolls his neck and stretches his shoulders out a little bit - his wings are still concealed and he would not show them yet, but he was ready if needed to do so and that has them 'itchy', in a sense.

"Unsettled, darling?" Kreyu asks, a bit concerned. "We can wait here for Koschei to come back, seems the most expedient option."

"Yes, that sounds good," Ajax agrees, staring up again at the false stars.

"Just...adrenaline," he says. "Koschei took care of our issue with great speed, and I was prepared to do...much more, to be quite honest."

And the nervous energy is still there, and requires an outlet!

"But I am glad that it was not necessary and that none of us were hurt," he adds, glancing back at the spot on the floor where Koschei rose from. "At least, I do not feel as if he suffered any injury."

"I was too, but I am glad Koschei dealt with the problem so speedily."

"Nor do I," she agrees. "And he can heal himself quite readily, with as much karma as he has right now. Even if something cut off his head."

"Wait, WHAT?" Ajax blurts out, looking at her with a stunned expression.

Skellig hadn't considered that option - so he is equally as stunned when Kreyu mentions healing from a decapitation.

"Dragons...can heal themselves from that?" His expression is not quite as shocked as Ajax's is, but it's pretty damn close.

He glances back towards the ground, to see if that sword which Gorgon was carrying is anywhere laying about.

"Very few dragons can, but Koschei is one of them. And it takes a TREMENDOUS amount of karma."

Something clicks in Ajax's mind. "He moved my wounds to HIS body, then healed himself."

Kreyu shifts a bit on her feet, not wanting to confirm or deny Ajax's statement.

Ajax sighs. "I won't press you about it," he promises Kreyu. "And it worked quite well, but the thought of him being in so much pain because of ME..."

The sword probably went into Koschei's mouth along with the rest of Gorgon, considering his size. Hopefully it won't get stuck between his teeth!

"If he can heal himself from his own wounds of such great magnitude, then while your injuries may have been massively painful to you...they likely were not quite as painful to him," Skellig offers, trying to be helpful.

But he also knows intimately how Ajax feels, because he has felt the exact same way about Kreyu working to heal him by taking on his wounds into herself.

"I hope so," Ajax says, voice quiet. He kneels, places his hand on the floor.

The stars turn back what must be years, to a particular alignment of the celestial bodies. "The sky I was born under," he explains. "When I was five years old, those who studied the stars told my parents it meant ill for me. That it would be a miracle if I reached adulthood."

"My mother cried at the news, my father was stone faced for a minute or so. Then he said it mattered not, as he had seven older sons."

"And yet, it seems as you are the one who has had the most sense about you the entire time, and you have survived this far - well into adulthood, with no miracle yet."

Yes, encountering Koschei might have been a bit of 'divine' intervention, but Skellig makes no mention of that, as he turns his face skyward.

"Those who speak of prophecy are often most interested in saying only what they think people want to hear," he adds. "Or whatever might bring them the most coin. It is rare to find one who can truly See."

"That is comforting to hear," Ajax says, looking at Skellig and smiling faintly.

"And even those who CAN see, if they are honest, will admit the future shifts easily and often," Kreyu adds.

Ajax looks back up at the crystal stars. "Only five sons now, I think. I can't imagine in that temper that Gorgon left my oldest brother alive." He sighs. "The four of them had best work something out soon with regard to the throne, I don't want the damn thing."

"Could offer to rule by a court," Skellig suggests. "Rather than one of them assume the entire responsibility outright. Spread balance across the four of them?"

Even with the oldest brother likely dead (and while there is technically probably some reason for there to be a hint of sadness there, he can sense that the relationship with all his older brothers is...quite unhealthy, the elder ones especially) and a new struggle to emerge, perhaps with Gorgon out of the picture and the Procession no longer such a magnet for power and Karma...

"It might bring great prosperity to your region if this was carefully reintroduced to society," he adds. "Offerings from visitors..."

"I might be able to convince them of that, will take some doing." He strokes his beard, thinking.

"Yes, the world should see this wonder again," Kreyu agrees.

Ajax nods. "If nothing else, I think I can accomplish that."

Koschei emerges from the stone of the Procession quite naked, but clean. He cuts quite the fine figure, does Koschei. One can see why many maidens, and some men, have rather swooned over him.

Ajax runs over, throws his arms around Koschei. "You're safe!" he says, pressed against Koschei's chest. Koschei wraps his arms around him.

"Safe, Gorgon never trouble you again," Koschei murmurs.

Turning slightly as to give them a moment of privacy (once he is satisfied that Koschei is not in need of healing - though if he can heal himself from losing his head, there is probably little that Skellig would be called upon for) he brings a hand up to Kreyu's cheek, cupping it gently.

"We will have reason to celebrate tonight," he says softly. "Neither of us wounded, Gorgon disposed of, and to find this treasure, see it with our own eyes..."

He glances up at the stars. "I am most grateful."

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