[Open; Outside the City] A moment of clarity

[Sorian]

In the same way that he had been trying to study the beautiful creature before him, Kavala too seemed to be endeavoring to study how Sorian studies her. He traced a finger across an eyebrow, feeling the wetness trickling down its sides as he pressed it. It certainly was less shaggy than it had been, and he perked them up in personal approval, his smile noticeably sunnier. He bent his back as he allowed her to brush away the severed hair from his shoulders and neckline, the warm water mixing crisply with the wind that lashed at him. As soon as she was done, he reverted to sitting in the empty pool, the offered towel draped over his lower parts. He watched Kavala silently as she got herself dressed. "Rabbit... Stew?" Sorian repeated, and his stomach grumbled loudly at the thought of it. The smell of cooked viand was one almost forgotten to his nostrils, which sniffed around the premises trying to catch the warm, savory trail of it. He couldn't catch it in the wind, which gave him an icy gust to inhale instead, and a sneeze burst from him. He sniffled at the intense irritation his nose was experiencing, then used the back of his right hand to violently rub it. He wasn't used to bathing, nor was he accustomed to being so clean, and the smell of soap and fizzle was finally getting to him. The dirt which had provided him with a rather ugly yet effective warmer was now gone, leaving him with fragrant, smooth, pale sky blue skin. He grunted in disappointment, for it seemed that his former purple had truly ebbed away over the years. He took the tunic once she had gone to prepare dinner, padding the simple cloth over his body in a flimsy attempt to wear it properly. In the end, the tunic looked far too short for him, for the ends reached only to near his knees, making him look like he was in a duster of sorts. But he did not care, for fashion was the very last thing on his mind at that time. He wanted that horse blanket badly, so he went out into the cold to follow her, his massive hands gripping the opposite bicep, and he shuddered against the wind. Just as he was taking a peek into the horse stable, still thinking that Kavala had gone out of the building, Wind stirred from its sleep and walked towards him, neither afraid nor friendly. It stared him straight in the eye, and Sorian could clearly see his reflection in the great mount's black irises. They remained interlocked with each other until he finally caught the scent of the viand in the air and followed it. It felt somewhat relieving for Sorian. Wind seemed to see him now as more a person than a beast, just as Kavala said he should. Finding Kavala in the kitchen table with two bowls of the relish, Sorian could feel his mouth water. He wanted to seize it with a flourish and gobble it up like a barbarian would, but he felt that it would make him look foolish in front of his host. So he walked clumsily to the table and sat with a plop to the seat, the wooden sinews of it creaking under his great weight. The blue irises of his eyes were concentrated on the contents of the steaming soup. There's obviously some rabbit in it, otherwise it wouldn't be rabbit stew. He could see a greenish stubble sticking out of the liquid mass, and a bit of carrot there. The smoke seemed to swirl into some form of whirlpool in his gaze, only to be broken abruptly by Kavala's absent-minded words. "Pain." he repeated, about to say something else before he saw Kavala busily start eating. Feeling that it was something that would come up again later, he decided to concentrate again on his stew. He stared at the bowl for a few seconds, unsure now how to act. Should he act naturally, that is to say, just grab it and let it all slide into his throat? Or should he use the tiny spoon to his right, which he was sure would break at the slightest application of his strength. The piecemeal rabbit and the vegetables were starting to wait too long however, so in favor of courtesy, he took the spoon, clutching it like how a knight would a short sword's hilt, dipped it into the stew and put it daintily into his mouth, a bit of the wood crunching off when it got caught in a sharp tooth. The rabbit meat was a bit bland, lacking in salt and spices. Still he chewed on, letting each flavor come to him: Garlic, carrot, leak, potato, meat. They all meshed well enough for him, considering how this was his first cooked meal in a long time. He shrugged and started wolfing down the meal with as much finesse as a hungry savage could muster, finishing it in a matter of seconds. He was still licking his lips clean when he realized that Kavala was no longer eating. The spoon on his hand rested awkwardly against the force of his grip, as he silently--and expectantly--looked on, watching her face with curiosity. There was something sadly pristine in her eyes, her features growing softer, as if she was debating whether to tell him something or not. He was about to return to picking his bowl in his boredom when she finally broke her silence and spoke up, her words hinting at the extreme level of importance they carried. The trimmed eyebrows on his face knitted together, his intuition trying to pick up what kind of story she was going to tell him. Perhaps it would be the answer to the silent questions he had stored in his head? He wasn't sure she was that good with reading people, but still he waited. Sorian looked on, the spoon on his right hand starting to twist under his expectant grip. A chime of the clock, a rustle of the wind, and she finally let it all out. From beginning to end her words grew from bad, to worse, to worst, to bad again, and along with them came a change of pace in Sorian's breathing. He had been expecting something big, something heavy, but this was something that was beyond them all, and he started to fume silently inside. Even the beast inside him, who had been patiently waiting for a moment as this to take over, shrinked away at the tremendous feelings Sorian was feeling then and there. He knew not if it was extreme righteous anger or pity, but what he does know is that she had just proved to him how much of a kindred spirit she was to him. Different kinds, same degree. That was the kinship of pain they both shared. Negative as it is, Sorian didn't care. He rose from his seat, slammed the spoon into the table, shaking every utensil on it and crushing the spoon's handle into splinters, then started to walk towards Kavala slowly, his eyes serious and deeply soulful. He knelt down in front of Kavala and locked her gaze into his, a finger of his hand tracing the icy cheek the Konti possessed. He did not know why he did that--yet again the person won against the apathetic and malicious beast--but he spoke with great conviction in his voice, a conviction flaring up within him like a solar prominence. "I... shall never let anyone harm you again... Milady." he said slowly but surely, his hand departing from her cheek and finding their way into his crouched lap. "I shall serve you as your protector, as your shield. Nothing shall harm you for so long as I live." He declared these words bravely yet sincerely, as if his inner person had its own eyes at the core of his heart. If he truly did, they were most certainly staring at the inner demon with a fiery determination. You will not conquer me anymore. He said to his inner self, speaking for what is the first, and probably the last time. His eyes remained with her, never leaving her, despite his unseen confrontation.

[Kavala]

NoteSorry for the delay!

Kavala flinched noticeably as the wooden spoon slammed into the table. She didn't utter a sound, but for a moment her pale skin went even paler. When he stood up, fear flashed through her unwittingly. She'd said too much, exposed wounds best left to heal on their own - deeply concealed - and knew truthfully in that moment she'd lied to him. Death wasn't better. Life was. She wanted to live, the rest was just bravo to conceal her own cowardice and fear. Kavala was proud of what she was slowly building here, and wanted to see the project through. But in that moment, the terror that blinded her at Sorian's outburst, she froze. If it would have been Akela, there would already have been a weapon in her sisters hand to gut the Akalak as he approached. But Kavala fierceness tracked her determination to keep a sick thing alive. Her boldness was in healing, not in fighting. So she did nothing, not even breathing, until he kneeled before her. The finger down her cheek was a shock, and her eyes widened at the unexpected tenderness. Such a thing was unexpected from Sorian. There was too much Navis in him.

When he met her gaze, she couldn't look away. There was something passing between them, something that had Kavala belonged to Avalias rather than Rek'Keli, she'd probably have understood. His words surprised her even more than the touch and she started to protest, to deny his pledge. She didn't want to be dependent upon anyone. She couldn't rely on others. She had herself and only herself to rely on. But his gaze... his intensely blue gaze that was so like her own... stopped her.

He needed this. He needed something to focus on besides himself and his own pain. There was so much in his world that he couldn't control. But in this, he had more of a choice, more of a direct hand. So instead of protesting, instead of denying that she needed anyone or anything to look after her, she said nothing for a long long time. He could almost feel her acceptance, her resolve, her understanding as they faced each other. And then finally, she spoke, her voice soft - no more than a whisper.

"Thank you. I... Thank you." Sorian. She liked him in a way she couldn't put her finger on exactly. His open bleeding honesty was something different, something refreshing. His social awkwardness was also something charming to her, something she knew always hadn't been the case. And she liked touching him, something the bath had proven she could do. It wasn't something she thought she'd be able to handle truthfully, but it hadn't been unpleasant (save for the dirt) in the least. And he'd proven that he wouldn't look to her for pleasure or for a brood mare, like so many of the other Akalak's here might consider. She just had... one small question... one nagging doubt.

"But... who is going to protect me from you?" She said softly, leaning forward to brush her lips across his forehead. She knew he had a demon inside, something that was so angry its rage encompassed most of her understanding. But she knew it was real - sentient - a person in its own right.

"I want to talk to him. The other one inside you. This won't work unless you let him speak." She said gently, though he could read the fear in her eyes. She knew every breath was a battle inside Sorian. Anyone who would have been around him for any length of time would have understood that as well. But she didn't want it to be like that... at least not always.

[Sorian]

OOC: Hello Kavala. Its alright, please do take your time. I also must apologize, because I think this reply is going to suck a little. ><

The gentle gaze on his face slowly drained from him, ebbing away at the confusion and renewal of the struggle within him. Hadn't he just pledged his life to her? To protect her and serve her till the end of his days? The hand on his kneecap began to tighten around the bone, and a distinct shaking began to quake from him. She was asking for something so simple, and he disdained the very first task which his new mistress had given him. It was something truly enormous for him. Monumental. Everything in the air tensed, not with the emergence of the dark one from him, but from the raging debate that simmered like oil in his heart. It had been under control, every moment around him was his to own for once, and now he was being compelled to surrender it to the beast that had taken the hand of a lady to calm amidst a hundred years of self-service. He was about to raise his voice in protest, his mind quickly preparing every excuse he could muster in order to escape such a terrible request. Still, he knew in his heart of hearts that she was right. Who was to protect her from him, if she couldn’t conquer the demon inside him? She was willing to go to such extreme lengths to stay with him, he thought of it flatteringly that way. Weighed down by the burden of two hard choices, his lip twitched and let out a sigh. Casting away his look from Kavala momentarily, he took a huge breath and made up his mind during that one tiny instant, silently praying to every god he knew for her protection. "...very well, milady. As you command" he conceded begrudgingly. His gaze at her momentarily softened again, a fonder look burying all of her features into his mind. "I hope to see you again, alive and well. Please... Don't... Ugh..." He struggles back from her in a state of agony, his hands swinging wildly in the air around him before they settled with gripping his newly cut hair, his eyes bulging wildly from their sockets. He clutched his head as if it had been smashed open with a hammer, and the stifled roars that emanated from his clenched teeth made the room resonate with his tremors. The muscles on his newly polished body began to awaken, and they throbbed terribly with pent-up power. It only took a few seconds of struggle, and it was all over. Sorian stopped showing any of the aforementioned symptoms of madness, and he slowly rose to his feet, the bones on his back crackling generously, and the newly emerged demon’s gaze bored deep, unflattering holes into Kavala’s. A ferocious feral growl escaped his lips, as he just stood there staring, neither attacking nor falling back from her. His white teeth, sharpened by years of gnawing and chewing at both bone and raw, tight flesh began to bare themselves menacingly before her. “Why have you let me out?” he thundered in an extremely angry manner mixed with a hint of curiosity, the power in his words real in a deadly sort. It was apparent that he was merely holding back for something, for the knuckles in his hands and the claws on his fingers constricted and twisted around each other with a truly malicious sense of desire to kill her.

[Kavala]

Kavala swallowed the bile that rose inadvertently in her throat. She was afraid, deeply so, but knew this was necessary in order to feel... safer, if that was even possible with this creature. Sorian was someone she didn't mind having around, but his deeper darker side was like a full grown glassbeak without a bound beak or covered claws. You never knew when it would decide to hunger and attack. Beautiful one moment, utterly deadly the next. That Sorian's change was so rough on him, painful, made Kavala regret asking him to let her speak to the other one. But it was so necessary... for both of them. The truth was, in Sorian's decision, he was forcing the other one on a path the other one might not like or want.

"I...I'm sorry." She said softly, watching him struggle backwards, clutching at his head. Kavala doubted Sorian could hear her, because his inner struggle was so profound.

She watched with silence as the beast rose forth, pushing the man backwards and deeper. Making no quick moves or speaking abruptly, the konti waited for it to address her before she did or said anything. She was surprised at his question, for it never occurred to her that in not being 'present' he was somehow 'locked up' inside.

"Sorian told me... about how you killed the woman he wanted to marry." She said quietly, her mouth going suddenly dry. She took a breath and continued. "He also told me about your people and how they are two instead of one. I... couldn't help but think of things from your perspective. If he was the one making all the decisions, dictating your life, and keeping you... confined... I can only imagine how that made you feel. I would be angry too... incredibly so." Kavala said softly, watching him, not trusting him at all but wanting him to hear her out.

"I would feel even more rage that he gave his heart and wanted to give his life to someone whom you didn't even know without consulting you. I imagine he hates you, probably before you did what you did, but even doubly so. That has to... be about the worst fate I can imagine. Trapped within someone who hates you, chooses not to even know you, and judges you without trusting in the fact that the Gods must have known what they were doing in creating your life thusly." Kavala said, looking away, unable to meet his bold hate-filled eyes.

"Sorian wants to stay here. He... wants to make a promise to me. But I don't think its his right to do so without consulting you. But I don't think you two are on speaking terms exactly, either, so that makes it harder to even discuss something let alone something that important. I can't understand what you've gone through - both of you - but I do know that you deserve the right to have a life too. You deserve to make decisions too. Both of you deserve so much more than you have right now. I would really.... like it if you stayed here with me for a while. I would really like to help you both. Not just him... not just you. But both of you together. I am willing to negotiate between the two of you... so that you both have a say and you both have a life." She said softly and then glanced down to see that one of her hands was shaking. She covered it with the other, took a deep breath, and met his gaze again.

"But I can't do that if you kill me. I can't do that if I'm constantly thinking you'll kill me. And I know that you'll probably want too and can. That gives you all the power here. And it scares me. I do not want to die. Not really. I don't have a lot going in life right now, but I could if I'm given half a chance. I just want to strike some sort of bargain with you. I want my life free of the fear you will take it... perhaps in turn for something you'd like. And then I'd really like to get to know you - both of you. Because I know you both come as a package deal. " She paused then.

"So.. I'd like to hear what you really need. And... I'd really like to know your name." She said gently, then waited. If he had demands he wanted to make for a bargain, she'd do her best to see if she couldn't meet them. It was time they both stopped fighting each other, stopped sabotaging their lives, and tried working together. Kavala was under no delusions she could solve all their problems or even remotely get them to stop hating each other. But she did think she could try and get both of them to take a few single steps forward.

[Sorian]

The creature listened to Kavala's words without a dent of reaction to him, his knuckles still baring white and furious as they hung tightly to his sides. Truly it must have been a very good thing, because the usual would have resulted in a quick but painful death for anyone. It's mouth continued to bristle, saliva starting to dribble out from its sides as if he were a rabid dog. Still his eyes, which had been frightfully still and focused on killing her, grew a little softer as she continued to address 'it' as a being of its own. It said nothing for what seemed like a very long time, its hard breathing blowing gusts of anger towards Kavala. When it did, it stopped inhaling powerfully and let out a smirk. "You're wise to address me in such a manner, woman. A pity this tender-hearted fool inside me has never learned how to... and he has never enjoyed the gift that I gave him." He let out a cackle of wickedness, the muscles on his neck stretching to show the thick, powerful veins that wrapped tightly around it. It would occur to Kavala that in the same way that Sorian addressed this being with extreme disdain, the monster evoked the lighter side's name with disgust and a sense of superiority. It simply believed itself to be the better half, the stronger half, the greater half. After all, it had been the one carrying them through the dark decades of the last century. It started to lurch closer towards Kavala, the balls of its overgrown footsteps making ominous sounds on the floor. A feral growl began to brew in its lips, which seemed curled up in some display of amusement. What it was about to do, it had never done before, and it would feel so... Vindicating indeed. It stopped when it was merely inches away from Kavala, its height casting a shadow that loomed menacingly over her like a black cloud of evil. If Kavala had stumbled away in whatever fashion as it approached, she would find herself in a corner, unable to breathe or move, just like how its enormous, gaping body allowed. "Help us?" it uttered in a rather vehement manner, its hands smattering flatly on the walls on each side of her face. The impact shook every utensil hidden in the kitchen cupboards, the fire in the hearth noticeably wavering. It said nothing for another eternal few seconds, its eyes filled with every negative emotion there ever was: Greed, Lust, Pride, Envy, Sorrow. "Yes, I killed Karnelia. But in taking her away from him, I gave him so much more. Is it not a fair trade, this... Freedom to do as he wished, all for the life of a fleeting speck in the length of our time? She is but a blip, a passing obsession. She made him weak, she is of no use to him." It proudly declared this twisted logic to her, yet for a brief moment its face contorted into a look more soft, more tragic than evil. "My name? Hah. I have... No name." It turned its eyes away from Kavala, as if it took a moment to let the shameful fact sink in. It mustered a breath and looked back at Kavala, its face inches away from hers. It appeared... Thoughtful. Thinking. "What can you actually do to appease me, puny woman?" Its eyes trailed down to Kavala's frail form, scouring every shaking part in her body like it was a piece of meat it was about to devour. its eyes glinting with a wickedness that it was yet to unleash. It shamelessly began to draw its face closer and closer to hers, only moving away and coming down to Kavala's neck when the icy blue lips were less than a centimeter away from hers. It surveyed every ounce of her neck, its hot breath tracing her as it inhaled her newly-bathed scent. Its mouth slowly began to part, as if wanting to take a bite out of the clean opalescent white skin, yet it somehow didn't. It seemed to draw pleasure from listening to her bated breaths instead. "I had been listening in to your little conversation with... this idiot." it suddenly spoke, the voice quality nearly as clear as Sorian's, but hinting at far darker roots. "Frankly, you intrigue me woman. You bring no pleasure to the chase, for you neither run nor struggle. And while your body and soul are both worn out, you offer help to others. You must be either very noble, or very stupid." It laid its head to rest on Kavala's shoulder, twisting its face up to her chin as it began to chuckle. "Since you intrigue me so much, I will let you have your way. But tell me this one small thing. Why are you doing this?" The creature's muscles still resonated with power in every part of his body, the intravenous activity clearly outlined in the shadows which the hearth cast over the walls. Every ounce of blood and adrenalin being pumped to its head would have been felt by the Konti as he settled his face so close to hers, creating a figure more carnal than loving.

[Kavala]

Kavala stood up and moved backwards, slowly, until her back pressed up against the wall. It's cool surface, almost icy, was half responsible for her eyes widening. She'd truthfully thought she had more room. But when the big akalak crowded her, placing a hand on either side of her, she was frozen for a moment. His breath mingled with hers, creating a silence that spoke volumes, as she read the look in his eyes. Her whole body trembled, once, twice, and then she caught her lower lip in her teeth before she closed her eyes and turned her head slightly to the side - gathering herself. He was... a lot to deal with at once. The warmth of his body, all but pressed up against hers, coupled with the look in his eye invoked involuntary images of another time, another place - only the hard surface had been the ground her naked body had been pressed against. The hungry gaze had come from a man who held her hands down, on either side of her head while he had looked his fill of her body. He'd made art that night, inflicting painful wound upon wound upon her unscored flesh until she was nothing more than his canvas. Only when she was suitably decorated - bruises, welts, even blood - did he take his pleasure. She remembered screaming, but not until the forth day - no night - when he'd brought out his knives. In that time, he'd confused her body - triggered her pain so much that she couldn't tell the difference between it and pleasure. Kavala knew sometimes she was still damaged - still confused.

It was her own inner beast.

But when the creature turned his head away slightly, the forced invasion of her personal space eased off a moment. Azure eyes opened, turned back to him, and saw something there. Shame? He caught her looking again though, and resumed his approach until he was so close she could hear his heartbeat and their breath was one in the same. He smelled... clean, masculine, with a hint of musk that was uniquely Sorian and the nameless one. She didn't know what he was doing... what he was thinking. He was like a wild thing demanding she bare her neck to him in submission or else he'd tear out her throat. But there was something else to it too... a mixed curiosity as if he hadn't been that close to a female in a long long time. She let him look and held still, her fear slowly ebbing away. If he wanted her life he'd have taken it by now. Kavala was absolutely certain of that. So she concentrated on her breathing - inhale - exhale - watch.

He began to speak.

Pain flared anew. It reared up to strike her unsuspectingly as he changed tactics. His words were like knives, cutting deep into her flesh, and she opened her eyes a bit wider, this time in surprise. Anger flared across her gaze, bright and spirited, as she boldly met his almost identical orbs. But he didn't give her a chance to speak before he laid his great head on her shoulder, almost ferally possessive and strangely intimate.

The Konti was silent for a long time then. She had no words because her emotions were running too raw. She lifted her hands which had been clenched tightly at her sides, fisted in rage, and slowly brought them up to trace a line up his waist, across his back, and finally to drape around him. One rose higher and stroked his head, carefully and comfortingly. Her touch was comforting, in spite of her anger, and she slowly began to speak.

"Everyone deserves a name."

She was quiet a long time more, and then she paused for a few breaths. "I will call you Navis, a pavi word that means fierce. It somehow suits you." Her hands moved again, running up and down his back as she stepped closer, pressing herself against him. She let him feel the whole length of her as he rested his head on her shoulder, carefully slipping her eating knife out of her belt, concealing it in her fist as she stroked her hand back up his length a third time.

"But there's something else you should know about me, Navis. Tired? Yes... Worn out? No... there is a lot of life left in me. I am far younger than you are, and I'll live far past your lifespan if the Gods so will it. But the most important thing you should remember is something vitally important to me. I still have my soul. It is in better shape, I think, than yours is." Her hands, fisted up, still continued to stroke his form. "And there's a very simple reason for that. I never gave up. I never let them win. They might have changed me, but they never broke me. My skin is pale like Leth's bold face. Everyone thinks the konti are gentle creatures, soft spoken and without passions." Her hands continued their gentle ministrations as she spoke, turning her head slightly to watch his face.

"But my father was Drykas. He raised me among his people, along with my sister who is the best swordswoman I know. We are the people of the grass, one of the most dangerous predator ridden places to exist. Our hearts beat fast and free, and to a man woman and child we are all born with claws and more boldness than a simple human should ever have. They didn't break me because they couldn't hold a candle to what I am. I have grasslander blood. It's like a perpetual wildfire inside. You can't bend me. You can't break me. And while you might be stronger, angrier, and have more experience in being a general horse's ass than I do... I'll always surprise you." She said.

He felt the dagger then, though small as it was, dig into his side and scrape across his belly and genitals before it rose and tapped his heart - hilt first - the blade still tucked into her hand. It didn't hurt him, but the message was clear. She could have... in a heartbeat.

"And while I doubt there's anything I can do to actually appease you - my cooking is terrible and I doubt your the type who wants someone who's already whored for another - I will keep you guessing and make your life a little bit more exciting than it already is. But I don't want you as an enemy. I'd much rather have you as a friend. You and Sorian both, Navis. I won't ignore you. I won't disregard your feelings. I won't lock you away or pretend you don't exist. Sorian will come to understand someday the favor you did him. I suspect even now hes listening and screaming because while your heart is in the right place your methods leave a lot to be desired..." The hilt was toying across his chest now, up across his solar plexus, and to his throat where it danced in a pattern he couldn't quite see.

"We aren't so different, Navis. We both have our secrets... our pleasures. You walk the darkness and Sorian walks the light. But the shadowlands belong to me, a pure soul who was only twisted halfway to madness - not fully. So I walk between the pair of you. A little like you both, I think." She said, reversing the dagger and handing it to him.

"And I owe a duty to the Akalak. They say there is no debt, but all three of us know the unspoken rules, especially if the one rescued was a Konti. I won't age and die like the humans and kelvics your race brings in and uses. I might as well do my duty to someone I almost like rather than a stranger when either of you should want it. Your bed is as good as any of the others." She said softly, as her gaze turned haunted.

"And I know what you want, Navis. You want pain and blood and fear. And I'll tell you a secret since I know quite a few of yours. They taught me to like it. They were sick, each and every one of them. But their sickness is infectious, especially to those that just want things to end. They taught me to enjoy the feel of a blade across my skin, releasing my blood hot and salty. You saw... I felt you watching me in the bath - looking your fill. You saw the scars they etched across my flesh. I screamed getting them... I screamed until I couldn't scream any more. Then I screamed until the pain turned to pleasure because it was the only way I could keep my sanity in a world gone mad." Kavala said, her face fierce and this time her teeth bared at him. "And its the one reason I can't go home. Not ever. For they wouldn't even recognize me now."

She waited quietly then, thinking her telling was enough of an answer to satisfy his question. The real test, however, was what he'd do with the little dagger now that he had it. It was like a dare rolled into a denial and wrapped up in the impossible then gifted to him neatly. The Konti were like that, creatures of deep insight, for all that she claimed she was Drykas.

[Sorian]

Resistance. Determination. Passion. These words resonated within Kavala's eyes like the flare of an eclipse. To the newly christened Navis--whose wicked smile hinted at some guilty, arrogant yet thankful pleasure over finally being given something to be remembered by--it was like some powerful aphrodisiac, yet while the notion of his hunger for her flesh hung heavily in the air as he remained snuggled into her warm neck, there was something truly overwhelming about her that was shielding her from his advances. Not even Navis could determine why, and this fact fused into his brewing anger, creating something else. It was respect. To his incredible realization, his bitter chagrin and his utter disdain, he felt it trounce the lust which saturated his every close breath. Nothing had ever felt stranger, for not even the gentle overlapping of her arms behind his back compared to the intense feelings within him. He pulled his face back from her neck and settled with locking his gaze deep into hers, the earlier shame she had detected in them now fully apparent. They momentarily lowered to the floor, only for them to fling open wildly at the knife's touch to his skin, the cold blade tracing the lines of his muscles with such coldness that the feeling of death suddenly gripped him tight and lovingly. The icy feeling of his vulnerability at the moment both angered and pleasured him, yet the greatest thing was that he was visibly humbled. He, in all his might and power, was now under the command of this Konti. Delicate and gentle though she was with Sorian earlier, she was now fiery and angry, and Navis could feel the heat rise from her blood around him, yet at the same time his back arched, and every hair in his body raised in alarm and pleasure at her ministrations. The look on his face contorted into one of disbelief and even more confusion as she handed him the knife, which he took slowly and calmly, much like Sorian would have. It surprised him as well, a shake of his head coming to life in his perpetual dilemma. He wasn't supposed to be this soft. He disdained Sorian for this very purpose, and yet here he was, submitting to this Konti? Her words, while obviously designed to appease him at first, began to cut deep lacerations into his cold, black, icy heart by the time she had come to open the deepest parts of her skeleton-laden closet. His mouth now began to gape open, scoff and then pant, the pained expression on his face almost as good as if the dagger had simply been stuck into his side deep and true. The thoughts on his mind began to close out on him, and he started to shake violently. "You... Presume to know what I want?!" it blurted out, a measure of hurt pride ringing true and clear with his vehement response. "How dare you prioritize us over yourself?! Everyone lives for himself, everyone is alone, everyone else should be meaningless, everyone else should be a black spot, for that's what life is!" His teeth began to clench so tightly that blood started to leak out of his gums, and his eyes shut so tightly and so furiously around his sockets that it would have been a surprise to Kavala that blood didn't start running down his cheeks as well. Images of Kavala's pain began to perpetrate even more of it for him, as he saw how it must have occurred, how terrible the stipends for her life would have been. So many things ran in his mind in such little time, and the dejection was complete in every breathless blur that winded out of his barred teeth. If Sorian had been embroiled in an inner battle with Navis for a century, now it seemed that Navis himself was at war with an even greater enemy: himself. He began to slide down to the ground again, his whole body trembling with such fury that even his earlier demonstrations seemed pitiful and weak. "You... You.... truly are a FOOL woman!" he screamed in a mad, blood curdling cry as he thrust the dagger on his hand deep into his muscle-laden left arm, the thick blood splaying out violently from the cut into far corners of the room and into his face and hair, dying the jet-black into a crimson-dripping mop-like mess. Kavala would have caught a good amount of it on her clothes as well, her simply tunic now ruined and drenched in the waters of his life's fountain. The look on his face betrayed that he had just vented every last drop of his fury on that one act of personal vengeance, and his eyes went wide with shock and despair instead of the scathing fury he had shown her before. "I pity you not, for..." he uttered, his heavy panting laced with a glint of extreme mental exhaustion. It was as if Navis, not Sorian, had gained a great victory over madness with a pyrrhic price in blood. "I pity you not, for I... I..." The kneeling monster that is Navis began to waver in his stiffened form, the hold on the partially-buried hilt on his arm loosening till they dropped limply to the floor. His great form followed suit just a few silent moments later, collapsing into the floor sideways, then twisting his body weakly so that his face gazed at her from the surface of the floor. It was beginning to feel cold again, more unearthly than it had ever been. At first it had merely been Sorian who was trying desperately to control Navis, now it was Navis who paid the price for the both of them trying to control himself. "You... truly... are... beau.. ti.. ful. Kavala. I... We.. Deserve not... Your... love." he stammered glumly in concession. His lacerated arm, which had leaked blood in massive quantities but was now starting to clot, reached out to touch her feet, and laid softly on them as his eyes and lips closed in a sleep that would have been mistaken for death if his breathing didn't sound so pained, so alive with emotion.

[Kavala]

The men, both of them, had an enormous capacity to frustrate and surprise her. That was something she realized acutely in that timeless moment when Navis took the knife and used it on himself. It was not exactly the way to slay inner demons, she decided, but for all his stupidity - their stupidity - though it seemed to have some sort of effect on Navis that Sorian himself couldn't achieve alone.

She watched in acute horror as he went to one knee, knife lodged deeply in his forearm, and then absently congratulated herself on offering him only a small eating knife rather than going with her instinct and using something far more lethal. He'd keep the use of his forearm, but had the knife been bigger, he'd surely have severed the tendon and rendered his own limb lifeless.

"And you call me a fool?" She said, azure eyes wide again. Kavala didn't stop to think, she just broke away from him and headed up the slight steps to the clinic to retrieve her medical bag and suture. She was back in an instant, stuffing something under his large (dense) head as a pillow and then throwing a towel around his forearm. She'd left the knife in place, but with the towel, she grasped the handle and carefully slid the blade free. It was a deep wound, far past the level her healing would allow, though she started the process by invoking her gnosis through her hands even as she touched him with one and dug out alcohol and sutures with the other.

It would sting like mad as she drenched the wound in the alcohol and then used her gnosis to staunch the bloodflow. Then she dug deep into the wound and began sewing the muscle back together. If he protested or stirred, she'd simply sit on him, wrestling him down like one of her unruly patients.

"Well...." She said absently as she worked. "I guess this means you aren't going to murder me in my sleep. I hope you can rest a little easier Sorian. He's not such a bad guy. " She spoke to both of them, as if they were both present, even though her eyelids were heavy with fatigue and the strain of releasing a burden like that one one of them. Kavala didn't mention what he said about love. It made her uncomfortable. It was a feeling she didn't welcome... not right now. Not when she was so angry.

"I guess I can say Thank you too. I haven't felt this... better... in a long time." She said, as she made neat stitches across his forearm. When she was done, she set about cleaning up the blood. When she was finished, she gently shook his shoulder, attempting to wake him. "Sorian... Navis... wake. You can't sleep her on the back patio all night. It gets too cold. We are both exhausted. You need to either go back to your room or come with me to mine. Everyone else is bedded down for the night. And we can talk more in the morning." She added, shaking him again. Kavala knew he was exhausted, mind, body, and both souls. But she wasn't going to let him sleep exposed to the elements. Not now. Not after this... unholy and strange... meeting. They were an interesting trio, for certain, and she decided life wasn't going to be too mellow with them around.

[Sorian]

The blue mass--either Sorian or Navis--stirred but a little, an irritated expression coming over his face when Kavala tried to wake him. Should she repeat her nudging, the Akalak's lips would twitch and curl up into a beautiful smile--one far more peaceful than anything he had shown so far in his sentience--and his voice hinted of better times in his long life. "Mmm. Let me sleep a while longer Karnelia, I don't want to go out just yet..." He went back to his deep sleep, the expression muting into something more blank as he refused to stir any further. His body turned again, his stitched-up arm propping straight and true up on a small chair, the cold seeming like a non-factor in the depth of his slumber. It was a peace which neither Sorian nor Navis knew they possesses still in their shared heart. A heart of two faces, of two minds, of two alignments, yet united under one single creed. Sorian's had long withered under the tremors of his life, Navis' had been born impaired and feral. Only Kavala had ever borne witness to this shaky union and lived. And there was a good chance that whatever had been forged that night was something that fate had been trying to weave together for a very long time, for all three of them. Despite the silence with which she had kept her thoughts about the spectacular twists of the life of this dual Akalak, she was far more than a witness to both of them now. She is a conqueror.

[Kavala]

Blue eyes stood silent sentinel over the sleeping form for a long time. Kavala couldn't have said if it was a whole bell or merely a few chimes. She didn't know what to think. The day's events were almost overwhelming. But the truth was, she couldn't afford to be overwhelmed. There was too much to do and if she'd have stopped long enough to give it any thought she'd have realized how out of her league she was with this creature.

Ill prepared to deal with something like Sorian in her life, Kavala eventually rose. She was glad he'd fallen asleep and took some of the decisions out of her hands. There was no way she could move him to tuck him into a bed somewhere so she piled horseblankets on him where he slept, making sure he wouldn't wake uncomfortable or stiff. Then she headed into the clinic, cleaning up for the day and heading into her office to the stairway that lead upwards to her quarters above. Once she climbed the stairs, she paused at a mirror hanging on the wall. Studying her face a moment, she scowled at herself and shook her head.

"You invited him to come to bed with you? What does that make you?" She asked her reflection in the glass. The word went unspoken, but it was there regardless. Whore. And then she knew. She was just what the slavers had called her. Just exactly what they'd made her. Disgusted, she turned and slipped through the sparse room to stretch out on the bed fully clothed because she was exhausted. Things would look different in the morning, when she wasn't so tired. She let sleep claim her and while denying herself dreams. Nysel's world was one of escapism, and she needed to live in reality these days. And so she rested, deciding to deal with Sorian in the morning. Although how she'd deal with him, she had no idea.

Waking before the sunrise, Kavala had a lot to do. She stretched, rose, frowned and changed into her unflattering work clothes, which were comprised of a set of boys leggings, a loose stained tunic, belted at the hips. She braided her hair twisting it up into a knot at the nape of her neck, and started her feeding routine. She fed in the kennels, then grained the horses before she turned them out into the pasture. Once their boxes were free, she began mucking stalls. She kept an eye on the big sleeping form next to the table, which she'd ended up clearing off just before sunrise having forgotten all about their forgotten lunch the night before. Once chores were done, Kavala left Sorian alone and walked into town. She needed to pick up more nails before she could carry on her work for the day.

She'd be back, well into the morning, ready to do some more fence work on the arena within the courtyard. Sorian would be left alone to wake, get his bearings, decide if he was still willing to stay. If not, she'd given him plenty of room to depart if he felt like it, no questions asked. Though she hoped he'd stay, she was not looking forward to facing him in the morning though. And she wasn't sure what she was going to say.

And so it was with a little dread she reappeared mid morning, a new keg of nails tucked under her arm. She'd pass through the gates, and drop the keg by the arena that still needed about 1/3 of its fencing completed and go to find her hammer.