Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Aug 18, 2021 21:13:31 GMT -5
Seth didn't linger after Maria took the clothes, though he wanted to. He headed downstairs to the master bath and showered. While washing, he discovered several cuts, scrapes, and bruises from his fight with Jekyll Feral. None were cause for concern, but now that he was aware of them they pulsed with a dull, steady ache.
Once he was dry and dressed, he stepped outside for a few minutes to check with Stel and Corrik. He got the full update on their fight with the red dragon who ambushed Stel. She had just about won the fight — after Corrik got her out from under the red brute, of course — when Anya killed his Rider. The fight was a hard one, however, and the gashes over Stel's back, sides, and neck said as much. Corrik had a few injuries as well, though in her fury at being taken by surprise and pinned, she hadn't given him much opportunity to fight. After being freed, she had fought like a savage wildcat — or the she-devil she was.
Assured that his dragon was fine — honestly, her wounded pride was smarting the most — Seth headed back inside. He paused on the threshold of the bedroom, his chest constricting at what he saw. Anya was curled up in bed, Maria hovering uncertainly. Aidan was watching as well, his eyes wide with concern. He clambered out of bed and offered Anya her dragon.
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Aug 18, 2021 21:53:23 GMT -5
Seth nodded. Once they were gone, he remained by the door for several minutes, unsure of what to do to help. Finally, he scooped up Hero — the pup had attached himself to Seth's foot and seemed in no hurry to move — and crossed the room. He sat on the floor beside Anya's bed, using it as a backrest. He stared at the far wall, absently petting Hero.
After another minute or two of silence, he spoke. "I was twenty the first time," he said softly, eyes still in the wall. "Easy to remember. It was my birthday, after all." A note of bitterness slipped into his voice. He sighed and it was gone. "A lot of my birthdays ended bad, but that one was... truly awful."
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Aug 18, 2021 22:24:43 GMT -5
Seth glanced over at her, surprised and relieved that she was listening. "After our graduation party, the one that initiated us into the Circle as fully trained Riders, Genevieve took me, Ari, and Silas down to the basement. She called it her graduation present to us, but it was really a final test for the three of us, those she'd chosen for her Order."
He paused, looking down at his hand sliding slowly over Hero's back. "She took us to a room. There were four people, tied to chairs, bags over their heads. She told us we each needed to kill one. Silas went first. Genevieve removed the bag from one of her captives. She wanted him to face the man head on. He didn't hesitate, Silas. The bastard almost enjoyed it. Genevieve planted herself beside me while he did it, as if she knew I would try and stop him." His voice dropped to a whisper. "But I didn't try. I just watched. I couldn't move, couldn't look away. I just stood there while Silas, then Ari, murdered innocent people."
He stopped. Stopped talking, stopped petting Hero. His hands were shaking too hard. It took him several minutes to continue. "Then it was my turn," he whispered. "And Genevieve removed the hoods from the last two people." He swallowed. "One of them was Morgan."
Seth stopped once more, and gently moved Hero from his lap to the bed. The pup curled up by Seth's head, but Seth didn't notice. His attention was inward as he gathered himself to finish.
"Genevieve told me to kill the stranger. She said that every minute I hesitated, she would make Morgan suffer." His hands clenched. "Four minutes," he whispered hoarsely. "I hesitated over it for four minutes. And all the while, Genevieve made good on her promise. I can still hear his screams." His voice broke, and he cleared his throat. "At minute five she moved to hurt him again. I stopped her. And then I killed an innocent man. Stabbed him in the heart. And I awoke a monster."
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Aug 18, 2021 23:20:58 GMT -5
"Anya," Seth whispered. He shifted so he was kneeling, facing her, brushed her hair off her face. "That wasn't the point of the story. My situation was different. I had the chance to hesitate. Genevieve wasn't about to kill Morgan. She's very good at inflicting maximum pain without causing mortal wounds. If you had hesitated today, I'd probably be dead.
"My point," he continued softly, brushing his thumb over her cheek, "is it's not easy. Taking a life should never be easy. But you don't have to hate yourself for it, Anya. You did what you had to. There's no telling how many people he's hurt, how many more he would have hurt. It sucks, but death is really the only option for corrupt Riders. It's very hard to subdue and lock them up. It was him or me, and you... you chose me." He appeared to be a little surprised by this fact.
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Aug 18, 2021 23:49:21 GMT -5
Seth opened his mouth, then shut it again. He let out a breath. "For a long time, I didn't, not really. After that first time, I fell apart. I went into a downward spiral of risky decisions and dangerous situations. I think part of me was looking for death," he admitted quietly. "Morgan pulled me out. He didn't know what was wrong — Genevieve stole his memories of that day, and I couldn't bring myself to tell him what I'd done. He knew I was keeping secrets, and got mad at me — really mad — for a while. That only made my behavior worse. And then, when I was on the verge of doing something irreversibly stupid and reckless, he showed up out of nowhere, it seemed and... beat the crap put if me." He smiled wryly. "Violent but effective. I snapped out of the downward spiral after that, but I still never really faced the crux of the issue. Instead, I just... buried it. Ignored it. Suppressed it until I was numb to it. And that became my habit every time I killed someone for Genevieve going forward. I iced over my heart and refused to feel any of it." He blinked, and met her gaze. "I don't want that for you." He brushed his fingers over her cheek again. "I wish I could take this on for you. But I can't, so I need you to be strong and do what I couldn't. It doesn't have to be today, or tomorrow, or the next day. Whenever you're ready. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere."
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Aug 19, 2021 12:21:41 GMT -5
Anya fell asleep after an hour or so, and Seth nodded off shortly after, the stresses of the morning catching up with him. He only slept for an hour or two, however. He wasn't sure what woke him, but once awake he knew he wouldn't be going back to sleep.
He looked over to see that Anya was still sleeping. Carefully, he eased away from her and slipped out of bed. He tucked the blankets back around her and put her dragon on the pillow. Then he gave Hero a pat and whispered a quiet request. "Look after her for me, okay?" Hero licked his nose and snuggled into Anya's side. Seth smiled and silently exited the room.
He found Marcus and Maria in the kitchen. "Hi," he said, looking around. But no one else was there, though he thought he heard some sort of commotion out by the barn. A quick check in with Stel told him what was going on there. He smiled a little and left her to the "torture" that was a bath, courtesy of the Dorreh brothers and Aidan.
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Aug 19, 2021 12:45:26 GMT -5
(Lol, I was totally going to have the brothers ask Aidan to help. XD)
Maria and Marcus had been quietly talking over the events of things. Trenton had come by while Seth and Anya slept, having just come from the town. Luckily, his smithy hadn't been near the damage, but he had gone to see what happened to the rest of the place. It wasn't good. It would be a while for everyone that was hit to rebuild. And there was the issue of the casualties.
Yet as Seth joined them, the eldest son had already left to go back home. Both parents turned to look at him.
"Oh, Seth, I thought you would still be resting," Maria said. She motioned for him to sit. "Sit, sit, you must be hungry. Let me get you something to eat."
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