[ P ] how you remind me

TIAMAT He didn't know why he had come here. He should be back at the Barracks, waiting for the next assignment with the rest of his brethren in the Army, but he found himself restless. He needed to get away, to not be reminded of everything and everyone who had died in the war. To get away from the Manse, where his mother was no longer present. Where his uncle was drowning himself in debauchery. Where his nieces and nephews were asking questions he didn't have the answers to. Where the sadness permeated the walls, the floors, the carpets and the bedding. Sethos needed to get away from it all before he broke apart even more. So he found himself surrounded by the wildflowers of Melrose. No longer did his ears ring with the sounds of merchants yelling their fares, or pups squabbling, or higher ranking army officials calling out orders. No screams from the battlefield, no sharp stench of blood, no death. No, just flowers. And then he recalled the last time he ran away from his duties, to when he lost himself in the Redwood, only to be found by a sharp-tongued girl who had insulted him, then backtracked for whatever reason. He thought about their conversation, how he found himself relaxing a little with her. And then he wondered what had happened to her. Did she survive the war, or was she another casualty? Did she run away? What side had she been on? Sethos's brows furrowed as more and more questions arose in his mind. He had promised her a date. What better time than now to find her and take her on one? Sethos rose, turning around to begin his search for Onyxia. Hopefully she wasn't too far away.

art ▸ ashon ☓ table ▸ bunny

The days seemed eternal, but each day that did pass she felt herself getting better, stronger. She still had a slight limp, one that she could strength with time until it was barely noticeable, but the scars she would never be able to cover up. One traveled the length of the side of her neck, tucked closely behind her ear and dragged down the side. Hair had covered some of it, but not all, and it was still a reminder of the death she stared in the face. A woman with an all white pelt, but ebon' muzzle and cold, icy eyes.

Along her hip ran another scar, the bite that had almost crippled her. It had taken her months to heal her dislocated hip, the very reason why she was left with a limp. Thankfully she did not have each pursuer on her at the same time, so when she was able to whirl around and catch her attacker attached to her she was met back with a pair of bright, pinkish red eyes. Auburn and variations of browns, and a light colored muzzle. Trauma seemed to keep those memories clear, so vivid that even if she did want to forget, she would never be able to.

In truth the months it took her to heal she had forgotten all the promises in between. She had forgot about the date she was suppose to have with Sethos, and oddly enough the universe would remind her. As she cleared the first hill she saw him there, his focus seemed to be on looking for something, someone maybe? A soft smile tugged at her lips as she continued her decent down the hill until she was a couple feet from him. "Didn't think I would see you again, Golden boy." Her tone was lightly teasing. Onyxia wasn't sure who made it after the war, and she would be forced to assume them dead if she never came across them again. The lands now were also divided, so chances were a lot of faces she had come to in the past, would not make it to her future memory.

TIAMAT Funnily enough, his search did not take very long. While he wanted to paint himself as some kind of successful detective, in truth she had found him again. He was met with a smile, and he returned one right back at her - until he noticed the limp in her gait as she neared him. Golden boy, the nickname rolled right off her tongue, as if months hadn't passed since they last met. Had it been that long? And better yet, she had clearly not forgotten him... he wondered what to think of that. Then they were feet apart, but Sethos didn't care much about personal boundaries. He took a couple more steps, his stride also hitched with each step from a hind leg. If her eyes wandered to inspect, he would only smile. "Golden Shit Girl - looks like neither of us escaped the bloodshed unscathed," he observed with the same teasing lilt to his voice. One white brow raised in question. "I didn't take you for one to get involved though, Onyxia. Wrong place, wrong time?" his question wasn't demanding, instead a gentle nudge should she decide to answer. While concern blossomed within his chest, he was careful not to allow it to crease his brow. Based on their last interaction, she was not one to take pity from a man she hardly knew - he could understand that. However, it was hard not to feel the anger that bubbled like hot magma deep down inside him at the sight of the fresh scars that decorated her once impeccable form. Who had done this? Sethos decided he wanted to find out, regardless of what side she may have fought on.

art ▸ ashon ☓ table ▸ bunny

A small tug of her lips would be the recognition needed at his banter back at her. She hadn't forgotten him, her memory of their last meet fresh as they spoke about and date, and here they were. Both bruised and battered it seemed as she noticed his limp as well when he neared her. Onyxia's smile couldn't help but falter at the sight, ready to ask him, but he would beat her to the punch. His touch brought a sense of comfort though she could consider him a stranger, he didn't quite feel like one.

"More like I didn't mind my business when I should have," she admitted to him while her orange gaze settled on his bright features. "How about you? I took you for a softy the last time we met, but it seems I may have been wrong." Little did she know about him because she never asked, and maybe that was the better way to go about it. Onyxia never understood the break of power, how blood could be so thin that it trailed easily like water under a bridge. To send others out to kill for their own beliefs? It was stupid, foolish, and she was still lost about how others followed so blindly for one who wouldn't fight in their own war, or even send their kids into it.

They were all pawns, and since fighting in the war she believed it a little more everyday.

She inhaled a deep breath before exhaling slowly, trying to relieve the tension she still felt when she thought about the war. I almost didn't make it to our date," she managed to stifle a small laugh. "I was left for dead, thankfully someone recognized me and dragged me off the battlefield and to a close companions home." She felt a need to share if he was inquiring about it. Just the same way she was curious about him.

TIAMAT True to his image of her, the woman replied with witty remarks - and just like that, the stress and anger and grief melted away, at least for the moment. It wasn't that he forgot, but more like she provided a salve over his invisible wounds that not healed, but dulled the pain. He enjoyed the banter she gave, how she made him think about something clever to respond with and today was no different. "How about you? I took you for a softy the last time we met, but it seems I may have been wrong." she questioned back to him, and while he knew it shouldn't have bothered him, his skin prickled. Softy, just like his mother thought of him. Or rather, had thought of him. A flicker of sorrow crossed his features before he steeled himself again, forcing a smile to his face before he responded. "Duty called," he murmured, suddenly uncomfortable, though his bright eyes watched her intently for her reaction. He had avoided, as much as possible, talking about his station and the fact of which side he apparently stood on. It had been ingrained in him since birth, his childhood dreams focused on achieving ranks his father was never able to climb. In his yearling years as a cadet in the Army, he strived to make his mother proud and prove he was worth the Tiamat name. And now, he wondered if he was. Was this what being a war hero meant? If it was, it left a sour taste on his tongue. Thankfully, she seemed to have noticed his unease and changed - sort of - the subject. "I almost didn't make it to our date," her laugh was just as forced as his smile. "I was left for dead, thankfully someone recognized me and dragged me off the battlefield and to a close companions home." while he was thankful she had friends that cared for her, his ears flicked at the mention of a close companion. Ivory brows raised as a more relaxed smile tickled his lips. "I'm glad you survived. Selfishly, I don't need another gravesite to visit." how depressing war was. "I broke my spine. At least, according to the medical specialists. I nearly died all over again through the physiotherapy, but I guess the torture paid off as I can walk again. I wasn't sure..." he trailed off a little, eyes glazing over as he remembered the immense pain, the suffering, the hopelessness he endured as he wondered if his legs would work again. Sethos cleared his throat. "Anyway, about that date. Is there anywhere you'd like to see, that's within reasonable walking distance for us cripples?" he grinned again, this time more genuine.

art ▸ ashon ☓ table ▸ bunny

I'm glad you survived. Selfishly, I don't need another gravesite to visit.

Thankfully Onyxia was able to read between the lines, and the thought of him losing someone close to him made her lips curl into a soft frown. "I'm sorry," it was probably one of the most light-hearted things she had said to him, and the most genuine. War changed her, and nearly dying impacted her in a way she did not think possible. While she did not believe she lost a part of herself, it very much felt dead. When she thought it couldn't get worse, however, she found herself to be wrong. His spine. Broken. The possibility to have been paralyzed was so close and he had the limp to show for it. Her eyes softened and she couldn't quite grip what to say back. She was sorry, again, but no amount of sorry would make anything different or better for that matter. Instead she cleared her throat and adverted his gaze for a moment.

The air seemed to stiff, growing quiet with only the whistling sound of the wind to occupy the silence, but thankfully he would break the awkward tension.

"We can just sit here, and talk, while viewing the mountains." Onyxia offered with a soft smile, "I always thought it was beautiful here, especially when the sun starts to set." In reality she also could not think of anywhere close by that wouldn't cause the both of them discomfort during their travels. While she wanted to let the conversation go, she just couldn't. "Sethos, I—," she looked at him again, "we don't have to continue to talk about this, but I need someone I can relate to." She admitted now knowing that he too almost died during the war. "I am also glad to see you alive and well, to see that the war didn't take you and funny enough as we look at each other, I don't even know who you fought for..." She managed a small smile, "and I don't care." She gulped back the lump that formed in her throat. "I hated both sides because what happened to me, I had no business there and almost paid for it, but you strike me as someone who has purpose. I want to ask you, but I won't because I just want to know you for what you showed me, not what you believed in." She inhaled a soft, steadied breath.

"Do you know who almost killed you, what they looked like. So vividly you could paint their portrait in your mind over, and over again?" She shook her head slowly and she could feel the anxiety swell in her. "Mine are painted as two faces. One mostly white, with an ebony muzzle and striking cold, ice blue eyes and the other—," her yellow orbs locked onto the golden hues of his face. "a face of russet, cream and white behind pink eyes. I can't forget them and the way he looked at me when he left me there. Neither one of them." And it was there her breath shallowed, trying to calm her racing heart.

TIAMAT She smiled back at him, offering to just talk and he was relieved. Finding that they were already situated in an area where they could relax, he moved gingerly to take a seat off of the worn path. If needed, he waited for her to join him. And then she spoke. "Sethos, I--" orange eyes, previously looking for this beautiful scenery she spoke of, flicked back to her immediately. He observed her suddenly anxious mannerisms as she thought about what she wanted to say, before the words began to tumble out ungracefully. "we don't have to continue to talk about this, but I need someone I can relate to." he nodded once; a simple response to what he knew was going to be a heavy conversation. Could he handle it? He didn't know. Maneuvering his body so that he was facing her in a show that she had his full attention, Sethos remained quiet as she spoke - about how she was thankful he was alive, about questioning what side he was on but also not wanting to know, about... "Do you know who almost killed you, what they looked like. So vividly you could paint their portrait in your mind over, and over again?" Another stiff nod. He did - a woman cloaked all in black, who was younger than him but just as massive. The thought of her still made him shiver. He never wished to cross that ebony devil again. Maybe he would have answered her, but Onyxia continued on, and he listened diligently as it was clear to him that she needed to speak about this. And she was right - he could relate. But all the training in the colleges, or armies, or whatever else could never prepare him for what she said next. "Mine are painted as two faces. One mostly white, with an ebony muzzle and striking cold, ice blue eyes and the other—," he couldn't look away from her once their eyes locked. She held him in a vice grip he was not powerful enough to break, though his muscles began to shake as he knew exactly who she was speaking of. "a face of russet, cream and white behind pink eyes. I can't forget them and the way he looked at me when he left me there. Neither one of them." Static. Static. Static. His gaze was blank, staring at her - though it was more like through her. He had previously wished to know who it was who had gifted her such a hideous scar, and now he wished he never wished at all. Sethos was a gentle man. He was soft and loving and tender; many traits that any woman or man may find attractive. And yet with each fucking day that passed since his mothers death, that version of Sethos cracked and splintered and crumbled away. It was like that part of him was kept alive because of her, and now that she was gone... He was a man - an Army man, who had taken lives and inflicted grievous injuries on other wolves through not one, but two wars now. And yet as he stared at this woman who he considered a friend, he could not wrestle back the emotions that hit him like a tidal wave. Tears welled within his orange eyes and dripped down his cheeks, yet he was unmoving as he wordlessly, cried. Frozen in place by what - shame? Anger? Disbelief? All of the above? He knew, very well, who did this to her. Did he still want to enact his revenge? Could he, upon his own kin? Who was in the right? Was anyone? He couldn't imagine Onyxia was enough of a threat to warrant the injury she received. Was he wrong? Did he tell her? Thousands of questions and thoughts whirled around in his head as it exploded in a hurricane of unknown emotion. His world was unravelling, falling apart right in front of him; all around him - and this was just the beginning of what was to come. How could he feel? What did he feel? What the fuck was happening?! His heart raced in his chest, beating violently against his ribs and his ears rushed with the sound of viciously pumping blood. His nerves were on fire. Nothing felt real anymore. I miss you so much, Mom. "I'm so sorry," was all he managed to choke out after a long, painful silence, and he finally pulled his eyes down from hers. He couldn't look at her, not now. Maybe not ever. His legs hummed with the sudden, intense desire to run away.

art ▸ ashon ☓ table ▸ bunny

She didn't expect him to say anything, not right away at least, but when he said nothing at all after all she had explained she grew curious. Her eyes narrowed at him, studying his expression as he seemed to shift under his own weight and battle his own thoughts. He looked at her, but she did not feel the mutual stare it was as though he had seen a ghost. Onyxia's lips formed a solid line, her breathing began to slow as she felt the anxiety swell. He knew something, she could sense it. She inhaled a painful breath of air, her lungs feeling like they wanted to collapse at the thought of what he knew. Part of her wished to not ask, but she couldn't, she couldn't help herself in the moment.

"Sethos," she stated sternly, "what do you know?" Had he even tried to save face maybe she wouldn't have pressed him, but she poured out everything to him and all he said to say was I'm sorry? No. Unacceptable. It was a cop out.

Onyxia didn't know him for long, but he was not a dry conversation and she knew that from the first moment she met him. If he was impassive about anything she had to say he would have added in more, had something to work off of, offered more then just a simple sorry. It was due to his lack of words that she knew there was something deeper stirring in him. Onyxia neared him and did not once peel her orange gaze from him. She didn't wish to interrogate him as a friend, but as a victim she wanted to know. Her nostrils flared with each breath, the heavy hammering in her heart made her blood feel cold. "Tell me," she didn't come off as rude, though her voice was stern. She didn't know how well he did under pressure, but selfishly she wanted him to bend. Little did she know the real reason why it seemed he was staring death in the face, and it was a lot deeper than she would have imagined.

TIAMAT Every step she took towards him, he shrank back just as much. He couldn't believe this was happening; his mind was reeling, desperately grasping at anything to ground him. Nothing was working, though, as his mind frayed at the edges and he began to lose control while his life crumbled, piece by piece, all around him. Dark ears flattened tightly against his chocolate crown as he refused to meet her gaze, a paw rising to hold tightly against his chest. Internally, he reverted back to when he was a fresh Cadet in the Army, where the pressure of meeting his families expectations was at an all time high, where he cowered under the gazes of his mother, his father, and his grandmother. And he cowered again under her pointed stare, her demand question pinning him to the ground just as well as if she physically held him down. Sethos licked his lips, swallowed, then swallowed again. She deserved to know, he knew this. But getting the words out was proving to be especially difficult. His family was responsible for horrifically injuring a woman he cared about. He knew war was unfair, but this? What a kick in the face. In a time where he desperately wanted his mother, she was unreachable. He was stiff as a board; not a hair on his form moving save for the quick, shallow breaths he took as he tried to figure out how to navigate this. He didn't agree with how the war played out. He didn't want any of this to happen. Would his mother still be alive? Would Onyxia be unharmed? What if, what if, what if. His mind rang with white noise and questions he didn't know how to answer. Sethos so badly wanted to simply run away, but what would that solve? He didn't know Onyxia well, but a part of him deduced that she would hunt him down until he gave the answers she wanted. He had to make sure he gave enough that she would leave him alone after this - he could never face her again. Ever. And that thought burned at his heart, as if knowing that this friendship was over before it even began hurt him more than any wound he sustained in the war. Emotional pain was a completely different beast than physical, and he would break his spine all over again if it meant he could avoid all of this. The man was bound to doing what was right, even if no one else would agree with what he was about to do. His loyalties remained with his family, and always would be. That was why he was going to burn down the bridge that led to Onyxia right here and now, but he would also give her what she wanted. "Sybil and Ahkoris Tiamat," finally, his blazing eyes rose to meet hers and the sorrow that was etched into every crevice of his face was palpable as he named his kin. He studied her face, wanting to remember the good - the banter, the jokes, the lovely calm she provided him when they met. He had looked forward to seeing what she would accomplish in her life, to having their friendship potentially blossom into something more beautiful than what it was destined to be. But then it was wiped away as he pulled every ounce of his willpower to remain stoic. He should have known that a wildfire such as himself did not deserve the fairytale ending they would have had. And then he stiffly turned and walked away, leaving the ashes of what could have been on the ground at her paws. - exit sethos unless stopped -

art ▸ ashon ☓ table ▸ bunny

Sybil and Ahkoris Tiamat.

Tiamat. Tiamat. Tiamat. It rang in her head viciously for one reason, and one reason alone.

I'm Sethos by the way - Sethos Tiamat. Sorry for... well, I'm usually better company to be around. It's just hard to know what to think right now, I guess.

Her heart jumped into her throat at the realization that he too was one of them, but in the same token he was not. He was gentle, timid, his heart was full but he had kin that were ruthless—killers. Her jaw parted, unable to find the words as he looked her directly in the eyes which gave her the time to study him. He was broken, his eyes remorseful, tired. Her heart hammered wildly in her chest as she fought back the lump that formed in her throat, even as she looked at him she wanted to be mad that he wore the same name, but she could not. He was not them, his name did not define him, and he had just provided her with the information she needed to do with what she would.

And then he would turn away from her with nothing more to say, each step stiff against the cold ground, the gears of her mind whirling. "Wait!" She called after him when she was able to finally speak, though her voice was pained. Onyxia slowly walked towards him, her ears low against her skull while the lines of her mouth pulled into a frown. She would face him with her stare no longer as intense, but instead remorseful as well. "Thank you," it was brave of him to do and she was certain if he had such ruthlessness in his family that they would not take what he did, for her, lightly. "I am sorry for anything I might do, or what is to come," she wanted revenge, and she would get it though the anxiety of what might happen to her in return swelled in her heart. Onyxia knew this might be the last time she ever saw him, and the terms of their friendship would no longer be what it once was. It hurt her as it took a lot for her to find another whose company she actually enjoyed. What was to be a date turned into something so horrific, never did she think she would have received what she did.

I don't exactly enjoy not having a direction to follow; or a purpose. I feel... lost.

Another snippet of conversation popped into her mind, she could only imagine how he felt now. She could see it in his face, his eyes, his expressions. He was a kind soul living in a world destined for failure. Onyxia wanted to reach out to hug him, but she took into consideration how she would feel if in his position, and the gesture wouldn't be appreciated. Instead she nodded, a goodbye of sorts as she did not see any of this being able to be remedied. She would turn and leave in the opposite way he was facing, her cheeks burning and heart numb.

What a terrible way to lose a friend.

exit unless stopped