I'm Preparing for War Woman! [Edalene]

[Eldon Sunkiss]

Eldon smirked, apparently she believed he hated Kayiri. He didn't know what he said to make her assume so, but she was obviously stuck on it. "You think I'm a liar then. So be it. You can believe that all you like, I see no purposing in trying to reason if you'll judge me like that." Eldon's smirk faded, passing to a subtle frown. A Drykas brother was not something that was easily despised, despite obvious flaws or arrogant nature. Who was truly flawless anyway? Eldon was crude, angry, vengeful. Edalene was emotional, disapproving. Kayiri was proud and had issues with spells of rage. "You don't have to explain yourself." Eldon lifted his head, he was smiling in contrast to her sniffling and fresh tears. "It doesn't matter what happened. You're a good girl. Keep your chin up, be proud. You're a Drykas, you're tough." Eldon patted her on the shoulder briefly before stepping back. He assumed she probably felt some level of discomfort from him being so close, since he did tease to strip in front of her just because she begged him not to. He moved several steps away and fell to the ground. His muscles had been briefly pacified during the time of their conversation, he could work on rebuilding the strength he lost. Such a long road to travel. "You didn't upset me. I met a monster. He upset me, not you. I shouldn't have tried to share it with you. It's the only way I know how and apparently it's just not for every Drykas brother or sister of mine to know." Eldon gave a quick wink towards the young woman before falling on his hands. His arms once again started up that same motion he did when Edalene first found him, the pushing up and the falling down of his body. Up and down, in and out. He began breathing heavily in no time as the faintly chilled air was becoming less of a nuisance, and more of a comfort, and after that it wasn't even noticeable. Eldon wasn't paying attention to see if Edalene ran home to Kayiri to tell about what happened (which would probably be swiftly followed by a quick and painful conflict between he and Eldon) or if she stayed for whatever reason. Maybe she'd have more questions? It didn't matter, Eldon was preparing for war!

[Edalene]

Confusion reigned as she saw him smiling at her. Was he not just angry and upset a few moments ago? This man was confusing, strange in the extreme. He was an exceedingly angry individual, snapping at her for something she had not done and now smiling and apologising. His mood swings were almost as bad as hers. She smiled awkwardly, unsuredly at him as he stepped away. A hand rose to her neck and rubbed it, swallowing hard, conscious of her tear-streaked cheeks and red eyes but not knowing where to go from here. Eda's mood changed suddenly. Sometimes, all she was set off by was the tiniest word or action. For this instance, it was both. Indignation raged through her, irritation and frustration. She crossed her arms and sniffed, gaining control before she let loose on the man. He apologised, sure, and he tried to be all nice and caring for her but he... "You're just as bad as Yartree!" she exploded, stomping her foot. The outburst was sudden and unwarranted, Eda herself shocked at how frustrated she was. "Yartree is my cousin. He is arrogant and rude, and doesn't know it. And you are just the same!" She glared at him stomping over so she was towering over his lowered form, pressing his body up and down. "I have a Strider now! I'm growing up! And yet everyone still treats me like I'm five years old!" It was the 'good girl' comment and the pat on the shoulder that had set her off. It was infinitely condescending. She was so sick of being coddled, of being treated as incompetent and young. Yes, Eda was sixteen. Yes, she was not as big or strong or even as rational and collected as some of the other teenagers. But a Strider had chosen her now, and she was well on her way to maturing. She knew that, most other people knew that. It was just people like Yartree, her father and now Eldon that insisted on ignoring that fact. She plonked herself down, staring into his eyes. It was a little creepy, a little intense, but she wanted to get her point across. Her voice lowered - it was cooler now, almost distant from the man. "You have been hurt. I acknowledge that. But so has everyone else. You do not have the right to be arrogant and patronising just because you think you have the most angst. I'd advise you seek some help, or find someway of dealing with it. Because, honestly, this "Woe is me" act you've got going on is not attractive. It is rude and mean and someone, someday, is going to crack. And you'll lose your friends." Eda stood up, shaking her head at the man. "I pity you, Eldon." She walked over to Ayira, stroking her mane, waiting to see if the man had anything else to say before she washed her hands of him completely.

[Eldon Sunkiss]

Eldon tried to ignore her remarks. Were they insults or just simple observations and connecting two different people she knew? Eldon bit his lower lip, a habit of his since he was a child, yet now he wasn't gnawing, he was drawing blood for the sake of feeling the pain, trying to overwhelm himself with anger towards himself, rather than allowing the woman, this child get under his skin. His push ups, which had increased in speed as his rage fueled his strength. "Don't compare me to your family. You don't know me. You only see something similar, an action, a word, anger. There are others who feel the same, react the same. Your Yartree has family, he still has you, your father, and who knows how many others." Eldon stopped to look up at Edalene, his face was burning red with anger now. "I'm alone now." His face lowered again, his frenzied workout continued itself, his arms pumped relentlessly, the muscles quivering in his bare back, his forearms, it was ridiculous that he could do this, in fact, it was probably become more destructive at this point. Eldon finally had to stop again, he lifted himself to his knees and sat there, panting, hoping that Edalene wouldn't bother him further, but instead she got in his face, eye-to-eye, and straight up insulted Eldon. She played down his damage, she thought she was so certain of her words, and yet she just couldn't understand what it was Eldon had suffered, what was going on in his life, how much damaged has be dealt to him. She stood up and walked back to her Strider, but something in Eldon lost itself. Perhaps it was his humanity, because he hardly noticed his res pouring out of his palms, which were face down on the ground, and began moving underneath the surface of the earth. It rose slowly, silently, like the most skill of assassins, up her legs. Eldon stood up suddenly, something in his eyes said that he wasn't sane, not anymore. Edalene had pushed him, and he was nearing violence. The violence that called out for the blood of Zith was tempted to try itself on Edalene's life. The red around her legs would solidify into stone, not just the outer layer, but the whole covering of res, and it grew, and grew, until her legs were immobilized like that of a statue that had yet to have it's legs carved from stone. The very element didn't stop there though, it dug under the ground as well, thus making it impossible to simply topple over or be pulled away. It was so much res, Eldon already tasted the metal, the slick sickening taste of steel or iron, like a sword without its edge was placed in his mouth. Eldon stepped forward, grabbing a fistful of Edalene's hair, Eldon moved in, their faces only an inch, maybe two at most. Eldon opened his mouth, but instead of word, water poured out from his parting lips like a small river, it was unreal, almost surrealistic even. It was reimancy, it was all reimancy. The darkness of the power fueled by his arrogance, his anger, he desire for power had taken hold of his reason. The the water finally ceased, stopping it gradual drenching of Edalene's clothing, his words seeped out like the venom of a viper. His words were cold, but strangely enough, sounded like he believed it entirely. Eldon did not scream, his voice was a whisper, almost ghostly, but it brought chills to his skin, probably as it did to hers. "I don't need your pity. I don't need your acknowledgement. I don't need your help. I don't need to be attractive. I don't need friends. I am a creation of destruction, and I will not be pleased until I do what it is I have been made for. I do not ask for my past to be altered. I ask for nothing, because with my altered past, I am also altered into something new. I will solve my problems. I will make my revenge. I will save my pavilion. I will honor my goddess. I will produce many heirs. It is not for you, for Endrykas, nor for my father, not even for myself. I do it, because that's what I am now, it is all I can do." Eldon's hand released Edalene's hair, yet his finger slid slowly across her face, leaving behind a trail of moisture, faint, but still there. More water. Eldon sighed and closed his eyes as if everything he said was a relief, a burden removed from his suffocating chest. Then, before he even knew what he was thinking, is lips embraced hers, it was affectionate to be certain, something even he hadn't expected, but the water was there again. The cool pure liquid flowed from his mouth into hers as if he was nothing more than a rare cool fresh spring in the Sea of Grass. He closed his eyes a moment, then collapsed. The stone around her waist turned to sand, pebbles, and clay, a mismatched sort of earthy elements from various places around Mizahar. The water no longer flowed, but would now dissipate in the soft sun as water normally would. Eldon had fallen on his back, but it was obvious he wasn't well. His eyes were red, stained with strain and agony, sensitive to the light, yet scared of the darkness. Everything he saw was blurry, filled with fluttering glowing creatures that whispered his name, delusions. his body shook, weak tremors and his breathing was interrupted with brief moments of hesitation as if forced to hold itself. He had no energy left. He wasn't even aware that the backs of his hands had split open as if cut with a knife on either side. This was his worst experience with reimancy yet, and he hadn't even intended to use it at all, let alone so much, so quickly, and without control.

[Edalene]

Eda thought it was in her mind at first, the tickling around her ankles. The grass was long in the Sea of Grass after all. The sensation would stop, once the wind changed or the bug crawled away or something happened to change what was going on. When the tickling sensation - now more so grating than light - did not stop, Eda bent down to brush whatever it was from her ankles. Only to find that stone was slowly snaking up her leg. Her heart raced, her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. Her fingers desperately scrabbled at the stone that was around her ankles, but it would not break off. It inched slowly, fluidly, if stone can be fluid, up her legs. Halfway up her calves now. Still desperately trying to pull it off of her, her tried ti lift her left leg, only to find that it was fastened to the ground. The strain she put into it did not budge it at all. She was fastened in to the ground, with no chance of getting out, and the stone still rising ever steadily up her body. She turned her body, waist upwards only, as the stone had solidified halfway up her thighs now. She opened her mouth, her eyes wild, to call for help. To plead Eldon to do something. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Eldon, pressed to the ground, with the same res Matasol had used to playfully show her what Reimancy was, pouring out of his hands and forming the stone that was around her legs and locking her in place. His face was as cold as the stone around her, though something much more hateful than the impassive rock. His eyes burned though his lips did not snarl. "El-Eld..." she stammered, quietly. She was simply too scared to call out louder. But at the stone rose to her waist and stopped there, hysterics bubbled out of her lips. She had never been this scared in her entire life. "Eldon, i am sorry," she gabbled. Her voice was tinged with absolute desperation and despair. "I did not mean to insult you! Please, help me, why aren't you helping me? Why are you doing this?! Oh Gods, please, please help me..." Her voice started loud, hysterical, but it turned raspy and faded off into nothingness as Eldon, looking as though something had very much snapped inside of him, stood up and made his way over to her. Her entire body was tense, muscles taut as if ready to flee at any moment - but but her flight response was cut off by the stone that was around her. Ayira tossed her head, whinnying, alarmed. Eda shot her hand back, placed it softly on her Strider's neck, stroking. Eda would deal with Eldon herself. She could do it. Right? At this point, it was more important that Eldon did not hurt Ayira. She shivered, watching the predator that had Eldon somewhere inside him approach. She could not take her eyes off him - there was no telling what he would do. She was frozen in utter fear. "El-Eldon, please..." she whispered, hoarsely. A scream escaped her throat, high pitched and loud, when he suddenly and harshly grabbed her hair. Her scream trailed off into loud, dry sobs of utter terror as she tried not to move her head. The sobs only became more uncontrollable when he leaned in, and opened his mouth. She tensed, closing her eyes, dreading what would would say. She shivered, moaning slightly, when she felt water begin to pour onto her skin. Her eyes snapped open, and widened in shock as she saw him pouring water from his mouth. Her face was drenched in a matter of seconds, water running down her face, down her necks, and drenching her clothes. Then, all of a sudden, it stopped. She still could not breathe, still could not move, even though Eldon had stopped the attack of res. She was too on edge. Eda shivered through his entire monologue, the water making her cold but also what he was saying. She had never heard someone so cold, so heartless, so distant. It was utterly terrifying. He had no humanity left. Tears of fear began to run down her face, adding to the plentiful water already all over her body. Her breath was shaky against his cheekbones as he ran a finger down her cheek, gently, more gently than Kayiri ever had, and slowly, slowly leaned in towards her. She gasped and a chest-heaving sob escaped from her throat as he touched her lips lightly, gently to hers. The tenderness was the most frightening thing, the fact that he was so gentle and loving but he was a monster. She opened her mouth against his lips, moaning "No... no..." but that only gave him further opportunity. Her lips as open as his, water res began to pour from him to her, cold water, refreshing water. Her eyes were wide and fearful, and it was all she could do to keep swallowing if she wanted to be able to breathe. His eyes closed gently, as though he was truly enjoying the intimacy between the two Drykas - and he collapsed, slowly, almost unreal, before her. She could not help but hold her breath to see if it was a ploy. He was mad, utterly mad and there was no telling what a mad man might do. But he lay on the ground, twitching slightly, breath shaky. His eyes were half lidded, and he emitted sounds and was obviously seeing things that weren't of Eda's realm. His hands were pouring blood now, twin gashes on either hand, having opened as he fell. It was a horrifying sight, and as Eda watched, disbelieving, the stone around her crumbled to sand. She moved her right leg hesitantly, not wanting to set him off, and was glad to see that she could escape the stone entrapments. Still he did not move. Matasol had mentioned something, overgiving, the consequence of giving too much of your djed. He had never said it was so horrifying. Ayira whinnied. The option was there - run, run far away from this man, leaving him - potentially dying on the floor - and escaping the horrors that lay in his soul. Or, she could help him, get him safe - but still run away from him after he had done so. She was completely undecided, and still terrified of the man. She walked over hesitantly, and nudged his side with her foot, her toe, the barest of space. Her voice hoarse. "Eldon..." she whispered. "Eldon," this time stronger, but still hoarse. She sat down beside him, and slowly, hesitantly, laid a hand across his chest. He was an utterly terrifying man, but he was still a Drykas. The madness in him could be cured. "Get up. Please. Get up." She shook his shoulders, carefully, trying to rouse him.

[Eldon Sunkiss]

"Eldon. Eldon." The voice whispered softly to the Sunkiss, the last of his pavilion, as he stared into that misty world he once knew at the Sea of Grass. Everywhere he looked he saw familiar things, a tree in the distance, a pink colored sky with a sun making small circular motions in the sky, even the shaking in his body felt comforting. Eldon wanted to close his eyes and sleep, unaware that Edalene was hovering over him, fearing for her own life, and even out of her extreme selflessness, for him. Even after what he did to her. Even now, he wasn't aware of his crime. "Eldon, wake up my child." Eldon winced as the voice echoed between his ears once again. It was a voice he never heard yet already knew by heart. It was in his heart his entire life, despite never hearing her voice. It was Eldon's mother. She was calling to him from death. That was one thing Eldon knew for certain, his mother was dead. She was always just a name in one of father's sorrowful stories, or an entity of perfection that Eldon would never get the privilege of meeting. Eldon's head moved and looked up at Edalene, but he didn't see the young woman he forced a kiss on, not the innocent woman he tortured with his insanity and anger, but his mother. It was a face that he imagined would belong to the woman that carried Eldon around for nine months of his life, and when complications arrived, died so that he could live on. Eldon felt tears welling up in his eyes as he gazed at his mother, her beautiful face, and yet he felt so hungry to feel her embrace, the smoothness of her skin that he had never experienced. Throughout his entire life, Eldon always claimed his mother's absence never bothered him, and he faked it until he felt it, so to speak. But, deep down, there would always be that hole in his chest that only a mother could fill perfectly. Tears moved from his eyes and down either temple on his head, getting lost somewhere in his hair or grass below. "M-m-mommy?" Eldon's lips quivered as he mustered up all the strength he could to attempt to fight it, but it did nothing to help. Eldon almost looked like a vulnerable child in that moment, despite the things he committed only moments ago. Tears fought but still flowing, the biting down on his lips to squelch the sobs that threatened to come. Eldon was never a fierce crier, but with the loss of his father, he had a few moments. Periods of real crying that were only too badly needed, and never enough. "Why are you so upset baby?" Eldon opened his mouth to speak to the imaginary voice, but only a series of gasps proved present for several moments before his voice returned. "I killed father. I killed you. I'm a terrible person. Everyone takes care of me, but... but I can't even return the favor now." Eldon's hand lifted, reaching slowly towards Edalene's cheek. He wasn't even aware that the Overgiving had split wounds on the backs of his hands, yet nevertheless, he wanted to cradle his mother's cheek in his palm, just to touch her once. His hand, however, pulled back instantly as his eyes widened, whatever he saw was shocking. "Don't touch me! You cannot embrace the dead, my child. Go back to your world now. You have done wrong, and you must fix it. Do this and you will be Sunkiss again." Eldon nodded slowly, almost afraid at hearing his mother's imagined voice raising up at him. Then she was gone, and Eldon closed his eyes. He could really fall asleep right there, just lying in the grasslands of Cyphrus. Sleeping sounded almost to be the best possible thing in the world at that moment, if only there wasn't this shaking of his shoulders... Eldon opened his right eye as he looked up to where his mother had been, but his mother was gone. Edalene was there. Eldon felt sick, realizing now everything that he had done to her. He wanted to buy a knife and thrust it deep into his chest, to run into the plains alone until he found a pack of Glassbeaks to tear him to shreds. Eldon wanted to travel to Riverfall and try to kill an Akalak for the sake of being brutally murdered. Anything, except face the one he wronged so severely. Eldon rolled over on his side, lying his head against his bicep as he closed his eyes again. "I'm sorry." Eldon barely whispered the apology. He was ashamed of himself, ashamed for his family name, ashamed for his clansmen, ashamed for his entire race for having one such as him amongst their ranks. Eldon felt sick because of himself. The apology, however weak and timid, was sincere. If only words could so easily repair the damage he did.

[Edalene]

She was confused, utterly confused and scared. Tears began to leak out of his eyes as he looked at her, his expression distraught and confused. Her muscles were tense. The man was obviously not seeing her, or if he was, he was confused about who she really was. It was obviously an affect of this overgiving thing Matasol had spoken about. It was utterly disgusting. She could not understand why anyone would want to get involved in Reimancy knowing these were the risks. Her muscles froze, her hands still palm down on his chest, as he began to speak. Mommy? He had called her mommy. A sob of hysteria wedged its way out of her throat. She was utterly, completely terrified by this man. He was strange, he was violent, he was unstable. But she could not summon the willpower to move away, to run away. "I'm not m-m-mommy, Eldon," she gasped out through sobs, trying to contain her own hysteria and help the poor man at the same time. "Edalene? You remember Edalene! Come on, Eldon... Edalene. I'm Edalene." Words bubbled from her throat, pushed by nervousness and hysterics and worry. If she could only get him to remember who he was, and who she was, maybe he would go back to normal. Then this would all end up being a dream. By Gods, she wished it was a dream. Her hands roamed frantically over his chest, trying to remember what little she knew of medicine. The heartbeat... she needed to check his heart was not racing or slowing down. They moved, shaking, to where his heart was. But she could not get a solid reading. She was too scared. Her hands were shaking, not keeping still. But she was determined to help the man. Eda flinched when he gasped, and paused her hands to hear what he had to say. He had scared her. But now her heart broke for him. Eldon was not vicious. He was merely a very scarred individual. She flinched, though, as he lifted his hands, his bloody hands towards her face. There was nothing she could do to pacify him. Nothing she could do. She did not know how to stop this hallucination. All she could do was talk to him. "Eldon, Eldon. I am Edalene. Not your mother. You did not kill anyone," she spoke the last words with increased fervour and belief. She had been around Eldon for too long in this pitiful state to be afraid of him. Besides, he thought she was his mother, and he would not attack his own mother. "You father died by Zith. Your mother died through poor health. You did not cause either of those things to over take anything. People care for you for a reason, Eldon. I will help care for you now." She meant it too. Panic arose within her as he closed his eyes, seeming tired and to slump into the lush grasses of the Sea. Her eyes wide, she shook his shoulders again, trying to just keep him awake. She knew bad things would happen if he slept. "Wake up," she cried as she shook him. "Wake up!" She sighed, relieved, as she saw his right eye crack open. She began to smile at him - though was horrified when she saw his expression. She froze, worried, but could do nothing to stop him turning away. She closed her eyes, anguished, as she caught the barest end of the whisper. He had attacked her, taken his grief out on her, scared her more than she had ever been in her life. He did not look at her while he spoke the words. She had been around him in his most deadly moments, saw him near death, and still hesitated to accept him. But he was sincere. He would not be so torn up if he was not. "I forgive you," It was a raspy whisper, much like Eldon's. But it was there. She pressed on his shoulder, so that he would roll over. She smiled, weakly, but nevertheless smiled, at him. "Can Vanah take you back to Endrykas? I will ride with you. Are you well enough to ride?"

[Eldon Sunkiss]

Eldon stared up at Edalene for a long moment. He couldn't repair this. Apology wouldn't work. He just lay there for a long moment, the bleeding wasn't bad. Mostly he needed rest. Mostly, he wanted Edalene to go away. He was ashamed of himself. Pathetic excuse for a Drykas, for a man. "I'm just going to lie here and think. I've got a lot to brood over." Eldon would have rolled over again, but she was sitting over him, pinning him to the ground to force his gaze on her. She smiled, fake, but smiled never the less. "I'm sorry." END!

[Mycroft]

- Eldon Sunkiss -
"What did I lose? Something everyone loses at some point. Everything."

Experience:
Bodybuilding: +5
Reimancy (Water, Earth): +4
Seduction: +1

Lores:
Preparing for His Personal War
Making False Promises
Toying with Edalene
Making a girl blush
Receiving a Layman's Explanation of What He Already Knew
Overtaken by Anger
Losing Control
What Have I Done?

- Edalene -
"You have been hurt. I acknowledge that. But so has everyone else."

Experience:
Riding: +1
Animal Husbandry: +1

Lores:
Attacked by Reimancy
Introverted
Saved by the Neigh
Unbidden Thoughts
Recognizing Reimancy
Standing Up for Herself
Naive Selflessness
Dealing with a Disoriented Man

Notes: Wow. Man... I loved this. I personally have a weakness for seeing that kind of depravity. This thread was incredible, very revealing about both characters. Edalene has a deep connection to the player writing her, I can tell, and it shows. Her plight is definitely something a person can relate to. And Eldon... the way he just fell apart like that through very little provocation spells out a very dark future for him. I'd hate to see what would happen if he met someone he WANTED to hurt. No... no, I think I WOULD want to see it.

After grading Eldon's other thread with Sama'el and Denen, it's really fascinating that I'm privy to the larger story about his character. I am really enjoying his development.