forum At War // OxO // Closed

Started September 19, 2021 by @ElderGod-Icefire

tune

Kaylum could do nothing but stare back with eyes clouded. He couldn’t believe that Xiomara would die; if he even considered the possibility he would be inconsolable. She had been right. Again. Going out of hiding was a stupid idea.
What happened next passed without much complication. The attackers forced the two princes to stand. They didn’t give anything that would support Nik’s leg, so Kay offered to support him instead. After putting cloths over their eyes and mouths, they ushered them away from the camp and into an oxcart, still chained, blinded, and gagged.

Nik was forced to lean against Kaylum, unable to walk otherwise. He had overtaxed his leg, and it would not be walkable for some time now. Once they were in the oxcart, he lay still, knowing neither of them really had a chance to escape. Even if he could have gotten he chains off, he couldn't walk. It would be a fruitless endeavor. Perhaps Kaylum could, but where could the dragon prince go? Nik didn't know.

The cart rattled and bounced as they moved down the road, and eventually into the forest, where the princes were moved from the cart to horses, their hands tied to the saddles and the blindfolds and gas left on. It took, then, another 45 minutes before the horses stopped. The scent of smoke and the sound of campfires were noticeable, along with the low hum of speech from multiple people. The princes were removed from the horses and led into a tent, where they were both pushed to their knees.

Normally, Nik would never have allowed someone to force him to his knees, but his leg would give out if he tried to stand. So he had no choice but to kneel.

"Welcome to my current abode, Nikolas. Kaylum." Came a man's voice. Both princes were both blindfolded and gagged still, but Nik frowned. Something about that voice was familiar.

Normally, Kaylum would also object to being forced to his knees, but he felt a hand pressed to the nape of his neck, as if he was some kind of wild animal. He tried to use telekinesis to get the hand off, but it seemed that he was still powerless. If only he could figure out what was limiting him…
So nice of you to have us, sir, he silently and sarcastically replied. Kay didn’t recognize the voice at all, there was no reason to. The muscles in his back and neck twitched slightly at being touched like this for more than five seconds.

There was the sound of fingers snapping, and then the blindfolds and gags were removed. Nik blinked rapidly, a bit disoriented from being blinded for so long, but his gaze soon settled upon the man standing before them, the source of the voice. He looked to be in his mid 40's; about the same age that King Theodore had been. He had dark brown hair beginning to go grey at the temples, and a short beard cut close to his jawline. There were three nearly parallel scars going from just above his left eyebrow and across his face, ending just below the right corner of his lip. This caused the slightest twist to his mouth, but despite the scarring and the twist, he was still handsome enough for his age. When he was younger, and before the scarring, he had probably been very good-looking. His arms were crossed over his chest, and he was probably about 6'1" in height.

At the sight of him, Nik's eyes widened, and his mouth parted. "Seren?" he breathed. "What…what's going on here?" there was quite a large amount of recognition in his voice. The tone of someone seeing a person that they had thought they would never see again, in a situation they had never dreamed of.

Seren looked at Nik for a long moment. "Quite a lot of things, Nikolas." the man replied, stepping back and towards a desk that was sitting to the side.

When the blindfold came off, Kaylum first squinted his eyes, trying to get used to the light now being let into them. Then he tensed up, those eyes rapidly scanning his surroundings. He had never been around so many humans before, like this, alone and at their mercy. He tried not to bare his fangs or scratch at the floor with his nails in agitation.
Kay glanced at Nik when he uttered the man’s name, now a little confused. That agitation kept him from speaking though. What could he say anyway? Being raised in a royal court, he had learned to know when it was safe to speak, or even think. Now did not feel safe.

"Where is my father?" Nik demanded. "Where are the Tesh monarchs?" He leaned forward slightly, despite the bonds on his body.

Seren watched Nik, face impassive. "Theodore is dead, Nikolas." He said, eyes watching the two princes. "He was never meant to survive this." the man's gaze transferred to Kaylum. "The Tesh monarchy is dead as well."

Nik's face fell, lips parting faintly. He looked like he had just been punched. "How…" He trailed off, staring at Seren.

(Do you want the Tesh monarchs dead or nah?)

Kay felt his stomach drop. At that moment he wished with all his heart that he could astral project and find his parents' souls, just to see them again and lay them to rest. But he could not. He was in unfamiliar territory, where he could not use his abilities. His gaze dropped as he bowed his head to stare at the floor.
Father and mother, who had always been hovering over him from the day he was born, were gone. Something like anger, or maybe grief, burned in his chest. They had kept him so sheltered, afraid they would lose him, but how could they not account for the reverse? He had lost them, and now he was left unprepared, still feeling like a child.

"How could you do this?" Nik demanded, voice full of anger and grief. "I can…I can understand why you killed the Tesh king and queen," he gave Kaylum an apologetic glance, "But why my father? Why Theodore? You…you loved him, and he loved you, I don't understand, Seren." he sounded desperate, almost pleading as the words left his mouth.

Seren watched Nik, expressionless. "Your father refused to enforce the laws equally. You know what I speak of. If a ruler will not apply the law equally to all, then that ruler does not deserve to rule."

Nik's face somehow managed to crumple even further, and he shook his head quickly. "N-no, no, that's not…I didn't…I'm…" he took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down before he spoke again. "You loved him." he said again, voice hushed. "And…and he loved you, and I loved you. You were like another father to me, Seren, I-I don't…"

"Oh? And I suppose it's a habit of yours to attack parents and brutally wound them?" Seren demanded, voice acidic. "Your father should have had you killed in the womb, Nikolas. It would have been the right thing for everyone involved." now he finally sounded angry, eyes narrowing as he glared at the Kevran prince.

Kaylum slowly turned his head to look at Nikolas, coming to understand his relationship to this man. Of course, since he was not apart of this he could make no opinion on it, only that he was disgusted by Seren.
His words made Kay blink in surprise, however. What was he talking about? Had he really attacked his own parents in the past? What was it about Nik that made him worth killing in the womb?
Then he remembered his soul, bright and shifting, infected with the dark.
Ah, this was all so much. Kay just wanted to go back to the mountains and curl up in a small cave somewhere. He wanted to fly away.

Nik's hands were shaking where they were bound behind his back, and his eyes remained fastened on Seren's face. "I'm…I'm sorry." he stammered out, shaking his head quickly as he looked up at the older man. "I didn't mean…I never meant for that to happen, it was an accident." all he could think was that this was his fault.

Seren sneered. "That's the problem, Nikolas. You may not have meant it, but it happened. It happened, and you are to blame. You and your father both. He has paid for it, and now we're going to bring down Kevra and Tesh. We shall build a new country in their ashes." he looked pleased by his own words, eyes glittering as he looked down at the two princes.

Kay’s face fell back towards the floor. He wanted to fly away. But you can’t. You can’t. You’re stuck here and you can’t just stay a child, stay helpless.
He listened to the man’s words. A guttural growl slowly rose from his throat, and he raised his head to bared his fangs at Seren. His anger and grief became indistinguishable now.
“Shut up,” he rasped. ”Shut up.”

Seren glared at him, sighing faintly. "Well, I have no need for the two of you right now." he gestured to the men that were standing by the entrance of the tent. "Take them away." he said, shaking his head and turning away.

The guards reached out, roughly lifting the princes to their feet and leading them out of the tent and into another, larger one. This one contained a cell, which one guard opened, and hten the two were pushed inside. It was locked behind them, and then the two were left alone.

Kay snarled violently when he was touched by the humans. It was similar to when he discovered Nik was his soulmate in the sense that he didn’t want to think about it, or anything, he just wanted to do. He wanted to fly away, he wanted to curl up and hide, he wanted to bite these guards’ arms off. Whether his body just wouldn’t listen to him or he somehow had restraint is still a mystery.
At least being in a cell meant that he wasn’t being manhandled anymore. Kay scooted to one corner and looked around. The cell looked just big enough to where he wouldn’t take up the whole space, even with Nikolas here.
“I’m going to shift,” he warned. Once he did, he kept to one side of the cell and slowly unfurled his left wing. Not completely; if he did, he would take up too much room. It was just enough to examine the feathers that had been clipped.

Nik was quiet as Kay shifted. As expected, he could not stand, and so he simply pushed himself over to the corner of the cell, watching Kaylum silently. His face was expressionless, shut down and distant. All he could think of was that this was his fault. That if he was not the way he was, his father would be alive still. So would the Tesh royals.

(Nik noooo ;;)
The pain returned. Kaylum winced as he slowly brought the wing closer to himself. He tried to use telekinesis to take the clipped feathers out, but it was weak; the first primary feather barely wiggled. Frustrated, he bent his neck forward to take the feathers out manually with his teeth, swallowing the stinging feeling that came with the roots snapping from the skin. When he was done, he turned around and moved to the right wing. When he was completely done, a pile of broken feathers sat at his feet. It still hurt, so Kay shifted back to human form so he could ignore it easier, curling up and burying his head in his lap. New feathers could grow now, but he was still flightless. He would likely stay that way for several months, and he hated it.

(he's a little bit fucked up from the curse and the things he's done, poor guy)

Nik let out a faint breath. "I'm sorry." he said, voice quiet and subdued. "This is all my fault. Your parents…I…I'm so sorry, Kaylum." he knew what it was like to lose a parent. Now two. He knew what Kaylum felt like, even if it was different because it was Nik's own fault that it had happened. Just because he had not meant it to happen didn't make it okay.

He raised his head to look at the other prince. His eyes were hard and closed off, but not accusing or resentful. He raised a finger into the air, opening his mouth. When no words came, he closed it. After another moment, he opened his mouth again.
“I am… confused,” he said slowly. “And I have—“ his voice broke. “I have questions…”
To his frustration, tears had begun streaming down his cheeks. He didn’t want to feel things right now, he wanted to get an explanation and then get out of here. But the grief that he had tried to suppress while plucking the feathers now stirred up again, and he turned his head away, quickly wiping at the tears.

"I know." he breathed. "I'll start with, ah…with who Seren is to me. Was. To…my father. I…my mother…died…when I was five." he did not mention how. Not yet. Maybe not ever. "Seren…my father…" he took a deep breath, trying to give himself a moment to collect himself. "Seren came along when I was 10. At first he and my father were just…friends, really, but…well, then they became involved with each other. Seren was my father's consort, for about four years. He…was like another parent to me."