Dario watched with a soft expression, standing a fair distance out of Milae's line of vision. The level of attentiveness the goat provided was a pleasant reminder of life prior to the events of the last day, and it pained him to have to break the moment.
"You do so much for everyone else... should you not be resting as well?" The deer approached slowly, his hands tucked into the pockets of a pair of pants he managed to stash away in Yun's bag. He stopped a few paces from his partner, head cocked slightly to the side as he gazed upon the pair. "It's been a day. You need to sleep, Milae."
"I know." He leaned back wearily again, hoof lowering to rest on Juro's long upper arm. He could feel the adrenaline and motion of his muscles cool and stiffen in his body, which made sitting upright a chore. "I was helping the Warden feed and water him...she struggled to even change his clothes. Then I had to update Moirai. I'm afraid I left him fretting for far too long." Milae wagged the journal in the air, as though if he didn't, Dario wouldn't now what he was referring to.
"I think Moirai will be okay. You worry too much - he thinks the world of you." Dario laughed, running along the grass as he lowered himself to sit in it, legs crossed in front of Milae and Juro. "At least I think he does. Maybe he's just always that excited... reminds me a lot of Yun."
The stag stared off into the distance, at nothing in particular. The sounds were muted in comparison to the carnage just recently past; the colors of the day felt brighter in contrast.
Milae gave a very soft chuckle, turning a few pages of the journal.
Juro Jin (U-131504051814): Yun's back. Jumped too soon after TD--recovering. Timeline stable.
"Any more or less than the last few times?" The jibe was gentle; Dario knew personally that Milae ached for Yun, even if he'd never expounded on his own feelings very much.
"More... I think." While his tone was light, Dario's face betrayed him - his eyes were caught by a pair of Rebellion soldiers nearly sprinting to one another, each catching the other in a tight embrace. The half-breed felt his heart ache in his chest. "Part of me tried not to think about it too much when we didn't know what was going to happen. I wasn't... I wasn't sure we'd get another chance."
Dario shifted his sitting position slightly forward, giving him an opportunity to rest a hand on Milae's leg. There was an uneasy calm in his head - one he hadn't contended with in many years, but he would learn to welcome it. The stag managed to bring his full gaze upon the goat, cracking what most of a genuine smile he could muster.
"I suppose we should, uh... we should talk about what happened. Milae, I'm..." His voice broke in his throat, but Dario swallowed and carried on, attempting to quell his shaky hands. "...I'm sorry. You had every right to know what we were up against, both with Kezia and with me. I wasn't honest with you, and that will haunt me for a long time. I see the lengths that you and Nala and Juro and Lila went to for my own sake, and it kills me to think about. I don't know, I just think... I was scared. I was scared, and I'm sorry for that."
Dario watched with a soft expression, standing a fair distance out of Milae's line of vision. The level of attentiveness the goat provided was a pleasant reminder of life prior to the events of the last day, and it pained him to have to break the moment.
"You do so much for everyone else... should you not be resting as well?" The deer approached slowly, his hands tucked into the pockets of a pair of pants he managed to stash away in Yun's bag. He stopped a few paces from his partner, head cocked slightly to the side as he gazed upon the pair. "It's been a day. You need to sleep, Milae."
"I know." He leaned back wearily again, hoof lowering to rest on Juro's long upper arm. He could feel the adrenaline and motion of his muscles cool and stiffen in his body, which made sitting upright a chore. "I was helping the Warden feed and water him...she struggled to even change his clothes. Then I had to update Moirai. I'm afraid I left him fretting for far too long." Milae wagged the journal in the air, as though if he didn't, Dario wouldn't now what he was referring to.
"I think Moirai will be okay. You worry too much - he thinks the world of you." Dario laughed, running along the grass as he lowered himself to sit in it, legs crossed in front of Milae and Juro. "At least I think he does. Maybe he's just always that excited... reminds me a lot of Yun."
The stag stared off into the distance, at nothing in particular. The sounds were muted in comparison to the carnage just recently past; the colors of the day felt brighter in contrast.
Dario watched with a soft expression, standing a fair distance out of Milae's line of vision. The level of attentiveness the goat provided was a pleasant reminder of life prior to the events of the last day, and it pained him to have to break the moment.
"You do so much for everyone else... should you not be resting as well?" The deer approached slowly, his hands tucked into the pockets of a pair of pants he managed to stash away in Yun's bag. He stopped a few paces from his partner, head cocked slightly to the side as he gazed upon the pair. "It's been a day. You need to sleep, Milae."
Milae had not cried like he did now since losing Yun, and he covered the nearest side of Dario's face in kisses, gripping the deer as though he was next to a cliff and if he let go, he would surely perish. "Always, always, every time..."
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something, and looked up in shock as he saw the tips of his love's antlers gleaming a warm gold like candlelight, slowly dimming as the magic around them dissipated, but gorgeous just the same. He stroked a tine in awe, and his hoof fell on Dario's cheek, massively relieved to see all of the cuts, burns and bruises he harbored from before to be entirely gone save for faint scars at the site of the worst injuries.
There was a roar of excitement and laughter, and Jin half-slid, half sprinted down the hill, having swept Kendra off her feet to keep her from walking, and the half-breed kicked her toes excitedly the whole way down, shouting Dario's name in the endearing way her voice missed hard consonants. She stumbled right into the deer and the goat and hugged them both, as did Jin, squeezing everyone tightly around the shoulders like she meant to lift them all herself.
Tree took Vox by his hand, not intending to move a second before he did. Liam turned on his heel to grin at Lila and Juro, and the latter had his face in his hand, the utter relief evident from his pose. "You thought you fucked up."
"...I thought I had fucked up extremely." She couldn't help a hysteric laugh, which Liam joined, punching Juro in the arm and then hugging him and Nala tightly.
Dario's hands were frantic in examining every feature on Milae's face - the stag had to be certain that what he was experiencing was real. The tips of his fingers felt of static and cold, causing a hot stinging sensation against the warmth of the goat that was a stark reminder that the deer was indeed alive again. The sudden, love-laced onslaught from Kendra and Jin brought a long lost smile to the stag's face. Dario could hardly keep his bearings, throwing rough signs along breathy, yet endearing declarations of love for the youngest Arnason child and her partner.
His heart began to settle, as did his breath, as he pressed his forehead to Milae's and held them together. There was nothing else in the world outside of the two half-breeds and their extended family; be it physical, mental, or spiritual. Though he couldn't be certain if he was still seeing things, the stag took note of the glow of teal and gold that decorated both half-breed's forms, as soft as the eyes that gazed upon him. Dario sighed, giving a small laugh as he did so.
"It's... quiet."
-
Vox knew what was happening; he could hear it, but he couldn't bring himself to move. It wasn't until a singular feline half-breed took his hand into her own that he managed to shake the fog that had built in his mind.
"Tree."
He looked up from his hand to find himself just inches from Treepelt's face, and without warning, pulled her into himself. Every bit of tension and stress in his body melted away in their embrace as he rubbed the base of her neck with his hand.
"I love you. I love you... so much."
Vox pulled back slightly, just enough to land a kiss on her lips, and then her forehead. His attention turned to Nala - the form of Juro appeared far less tense than before. The sight of Liam in any state other than grief was everything the scout could ever wish for.
The half-breed threw his paws up in the air as though surrendering, and Jin tilted her head nearly sideways, staring furiously bug-eyed at Lila. "That's Liam," she said incredulously. Milae was unable to give a more succinct answer, currently warring mentally against the demon to try and get closer to Dario.
"Then whomever just appeared in our heads is not Liam." She replied. "It just so happened to look, sound, and talk just like him." She said, her eyes never leaving Liam, her gaze untrusting.
The scout kept his sights on his son; he understood Lilaâs distrust, given the context of what Nala was able to show them. He had to give more - he couldnât let Liam, or Liam, be scrutinized like this.
âThis LiamâŠâ Vox took to his side, placing his arm around him in solidarity. ââŠis Liam. The Liam you seem to have encountered before⊠is also Liam, I think. Iâm- Iâm going to try and explain this. Okay.â
Vox exhaled, looking at Milae and wincing at the thought of trying to explain this in front of him. The goat was far more versed in matters of time and Norns, and yet here the scout stood, stumping for his son(s).
âWhen Sav opened the portal on the tomb, I rushed and pushed Liam and I in to get away from Kezia. We ended up somewhere with VerĂ°andi, a Norn, who helped heal Liam and was apparently slated to be bound to Kezia in some weird ritual thing. But Liam- our timelineâs Liam- was able to recreate the ritual and bound himself to her, but also⊠some of Nala was already inside of him?â
He could feel himself losing the plot; it had only happened shortly before now, but everything felt hazy.
âLiam was not what we knew him to be when we returned, as many of us witnessed. He was⊠massive, he was⊠godlike. I still canât wrap my head around it. When we entered that weird sky rift thing, it took us to another timeline where⊠where things didnât go well.â
Vox felt his throat tighten; he didnât want to go into great detail, especially with Liam right next to him.
âThis timelineâs Liam saved us and got us out of there, in whatever form he takes now. Liam here⊠saw all of it. Heâs my son, I⊠I couldnât leave him there. I know itâs hard to understand. I mean, fuck. I donât know whatâs going on beyond what I just told you, but if there was a Liam where you just came from⊠I think itâs our Liam. I mean, one of our Liams.â
Vox pressed the sides of his forehead with his hand.
âSorry, I have no idea if this is making sense at all.â
The idea seemed to calm Milae, but he still refused to let himself be reeled back to the group by Kendra. Behind Liam, Tree hadn't released his arm, but her eyes were fixed on the back of his head, with an expression that was serious and inscrutable.
"Yes," the Warden said, voice strained and stricken. Juro took a shaky breath, thumbs running over Dario's cracked cheeks. "He told me to take Lila and get to safety. If that is truly what happened...I have to keep faith in him. Any--"
A sharp crack, and Juro's hands suddenly collapsed together as the statue of Dario crumbled underneath his palms, falling to the ground in uncountable pieces and scattering across the stone beneath him. Clouds of dust billowed out slowly from the rubble, gently collecting on the Bookkeeper's suit as Nala stared down in horror, completely frozen.
Vox couldn't tear his eyes away from it. The seconds in which the collective group watched the stone crumble through the hands of the Bookkeeper were mocking and horrific - the scout hardly noticed himself move through the space, kneeling next to Juro and taking bits of dust and rubble in his hand.
"No."
Flecks of stone caught in the nooks between his fingers; his eyes began to glisten as he looked up to meet Nala's sight. For addressing a demon, Vox's voice was cold and direct.
"I..." The Warden didn't look away from the ground; her presence had been sucked in, like a complete vacuum where she had been previously.
"Oh my gods," Liam gasped, pulling away from Tree and gripping Juro's shoulders, trying to turn Nala to focus on him. "Nala, what happened? What's wrong?"
She couldn't meet his eyes, gaze skipping in a panic back and forth. "I--I don't know...I don't know--!"
"Shit," Jin cursed lowly, running up beside Vox in a slide that sent a few pieces skittering before she caught them, trying to pull the rubble together into a cohesive pile. "Shit, shit, shit. It's--it's okay. We'll figure this out--"
Kendra nearly moved to help, but she nearly bumped into Milae, who didn't move like she expected him to. When she put a hand on his arm, he didn't react. She felt her heart break, and she hugged him while balancing on one leg as best as she could, and he made no move in response, just staring at the Arnasons as they panicked, hearing just as little as Kendra did.
He could feel Jin's presence next to him, but she may as well have not been. There was nobody else in the world to Vox at the moment - save for the remnants of Dario, and the demon-operated Bookkeeper.
"I don't believe you." Vox's voice, while still flat, had a twinge of tightness. His psyche was cracking in a manner not entirely unlike his best friend. "You've... always figured it out, Nala. We... we have to fix this."
His mind flashed to VerĂ°andi; to Liam, past and primal. His hands shook as found himself on the brink of collapse in every sense of the word.
Treepelt, hardened by two wars and unshaken by the panic, was still completely unsure of what to do. She hovered near Kendra's arm, ready to catch her daughter if she fell. The silence was stretching longer and longer, and nothing was being done, nothing was being said. There had to be something they could try...anything.
Her eyes caught the back of the scout's head as he entreated Nala, and then she frowned in alarm upon seeing red slowly draining over his hood and seeping up into the tips of his hair. Yes, there it was again--an unnatural glimmer of gold between fabric and skin. "Vox--your neck..." Any further explanation faded in her throat; Tree wasn't sure what she was witnessing.
Tree's words were an immeasurable distance behind Vox - at least to his own perception; the echoes of her voice were resonant as it fought against the impending grief threatening to overtake his entire conscious.
Vox... your neck...
The scout blinked a few times, shaking out his head and focusing on the rubble gently tumbling from his hand. Without hesitation, he rubbed the pad of his index and thumb together to clear any remnants of debris before locating the base of his neck, fingers making contact with moisture along his spine. Upon returning his hand to view, the striking red hue was sickeningly familiar.
"...huh."
Vox turned to Juro; the scout's neutral expression was unwavering. His eyes went from his own fingers, up to meet Nala's. The scout felt pressure in his skull; he wasn't certain if this was the cause of the aura of gold appearing in his vision.
Milae moved for the first time, startling everyone--he lifted his forearms, and stared at the scars on his forearms, which were beginning to glow with the same sun-colored hue.
All of the fur on Liam's shoulders stood up straight, and he turned away from a helpless Nala, ears flicking wildly. Kendra seemed to follow suit with less outward signal; her nose twitched and she stared at him with huge eyes.
"Dad?" Liam said hesitantly.
Like the touch of a god, light struck the earth at the base of the slope, and all the natural cracks of the summer-battered soil exploded with wavering rays, dancing as the northern aurora, radiating heat and life. The miasma of light bloomed like a newborn tree, branches reminiscent of lightning reaching skyward, with sparks like leaves and swirls like fruit. From its core, an outstretched hand became visible, fingertips stained with blood and clothed in familiar shimmering fingerless gloves.
Milae was already moving before the Arnasons could stop him, nearly tripping down the hill as he raced for the astonishing display.
There was light; there was sound. The half-breed felt suspended in the glow that had overcome him, despite his hooves being firmly planted in solid footing for the first time in what felt like a century. His arm, outstretched as if by instinct, felt bitten by the crisp autumn air, while the rest of his being was coursing with that familiar warmth. The immense, blinding light began to fade rapidly, giving the stag a chance to adjust his eyes to his surroundings.
For Dario Hjort, the sight of Yun Milae was a welcome one.
He watched the goat bound towards him at a pace he had never seen from his Caprinae; the weight with which Milae delivered an airborne embrace around Dario's neck nearly took him off his hooves, but the stag managed to fall to his knees while fully enveloping his partner in the tightest embrace his exhausted limbs could muster. He remained with his head sunk deep into Milae's shoulder.
"Milae, ĂĄstin mĂn, ĂĄstin mĂn..." His fingers, still coated with blood, clung to the back of Milae as if he'd slip back into death if he ever let go. "I'm... fyrirgefĂ°u..."
"Yeah... litla geit. I'm really proud of that kid."
Dario couldn't shake the image of Yun from his mind - visions of him training with Milae, while the stag took careful refuge next to Juro, practically unable to keep still with anxiety. There was so much pride to be shared amongst the seidkonur and his predecessor.
"Before you go- is there anything you want me to tell Milae?" The deer fully faced Duri, watching her expression as he asked. "I get it if that's... weird, but I thought I'd ask."
Dario fell silent - his knowledge of the relationship between Duri and Milae had always been from a single perspective. He couldnât trust that the goat had always been a reliable narrator. The pair lingered in the still-darkening space for a moment longer while Dario found himself staring in her direction.
âIâll keep him reined in, as much as one can, anyway. Iâve never met a more stubborn goat in my entire life.â
The warmth grew; there was a feeling of imminence. Dario felt his attachment to this place weakening by the second.
âHey⊠thanks for everything.â The stag met her eyes with a warm smile. âI wonât pretend that I know your entire lifeâs story, but I know that you meant something to someone I love, and I just want you to know that Iâm grateful.â
Duri nodded once in acknowledgment, and again, that mysterious invisible appearance of something else. "Take care of yourself. You still have a place in this story. Things will probably get fuckin' wild for you with both goats around, but not anything you can't handle. Follow your heart, live for yourself and those that love you...some mushy shit like that. 'Kay?" The sky began to lighten with lilacs and greens on the horizon behind her, the breeze growing stronger.
He couldn't suppress a laugh, staring off to the side of Duri and towards the horizon. The colors were beautiful, as if calling him home. He felt the wind push through his hair and past his ears, building with each moment that passed.
"Okay."
He gave the Caprinae one last look as she turned to face the lights waltzing in the sky behind her - the glows framed her silhouette as her form grew darker, and darker, and darker...
He blinked.
Opalescent streaks of gold and teal appeared so close to his eyes that they might as well have been in direct contact with his irises - what blinding light would have normally been painful and overwhelming gave way to a sense of serenity; to calm. The stag's form felt weightless; it felt like a sinking stone in an endless pond. Dario felt his limbs maneuver around in slow motion, as he pulled a hand to the back of his neck. It was damp.
Bringing his hand forward, his vision caught the unforgettable shade of scarlet that coated the tips of his fingers before he closed his eyes.
"Yeah... litla geit. I'm really proud of that kid."
Dario couldn't shake the image of Yun from his mind - visions of him training with Milae, while the stag took careful refuge next to Juro, practically unable to keep still with anxiety. There was so much pride to be shared amongst the seidkonur and his predecessor.
"Before you go- is there anything you want me to tell Milae?" The deer fully faced Duri, watching her expression as he asked. "I get it if that's... weird, but I thought I'd ask."
Dario fell silent - his knowledge of the relationship between Duri and Milae had always been from a single perspective. He couldnât trust that the goat had always been a reliable narrator. The pair lingered in the still-darkening space for a moment longer while Dario found himself staring in her direction.
âIâll keep him reined in, as much as one can, anyway. Iâve never met a more stubborn goat in my entire life.â
The warmth grew; there was a feeling of imminence. Dario felt his attachment to this place weakening by the second.
âHey⊠thanks for everything.â The stag met her eyes with a warm smile. âI wonât pretend that I know your entire lifeâs story, but I know that you meant something to someone I love, and I just want you to know that Iâm grateful.â
"Yeah... litla geit. I'm really proud of that kid."
Dario couldn't shake the image of Yun from his mind - visions of him training with Milae, while the stag took careful refuge next to Juro, practically unable to keep still with anxiety. There was so much pride to be shared amongst the seidkonur and his predecessor.
"Before you go- is there anything you want me to tell Milae?" The deer fully faced Duri, watching her expression as he asked. "I get it if that's... weird, but I thought I'd ask."
The hooves had stopped, just shy of where Dario could glean any information as to who had entered his home. A shadow of her form was cast onto the floor in front of him; a somewhat familiar shape.
"Luca. Is he here?"
"Right there, with his mum."
The elk motioned as he spoke, and before Dario could prepare himself further, a female Caprinae took quick steps into the room, acknowledging the stag and his mother.
"Anita. Dario."
The younger half-breed was taken aback; this couldn't be who he thought it might be. He'd heard of stories - Milae recounted them many times, in passion, in anger, and in memoriam. He knew he could be wrong, but the name left his lips before he could stop himself from speaking.
With an expression that could only be described as a shit-eating grin, the auburn alpaca pulled the strap of a shoulder bag over her head and tossed it on the table, and it slid to rest in front of Dario. "Hey, deer man." Her ears and neck were extremely tall, much taller than Milae's, and she had a thick, curly, woolen crest that ran up her neck and seemed to explode just above her bright blue eyes. Her clothes were homespun and travel-worn. She leaned on the chair across from Dario, not sitting, just folding her arms across its back and crossing her ankles. "Well, damn! Didn't think I'd ever get to see you. How you feelin'?"
He was stunned. His jaw was slack, and it took him a moment before he shook his head, pulling himself back to the present.
"I'm... fine? No, wait, I'm dead. I mean, you're dead. Wait." The stag paused, putting his fingers to rest on the sides of his skull as he took a deep breath. "I've... heard so much about you."
Dario watched Anita get up slowly in his peripheral vision; he instinctually went for her hand as she pulled away, but she gave his own a small squeeze before moving out of the room with Luca. The pair were alone.
"I... I don't know what's going on here. I died, Duri. Is this the afterlife? Why are my parents saying I can go back?" His face fully melted into his hands, his elbows resting on his legs and he slumped forward. "I feel fine. This doesn't feel different from when I was alive, but this isn't my home. My parents... are gone, they have to be. Are we all dead together? Do families go to the same place when they die? Oh my Gods, will I never see the Arnasons again?"
His breathing accelerated, fingers tapping against his forehead before he shot upright, falling backwards into the bed and sprawling out his arms with a deep sigh.
"Why am I asking you this? You don't know. You're not real. None of this is real."
"AndaĂ°u, kid." Duri's hoof tapped on the ground thoughtfully. "Yes, you're dead. But even if nothing in this house is real, the situation you're in definitely is."
She tilted her head at Dario. "First off, the being that Liam has turned into. You don't know what It is, I don't know what It is--Hel, I don't even think It knows what It is either. But It was born of familiarity. A creature to contend with a fallen god, a force that can enter a demon's mind...a person that still knows you. We know just enough about these things that we can put the pieces together.
"The covenants between mortals and...well, not, depend on consent. Whether you make a deal with a devil to gain power, or allow an angel to bring you back from the brink of death, or even if you speak a loaded incantation to save someone you love..." The corner of her mouth turned up wryly. "They require consent, both ways. They always have. Demons can steal each other's names and gods can sabotage each other in a million and one ways, but mortals are different. So strong of willed are we that we need permission to let them fuck with us. Even a Catalyst's bond needs constant, express displays of love. The reason Kezia is always doomed to fail. Bitch." Duri kicked the chair around smoothly and sat in it the way Milae always did, both feet off the floor, hocks folded and tucked underneath herself. "I don't think this thing operates much differently. Especially knowing Liam. He always hated not having a choice, and I don't think It enjoyed the fact that you were essentially coerced this whole time." She shrugged. "Technically, you've already both made an agreement. You both made the choices you needed to. But It's not a god of death--you know what one of those are like. It could only agree to forge the path back for you. Which, I guess, is the second thing--now that you're out of Its reach, it's up to you to find It and come back."
Duri regarded him, and Dario glimpsed something ancient within, like a nesting doll harboring many other forms. "What do you think that might look like for you?"
He took a long time to answer - or at least what felt like a long time to him, within a space where the concept of time had limited carryover from his plane of origin. Dario's hands had fallen into his lap by this point, fingers knocking against one another in perfect synchronization. Duri's words played on a loop in his head, and he seemed to whisper his inner thoughts aloud under his breath until his eyes shot open. The stag looked up to the Caprinae.
"Hey. Come walk with me."
--
The road the pair of half-breeds followed was eerily unsettling the further they wandered from Dario's home. The light of the sunset was dying second by second, leaving them to proceed in quickly diminishing visibility.
"I don't know... if it'll be here." The air around them felt as if it were growing rapidly colder; Dario rubbed his arms as he took large strides. "But I can't think of anything else."
The path diverted and slowly degraded as the stag's memory of it grew less clear - the time it would have taken them back home would have been substantially longer, but with the advantage of his own perception being projected before him, the multitude of hours was condensed into an impossible set of minutes.
Before Duri could respond, they had arrived. Dario stood staring ahead, eyes fixated on a handcart just off the side of the path, with a spoke visibly damaged.
"This... was where I made a choice. An agreement with myself, I think... to help someone, despite everything I've known telling me that wasn't a good idea." His speech was incredibly soft; passionately warm. "I chose him, and that decision gave me a life that I'm not ready to leave just yet."
Duri stepped forward, legs lanky in the long mountain grass, and kicked the wheel irreverently, hearing the entire cart groan in protest. "It's funny. In making a selfless decision that slowed you down, I'd argue that you gave everyone a life. If not for the deer, then nothing for the goat. If not for the goat, then nothing for the father. If not for the father, then nothing for the son. And if not for the son, then nothing for the deer." The twilight had quickly darkened into night, stars twinkling mischievously. The noise of summer insects dwindled into gentle crickets. "Seems like you really did yourself a favor, huh?"
The alpaca leaned a hip on the cart, eyeing Dario. "He's gonna let you down again, you know," she said nonchalantly. "He's a fucking stubborn snob that can't see past his own nose." Duri snorted. "There's a reason I turned him down in every timeline. Well, almost every."
"If I ever needed a reason to wonder if I was just making you up, I can say for certain now I must have." Dario chuckled, looping her not-at-all-veiled assessment of Milae in his head. "A fair judgement, but I've learned how to be his eyes when he gets a bit short-sighted."
Dario looked upon Duri with sadness - here was one of the few individuals to have ever existed that knew Yun Milae in the way that he knew him. To know of her fate before this encounter brought an unmistakable gravity to the conversation.
"I'm sorry for everything that happened, with you two." Dario knocked some small rocks with his hoof, unable to look at Duri. "I'm sure I'm probably the last one you want to talk to, especially about him, but there's got to be a reason I knew to come here. There has to be a reason it's you I'm talking to right now."
The stag looked up to the stars, taking in the quiet around them. The air had cooled even further, but it proved to no longer be a bother to him.
"I knew what I was getting into, at the end there, with Kalmah. My dad taught me that when I was just on the cusp of adulthood, when I was getting into fights. Had a particularly bad one that left me with some pretty bad bruises, and he couldn't let me get more hurt than I already was. Scared the shit out of me, so I never ended up using it."
Dario rubbed his hands together, feeling the rough, calloused skin as if it were the first time.
"When I tried to save Vox, I thought for a second that I'd be able to get myself out of it too. I couldn't afford to make that mistake a second time, so when I went in, I did so with the understanding that I was going to die... but seeing my parents, seeing you... I'm reminded of what I've left behind, and it may be selfish to say, but I... I miss it."
Duri twisted her snout softly, with regret. "Yeah. I miss it too. And there was a lot I didn't get to see. I witnessed way fewer miracles than you have, that's for sure."
She looked off into the hazy distance. "It's fine. It was all doomed for me from the beginning. Milae was always making the wrong choice trying to save me, but sometimes you have to make forty-seven thousand, eight hundred and twelve mistakes before you get it right. You know? Two mistakes ain't shit. You get to stick the landing early."
Dario followed her gaze to the shrouded, seemingly endless expanse beyond them. His heart ached at the thought of Milaeâs attempts in vain to change the course of time - a familiar trend in the goatâs life.
âYeah⊠I suppose so.â
The stag felt his bones warm; a surprising sensation for a deer in the grips of death. He wanted so badly to stay - to learn more about Duri, to live an afterlife long lost - but he knew it couldnât last.
âI think⊠weâre supposed to make these mistakes, Duri. Forty-seven thousand might seem like a lot, but knowing him, Iâm sure he wishes it were more. Hah, if Iâm being honest, I donât know that I would be any different.â
He exhaled, watching his breath leave his mouth in the frigid air. The moisture collecting in his eyes was freezing quicker than his face could keep it warm.
âHey, my mom and dad. I know they arenât⊠you know. But can you tell them I said goodbye? And that I love them?â
The hooves had stopped, just shy of where Dario could glean any information as to who had entered his home. A shadow of her form was cast onto the floor in front of him; a somewhat familiar shape.
"Luca. Is he here?"
"Right there, with his mum."
The elk motioned as he spoke, and before Dario could prepare himself further, a female Caprinae took quick steps into the room, acknowledging the stag and his mother.
"Anita. Dario."
The younger half-breed was taken aback; this couldn't be who he thought it might be. He'd heard of stories - Milae recounted them many times, in passion, in anger, and in memoriam. He knew he could be wrong, but the name left his lips before he could stop himself from speaking.
With an expression that could only be described as a shit-eating grin, the auburn alpaca pulled the strap of a shoulder bag over her head and tossed it on the table, and it slid to rest in front of Dario. "Hey, deer man." Her ears and neck were extremely tall, much taller than Milae's, and she had a thick, curly, woolen crest that ran up her neck and seemed to explode just above her bright blue eyes. Her clothes were homespun and travel-worn. She leaned on the chair across from Dario, not sitting, just folding her arms across its back and crossing her ankles. "Well, damn! Didn't think I'd ever get to see you. How you feelin'?"
He was stunned. His jaw was slack, and it took him a moment before he shook his head, pulling himself back to the present.
"I'm... fine? No, wait, I'm dead. I mean, you're dead. Wait." The stag paused, putting his fingers to rest on the sides of his skull as he took a deep breath. "I've... heard so much about you."
Dario watched Anita get up slowly in his peripheral vision; he instinctually went for her hand as she pulled away, but she gave his own a small squeeze before moving out of the room with Luca. The pair were alone.
"I... I don't know what's going on here. I died, Duri. Is this the afterlife? Why are my parents saying I can go back?" His face fully melted into his hands, his elbows resting on his legs and he slumped forward. "I feel fine. This doesn't feel different from when I was alive, but this isn't my home. My parents... are gone, they have to be. Are we all dead together? Do families go to the same place when they die? Oh my Gods, will I never see the Arnasons again?"
His breathing accelerated, fingers tapping against his forehead before he shot upright, falling backwards into the bed and sprawling out his arms with a deep sigh.
"Why am I asking you this? You don't know. You're not real. None of this is real."
"AndaĂ°u, kid." Duri's hoof tapped on the ground thoughtfully. "Yes, you're dead. But even if nothing in this house is real, the situation you're in definitely is."
She tilted her head at Dario. "First off, the being that Liam has turned into. You don't know what It is, I don't know what It is--Hel, I don't even think It knows what It is either. But It was born of familiarity. A creature to contend with a fallen god, a force that can enter a demon's mind...a person that still knows you. We know just enough about these things that we can put the pieces together.
"The covenants between mortals and...well, not, depend on consent. Whether you make a deal with a devil to gain power, or allow an angel to bring you back from the brink of death, or even if you speak a loaded incantation to save someone you love..." The corner of her mouth turned up wryly. "They require consent, both ways. They always have. Demons can steal each other's names and gods can sabotage each other in a million and one ways, but mortals are different. So strong of willed are we that we need permission to let them fuck with us. Even a Catalyst's bond needs constant, express displays of love. The reason Kezia is always doomed to fail. Bitch." Duri kicked the chair around smoothly and sat in it the way Milae always did, both feet off the floor, hocks folded and tucked underneath herself. "I don't think this thing operates much differently. Especially knowing Liam. He always hated not having a choice, and I don't think It enjoyed the fact that you were essentially coerced this whole time." She shrugged. "Technically, you've already both made an agreement. You both made the choices you needed to. But It's not a god of death--you know what one of those are like. It could only agree to forge the path back for you. Which, I guess, is the second thing--now that you're out of Its reach, it's up to you to find It and come back."
Duri regarded him, and Dario glimpsed something ancient within, like a nesting doll harboring many other forms. "What do you think that might look like for you?"
He took a long time to answer - or at least what felt like a long time to him, within a space where the concept of time had limited carryover from his plane of origin. Dario's hands had fallen into his lap by this point, fingers knocking against one another in perfect synchronization. Duri's words played on a loop in his head, and he seemed to whisper his inner thoughts aloud under his breath until his eyes shot open. The stag looked up to the Caprinae.
"Hey. Come walk with me."
--
The road the pair of half-breeds followed was eerily unsettling the further they wandered from Dario's home. The light of the sunset was dying second by second, leaving them to proceed in quickly diminishing visibility.
"I don't know... if it'll be here." The air around them felt as if it were growing rapidly colder; Dario rubbed his arms as he took large strides. "But I can't think of anything else."
The path diverted and slowly degraded as the stag's memory of it grew less clear - the time it would have taken them back home would have been substantially longer, but with the advantage of his own perception being projected before him, the multitude of hours was condensed into an impossible set of minutes.
Before Duri could respond, they had arrived. Dario stood staring ahead, eyes fixated on a handcart just off the side of the path, with a spoke visibly damaged.
"This... was where I made a choice. An agreement with myself, I think... to help someone, despite everything I've known telling me that wasn't a good idea." His speech was incredibly soft; passionately warm. "I chose him, and that decision gave me a life that I'm not ready to leave just yet."
Duri stepped forward, legs lanky in the long mountain grass, and kicked the wheel irreverently, hearing the entire cart groan in protest. "It's funny. In making a selfless decision that slowed you down, I'd argue that you gave everyone a life. If not for the deer, then nothing for the goat. If not for the goat, then nothing for the father. If not for the father, then nothing for the son. And if not for the son, then nothing for the deer." The twilight had quickly darkened into night, stars twinkling mischievously. The noise of summer insects dwindled into gentle crickets. "Seems like you really did yourself a favor, huh?"
The alpaca leaned a hip on the cart, eyeing Dario. "He's gonna let you down again, you know," she said nonchalantly. "He's a fucking stubborn snob that can't see past his own nose." Duri snorted. "There's a reason I turned him down in every timeline. Well, almost every."
"If I ever needed a reason to wonder if I was just making you up, I can say for certain now I must have." Dario chuckled, looping her not-at-all-veiled assessment of Milae in his head. "A fair judgement, but I've learned how to be his eyes when he gets a bit short-sighted."
Dario looked upon Duri with sadness - here was one of the few individuals to have ever existed that knew Yun Milae in the way that he knew him. To know of her fate before this encounter brought an unmistakable gravity to the conversation.
"I'm sorry for everything that happened, with you two." Dario knocked some small rocks with his hoof, unable to look at Duri. "I'm sure I'm probably the last one you want to talk to, especially about him, but there's got to be a reason I knew to come here. There has to be a reason it's you I'm talking to right now."
The stag looked up to the stars, taking in the quiet around them. The air had cooled even further, but it proved to no longer be a bother to him.
"I knew what I was getting into, at the end there, with Kalmah. My dad taught me that when I was just on the cusp of adulthood, when I was getting into fights. Had a particularly bad one that left me with some pretty bad bruises, and he couldn't let me get more hurt than I already was. Scared the shit out of me, so I never ended up using it."
Dario rubbed his hands together, feeling the rough, calloused skin as if it were the first time.
"When I tried to save Vox, I thought for a second that I'd be able to get myself out of it too. I couldn't afford to make that mistake a second time, so when I went in, I did so with the understanding that I was going to die... but seeing my parents, seeing you... I'm reminded of what I've left behind, and it may be selfish to say, but I... I miss it."
The hooves had stopped, just shy of where Dario could glean any information as to who had entered his home. A shadow of her form was cast onto the floor in front of him; a somewhat familiar shape.
"Luca. Is he here?"
"Right there, with his mum."
The elk motioned as he spoke, and before Dario could prepare himself further, a female Caprinae took quick steps into the room, acknowledging the stag and his mother.
"Anita. Dario."
The younger half-breed was taken aback; this couldn't be who he thought it might be. He'd heard of stories - Milae recounted them many times, in passion, in anger, and in memoriam. He knew he could be wrong, but the name left his lips before he could stop himself from speaking.
With an expression that could only be described as a shit-eating grin, the auburn alpaca pulled the strap of a shoulder bag over her head and tossed it on the table, and it slid to rest in front of Dario. "Hey, deer man." Her ears and neck were extremely tall, much taller than Milae's, and she had a thick, curly, woolen crest that ran up her neck and seemed to explode just above her bright blue eyes. Her clothes were homespun and travel-worn. She leaned on the chair across from Dario, not sitting, just folding her arms across its back and crossing her ankles. "Well, damn! Didn't think I'd ever get to see you. How you feelin'?"
He was stunned. His jaw was slack, and it took him a moment before he shook his head, pulling himself back to the present.
"I'm... fine? No, wait, I'm dead. I mean, you're dead. Wait." The stag paused, putting his fingers to rest on the sides of his skull as he took a deep breath. "I've... heard so much about you."
Dario watched Anita get up slowly in his peripheral vision; he instinctually went for her hand as she pulled away, but she gave his own a small squeeze before moving out of the room with Luca. The pair were alone.
"I... I don't know what's going on here. I died, Duri. Is this the afterlife? Why are my parents saying I can go back?" His face fully melted into his hands, his elbows resting on his legs and he slumped forward. "I feel fine. This doesn't feel different from when I was alive, but this isn't my home. My parents... are gone, they have to be. Are we all dead together? Do families go to the same place when they die? Oh my Gods, will I never see the Arnasons again?"
His breathing accelerated, fingers tapping against his forehead before he shot upright, falling backwards into the bed and sprawling out his arms with a deep sigh.
"Why am I asking you this? You don't know. You're not real. None of this is real."
"AndaĂ°u, kid." Duri's hoof tapped on the ground thoughtfully. "Yes, you're dead. But even if nothing in this house is real, the situation you're in definitely is."
She tilted her head at Dario. "First off, the being that Liam has turned into. You don't know what It is, I don't know what It is--Hel, I don't even think It knows what It is either. But It was born of familiarity. A creature to contend with a fallen god, a force that can enter a demon's mind...a person that still knows you. We know just enough about these things that we can put the pieces together.
"The covenants between mortals and...well, not, depend on consent. Whether you make a deal with a devil to gain power, or allow an angel to bring you back from the brink of death, or even if you speak a loaded incantation to save someone you love..." The corner of her mouth turned up wryly. "They require consent, both ways. They always have. Demons can steal each other's names and gods can sabotage each other in a million and one ways, but mortals are different. So strong of willed are we that we need permission to let them fuck with us. Even a Catalyst's bond needs constant, express displays of love. The reason Kezia is always doomed to fail. Bitch." Duri kicked the chair around smoothly and sat in it the way Milae always did, both feet off the floor, hocks folded and tucked underneath herself. "I don't think this thing operates much differently. Especially knowing Liam. He always hated not having a choice, and I don't think It enjoyed the fact that you were essentially coerced this whole time." She shrugged. "Technically, you've already both made an agreement. You both made the choices you needed to. But It's not a god of death--you know what one of those are like. It could only agree to forge the path back for you. Which, I guess, is the second thing--now that you're out of Its reach, it's up to you to find It and come back."
Duri regarded him, and Dario glimpsed something ancient within, like a nesting doll harboring many other forms. "What do you think that might look like for you?"
He took a long time to answer - or at least what felt like a long time to him, within a space where the concept of time had limited carryover from his plane of origin. Dario's hands had fallen into his lap by this point, fingers knocking against one another in perfect synchronization. Duri's words played on a loop in his head, and he seemed to whisper his inner thoughts aloud under his breath until his eyes shot open. The stag looked up to the Caprinae.
"Hey. Come walk with me."
--
The road the pair of half-breeds followed was eerily unsettling the further they wandered from Dario's home. The light of the sunset was dying second by second, leaving them to proceed in quickly diminishing visibility.
"I don't know... if it'll be here." The air around them felt as if it were growing rapidly colder; Dario rubbed his arms as he took large strides. "But I can't think of anything else."
The path diverted and slowly degraded as the stag's memory of it grew less clear - the time it would have taken them back home would have been substantially longer, but with the advantage of his own perception being projected before him, the multitude of hours was condensed into an impossible set of minutes.
Before Duri could respond, they had arrived. Dario stood staring ahead, eyes fixated on a handcart just off the side of the path, with a spoke visibly damaged.
"This... was where I made a choice. An agreement with myself, I think... to help someone, despite everything I've known telling me that wasn't a good idea." His speech was incredibly soft; passionately warm. "I chose him, and that decision gave me a life that I'm not ready to leave just yet."
The hooves had stopped, just shy of where Dario could glean any information as to who had entered his home. A shadow of her form was cast onto the floor in front of him; a somewhat familiar shape.
"Luca. Is he here?"
"Right there, with his mum."
The elk motioned as he spoke, and before Dario could prepare himself further, a female Caprinae took quick steps into the room, acknowledging the stag and his mother.
"Anita. Dario."
The younger half-breed was taken aback; this couldn't be who he thought it might be. He'd heard of stories - Milae recounted them many times, in passion, in anger, and in memoriam. He knew he could be wrong, but the name left his lips before he could stop himself from speaking.
With an expression that could only be described as a shit-eating grin, the auburn alpaca pulled the strap of a shoulder bag over her head and tossed it on the table, and it slid to rest in front of Dario. "Hey, deer man." Her ears and neck were extremely tall, much taller than Milae's, and she had a thick, curly, woolen crest that ran up her neck and seemed to explode just above her bright blue eyes. Her clothes were homespun and travel-worn. She leaned on the chair across from Dario, not sitting, just folding her arms across its back and crossing her ankles. "Well, damn! Didn't think I'd ever get to see you. How you feelin'?"
He was stunned. His jaw was slack, and it took him a moment before he shook his head, pulling himself back to the present.
"I'm... fine? No, wait, I'm dead. I mean, you're dead. Wait." The stag paused, putting his fingers to rest on the sides of his skull as he took a deep breath. "I've... heard so much about you."
Dario watched Anita get up slowly in his peripheral vision; he instinctually went for her hand as she pulled away, but she gave his own a small squeeze before moving out of the room with Luca. The pair were alone.
"I... I don't know what's going on here. I died, Duri. Is this the afterlife? Why are my parents saying I can go back?" His face fully melted into his hands, his elbows resting on his legs and he slumped forward. "I feel fine. This doesn't feel different from when I was alive, but this isn't my home. My parents... are gone, they have to be. Are we all dead together? Do families go to the same place when they die? Oh my Gods, will I never see the Arnasons again?"
His breathing accelerated, fingers tapping against his forehead before he shot upright, falling backwards into the bed and sprawling out his arms with a deep sigh.
"Why am I asking you this? You don't know. You're not real. None of this is real."
The hooves had stopped, just shy of where Dario could glean any information as to who had entered his home. A shadow of her form was cast onto the floor in front of him; a somewhat familiar shape.
"Luca. Is he here?"
"Right there, with his mum."
The elk motioned as he spoke, and before Dario could prepare himself further, a female Caprinae took quick steps into the room, acknowledging the stag and his mother.
"Anita. Dario."
The younger half-breed was taken aback; this couldn't be who he thought it might be. He'd heard of stories - Milae recounted them many times, in passion, in anger, and in memoriam. He knew he could be wrong, but the name left his lips before he could stop himself from speaking.
A field. An expanse unfolding, unyielding, ever-present and fleeting.
Cicada songs making purchase on the ears of the limitless inhabitants of a vast, lifeless space. Everything condensed into nothing; swallowing the sun in darkness, in multitudes, in perpetuity.
A stag felt born anew. He took slowly to his hooves, finding balance to be a formidable undertaking as he wobbled in ways akin to a freshly delivered fawn. There was a blistering silence when contrasted with the violent, impossibly loud environment preceding the demise that brought him here.
The death that had been chasing him his entire life.
Dario shut his eyes, managing to find stable footing as he took a deep breath. Once he felt steadied, he opened his eyes to find his home before him; familiar in every way, shape, and form. A soft light emanated from the window, casting its glow onto the beautifully blossoming flora that decorated his garden. His chest swelled at the sight; the deer knew with all in him that what he sought more than anything else was likely not to be found beyond the threshold, but he would never be able to stop himself from looking. Each step forward felt like slow motion as his hooves crushed the tender grass beneath - on approach, he stalled in place, taking one more measured breath before pushing the door open.
The home was exactly as he could recall it. The fire was warm, even from this distance, and it was hard to miss the varying foliage and decor that Dario had placed just over a year earlier as a gift for Milae. Despite the time elapsed and knowing the pair had discarded the sets of flowers that had long since decayed, the ones before him now were still filled with color and vitality. Taking additional, careful steps into his home, he could hear familiar hooves pressing into wood flooring just a room over. Dario felt his heart ache as his hand met the handle to his bedroom door, pulling it towards him and finding immediate recognition in the face that was just on the other side.
"Hello, Dario."
He stood in the door frame, taking in the soft smile that gazed upon him. Whether this was an extension of his last remaining moments of life manifesting in memories, or an introduction to the afterlife, he knew that this was a gift all the same. He rushed forward, as he had done countless times when he was a child, straight into the arms of his mother. He had grown taller than her at a fairly young age; far more noticeable now in his adulthood, but Dario still felt so small in her embrace. His head sank into the top of her head as tears began to flow.
"Mom- mom, I'm so... I'm-"
"Shh, stop that." Anita began to rub circles into the young stag's back, as she always had when he was in a particularly vulnerable state. "You never have to apologize to me, Dario. You're okay, just breathe."
The two remained in their embrace for a prolonged period - a much needed catharsis for both, before Dario stepped away, wiping his tears from his face onto his shirt.
"I... I never thought I'd see you again, mom." He sniffed loudly, laughing at his lack of composure. "I tried to find you... I swear, I tried."
"I know, kiddo. We know." Anita leaned to the right, looking past Dario as a means to convey a need for him to turn around. The deer pivoted quickly on his hooves, finding himself nearly face to face with a man just beyond his own height.
"HĂŠ, bud."
Luca gave his son no time to respond as he pulled Dario close, antlers knocking against each other. The elk's arms were strong - the deer might have worried about suffocating if he hadn't already been deceased. The hug from his father lasted slightly longer than the prior embrace with his mother, but Dario didn't mind. He had all the time in the world.
"You're... here. You're both here." The youngest Hjort stepped to the side, taking in the sight of his parents for the first time in decades. "I... I've missed you so much. I have so much- so much I want to tell you about, and-"
"Slow down, yer gonna get yerself all worked up." Luca chuckled, patting Dario on his upper arm. "Sit, sit."
He guided his son to be seated next to Anita, who quickly put an arm around him and allowed his head to rest against hers. Luca pulled a chair from the adjacent room and sat backwards on it, resting his arms against the back and leaning forward slightly.
"So, son... teamed up with the Arnason kids... kid?" The elk laughed, squeezing his forehead. "Not what I would have expected."
Dario's ears perked up at Liam's mention - he still had no context for where he was, or in what time he was, but his parents knew of his life.
"You... saw."
"Saw might be doin' a lot of the heavy liftin' there, buddy." Luca cleared his throat, looking as if he was struggling to complete his thought. "We know it 'cause... ye' know it. Does that make sense te' ya?"
Anita looked to her son with a sympathetic gaze. It took him a moment, but it eventually fit into place.
"You're not real." Dario was deflated; defeated. "This is in my head."
"Not exactly." Anita began rubbing his back, trying desperately to get ahead of the palpable discomfort growing. "We're... real, but only in so far as any of this is real. I mean- I'm..."
She turned herself to sit more angled to her son, taking Dario's hands into her own before meeting his eyes.
"We're as real as we ever were to you, Dario. We're as real as the flowers that you and Jari tended to with great attentiveness... as real as the warmth of Yun's embrace at the end of a long day..."
She paused, looking around the room.
"...as real as this home... this life, that you built with Milae."
"I like 'im, by te' way." Luca's deep voice resonated in the corners of the room. "He's good fer ya. Got yer ma's smarts and my stubbornness."
Anita laughed, closing her eyes as she shook her head. She pulled Dario's hands up towards her face, resting her cheek on top of them. The stag didn't pull away; he didn't know if this was real, but there was no timeline or existence where he would take this from her. He allowed her all of the time she could ever need, and she took as much as she could, before he noticed the faintest welling of tears in her eyes as she looked back to him.
"He misses you terribly, Dario. You may have always thought of yourself to be less than what you deserved, but he never thought that of you. Not even on your worst days." She turned to sit facing the door, motioning for her son to do the same. "You aren't meant to go just yet, kiddo. They need you."
"But it's... not my choice, right?" Dario's voice cracked, still reeling from the notion that he was at all talking to his parents; the two people he was convinced he would never see again. "If I'm... dead, then I don't get to just go back, no matter if it's 'my time' or not."
"I mean, well..." Luca had stood, looking out of the still-open front door from the frame he leaned upon that let into the bedroom. "Depends on how ye' look at where yer at, bud. How much you believe yer in control o' all this."
Dario watched his father nod in the direction of the door; the stag couldn't see what he was looking at from where he sat, but he heard hooves against the floor approaching. Luca stood upright out of respect, giving his son a wink before looking back to their sudden guest.
Don't you DARE TOUCH HIM, YOU MAGGOT-- The Warden seethed, half-dissolving in her blind rage forward, and once more she skidded to a stop upon feeling an intense direction as though it were a base instinct. Hold. Protect the others. Lila felt the same thing, urging her to put up the barrier again.
A wind whispered around Kalmah and Liam's feet, dancing auroras of sand spiraling across ancient stone. Liam hadn't flinched once in the face of the threat before him. He stood coolly in front of the former god, slowly removing one of his paws out of his pocket and letting it hover at chest height between them.
"I can tell why they kicked you out."
He abruptly curled his fist inwards. Metal rang and exploded from the vortex behind Kalmah, and a glowing golden chain thick enough to moor a galleon snaked with breathtaking speed out of its depths and locked itself around Kalmah's neck, remaining taut as its other end anchored itself in whatever space it had been summoned from. In shocked reaction, Nala thickened the air between the conflict and those she had brought here, crouching leanly to ensure nothing got through her to harm Lila or Dario.
You see it fit to reduce me to the likes of a hound? Kalmah was careful not to make further movements; it knew that it had already revealed much of its hand, and needed to make proper calculations moving forward. The illuminated bone face glared daggers into Liam. On second thought, maybe this is fitting for the company we are in. I'm certain that young Hjort can recall the cruelty of the chain in great detail.
Dario found himself locked behind Nala, and subsequently, forces he couldn't understand that created separation from Kalmah and Liam. He could never be a safe bet in a fight of this caliber; even with the proposed power he could potentially hold as described by the Lesser God of old, it would not provide any sort of out that would be anything close to satisfactory when compared to that of a demon.
Knowing this, and fighting every instinct in his head and his heart to do anything but, he stood tall.
At the sudden instruction of... Liam? Lila began trying to set up the barrier again. It was more difficult now that she was actually aware of what she was trying to do. Just as she managed to get it set up she turned to Dario as he spoke, a deep concern on her face.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" She asks. "You're kinda the whole ball game here. If something happens to you..." She trails off, not wanting to complete the thought. Ultimately though, she wasn't going to argue with him if this is what he wanted.
âWith all due respect, LilaâŠâ Dario didnât look to her as he spoke - he looked past her, to the stand-off taking place before them. âIâve spent the last fifteen years burdened with everyoneâs worry about what might happen to me.â
His mind flashed to Rio - one of the few souls that could ever understand him, and the tree that forever bound them. He thought of J, and the pride in his heart swelled as he imagined telling him tales of this day. He took an extra moment to think of his partner; his confidant. The love he felt for Milae remained through the goatâs many attempt to keep him alive, even against his wishes. He had every reason to stay back⊠to stay alive.
âI wonât let my battles be fought for me anymore. No matter what comes next, I have to do this for myself. Nala, Lila⊠please let me pass.â
She lets out a sigh. Technically speaking this was outside of her jurisdiction. This wasn't a matter of war, it was a personal matter, and if Dario felt he wanted to handle it alone she had to respect that. She stepped aside but placed a hand on his shoulder.
"If something goes wrong, there's nothing in all the realms that would stop me and Nala from helping you. You're still one of mine, even if the war is over."
And with a final squeeze of his shoulder she let him go.
Dario, please... The Warden did not make any aggressive moves to stop him, but neither did she step aside. Her body language had never been as tremulous as it was now, and she dropped completely to one knee, letting her swords wisp away into ashes and sparks.
"C'mere, Dario." Everyone turned to Liam again as he commanded their attention. He had stepped away from Kalmah, shoulders facing the throne, his white scarf breezing around his shoulders. He had Dario fixed with a shrewd, curious look. It's alright, LĂfgjalfa. It's contained for the moment.
The young stag looked forward with a visible determination; a resolve in his frame born of love from his youth and belonging in the now. As if autonomously, his hooves stepped forward towards Liam - a man he had known for all of the eldest Arnason child's natural life, but hardly recognized now if not for a visual familiarity. The pair stood in front of one another, with Dario briefly looking back to Nala and Lila, offering a soft nod in gratitude.
Turning to Kalmah, Dario moved forward slowly, finding himself only feet away from the former deity that was now restrained in a similar fashion to the half-breed's own mental chain he'd found himself tethered to since his return to life. Fitting.
"Berjast eins og HelvĂti."
His hands moved to rest in front of his torso, fingers bouncing off one another as he spoke softly under his breath.
"FrĂĂ°aĂ°u guĂ°na og afturkallaĂ° ĂŸetta lĂf, ĂŸvĂ aĂ° heimurinn verĂ°ur aĂ° halda ĂĄfram ĂĄn ĂŸĂn."
Dario's hands flashed a blinding white; pulling them apart, the stag was in control of energy beyond what any in the throne room had ever known him to be capable of. Whether his newfound confidence was the product of his own development, or a growth sustained by those who cared for him, he found it to be irrelevant. He turned his head to acknowledge Liam once more.
"I don't know if this will work... but it might make it easier. Jump in after me, okay?"
Without hesitation, Dario threw himself forward and into the frame of Kalmah, wrapping his arms tightly around it and enveloping the pair in a blinding ring of light that forced Lila to look away. Dario repeated the incantation in screaming, searing pain at the top of his lungs, drowning out the cries of the forsaken deity in his grasp.
FOOL, FOOL, YOU KNOW NOT WHAT YOU ARE DOING!
Dario held. His lungs felt as if they were being incinerated inside of him, and little air could inflate them enough to continue his violent incantation, but he persisted in the face of the impossible. The words gave way to indiscernible screams, but his grip maintained.
Dario's physical stone face cracked along the tear ducts, brilliant white-gold exploding out of the fractures like sunlight in smoke. Juro gasped and gripped the statue tighter, covering the breaks with his thumbs, involuntary tears pouring out of his own eyes as the drain on his core became impossibly painful. Nala grabbed Lila around the waist and enveloped the two of them in her essence, whirling bands of sunset-stricken material. The hall was shaking, walls crumbling and burning with sheets of white fire, allowing glimpses of the night sky that became even brighter as currents of gold snaked across it, radiating outwards further and further as the initial energy from Liam's entrance sought to overtake the space entirely.
The cat half-breed's stance widened with a sweep of his foot, leaving a swipe of inky gold on the shuddering stone. "Nala!" he roared, ears flattening. "Give me Sapexa and get out!!"
Barely visible through the fire, she gaped at him with huge eyes, but after a nonverbal, forceful repeat of the command, she pulled back her hand, which now held a small, glistening marble the color and texture of a diamond, and threw it in a long arc towards him. Liam dove to catch it and rolled into a crouch, immediately sprinting back towards Dario as energy exploded from him in destructive waves. Crying out in anguish, the Warden disengaged with Lila at her center, extricating themselves from Dario's subconscious. As soon as she did so, the throne and manacles began to catch fire and melt to the ground, which quickly became more and more unstable.
As Dario clutched Kalmah, he felt a single claw-tip touch the base of his neck, and like lightning down his spine, everything went white, then black.
"I can't get you out of this."
A sunlit prairie bordered by forest, moving in a slow-motion wind. A young Liam Arnason, missing his front teeth, face splattered in freckles and roughhousing injuries. The boy looked down at himself, seeming surprised, then looked back up at Dario, finding the deer himself more important than how he was being perceived. "Kalmah's fighting me--trying to trap you in its corpse," he said with a gravity unbefitting his small voice. "What I can do is give you a choice. I can't stop you from dying; it's too late for that. But if you let me, I can bring you back. Your soul will link to mine and Kalmah will not survive. It's...not ideal, not if you were planning on leaving your magic behind. But it's the best we've got right now."
The fire from the throne room was visible in the distance, approaching rapidly; time was almost up. The oldest Arnason child, surprisingly, was reddening and tearing up with emotion. "I know what you might try and say--please let me do this. Don't take the weight of a martyr. Let's get out of here and be done with it."
Dario knew he was out of time - but his mind was made up. Liamâs intentions were so good; no matter how crass or stubborn he had been through the years, his heart was always clear. He looked upon the youthful face of his nephew with the warmest regard he could give in the face of the end.
âHah⊠Iâve died before, bud. That part doesnât scare me as much as it used to.â The stag looked at his hands, now bare and glowing from both sun and approaching flame. He wondered if feeling his motherâs grip was real or not. âThereâs only one thing I ever wonder when itâs comingâŠâ
He sighed, looking out into the distance. It was beautiful; he hadnât noticed it like this before.
"Not if I have anything to say about it." Liam put out his paw--small and fuzzy, perfectly normal. "Come on, Uncle Dario. You've fought so hard for this. Let's go home."
The lump in his throat was instant; he wanted to speak, to tell Liam how unbelievably proud of him he was. He wanted to apologize for the years that he kept his father away, for not being stronger⊠but all he could offer was a soft smile.
The danger was imminent now, even here, in what felt like poetic perfection to Dario. The danger had always been imminent; much of his reasoning for choosing to take both himself and Kalmah out was for the peace of everyone he loved. His existence felt like a burden beyond his own mind, but in this exact moment, the outstretched paw of Liam was a needed reminder of the value in staying. For the Arnasons, for Milae⊠for himself.
The stag took the tiny paw in his hand, gripping it gently.
Don't you DARE TOUCH HIM, YOU MAGGOT-- The Warden seethed, half-dissolving in her blind rage forward, and once more she skidded to a stop upon feeling an intense direction as though it were a base instinct. Hold. Protect the others. Lila felt the same thing, urging her to put up the barrier again.
A wind whispered around Kalmah and Liam's feet, dancing auroras of sand spiraling across ancient stone. Liam hadn't flinched once in the face of the threat before him. He stood coolly in front of the former god, slowly removing one of his paws out of his pocket and letting it hover at chest height between them.
"I can tell why they kicked you out."
He abruptly curled his fist inwards. Metal rang and exploded from the vortex behind Kalmah, and a glowing golden chain thick enough to moor a galleon snaked with breathtaking speed out of its depths and locked itself around Kalmah's neck, remaining taut as its other end anchored itself in whatever space it had been summoned from. In shocked reaction, Nala thickened the air between the conflict and those she had brought here, crouching leanly to ensure nothing got through her to harm Lila or Dario.
You see it fit to reduce me to the likes of a hound? Kalmah was careful not to make further movements; it knew that it had already revealed much of its hand, and needed to make proper calculations moving forward. The illuminated bone face glared daggers into Liam. On second thought, maybe this is fitting for the company we are in. I'm certain that young Hjort can recall the cruelty of the chain in great detail.
Dario found himself locked behind Nala, and subsequently, forces he couldn't understand that created separation from Kalmah and Liam. He could never be a safe bet in a fight of this caliber; even with the proposed power he could potentially hold as described by the Lesser God of old, it would not provide any sort of out that would be anything close to satisfactory when compared to that of a demon.
Knowing this, and fighting every instinct in his head and his heart to do anything but, he stood tall.
At the sudden instruction of... Liam? Lila began trying to set up the barrier again. It was more difficult now that she was actually aware of what she was trying to do. Just as she managed to get it set up she turned to Dario as he spoke, a deep concern on her face.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" She asks. "You're kinda the whole ball game here. If something happens to you..." She trails off, not wanting to complete the thought. Ultimately though, she wasn't going to argue with him if this is what he wanted.
âWith all due respect, LilaâŠâ Dario didnât look to her as he spoke - he looked past her, to the stand-off taking place before them. âIâve spent the last fifteen years burdened with everyoneâs worry about what might happen to me.â
His mind flashed to Rio - one of the few souls that could ever understand him, and the tree that forever bound them. He thought of J, and the pride in his heart swelled as he imagined telling him tales of this day. He took an extra moment to think of his partner; his confidant. The love he felt for Milae remained through the goatâs many attempt to keep him alive, even against his wishes. He had every reason to stay back⊠to stay alive.
âI wonât let my battles be fought for me anymore. No matter what comes next, I have to do this for myself. Nala, Lila⊠please let me pass.â
She lets out a sigh. Technically speaking this was outside of her jurisdiction. This wasn't a matter of war, it was a personal matter, and if Dario felt he wanted to handle it alone she had to respect that. She stepped aside but placed a hand on his shoulder.
"If something goes wrong, there's nothing in all the realms that would stop me and Nala from helping you. You're still one of mine, even if the war is over."
And with a final squeeze of his shoulder she let him go.
Dario, please... The Warden did not make any aggressive moves to stop him, but neither did she step aside. Her body language had never been as tremulous as it was now, and she dropped completely to one knee, letting her swords wisp away into ashes and sparks.
"C'mere, Dario." Everyone turned to Liam again as he commanded their attention. He had stepped away from Kalmah, shoulders facing the throne, his white scarf breezing around his shoulders. He had Dario fixed with a shrewd, curious look. It's alright, LĂfgjalfa. It's contained for the moment.
The young stag looked forward with a visible determination; a resolve in his frame born of love from his youth and belonging in the now. As if autonomously, his hooves stepped forward towards Liam - a man he had known for all of the eldest Arnason child's natural life, but hardly recognized now if not for a visual familiarity. The pair stood in front of one another, with Dario briefly looking back to Nala and Lila, offering a soft nod in gratitude.
Turning to Kalmah, Dario moved forward slowly, finding himself only feet away from the former deity that was now restrained in a similar fashion to the half-breed's own mental chain he'd found himself tethered to since his return to life. Fitting.
"Berjast eins og HelvĂti."
His hands moved to rest in front of his torso, fingers bouncing off one another as he spoke softly under his breath.
"FrĂĂ°aĂ°u guĂ°na og afturkallaĂ° ĂŸetta lĂf, ĂŸvĂ aĂ° heimurinn verĂ°ur aĂ° halda ĂĄfram ĂĄn ĂŸĂn."
Dario's hands flashed a blinding white; pulling them apart, the stag was in control of energy beyond what any in the throne room had ever known him to be capable of. Whether his newfound confidence was the product of his own development, or a growth sustained by those who cared for him, he found it to be irrelevant. He turned his head to acknowledge Liam once more.
"I don't know if this will work... but it might make it easier. Jump in after me, okay?"
Without hesitation, Dario threw himself forward and into the frame of Kalmah, wrapping his arms tightly around it and enveloping the pair in a blinding ring of light that forced Lila to look away. Dario repeated the incantation in screaming, searing pain at the top of his lungs, drowning out the cries of the forsaken deity in his grasp.
FOOL, FOOL, YOU KNOW NOT WHAT YOU ARE DOING!
Dario held. His lungs felt as if they were being incinerated inside of him, and little air could inflate them enough to continue his violent incantation, but he persisted in the face of the impossible. The words gave way to indiscernible screams, but his grip maintained.
Dario's physical stone face cracked along the tear ducts, brilliant white-gold exploding out of the fractures like sunlight in smoke. Juro gasped and gripped the statue tighter, covering the breaks with his thumbs, involuntary tears pouring out of his own eyes as the drain on his core became impossibly painful. Nala grabbed Lila around the waist and enveloped the two of them in her essence, whirling bands of sunset-stricken material. The hall was shaking, walls crumbling and burning with sheets of white fire, allowing glimpses of the night sky that became even brighter as currents of gold snaked across it, radiating outwards further and further as the initial energy from Liam's entrance sought to overtake the space entirely.
The cat half-breed's stance widened with a sweep of his foot, leaving a swipe of inky gold on the shuddering stone. "Nala!" he roared, ears flattening. "Give me Sapexa and get out!!"
Barely visible through the fire, she gaped at him with huge eyes, but after a nonverbal, forceful repeat of the command, she pulled back her hand, which now held a small, glistening marble the color and texture of a diamond, and threw it in a long arc towards him. Liam dove to catch it and rolled into a crouch, immediately sprinting back towards Dario as energy exploded from him in destructive waves. Crying out in anguish, the Warden disengaged with Lila at her center, extricating themselves from Dario's subconscious. As soon as she did so, the throne and manacles began to catch fire and melt to the ground, which quickly became more and more unstable.
As Dario clutched Kalmah, he felt a single claw-tip touch the base of his neck, and like lightning down his spine, everything went white, then black.
"I can't get you out of this."
A sunlit prairie bordered by forest, moving in a slow-motion wind. A young Liam Arnason, missing his front teeth, face splattered in freckles and roughhousing injuries. The boy looked down at himself, seeming surprised, then looked back up at Dario, finding the deer himself more important than how he was being perceived. "Kalmah's fighting me--trying to trap you in its corpse," he said with a gravity unbefitting his small voice. "What I can do is give you a choice. I can't stop you from dying; it's too late for that. But if you let me, I can bring you back. Your soul will link to mine and Kalmah will not survive. It's...not ideal, not if you were planning on leaving your magic behind. But it's the best we've got right now."
The fire from the throne room was visible in the distance, approaching rapidly; time was almost up. The oldest Arnason child, surprisingly, was reddening and tearing up with emotion. "I know what you might try and say--please let me do this. Don't take the weight of a martyr. Let's get out of here and be done with it."
Dario knew he was out of time - but his mind was made up. Liamâs intentions were so good; no matter how crass or stubborn he had been through the years, his heart was always clear. He looked upon the youthful face of his nephew with the warmest regard he could give in the face of the end.
âHah⊠Iâve died before, bud. That part doesnât scare me as much as it used to.â The stag looked at his hands, now bare and glowing from both sun and approaching flame. He wondered if feeling his motherâs grip was real or not. âThereâs only one thing I ever wonder when itâs comingâŠâ
He sighed, looking out into the distance. It was beautiful; he hadnât noticed it like this before.
Don't you DARE TOUCH HIM, YOU MAGGOT-- The Warden seethed, half-dissolving in her blind rage forward, and once more she skidded to a stop upon feeling an intense direction as though it were a base instinct. Hold. Protect the others. Lila felt the same thing, urging her to put up the barrier again.
A wind whispered around Kalmah and Liam's feet, dancing auroras of sand spiraling across ancient stone. Liam hadn't flinched once in the face of the threat before him. He stood coolly in front of the former god, slowly removing one of his paws out of his pocket and letting it hover at chest height between them.
"I can tell why they kicked you out."
He abruptly curled his fist inwards. Metal rang and exploded from the vortex behind Kalmah, and a glowing golden chain thick enough to moor a galleon snaked with breathtaking speed out of its depths and locked itself around Kalmah's neck, remaining taut as its other end anchored itself in whatever space it had been summoned from. In shocked reaction, Nala thickened the air between the conflict and those she had brought here, crouching leanly to ensure nothing got through her to harm Lila or Dario.
You see it fit to reduce me to the likes of a hound? Kalmah was careful not to make further movements; it knew that it had already revealed much of its hand, and needed to make proper calculations moving forward. The illuminated bone face glared daggers into Liam. On second thought, maybe this is fitting for the company we are in. I'm certain that young Hjort can recall the cruelty of the chain in great detail.
Dario found himself locked behind Nala, and subsequently, forces he couldn't understand that created separation from Kalmah and Liam. He could never be a safe bet in a fight of this caliber; even with the proposed power he could potentially hold as described by the Lesser God of old, it would not provide any sort of out that would be anything close to satisfactory when compared to that of a demon.
Knowing this, and fighting every instinct in his head and his heart to do anything but, he stood tall.
At the sudden instruction of... Liam? Lila began trying to set up the barrier again. It was more difficult now that she was actually aware of what she was trying to do. Just as she managed to get it set up she turned to Dario as he spoke, a deep concern on her face.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" She asks. "You're kinda the whole ball game here. If something happens to you..." She trails off, not wanting to complete the thought. Ultimately though, she wasn't going to argue with him if this is what he wanted.
âWith all due respect, LilaâŠâ Dario didnât look to her as he spoke - he looked past her, to the stand-off taking place before them. âIâve spent the last fifteen years burdened with everyoneâs worry about what might happen to me.â
His mind flashed to Rio - one of the few souls that could ever understand him, and the tree that forever bound them. He thought of J, and the pride in his heart swelled as he imagined telling him tales of this day. He took an extra moment to think of his partner; his confidant. The love he felt for Milae remained through the goatâs many attempt to keep him alive, even against his wishes. He had every reason to stay back⊠to stay alive.
âI wonât let my battles be fought for me anymore. No matter what comes next, I have to do this for myself. Nala, Lila⊠please let me pass.â
She lets out a sigh. Technically speaking this was outside of her jurisdiction. This wasn't a matter of war, it was a personal matter, and if Dario felt he wanted to handle it alone she had to respect that. She stepped aside but placed a hand on his shoulder.
"If something goes wrong, there's nothing in all the realms that would stop me and Nala from helping you. You're still one of mine, even if the war is over."
And with a final squeeze of his shoulder she let him go.
Dario, please... The Warden did not make any aggressive moves to stop him, but neither did she step aside. Her body language had never been as tremulous as it was now, and she dropped completely to one knee, letting her swords wisp away into ashes and sparks.
"C'mere, Dario." Everyone turned to Liam again as he commanded their attention. He had stepped away from Kalmah, shoulders facing the throne, his white scarf breezing around his shoulders. He had Dario fixed with a shrewd, curious look. It's alright, LĂfgjalfa. It's contained for the moment.
The young stag looked forward with a visible determination; a resolve in his frame born of love from his youth and belonging in the now. As if autonomously, his hooves stepped forward towards Liam - a man he had known for all of the eldest Arnason child's natural life, but hardly recognized now if not for a visual familiarity. The pair stood in front of one another, with Dario briefly looking back to Nala and Lila, offering a soft nod in gratitude.
Turning to Kalmah, Dario moved forward slowly, finding himself only feet away from the former deity that was now restrained in a similar fashion to the half-breed's own mental chain he'd found himself tethered to since his return to life. Fitting.
"Berjast eins og HelvĂti."
His hands moved to rest in front of his torso, fingers bouncing off one another as he spoke softly under his breath.
"FrĂĂ°aĂ°u guĂ°na og afturkallaĂ° ĂŸetta lĂf, ĂŸvĂ aĂ° heimurinn verĂ°ur aĂ° halda ĂĄfram ĂĄn ĂŸĂn."
Dario's hands flashed a blinding white; pulling them apart, the stag was in control of energy beyond what any in the throne room had ever known him to be capable of. Whether his newfound confidence was the product of his own development, or a growth sustained by those who cared for him, he found it to be irrelevant. He turned his head to acknowledge Liam once more.
"I don't know if this will work... but it might make it easier. Jump in after me, okay?"
Without hesitation, Dario threw himself forward and into the frame of Kalmah, wrapping his arms tightly around it and enveloping the pair in a blinding ring of light that forced Lila to look away. Dario repeated the incantation in screaming, searing pain at the top of his lungs, drowning out the cries of the forsaken deity in his grasp.
FOOL, FOOL, YOU KNOW NOT WHAT YOU ARE DOING!
Dario held. His lungs felt as if they were being incinerated inside of him, and little air could inflate them enough to continue his violent incantation, but he persisted in the face of the impossible. The words gave way to indiscernible screams, but his grip maintained.
