Fated (Chapter Seventy-Five)
Thursday, January 14th, 2016 08:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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mindcrackloveChapter list: http://tanadin.dreamwidth.org/382.html
Map of the continent: http://tanadin.deviantart.com/art/F
Character status spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet
Chapter Seventy-Five
Kingdom of Kalt’on, Minecraftia. November 14, year 573. Time instance 483Z.
The Sandbreakers had wasted no time in taking over Kalt'on entirely. With Voryn dead, his second in command Shriker became king in his place. The Kalt'onians surrendered once they were certain they had lost, and as Shriker focused on learning how to be king, the others sat back to heal, the descendants knowing they had to leave soon to meet up with the others.
Mitven had been kept extremely busy looking after the wounded, so it took awhile for Fate to get in to see her again. Mitven had done what she could for the arm on the battlefield, but she wanted to get a better look at it now that she wasn't as rushed.
Fate didn't look at Mitven as the skettisren examined her arm, but she was pointedly not looking at Blade either. The Sunspine noticed this and sighed. She had been somewhat distant, even with him, since yesterday and he suspected it had to do with Alvark removing her mask.
Mitven eventually sighed, releasing Fate's arm and drawing the attention of both Skullblades.
"So I have good news and bad news. The good news is, you won't die and your arm will heal enough to be useable...kind of."
"Kind of?" Fate asked weakly.
"That's the bad news. You won't ever be able to use it for anything too intensive- anything combat related is out, for example."
Fate's face went pale. She was right handed and also used a bow- a two-handed weapon. A Skullblade who couldn't fight was just a liability. Sure, she'd still be welcomed back, but she would be useless at barely twenty.
A fate any Skullblade would dread.
She looked like she wanted to cry and Blade sat down next to her, hugging her briefly. "There's got to be something you can do."
Mitven started to shake her head, but paused. "Well...there is something but I can't do it."
"What?" Blade demanded. "What is it?"
"I could send you to the skettisren tunnels." Mitven mumbled, growing more confident in her idea as she went. "There's an entrance not far from where we're going once we leave Kalt’on. I could drop you off there and ask them to replace that arm. It might not be as good as your arm used to be, Fate, but it's definitely better than it is now."
Fate's eyes lit up hopefully. "Really? They could do that?"
"Of course! You're not jealous of her getting a limb replaced first, are you, Blade?"
He shook his head, but at a disbelieving look from Fate, he shrugged. "Maybe a little."
A curious fascination with the idea of metal replacements.
He suddenly frowned. "They won't hurt her, right?"
Mitven rolled her eyes. "They're going to cut her arm off and give her a new one. Draw your own conclusions."
"I'll be fine." Fate assured, not sounding fine at all.
"Are you sure? It doesn’t really sound that way."
"I'm sure." Fate insisted. "I refuse to be more of a liability than I already am."
"You're not a liability! You're a very capable Skullblade!" Blade protested.
"No, I'm not!"
"Yes you are!"
"Just kiss already." Mitven grumbled, making both Skullblades glare at her.
"I-Im not...we're not..." Fate stumbled over her protest.
"Shut up." Blade clarified, crossing his arms and glaring at the skettisren. "It's not like that."
Mitven raised an eyebrow. "Sure it's not. Anyway, you both need rest- you especially, Fate. Don't use that arm for anything until it's healed or you replace it. Can you use your left hand?"
Fate shook her head. "It's mostly ornamental."
"Then, Blade, look after her and help her with most hand-related tasks. I think she can handle a few herself but don't let her use her right arm." Mitven clapped her hands together. "You're done. Get going, lovebirds, I have other patients to treat."
"It's not like that!" They both protested.
"One of you carrying the other in his arms says otherwise. Now shoo!"
~~~
Blade watched as Fate sat down on her bed in the room that they currently shared. They were used to sharing space, so it wasn't a big deal to have beds on opposite sides of the room. Fate still seemed jumpy and reclusive, however, turning away from Blade and not looking at him unless she had to.
Blade finally tired of this. "What's wrong, Fate?"
She jumped a bit. "What? Nothing. I'm fine. My arm hurts but I'm fine."
Blade narrowed his eyes. "Really?" Fate wouldn't look him in the eyes. When she didn't respond, he got up and sat next to her.
"Do you want me to take off my mask?"
Fate jerked in surprise and turned to stare at him. "Wh...what?"
"You're jumpy because I saw your face for a bit, right?"
Her silence confirmed his suspicions.
“I’ll take my mask off if you want me to.” Blade told her, voice somewhat quieter. “I don’t want you to be jumpy anymore.”
One of the greatest acts of trust between Skullblades.
Fate paused, then slowly nodded. “Only if you want to.”
Blade didn’t respond other than to reach for his mask, taking hold of it and pausing. He hadn’t removed his mask since the day he had put it on, half his life ago. He wasn’t sure how he felt about removing it, but he was sure that he didn’t want his friend to feel uncomfortable.
He took a deep breath and, on the exhale, he removed his mask. He blinked, shivering at how exposed he suddenly felt. He shifted uncomfortably as Fate practically drank in his appearance, eyes locked onto his face. She tilted her head slightly and raised her left hand, fumbling with her own mask momentarily before removing it as well.
They sat there together, looking at each other curiously and wondering how they could ever have felt unsafe around the other. They had been friends for over six years, and bonds like that are not ones to dismiss lightly.
Blade blinked in slight surprise when Fate suddenly moved to hug him tightly. He smiled slightly and hugged her back, closing his eyes.
They stayed that way for a long, long time.
~~~
Nia wasn’t sure what she was expecting as she wandered the palace, going into random rooms and just generally relaxing and enjoying exploring, but finding Vian lying on the floor drunk was not it.
He was lying down at the base of a couch, barely leaning against it, with his head tilted back and eyes shut. He looked up as Nia entered and waved before taking a swig from the bottle in his other hand.
“Vian,” Nia said slowly, “aren’t you only seventeen?”
“Aren’t ya supposed to not judge me for my life choices?”
Nia sighed and shook her head. “You’re killing brain cells, you know.”
“I jus’ lost my cousin, I really do not care.” Vian looked at her momentarily before holding out the bottle. “Want some?”
“…I’ll pass.” Nia sat on the couch near him. “And so should you.”
“Mmm…nah.” As he went to drink some more, Nia leaned forward and took the bottle, turning and throwing it out the window.
Vian frowned at her. “How dare you.”
“I’m not going to let you kill your brain cells.”
“Why do you care?” Vian asked suspiciously.
Nia shrugged. “You’re on my team and I’d rather not have a braindead teammate when we go to fight the Hostiles.”
Vian thought that over for a bit, then shrugged. “Yeah, okay.” He paused. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I don’t blame you for trying to cope with Zel’s loss. Want help onto the couch?”
Vian nodded and extended a hand, allowing Nia to help pull him up. He sat down beside her and sighed, looking at the gems on his gloves. “Dunno why it was Zel and not me.” He mumbled. “He was a helluva lot more competent.”
“That’s why.” Nia reasoned, leaning back in her seat. “He was targeted for being good, just like almost everyone else we’ve lost along the way.”
“I thought almost everyone died to accidents or stupidity?”
“Who told you that?”
“Marcus.”
“Marcus is full of shit.”
For some reason, this sent Vian into a giggle fit, making him almost fall off the couch. Nia rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm to keep him from falling. “In a minute you’re going to fall out the window after your alcohol.”
Vian stopped laughing immediately to ponder that. “I might like that, actually.”
“It’s smashed, Vian.”
“You don’t know that.”
“WE’RE SIX FLOORS UP!”
“Okay. You know that.”
Nia rolled her eyes. “How much of that did you drink? I didn’t look.”
“Ummm….maybe half?”
“Hmm.”
“What?”
“Nothing.” Nia got up and looked out the window. “You should go to bed.”
“What! It’s only, like…early evening?”
“Vian, it’s past midnight.” She turned around to see him making an ‘o’ face.
“Time flies when you’re drunk, I guess?”
Nia rolled her eyes and moved to leave the room. “You gonna be alright on your own?”
“Probably.” Vian struggled to his feet. “Don’t worry ‘bout me. Night, Nia.”
“Night.”
-~-
Guude leaned back in his seat as his descendant slowly made his way to a room he could probably crash in without being yelled at. “Poor guy.” He mumbled, shoving his orb back into his pocket. “Losing Zel must have been pretty rough on him…”
Bdubs patted his arm reassuringly. “He’ll be alright.”
“Yeah, I hope so. What about Tarsen? How’s he doing?”
“Fine, fine. He’s always fine.”
“Is he, though?” Aureylian asked from across the room. “He seems kinda like he’s breaking under the surface but he’s doing his best to hide it.”
“Where do you get that impression?” Bdubs asked, frowning.
“Because if he’s not visibly upset over the deaths of his friends, then that has to be his reaction. That’s what humans do.” Aureylian reasoned, getting to her feet. “Now, I’m going to bed, and I recommend you all do the same. Most of us haven’t slept in a long time.”
She glared at Blame and he gazed calmly back at her. “Sleep is a waste of time.”
“Better now than when people are doing things.” She fired back.
He considered that before shrugging. “I’ll go to bed eventually. You might want to check on Vechs. Last I checked he was still awake.”
Aureylian frowned. “He’d better not be.” With that, she left the room and, cape flapping behind her, moved quickly through the halls until she reached the room she shared with Vechs. She quietly opened the door and found Vechs hiding under the covers, clearly still awake and watching his orb.
She silently stalked over to him, raising an eyebrow as he didn’t seem to notice her. She smirked slightly and reached out, tapping his shoulder through the blanket.
Vechs yelled in surprise and jumped, flailing wildly and falling onto the floor. He calmed down when he heard Aureylian’s laughter and, once he had struggled his way out of the blanket, got to his feet, crossing his arms in annoyance.
“What the hell, Aurey?!”
“You’re supposed to be asleep!” Aureylian told him instead of replying. “What are you doing?”
Vechs grumbled and shoved his orb in his pocket. “Watching Nia.”
“I figured. Nia’s going to bed, like you should be.”
“I was in bed!” Vechs protested.
“You weren’t asleep!”
“Well…no…”
“Go to sleep.” Aureylian picked up the blanket off the floor and threw it at him.
“Only if you join me.” Vechs smirked slightly.
Aureylian reached for a pillow and threatened him with it.
“Is that a yes?”
“It’s a if you don’t sleep in the next ten seconds I’m going to hit you with this.”
“A solid maybe, then.” Vechs took the pillow from her and lay down, pulling the blanket over him.
Aureylian rolled her eyes, but wasn’t far behind.
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Date: Friday, January 15th, 2016 02:48 am (UTC)G.C. (::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)
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Date: Friday, January 15th, 2016 02:55 am (UTC)...then again, the alternative is Nian which is literally Zisteau's last name, so..
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Date: Friday, January 15th, 2016 07:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Friday, January 15th, 2016 06:12 am (UTC)- Fate and Blade are becoming a lot closer, but are most likely going to go to the caves with the rock that has Kaltaerion in it
- some of the Mindcrackers are still refusing sleep
- Tarsen is going to have an emotional breakdown in a chapter maybe relatively soon
- Kalt'on can be consodered an allianced(?) country now
Is that everything? So basically, everything is on the verge of collaspe. Nothing has really changed. But on the bright side, it hasn't collasped yet! Again...
-Observing Anon
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Date: Friday, January 15th, 2016 06:39 am (UTC)-the lurkiest lurker
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Date: Friday, January 15th, 2016 10:48 pm (UTC)and im just sitting here laughing my ass off at you guys getting worried over nothing
OR
your concerns are justified.
c:
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Date: Friday, January 15th, 2016 11:13 pm (UTC)-Anon Cami
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Date: Saturday, January 16th, 2016 06:47 am (UTC)-the lurkiest lurker
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Date: Saturday, January 16th, 2016 09:47 pm (UTC)-Observing Anon
no subject
Date: Saturday, January 16th, 2016 11:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, January 17th, 2016 07:20 am (UTC)-the lurkiest lurker
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Date: Sunday, January 17th, 2016 07:41 pm (UTC)-Observing Anon
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Date: Friday, January 15th, 2016 06:25 am (UTC)-Anon Cami
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Date: Friday, January 15th, 2016 07:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Friday, January 15th, 2016 10:48 pm (UTC)It's gonna take weeks to get either of them an arm, and frankly, the descendants don't have weeks.
So probably not. :P
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Date: Sunday, January 17th, 2016 02:07 am (UTC)Just "damn it, now I new new name, since there's already an Iirkolav here..."
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Date: Sunday, January 17th, 2016 05:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Friday, January 15th, 2016 06:36 am (UTC)(::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::)
-the lurkiest lurker
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Date: Friday, January 15th, 2016 10:49 pm (UTC)THAT FATE/BLADE SCENE WAS SO HARD TO WRITE IM USED TO KILLING PEOPLE NOT WRITING FLUFFY STUFF W H A T