[eizcn]

Without a word, Edna gingerly seated herself next to her brother. Whatever he was doing, she seemed satisfied with simply being at his side like this after these long years. "...Say, you still have the pendant, right? Hold out your hand." With that, she dropped something into his grasp, which was soon revealed to be a glass locket pendant with an Edna flower pressed inside. “I thought it was about time you changed things up a bit. I doubt this is something you’d want to wear around but here.”

eizen welcomed edna to sit beside him, attention turning to her request. he turned a palm towards the sky, amused at how it seemed so large compared to her tiny hands, and the necklace dropped to the center of it.

❛ if this is the case… i’ll have to wear both, ❜ eizen mused.  it was definitely not such a problem as he saw it, since eizen hardly cared for a fashion statement when his sister’s gifts were involved. and, knowing his luck—or lack thereof—he needed both of the pendants close to his person so he wouldn’t lose them. he fingered the one he wore, one that still had a photo of edna in it. with the reaper’s curse intact, it was surprising that he hadn’t lost it. maybe it was a good luck charm, in its own way. ❛ thank you. ❜ 

[eizcn]

armatiis·:

It was probably for the best that things stayed as they were. Even with all the power the shepherd had it the feat he’d just preformed was taxing. Not as noticeable now, with Eizen supporting him, but he’d surely be unable to stand for long if he was set down. Rather than protest and push himself Sorey simply accepted his fate, but he supposed there were worse ways to travel. 

“You’ll have to tell me all about him, I bet you have a lot of great stories.” But that could wait, for even as the shepherd muttered some protest against a nap the exhaustion had set in. Too heavy to ignore. Tugging his head into easy blackness despite his best efforts to stay awake. At least he had the decency to not drool all over Eizen’s coat.

eizen was sure he would, since he hadn’t had the chance to converse with someone about anything at all in a while.

❛ i will. i have a library of these memories, ❜ the malak said, though he soon realized that the young shepherd had already dozed off. a smile of endearment crossed his features briefly and he set off without another word, to marlind. he found an inn, but without any gald on him at the moment, eizen had no other choice but to exploit the fact sorey was the shepherd for free lodging. the innkeepers were more than willing the shepherd and “his malak” in. once he rested sorey on the single bed, eizen tugged off sorey’s boots and his wet overwear so he could sleep a bit more comfortably.

[eizcn]

armatiis·:

A thousand years? Hard to believe that someone could be around for that much passage of time. Even traveling with his older seraphim companions he often forgot the extent of their lives. “He must have been very important to you if you remember him so well. You know, now that I think about it… there’s a place called Aifread’s Hunting Ground. I wonder if that has anything to do with your captain.”

He could feel the rain soaking through his clothes now, more than just a light drizzle. They might have made it to the base of the mountain, but there wasn’t much around. At the teasing his cheeks went a little red. “Sorry, I got a little excited.” Who could blame him? It wasn’t everyone one just purified a dragon who happened to be a fountain of ancient knowledge. “You can put me down now, if you want to. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

❛ you don’t have to apologize, ❜ eizen said, making no immediate move to set the shepherd down, either. the very least he could do for sorey after the shepherd had saved his life was arrange some lodging for him in a nearby inn. 

❛ besides... you’re keeping my back warm, ❜ the blond chuckled. against the rain, sorey’s warmth was much welcomed. as for aifread, he wasn’t surprised at all that his captain’s legacy lived on, even centuries after his rumored passing. he’d seen the worst of aifread’s fame before, as seedy inns and even hearty meals were named after the pirate. ❛ i wouldn’t doubt it was named after aifread. he had a reputation that preceded him. ❜ as night fell and eizen headed towards marlind, he said. ❛ marlind is still a while away. take a nap, ❜ eizen suggested. his bracelet shone and a disc-shaped platform of rock broke from the ground and hovered steadily over sorey’s head to shield him from the rain. 

[eizcn]

armatiis·:

Sorey nodded, even if the gesture went unseen. “There are a lot of things I haven’t done, heh, I kind of grew up somewhere pretty isolated.” Sheepish in tone, but he wouldn’t have traded it for the world. His childhood one he held fondly in his chest, something that helped shape him into who he was today. Speaking of Elysial… he needed to return there. See how everyone was doing. Eizen, however, proposed a much more interesting offer. 

His grip on the seraph tightened a little, the shepherd shifting with a sudden surge of excitement. “I love history!” He was quick to say, all bight eyed and grinning. “There’s so much to learn from it, things that can help us discover more about who we are by those who came before us. Plus it’s just — really cool learning how people lived back then!” Magic words had been spoken. “I don’t really know much about Aifread, but hey! If you were on his ship then you must have known him personally, right?” When it came to sharing tales of the past his older seraphim friends were, well, stingy. Perhaps Eizen would be a bit more willing to regale the shephrd.

eizen flinched a bit as the shepherd’s grip went tight around his neck. aifread... yes, eizen’s pirating days with him and benwick were long over but he couldn’t abandon that lifestyle. now that he was back in his seraph form, he’d probably locate the whereabouts of the van eltia, reclaim it, and explore the seas again.  ❛ aifread was my captain, and i his first mate, ❜ he told him. ❛ we go a ways back, but a thousand years still feels like yesterday. ❜ he closed his eyes and reminisced. had it really been that long?

the shepherd on his back was just another in a line of many, one that had fought a lord of calamity just like the one he’d consumed to save the world once. he chuckled, finding sorey’s enthusiasm endearing. the rain was coming down a lot harder now but at least they were at the foot of the mountain uninjured. ❛ are you really tired? ❜ he asked, a skeptic tease. ❛ you sound completely rejuvenated. ❜   

[eizcn]

makes you a bff bracelet (best fighting friends)

 ❛ this is—- ❜ eizen stared at the charm inquisitively. it was placed around his wrist and the malak plucked at it a few times to test how durable it was. his face deadpanned a second before chilling blue eyes looked up at zaveid. ❛ this… might be the most hideous thing i’ve ever seen, ❜ he said frankly. ❛ besides your face. ❜ he liked it, honestly, but eizen felt he’d honor the meaning of the bracelet by saying some fighting words. 

[eizcn]

armatiis·:   

Eizen moved as if he was carrying nothing at all, an impressive feat which Sorey quietly marveled at. Not that the shepherd was particularly heavy, an athletic build of lean muscles meant for quick footwork and climbing. Running around ruins throughout his childhood had built a strong core, but it was nothing compared to the strength of the seraph.

At the first drop of rain he looked upwards. “Woah, it’d been so clear just a moment ago.” How odd, and a little unfortunate. Maybe he should take a note from Edna and start carrying an umbrella with him wherever he went. “I don’t mind it too much myself.” Storms always brought with them a warm sense of familiarity, even if once they’d been a sign of him being in trouble. “I just hope the path down doesn’t get too muddy.”

 ❛ it’s not pouring, ❜ eizen was thankful for that, so he wouldn’t slip while he still had the world’s precious shepherd hitching a ride on his back. he was glad to hear that sorey seemed to be in better spirits, though, probably enjoying the convenient ride down the mountain. it was a scenic stroll, too, one that eizen found himself admiring as he scaled down. perhaps his natural affinity for the earth was coming into play now, though his heart resided with the sea.

❛ you said you haven’t been on a ship before, ❜ eizen mentioned. he’d never heard of a shepherd who hadn’t been on sea at least once during their travels around the world. ❛ i’m not sure you’d board a pirate ship, but you’re welcome on the van eltia, ❜ the blond said. it had been centuries since he’d boarded it himself and he knew his human crew were no longer around. still, the van eltia sailed on, perhaps led by the ghost of van aifread. in the end, that was where he belonged. ❛ it was once aifread’s ship if you care much for history. ❜

[eizcn]

armatiis·:

He tilted his head, trying to connect the dots between what he’d just said and what Eizen did. “I don’t know anything about ships,” the shepherd finally replied with a perplexed sort of earnest. “I’ve never even been on one before.” A complete trail away from the subject, but his mind always worked in odds ways. Jumping from one thought to the next.

The shepherd stared wide eyed as Eizen offered to carry him, dumbfounded and maybe a touch embarrassed. “Oh, heheh, you don’t really have too…” He scratched his cheek, not certain how he felt about piggybacking, but the seraph seemed intent. Did Sorey really want to stay up on the mountain all day? Well… not really, no. He hadn’t even eaten lunch yet! Feeling ridiculous, he sighed, getting back to his feet to accept the offer. You know, he had once considered how cool it would have been to ride on a dragon’s back. This — wasn’t exactly what he had in mind.

“I bet this looks really silly to anyone who can’t see the seraphim…”

❛ well, make up your mind, i’m already on one knee, ❜ eizen said, though his tone was light and not at all accusatory. he’d developed something like a soft spot for sorey. the boy had saved his life, after all, and a pirate rarely forgot that kind of favor. once he felt sorey’s weight drape over his back, he wrung his arms under the brunet’s knees and picked him up easily. the seraph was clearly built for this, as his frame was at least twice the size of sorey’s. 

❛ luckily for you, people don’t come around this mountain unless they have a death wish, ❜ eizen said. but who knew, with his curse, anything was possible. he started scaling down the mountain slowly, sorey’s weight more or less like a feather on his back. a few steps down and he felt a drop of rainwater kiss the tip of his nose. he could only chuckle at how randomly his curse applied, in this case turning sunny skies into a dreary thunderstorm. ❛ it could have been worse, ❜ he said. ❛ i don’t mind the rain much myself. ❜   

[eizcn]

armatiis·:

Just like that features softened, welcoming the change of heart. “You’re in no debt to me, I don’t do this to win any favors. I do it because I want to help and because nothing ever changes unless someone puts the effort out there.” A quiet little jab to the seraph, perhaps already judging him for so quickly shying away behind the notion of a curse. Not that Sorey was looking at it from any fair perspective, knowing nothing of it, or of Eizen really. Those who knew him cagey about the subject — but now Sorey had more than vague tales to go off of. He had the man here, in front of him. 

“We’ll visit them soon, I think I need to just… sit here… for a minute.” Cleansing that amount of malevolence didn’t come without the repercussions, and though his body was sturdier than any humans due to his pact with the seraphim, he was still human at the end of the day. There was no way he’d make it back down the mountain and not fall flat on his face.  Better to take a breather now and spare himself the embarrassment.

this shepherd was no doubt a strange one, as eizen wasn’t used to being around those that were pure and selfless at heart. even when he had traveled with velvet and her motley crew, all of them had had their own reasons, many of them selfish. ❛ steer my own ship, you mean, ❜ eizen said, having heard that before. but, he wouldn’t put edna in danger just because he felt like challenging destiny to a wild game. he flipped the coin again, catching it just out of view and checking the result. tails, again. 

the blond watched as sorey sat down, feeling how the purification had taken a toll on him. eizen, too, was weak, but as a malakhim, his strength returned to him in ways a human couldn’t recover. without another word, the seraph bent at his knee with his back turned to sorey, the dragon emblem on his trench-coat visible. ❛ i’ll carry you down, ❜ he offered. eizen knew armatizing with sorey was an option but that would no doubt cause sorey to exert more energy that he didn’t have. he just had to hope that nothing triggered the reaper’s curse on the way down.

[eizcn]

armatiis·:

He frowned, a look bordering dangerously on the edges of a pout. “I went through all the trouble of doing this and you won’t even say ‘hi’ to her?” Though the shepherd was gentle in nature he was entirely a push over. Sorey knew how to speak his mind and even he found this to be absolutely ridiculous. While he knew little of this so called reaper’s curse he still didn’t see how it was a very solid excuse. Not after everything that had happened.

Sorey crossed his arms over his chest, brow furrowed. “And there’s also Zaveid, he always looked so sad whenever he’d talk about you, even if he’d just laugh it off. I think the real misfortune you’d be causing them is being back and not even so much as showing them in person or thanking them for watching over you all this time.” Needless to say he wasn’t going to let the seraph off the hook so easily.

eizen was surprised when sorey spoke out, not having expected it of the gentle shepherd. the pirate pondered the shepherd’s argument before a small smile crossed his features. he procured a coin from his pocket and flipped it expertly, catching it in one gloved hand. when he opened it, the side with the reaper was facing him like an old friend. ❛ you’re right. you did do this for me, i’d need to return the favor somehow, ❜ eizen said.

he and edna weren’t on such close terms that eizen could casually strut up and greet her so lovingly, but it would mean a lot for him to see her. zaveid---- ❛ i had zaveid promise me before i turned that he should be the one to kill me, ❜ eizen said. it was obvious now that the wind seraph hadn’t been strong enough to keep that promise. ❛ i want to ask him in person why he didn’t. ❜ he looked down at sorey, nodding. ❛ the van eltia and i are in your debt, sorey. ❜

[eizcn]

armatiis·:

Sorey needed a moment to pull himself back together. Though no darkness lingered within his light it was safe to say the shepherd was exhausted. One didn’t simply purify an entire dragon and come out of it fit as a fiddle, feeling vaguely like he did after first becoming the shepherd. A tired drag against the back of his mind, hazy and unforgiving. 

Slowly he began to process it to it’s fullest extentl. Marveling at how far he’d come, letting his chest swell with well deserved pride and an even brighter hope for the future. It was time he finally looked at the seraph now before him, sharp eyes capturing his own with a certain sort of fierce intensity that took away his entire ability to formulate words for a brief moment. “I —” Oh. Oh boy. Now he was being hugged. Swell as that was it came as a certain surprise and almost nervous laughter bubbled out of him.

“There’s plenty of stuff I’ve done that could have killed me, but trying is better than not. I… wow!” A burst of enthusiasm soared through him and he squeezed Eizen in a hug much tighter, his laughter filling the air around them. “It worked! Everyone’s going to be so excited to see you!” 

eizen pulled away, gaze roving over the other male in a moment of studious observation. he couldn’t say he’d traveled with anyone quite so... optimistic about the future, or even so self-sacrificing. it humbled him a bit. ❛ everyone? ❜ eizen asked. he knew sorey’s group was small, and edna accompanied him sometimes.

as excited as he was to meet his younger sister again, or at least just to see with his own two eyes that she was okay, he knew the shepherd hadn’t released him from his curse, too. that was entirely his own misfortune to carry, and was not some kind of malevolence that sorey could absorb from him. ❛ bringing me back to your friends wouldn’t be a good idea, ❜ he said solemnly. ❛ i bear the reaper’s curse. i cause misfortune around me, and it’s... why i’ve kept my distance from... her. even you shouldn’t be around me for long, sorey. ❜ he didn’t mean to dampen the mood, or even make little of sorey’s accomplishment, but eizen couldn’t ignore his eternal curse.

[eizcn]

armatiis·:

So much darkness, swarming him with a maddening buzz. Eager to try and twist around the warmth of his heart, some mad effort of snuffing out the purity there to banish it. The shepherd remained a stalwart pyre, chin up and steps assured even as his feet drug and caught with every step. He had been here before, pushing on through a fast sea of malevolence, refusing to let it swallow him whole. 

Eizen was in there. Somewhere. Buried beneath mistakes of both his own and humanities. Sorey’s heart resonating with the one that was still so clearly beating, reaching through the darkness. Determination drove him onward, a promise to keep, and hope to be had. He might have called out the dragon’s name, lost to the murky shadows around them. The further he plunged the less likely he was to return, but then! A hand reaching for his own, met with a firm grasp as the shepherd drug him free of his bindings. Purifying fire a deafening roar as the lion did vanquish the dragon, leaving nothing more than the tired forms of a shepherd and seraph. 

He faltered beneath the weight, knees failing him as sunk to the ground. The seraph held tight in his arms, his gaze mesmerized by the falling embers. Fleeting memories of what had once been. He took a breath. “It… worked?”

eizen was none-the-wiser as he stood on his own two feet and stared at his hands that were no longer the ugly claws of a fearsome dragon. he was in disbelief, everything seeming like some ethereal dream, but he knew it wasn’t. ❛ it... worked, ❜ the blond was emotionally numb for a while, because salvation wasn’t something he would have readily rejoiced over. his life was still a cursed one, after all.

but this meant that he could still watch over edna as himself, and not in the body of some dragon whose days were counted. the pirate thought of the van eltia, too, and wondered what had become of his crew. ❛ thank... you, ❜ he spoke in awe. his chilling blue eyes met sorey’s, then looked him over to see if the shepherd had been fazed at all purifying all of that malevolence on his own. he could understand now why edna had chosen to follow this chosen one. he, too, could see that the shepherd’s heart was free of contempt, and he radiated a warmth that he’d never felt in others before him. with a hesitant push, eizen pulled sorey into a loose hug, the gesture speaking volumes for a malakhim not so graced in physical affection. ❛ you could have been killed. ❜

[eizcn]

armatiis·:

There could be no denying that Eizen’s form was intimidating. Massive and overbearing. His inexperience had once led him to run and now everyone was saying experience should drive him to kill the dragon. That it was his duty, the only way he could offer salvation. Maybe this was the case, but he knew deep down Eizen’s heart could still be swayed. There was more to him than just the malevolence that had overtaken him. 

His palm gently pressed against the dragon’s snout. He felt so small. “No one’s ever told me the story about how you became a dragon,” Sorey mentioned casually. Yes, a part of him was afraid, but fear was not such a bad thing. To fear was normal, it was human. Eyes closed and a deep breath was taken as he willing the purifying fire. The blue flames dancing about, catching wisps of malevolence which seeped off the dragon’s before crawling along his form. It engulfed the both of them, swallowing them up in the divine fire.

eizen was skeptical, but a small part of him believed in the shepherd. he, too, closed his eyes, and allowed the blue flames to swallow both of them until he was lit up like a beacon of purifying fire on that summit. it scorched him, malevolence and the shepherd’s rays entwining madly, and for a split second, eizen was afraid it was too much. he’d asked for too much and he feared that sorey’s life was utterly wasted.

then, he saw it-----a light at the end of a dark tunnel. sorey’s face was at the end of it, everything flickering and bright as they were both encased in licking flames. eizen stepped towards it and a gloved hand slowly broke through the armor of malevolence, grasping sorey’s hand. it couldn’t------ it couldn’t be! the blond held on tight, letting sorey pull him out of the shadows until the darkness receded from his form. as the dragon’s scales withered into the flames, eizen toppled onto sorey, his knees bucking beneath him.

[eizcn]

armatiis‌:

Around him the air was stifling, for as much of who he might have once been remained, the seraph was still a dragon. Malevolence enough to drown an entire city, but even in the face of such great darkness the shepherd remained a stalwart beacon of purity. For he had stared down greater foes, burdened by even heavier darkness, and it was a darkness he wished upon no one else. 

He knew that there were those who still thought him a fool. Eizen one of them, evidently, as his growling voice reverberated within the young man’s very being. “Any time spent making an effort to help a friend in need is not a wasted on,” Sorey replied, an easy smile across his face. Maybe he was a fool. Maybe this would all be for not, but who was he to deny hope? Giving up on others was a cruelty he refused, extending salvation even if the shape of it was painful for him.

“You have to at least let me try.” He extended his hand. “If not for yourself, then for Edna.”

did sorey understand the implications of his sacrifice? did he understand what could happen to him if all that malevolence became too much for him to bear? he would be endangering much more than sorey if his malevolence swallowed the world’s only shepherd whole. the dragon grumbled low, settling down to welcome sorey as he was alone.

❛ edna... knows, ❜ the dragon’s speech was pained groan. ❛ she knows the consequence of the choice i made. ❜ she was a malakhim, a seraph, just like him, after all. she knew more than anybody else that he’d done the right thing, and eizen was proud for that. the dragon stepped forward, just one massive hand creating a whirlwind. this shepherd was different, not quite like the one he’d encountered some years ago, though they came a dime a dozen. eizen gently lowered his snout to touch the shepherd’s open palm, crooning gently in his belly.

[spellweavr]

Other malakhim were born there, but I never felt like they were my family.

But something –I don’t know what– was different with her.

If she was sad, I’d feel sad. And if I was happy, she’d be happy, too.

She can be… abrasive, but when she smiles, it’s like nothing else. I swore to myself that whatever happened, I would protect her.

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays @letmereachforthestars !! ♡ I’m your secret santa from @talesofsecretsanta2018. I hope you like it.♡

[eizcn]

things were... calmer after the new shepherd had come to be. the world’s malevolence was slowly thinning; eizen could feel that it was decreasing though he continued to live as a giant embodiment of it. he’d met sorey and knew the world and his sister, edna, were in capable hands. no matter how he wished to join them in times of relative peace, he couldn’t. 

people were safer while he stayed on the summit, away from those that could be affected by his reaper’s curse, or the malevolence that still swirled inside of him. he wasn’t sure how long his consciousness would last, either. in due time, eizen had accepted that he’d have to be put out of his misery, because surely a seraph turned dragon couldn’t be reversed. it was impossible, and yet, sorey tried. instead of slaying him, the shepherd had visited him as a friend. the dragon turned to sorey, wary of any other companions he may have brought along. he wouldn’t have forgiven sorey if he’d brought edna to his cursed domain. ❛ you’re... wasting your time, sorey. i can live with the consequences of my actions. ❜

@armatiis