forum Ever Searching (1-1, Closed, Mature)

Started September 14, 2022 by @Serpentess health_and_safety language

tune

He was gone in a flash of black, but Valiel could see him behind a tree a little ways off.
She considered, for a moment, and decided to leave it alone. He was obviously in distress, and she didn't need to know. It would be pure nosiness at this point.
"Well… thank you, De'Tearion." She called softly. She was grateful he'd been so kind in that one respect.
"The pup is here, if you're still hungry. I, uh…. I'll continue on my way, now…"
She turned from the whole scene, feeling awkward, but it wasn't hers to worry about.
He didn't like her, that he'd been clear about, and his kindness had been out of a mistake. There was no reason for her to stick around and make him feel worse.
She shifted to the panther form she'd been in when he first saw her, leap up into a tree, and ran aong the branches, before leaping to another branch, and moved through the forest that way. Away from him and the whole uncomfortable scenario.

Her words, her gratitude, brought De’Tearion out of his thoughts. It was the first time in a long while that someone had shown him gratitude. Genuine gratitude…

He stood when she said she would leave and quickly made his way back to the clearing. But, by the time he got back, she was gone. This strange woman that had only offered him help most of the time they’d been together, and that had saved his life from…

She’d saved his life. De’Tearion hadn’t even realized it until just then. The shapeshifter had killed the male troll, nearly dying herself, for him.

“Mercy have me. I am such a fool,”he breathed.

De’Tearion started to pace, trying to figure out how he could get the woman back. He didn’t want to chase her, in case she thought he was being hostile still. He just… he just wanted to talk. With a sigh, De’Tearion decided to try the only other thing his flustered mind could come up with.

“Woman! I…”he trailed off, not sure what to say. He chirped in frustration.

“You saved my life. I owe you a debt. Come back, I beg!”he yelled, his voice echoing through the trees.

He was well aware of the risk he was taking, making such loud noise, but he didn’t know what else to do. And, he truly wanted her to come back.

Valiel was a ways away when she heard calling. She couldn't tell what he was saying, but… it didn't sound angry. More… pleading.
She paused, thinking for a long moment, weighing her options, weighing what she wanted to do against what was likely smart to do…
Before turning back and returning the way she came.
A minute or so passed, since she knew where she was going, before she dropped out of the tree, black as the night around her, and stood a little bit away from him.
"Did you need something?"

De’Tearion sighed after a moment, shaking his head.

“Mercy, have you forsaken me once again?”he muttered.

He wiped off the tears from his face while trying to avoid more of them. Then, he heard something approaching. It came closer and closer, then dropped out of the trees near him. It was her. He knew it was without even looking. He turned at her question, hesitating a moment. A timid look breifly crossed over his face.

“I… You saved my life. For that, I owe you a debt. Yet, I… I also wish not to be alone. Too long have I roamed aimlessly on my own. I cannot bear more of that. Truly, I cannot,”he said.

He replayed his own words in his head, realizing that he sounded a lot more forceful than he was trying to be. Turning away, he shook his head.

“Yet… I understand if you refuse. I am… I have been… erratic for a long time,”he added, his voice quieter, docile.

Valiel stood there for a moment, a bit dumb-founded. She hadn't expected him to admit all of that.
She finally cleared her throat. "I will consider the life-debt even if you'll stop hunting me or considering me a food source. That's all I've wanted this whole time."
Her voice softened. "As for loneliness… I understand that hurt. If… if you'd like to travel with me, you can, but… I too am just a wanderer, so it would just be more of the same, except now with a person slowing you down."
She stepped towards him. She had started to shift to human form, but something about how he'd responded before told her not to. So instead she shifted to the dire wolf, reddish-furred and long.
"I would not refuse you, as long as you don't continue trying to kill and eat me… and as for erratic behavior, I can understand it. People go through all kinds of things to wind up like you and I, wanderers in a forest far from our homes. So… just try to be decent, and I won't go anywhere."

De’Tearion listened to all of her words before saying anything. It relieved him that she was even willing to consider letting him be near her. Though, he wasn’t sure how long it would last, considering his state of mind.

“I will try, yet ‘tis my nature as a predator. And, as of recently, I can barely tell ally from enemy. It seems like that, at least. Yet, I care not that you are a wanderer. I have nowhere to go, and… no one to see. Time be almost meaningless at this point,”he said with a sad sigh.

He watched her morph, then admired her dire wolf form. He had never seen such a large wolf before, and it was intriguing to see how massive they could be. The power, the strength in her form was amazing.

"As long as you're trying, that's all I ask." She sat, watching him look her over.
"What are you, De'Tearion?" She'd never seen a creature like him before, and as long as he was looking her over, she may as well ask him questions about himself and his form.

De’Tearion nodded solemnly, then chirped at her question.

“I doubt you would know of my species. I am from an island far from this, the mainland. Yet, I am known as a Goliathan,”he answered.

He contemplated telling her more, maybe even warning her to tread carefully with the subject. But, he decided against it. De’Tearion knew his boundaries, and he wasn’t ashamed to talk about his race or their secrets. What had they ever done for him anyway? He just… had to avoid certain things.

Valiel nodded at him. All she needed to know was that he was a species she hadn't encountered. That meant wariness of new powers, new triggers, and an awareness that her strength alone might not get her out of a situation.
Especially with anything called a Goliathan.
She didn't pry further, not wanting to push him. She was a tad bit more concerned about some of his other statements anyhow.
"So, nowhere to go, time is meaningless, and enemy and ally blur together, huh… Should I be worried?" He sounded a bit unstable, and Valiel didn't want to have to put him down because of some psychotic break.

“You forgot one detail. ‘No one to see.’ I… I hate being alone,”De’Tearion mentioned with a shaky sigh.

He looked away slightly, avoiding her eyes and fighting tears. Without realizing it, one of his hands drifted up to cradle and caress the beetle pendant of his amulet. After a moment, he took a deep breath and composed himself in a way that seemed eerily well-practiced. His expression almost instantly became impassive, and his posture neutral. He then turned back to her.

“This be the second time I have nearly become feral. It nearly killed me the first time. I wish to avoid that this time. Though… I seem to be steadily failing at that,”he explained, his voice calm when it shouldn’t be.

A strange gleam came into his eyes. It was difficult to tell what it was, but it could almost be described as a plea for help.

“If… you feel that you must remain on guard around me, I will argue not. Yet… I would like to ask of you one thing. What be your real name? You know mine, and I would like to know yours,”he added, his tone polite.

He looked so sad, Valiel decided he wasn't as completely beastly as he seemed. Clearly there was more there.
He looked down, and had a moment, which prompted her to move closer. When he looked up, he'd composed himself. She stopped moving, a few feet from him instead of across the clearing.
"I can't promise I can help you, but… I can at least limit your more base impulses." sshe said gently.
He was at least understanding of her wariness, which was good. But she didn't hesitate to answer his question.
"Valiel."

De’Tearion didn’t notice her approach until he looked up. He chirped, slightly startled, but otherwise didn’t react. Though, he was actually quite content with her new proximity. It meant he could see the details of her thick fur so much better, and it fascinated him. Though, that was replaced with confusion at her words.

“‘Base impulses’? Explain your meaning,”he said.

He’d never heard the phrase before, and though he could likely guess the meaning, he still didn’t know what she meant.

“Valiel,”he said, his voice distorted by chirps and clicks. That always happened when he said a new word.

De’Tearion chuckled, the hint of a smile, the first genuine smile he’d had in a long time, lifting the corners of his lips. He then bowed deeply at Valiel. When he straightened, he couldn’t help but chuckle some more.

“Mercy have me. How long has it been since I last bowed?”he mumbled to himself, laughing softly. It was such a relief to finally do something ’civilized’ again!

Valiel watched as he looked over her fur, before shifting from the dire wolf, to a smaller wolf, to the panther, to her human form, and back to the dire wolf, all in rapid succession. Showing off was fun when you weren't under pressure.
His question made sense. "It means all of your urges that will turn you more feral. The things you do that make you more beast than person." Valiel had needed to learn to control her own base impulses once she'd left the Hinterlands.

His smile at her name, and the ensuing bow, had her smiling in return. Somewhere under there was a gentleman.
She dipped her head in return. Bowing as a wolf was a bit difficult.
"Very polite of you, De'Tearion. There's hope for you yet." she said with a smile.

De’Tearion stared as Valiel morphed, utterly fascinated by the seamless shapeshifting. It reminded him of one of the nature dances he was taught as a child. So smooth, so flawless, flowing in time with the heartbeat of the natural world. It was a gorgeous dance, and De’Tearion decided that he might have to teach it to Valiel someday.

“I would love to share my own shapeshifting abilities, yet I only have one other form, and I cannot morph as gracefully as you. ‘Tis also been more than a century since I last morphed,”he commented.

De’Tearion burst into raucous, chirping laughter at her explanation. It was a mirthless laugh, though, and when he calmed, he had a sulky look in his eyes.

“That would be much of my personality. I have lived as a ‘beast’ for most of my life,”he mentioned with a resentful tone.

De’Tearion continued to snicker cheerily when she smiled back and did her own version of a bow. He then snorted in amusement at her words.

“I have honor, Valiel. Yet, I have been isolated for such a long while that it seems almost foreign to me. ‘Tis truly a relief to finally have someone to merely talk to,”he said, gazing at her appreciatively.

Valiel shrugged, as much as a wolf could shrug. "If you wish to share your other form, I don't mind the ungraceful morphing. But no pressure."

She watched him laugh, and heard his explanation. Though it clashed with his next sentiment.
"You seem offended that I would say there's hope, yet insist you have honor. Honor and beastliness do not coexist, so you must be one or the other. I choose to see the man, and will hold you to your 'honor'." She smiled at him. "And I am glad to be a conversational help. Though I'm not much to talk to, I'm sorry to say."

De’Tearion flashed her an appreciative smile.

“Later, then. When there be… more room to accommodate my other form,”he remarked in mild amusement, glancing around at all the nearby trees.

At her words, De’Tearion glared, standing taller as his shoulders squared. A low growl rumbled to life in his throat.

“I advise you to avoid insulting my honor. I have killed for less,”he hissed.

He then started to walk away. He didn’t get five feet when he finally registered her last words. A sigh escaped him and his posture melted back to his melancholic demeanor. He then moved to lean against a nearby tree, Valiel still behind him. He didn’t want to face her at the moment, not after she had rightly called him out on his own hypocrisy.

“You are more than I have had in many moon cycles,”he mentioned quietly.

More room? They were in a forest. In the outdoors.
His other form must be huge if he was worried about space. Best not to pursue that too much.
Valiel didn't flinch as he reacted. The irony of his anger over his honor was not lost on her. But she waited, and he stopped a few feet away.
"I wasn't trying to insult you. I'm trying to say your honor must outweigh your beastliness for you to care about it so much. And I'm glad this moon cycle will be less lonely." she said gently.

De’Tearion listened without moving or looking at Valiel. He felt like a fool to have reacted like he had, but he knew why he had. He remembered it all quite vividly. The constant insults, the ridicule, the attacks. So many people opposed to everything he had ever done, and almost all of his life’s actions had been for his sister, Agatha. To prove that he had more honor than his race because he was the only one to have looked beyond Agatha’s flawed appearance to see her gentle heart. And, he’d been made a pariah for it.

De’Tearion had always considered his cruelty and malice just a way to spite his foul brethren, to attack them like he’d been attacked. But, in reality, it was nothing more than a defense. It was a last resort way to prove that his devotion to Agatha had merit. He had long been aware of this, but he’d simply ignored it. But, it was hard to ignore when someone else finally, finally, saw it for what it was.

De’Tearion turned back to Valiel, hesitating a moment as he tried to figure out what to say to her.

“Forgive me for my outburst then. I am… unused to others noticing that I actually have honor. Most folk that encounter me prefer to see a mindless, demonic creature over a sentient individual that happens to be a natural predator as well. It makes it that much easier for them to push me away or attack me,”he said softly.

He smiled a bit at her last comment, though it didn’t last long. He had a feeling that she’d question him further. About why he’d said he’d killed for less than an insult to his honor. He didn’t want to talk about that, about Agatha, about her death, or anything else involving his past. He wasn’t ready for that, and he wasn’t sure if he ever would be again after Mileena.

There were clearly a lot of thoughts going on in De'Tearion's head, and Valiel quickly decided to be careful with her words. He wa sensitive, and there was no point in setting off someone she wanted to be a friend to with careless wording.
He also was clearly quick to go on the defensive, and she didn't want him to have to guard like that constantly. So. Be careful with him then.
"You're forgiven." she said gently. She did feel the need to rein him in a tad. "I'll say this, I haven't seen your honor yet, but I believe you when you say it's important to you, and I hope I'll see it in you continuing to not eat me." She smiled a bit at the last part.
He had smiled at her, but it faded quickly, and he seemed tense. She wondered if he'd shared too much and was regretting it, r was worried she was going to interrogate him or something.
"So… if we're going to be friends… we should probably at least understand each other." She spread her hands out sideways. "I'm an open book, ask anything you like."

It relieved De’Tearion to hear that she forgave him, but the feeling was short-lived as she reminded him of his harsh behavior. He sighed in shame, looking away and shaking his head.

“I will try to avoid attacking you, yet I also wish to show you that I can be a true gentleman. ‘Tis merely been a long time since I had the opportunity to be such,”he mentioned.

Her words surprised him. She wasn’t interrogating him, she was offering to be interrogated. Why? How did that make any sense? They were barely acquaintances, and she was offering to be an ally. How could she dare trust him?

De’Tearion took a deep breath to calm his whirling mind, then gazed at Valiel timidly.

“I know not what to ask,”he said honestly.

Valiel nodded at his response. "I'm sure you'll make the most of this chance to be gentlemanly."

She smiled at him a little. "Don't you want to know anything? Where I came from? Why I'm here? What I am? How I ended up alone in the woods? Nothing?"
She had a million things she wanted to know about him, but if she asked, he'd bolt, or close up, and that was no help to either of them.
If she was open with him, he might feel less vulnerable being open with her, eventually.

De’Tearion nodded, but didn’t reply to her words.

He blinked at all of the offered questions, not sure what to do now. Unconsciously, his hand drifted up to his amulet, his fingers drawing little circles on the pendant as a way to slow his flustered thoughts. Should he ask her things about herself? Or should he just leave everything to time?

What has time ever done for me, except leave me to more misery?

“I suppose all of your suggested questions, yet I will force you not to answer them. If you wish not to tell me, I understand quite well,”he replied.