c u r s e d

Raja Ambrosio - Druid - 34

[rajxambrosio]

@wintersaurora Location: Lunar Court

"So this is cute," he was being cheeky, looking at the not so modest accommodation that Aurora had built for him and Eric. It was nice, however, enough for a druid to practice his magic, enough for a lycan to have fun with the lythari that now littered each of the courts. "I didn't think you'd be this ready to have two new visitors or...be this excited." Raja was mostly kidding, because he knew Aurora was ready to have the two of them live within her home, where she could keep an eye on the two of them. Raja had many lives before him, and one of the few comforts was that Aurora would be around to find him in each of them. And it kept him safe from whatever pull Octavian would have in the future. "I know you're dying to show me around, so lead the way."

[ofheliacal]

Eric's head leaned into the subtle touch, Raj's thumb finding a comforting pattern along the plane of their jaw. "And how did that go for you?" A small smile as the exile poised the question, where once Eric was so closed in upon themself, they now relaxed within Raj's proximity, seemingly unphased by what they'd both witnessed. "Really?" Eric sat a bit straighter though they'd not wish to leave the familiar chill of the other anytime soon, "I'd have thought you'd never consider it." It hurt to wonder upon all the things both could not say and he realized now how quickly the other had aged from the End.

[rajxambrosio]

"Not well," he huffed, though the faintest hint of a smile hit his mouth anyway. Raja moved to rest his forehead against Eric's, humming even as the lycan moved away slightly to straightened up, "Why is that? You know she's my family. We'd be safe there. In her court. Away from the drama of everything else. I'd leave it behind for you." He'd leave the pyramid, sit amongst the elves. He was fascinated, but never one of them – no matter how much Aurora wished to keep him safe. But he was a druid, he could learn more magic – it was a tough decision, considering Eric would have place in his pack more than anywhere else. "It's just an option. I'd never not consider an option."

[milenabarbcsa]

a starter for @rajxambrosio,

"Thanks for meeting me," out of all of Octavian's acolytes, Raja seemed to be completely mute about Octavian's exile, his choices, his beliefs. Plenty of them felt obstinate in up keeping appearances within the Pyramid and though Milena showed up, there was this nagging sense that she should be dedicated to one side of this madness completely. Octavian was her maker, that much had been true, but was he an absolute when it came to the options her druidic tether gave her? "I haven't seen you around the pyramid since, well, you know.." Milena made a face, lips pressed together as her eyebrows raised slightly. "You could say I was worried." None of them were necessarily friends, they were all bond together out of one obligation but she liked Raja, Atlas; the others were far more cryptic but the Fox did her best to get to know them each.

[rajxambrosio]

"Milena," Raja greeted her with a small smile, though he wasn't going to comment on his absence. It was obvious, maybe a little too obvious why, but he didn't have much to say on the matter. That wasn't because he was worried about his opinion, but because he was worried he'd say something stupid. Or maybe controversial. He wasn't sure. "Worried about me? I'm fine. Really. I just uh...it's been weird, you know? Octavian is...was...someone who gave me a chance. I feel bad turning my back on him, but I don't want any part in what he's doing."

[gentleman-26-deactivated2025081]

[ofheliacal]

"Okay, you got me there," replicating the meme of it all, Eric wagged a finger and clicked their tongue before attempting to compose any answer that garnered any seriousness. "I'm just starting to figure that there's a method in craziness," not whatever their ex had been compelled by, because that was genuinely crazy, but where lycans were concerned there seemed to be something perfectly fitting to it all. "I don't think I would have survived the way I did if I hadn't lost it a little," quieter this time, a touch despondent as their eyes flickered back towards Raj, pulling him back down upon the bed they'd occupied. In a castle filled with vampires and the entirety of Rome, Eric preferred to be secluded in this far off room away from the party which still thrummed heavily in their ears.

[rajxambrosio]

Raja moved a little closer, if that was at all possible. The druid was impossibly cold at all times, but the lycan ran hot – it was a win win. He placed his hand on the other's jaw, brushing his thumb over it, "Is there? I've seen crazy up close, you know." The memories of what had happened were mostly fading, he was hoping that eventually it'd be a bad dream that perhaps he could escape once and a while. Either way, they were both here, and he wasn't sure what would happen. "We all make it through the way we can, you know. And I'm here." He hesitated for a second, "Aurora would have me in her court, you know. We'd be safe there."

[ofheliacal]

Eric made a strangled sound that descended into some happening of nervous laughter, "Me? Are you fucking crazy?" A sputtered cough came next, shaking their head wildly, "I know you're supposed to pretend I can do anything but now you're getting really out of the box," Eric understood if he bested them all in the fighting aspect, each lycan would have to respect them as Alpha, but the Exile couldn't necessarily handle all the mental games and political schemes of it all. They were a little too helpless in the whole 'everyone has to like me or I'll have a mental breakdown' factor; even when they'd been burning bridges down and smiling through it all there was that inner child within begging to still, somehow, be liked.

[rajxambrosio]

Raja tilted his head, "I mean, yeah, it's been said." He'd been called crazy loads of time. The fact Eric had still thought he was mildly attractive was always a shock; Raj had been running on minutes of sleep daily, it was a surprising fact that he'd even survived. He figured that was Aurora's doing, a healing spell here and there, but exhaustion was a bitch. "All of the lycans are kinda crazy. Is there really someone you can look at and go - yeah, that's our leader right there." Sure, Eric had their volatile moment, a few more questionable decisions, but their former Alpha was a total nut job.

[wintersaurora]

"Oh, he wasn't too bad," Aurora mused. Maybe Alek had been... a lot... but it had been nice to gather an alliance with the lycans. The Chancellor also had to be bias for the gratitude that she felt towards them - the pack helping to free her along with many other fey that had fallen to Ayi'ig. She didn't reply to the idea of Eric going for Alpha, instead looking back towards Raja as though to try to read his expression as per usual, trying to gauge if he genuinely liked that very hefty responsibility for his love.

"I am," she replied, the smile appearing again and her tone softer. "Genuinely." A pause as she gazed over at the glowing Moonpool beside them. "It's sad to be here without Titania and without my mother but we all made sure that no fey's sacrifice was in vain. That gives us all hope we didn't have before. And it was also your Archdruids who presented the Laurelin's seed to Tamlen so I believe that will eternally improve relations between us." Her brow furrowed as her smile faded. "But what of Octavian?" Raja's Archdruid; her only real concern with her nephew's druidism.

[rajxambrosio]

He was sure it was hard, losing a staple of their kind and then Aurora’s mother, as well. She’d always spoken of her, and it only made sense afterwards as to why he’d never met her. Fey and their whole non aging thing. Raja simply wanted her to be happy, despite all that had happened. He sighed now, but there was a small smile on his face, “Think we’ll combine power again? I’m happy to never, ever go through anything like that again.” Octavian had killed him, hadn’t he? It was all fuzzy now, slowly fading away. “I don’t know. He chose what he chose,” Raja frowned now, thinking of Nettelia. “Nettelia is a good leader, but she doesn’t want the job. I haven’t really spoken to the other two, and Octavian…I think they all want him to redeem himself.”

[wintersaurora]

The moon here was constantly full and bright, the sky lit up at various points of the day with different colors of northern lights that moved and danced in a star filled night sky. Sometimes even the trees by the village shimmered with floating feylights - in that specific hour they were glowing as bright as they could. Music filled the air from somewhere and the crisp, fresh air was filled with the scent of pine needles and bonfires. But the mountains here were huge and it would have taken hours to bring Raja everywhere. Instead, Aurora focused on the safest and most lively portion of her new home. Here the druid could walk unburdened by dangers, here he could see elven life. One lunar elf nearby was fingering the sword at her side and glaring like the entire world had offended her. Another laughed as he chased two young elves to the edge of the lake. It froze over as the youngest stepped on it, giggling and starting to skate away to get away faster. The duality of winter.

"It's a little more complicated than that," Aurora said with a low laugh, shaking her head. "But sure." She smiled wide as she stopped them both by various silvery bridges on the lake. "Since you've been welcomed here, you can come at any time. My magic will keep you relatively warm but I don't recommend bringing in guests..." She hesitated. "Well, at least not until I see them. They may turn into popsicles otherwise." A mischievous smile. "I have yet to actually meet Eric."

[rajxambrosio]

"It is beautiful," he murmured, though Raja wasn't sure he'd ever come by himself. It was a bit intimidating, for someone like him at least. The pyramid had enough magic in it, and Raja was sure Aurora wouldn't want him bothering her all the time. He put his hands in his jacket pockets, though he was hoping the red in his face was because of the cold, not because of the question, "Really? They're always around. I keep telling Eric that they should go for Alpha, now that their crazy one stepped down." Raja gave the other another smile, "Are you happy here? Genuinely?"

[ofheliacal]

"Only if you'll have me," they teased playfully, pairing the sentiment with a weak grin; the Exile had been leaning back upon the palm of his hands but slipped forth to wrap their arms around themself with a meek shrug. "I don't know, things are changing there, Lupercalia's right around the corner and our Alpha just decided to step down," they weren't entirely sure if they'd ever seen that before; Alpha's were overthrown, killed or bested; but they never typically just decided it wasn't a title for them any longer.

[rajxambrosio]

Raja hummed a little, moving away from the curtain so he could crawl onto the bed and hover a little above Eric, "It's the right decision. He was crazy," that was the obvious, wasn't it? He was sure Eric liked following crazy, they had fucked crazy before, and it wasn't like the druid was the pinnacle of sanity. "Are you going to try and go for Alpha?" He remembered the last event, it had been wild. A lot of pregnancies, a lot of bodily fluid – yikes. "I think you could do it."

[rajxambrosio]

@ericxaquino Location: their lil home

"So you're not spending all your time in that little campground anymore?" Raj enjoyed teasing Eric, watching the lycan's nose wrinkle in false annoyance. It wasn't the best place, Raja had never been a big fan of the woods, but everything had basically dissolved, there was space now where the druid no longer had to stay in the pyramid at all times. Octavian was gone, and now he was safe with the rest of those that had been given a newfound home. The memories were slowly fading, and it was for the best; Raja didn't have enough patience to deal with drama. He stood by the window, letting in all the air to cool down the room.

[rajxambrosio]

@wintersaurora Location: Icy Hell aka the court

Raja was grateful for magic keeping him warm, though the Lunar Court was fun to see now that it was all finished. The druid was certain that his nightmares would fade once more, healed as much as he could be, his memories left to fade away, it was probably better for him, anyway. But he wished to see Aurora, that she was safe and sound. Restored was what she'd said, the land of the elves something new to him. It seemed like a fantasy, he was sure that they'd all play a killer game of Dungeons and Dragons after this, but elves? It was straight out of the Hobbit and he was sure that they'd all start talking slowly and walking like they floated or something like that. "So...all of this for more pointy ears? I like it."

[wintersaurora]

"It's not so much that it was secret, more than it was too much information to put into a voicemail. Or a text. And if I met you to talk about it, I might have not wanted to leave." She explaining as she walked in, smiling briefly to scratch at Snowflake's ears. "I was in the Otherworld, searching for a relic called the White Flame to bring back to the eladrin. If I made it back, I would be forgiven for the crime of cursing an unborn faiman child, one that turned out to be twins. I did it after my children died to get back at Titania but it was technically a crime against her son. Fey on fey crime. A very long story." The elf said so as if she was recalling a bad forecast on the television. Aurora spoke quickly as she leaned down to conjure up two crystalline glasses on Raja's table and started to fill up both. "One day I'll tell it to you. What you should be very aware of is that fey are likely the most emotional creatures that you'll ever come across and even I'm not above letting that get the best of me. I chose the trip over exile for a century and I've made it back." Though not the best truth, Aurora had indeed promised not to hide things from Raja. He'd known only an affectionate, fun-loving friend most of his life but his aunt was more than that - she could be sad, angry and even sometimes cruel.

[rajxambrosio]

Aurora cursing unborn children was somewhat shocking to hear, but Raja was sure she didn't need to hear that from him. Clearly it was a mistake, and she nearly got exiled for it, so perhaps he was more grateful that she'd managed to redeem herself instead. He sat down on the couch, looking at the cold glass he'd have to hold now. "A trip where you could've died? I mean but what about us? Your family? Why would you rather die?" None of that made sense to him, it never had. People were so quick to sacrifice themselves and leave people behind for the greater good with no thoughts about those that would miss them when they were gone.

[ofheliacal]

"But just like you she's much too modest to ask," not that Raj had ever been unopinionated. Eric had underestimated the mortal turned druid at the genesis of their relationship and they often had to remind themself of their boyfriend's clever receptiveness. "I could help you train," they squeezed Raj's hip playfully; Raj had constantly pointed out Eric's elusiveness and the Exile was attempted to salvage ground on that front. He would be better, he'd do better; the Asphodel was not long behind them, but they'd start sprinting away from such blemish on their past if they had to.

[rajxambrosio]

Raj glanced over his shoulder to meet Eric's gaze. Their lycan was always troubled, but weren't they all now and days? "Really? Something tells me I'd get distracted and we'd get nowhere." He sighed now, unsure where he would be most helpful in this upcoming fight. The truth of the matter was: he couldn't leave the other acolytes. "I'll fight with the druids, Eric. No matter what. There are so many of us who don't know shit about all this, but I do know that there are good people that need as much help as they can get."

[wintersaurora]

Time: Evening Location: Raja's place Characters: @rajxambrosio & @wintersaurora Notes: When your aunt/bff shows up again after once more disappearing

Aurora had left Raja with a voicemail, detailing vaguely how there was a trip she needed to take to right a wrong that she'd done in the past. That she would miss him and she loved him and would return as soon as she could. In hindsight, she had left that voicemail thinking it might be the last time she spoke to Raja but the letter she'd written for Nirvaan to give him if anything happened to her now burned in the fire of her fireplace. She traveled much faster with magic now, making it to his door without the time to think of sending him a text beforehand. Despite the magic, when Raja opened the door the elf would be plain in mortal attire. Magic hid the pointed ears and she repressed winter from seeping towards the floor and walls.

"I know it's late but I brought your favorite." She smiled sheepishly. Content to see Raja, relieved even, she let herself bask in that for a moment. But there was grim news to share and things that she needed to know about the druid while it felt like the city was gearing up for the very worst.

[rajxambrosio]

Raja held the door open for Aurora, watching as she entered. Snowflake greeted her immediately, but the druid hung back. "You know you can tell me things now, right?" He wasn't sure what vibe he'd gotten from that phone call, but there had been vague information. Raj looked mildly annoyed, but he was too forgiving to hold on to such annoyance. "I thought you were done with all of that. Secrets and shit. Where have you been?"

[ofheliacal]

a gift for @rajxambrosio, note: raj's place cos he's still all about them druids

Eric was curled around Raj, their arms pulling the druid impossibly close despite the intemperately warm weather outside. Despite their whole antisocial bit they were embarrassingly clingy when things boiled down to it and they broke the silence of the evening with the question that gnawed at them since Raj had spoke about it. They had watched Octavian be bewitched by the book in Knossos and couldn't imagine that Raj could be undeniably safe under their hand. They were glad Raj was turned away from them, so Eric could speak freely without being hindered by the shyness that often overtook them, "Raj, I need to know if you're going to align with the fey," their voice was slightly muffled as they leaned their head within the crook of Raj's neck.

[rajxambrosio]

Raj was grateful for the warmth, though with an oven of a lycan behind him, it was a wonder that he had sheets on his bed at all. His arm was curled over Eric's, the silence between them comfortable. He knew that the lycan wanted to say something, could tell by the slight hitch in Eric's breath, the way they held on a little tighter. He hadn't decided just yet, but he would if Aurora asked him. That was all it would take. "I'm not sure. I would...feel bad leaving behind Nettelia. Not defending the other druids. Some of them are just as lost as I am. And it was the only home they've ever been given. But if Aurora asked...I would."

[rajxambrosio]

ericxaquino​:

a gift for @rajxambrosio, notes: you thought you were getting the song right away, didn’t you squidward

Something such as a formal event, riddled with masquerade masks and flowing gowns was absolutely the very opposite of anything Eric could vie for. They should be rather lucky that this little satyr celebration had been unknowingly charmed, for anyone who saw the Exile in such elation, outside of such event, would likely have figured they’d gone perfectly insane. They plucked two drinks off the tray that the Pythia was holding, slipping one to Raj with a excited grin as they both spectated over the wild animal show, “I guess they thought a shifted lycan wouldn’t fit the whole premise or something.” It was all druids and some terror who was trying way too hard with the whole tentacle thing.

“You look happy,” Raja couldn’t help but smile back at the lycan, lifting up the tiger mask he’d been wearing. He took the drink from Eric, tilting his head now, “I think you like the tentacle thing, don’t you?” It was mostly a joke, wasn’t everyone curious about tentacles? Either way, the druid got a bit closer to the other, “I think I could’ve done a good job. But I didn’t want to take up all the spotlight, you know.”

[rajxambrosio]

ericxaquino​:

          “Well…. are you going to take that offer?” The last time they’d hashed through any debacles about allegiances and species Raja seemed very intent on sticking with what Octavian had offered him. Knossos had been a pivotal crux for them both and they wondered where Raj was at when it came to battles that were yet to be fought but starkly inevitable. “I think us… sort of on the same team,” for the lycans and fey were not without their clashing differences, “-would be the best thing to help us work past all of this.” Raj had been this innocent pawn as always but there was comfort in knowing the cursed human turned druid was rounding the corner in finding his voice. A pleading gaze peered back at Raj, there was hope for forgiveness, to turn back from a path they’d crafted for themselves that was obscured in infernal darkness. “Carrying all of that hate… it’s been rather exhausting,” a soft smile spliced through their grief and worry, “I’ve been trying to redirect in a better way. No more joining blood thirsty covens on a whim.” It was customary for Eric to make any macabre joke that was always at the wrong time.

Raj looked down now, wondering what he could possibly do to stay somewhat neutral. He didn’t think that was an option, and as a human, he’d spent too much time wondering about it all, that he didn’t want to be too passive. Not anymore. “I might. The fey, my only family here is Aurora – and you’re there – as long as you don’t leave me, which would be really awkward, I think it’s the best option.” The druid cleared his throat now, though he was far too basic, maybe, to agree with Eric right away. “Being on the same side of a war won’t fix our problems, Eric. I like to think a bit of make-up sex was all it really amounts to,” he gave the other a grin, letting out a sigh, “No more blood thirsty covens, check. You and me, Eric.”