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Oberos and Makoen, besieged by enemies

[10/25/2013 11:46:14 PM] Zeda: It was late into the night and dawn was not too far off when Oberos paused, right in the middle of re-weaving his feather nest, pursing his thin lips as an involuntary shiver worked its way up the length of his spine. It wasn't something that he could articulate, really, and there was no reasonable explanation for this sense of unexpected dread, but something just... felt wrong. He untangled himself from his work and crawled towards the mouth of his alcove, peering out into the expanse of Mako's perfectly silent hive. Now that he was aware of it, the stillness of it was absolutely wrong, a suspicious emptiness that made his whole body tense as he drew his primary strifetype and stepped cautiously out of the alcove and down into the cool water, sending silent ripples out around him.

Oberos wanted to call for Mako, but he was worried that there would be no answer even if he did. Had someone slipped in while he wasn't looking? He should have heard it, even if he was busy with his hands, should have seen SOMETHING-

Maybe he was just being paranoid? He set both feet on the water-logged ground and stepped away from the niche in the wall, making as few waves as possible while he did so. Trying not to fill this silence until he was prepared.

"Mako?" The word sounded like a beacon in the empty hive, echoing mercilessly off of every surface. It probably only seemed that way because it was so horribly quiet, but... it was the truth. The sound echoed around him with eerie persistence, and his heart clenched as he waited, most probably in vain, for a response.

Movement caught Oberos' oculars a moment later, at the top of the dry balcony that led out to the hive's land entrance. Someone leaning against the railing and looking down at him. The blueblood recognized the figure, but it wasn't Mako.

Ophion tilted his head to the side slightly as he watched Oberos, and then waved. The other seadweller's expression was emotionless, but it was difficult not to get the feeling that he was a little...amused? Or, perhaps, fascinated. Just watching Oberos, interested in what the other troll did next, with no sign of his new matesprit around.

"He's not here..." Ophion said, voice coarse and quiet, only audible from Oberos' position thanks to the hive's acoustics.

[10/26/2013 12:26:25 AM] Zeda: It only took Oberos a moment to notice the unwelcome presence at the head of the stairs, and less time than that for him to recognize the person he was looking at as the seadweller who had spoken to them on the night that he escorted Mako back to the hive. It was the smaller seadweller... one whose name began with an 'O,' who had in one breath thanked Mako for murdering his kismesis and then threatened him. Oberos didn't need any more prompting than that, and in one quick movement he returned his primary strife to his deck and whipped out the crossbow that represented his secondary strife, leveling it on the seadweller as he bared his thin needle teeth and narrowed his eyes, the optics zooming in as he aimed.

"Then you took him from me." It escaped him as a hiss, his jaw tightening. This troll snuck in and stole Mako from him? How could he have missed it? How could Mako's LUSUS have missed it?! He felt like heat and cold were awash in his fingers, but even in that tumult he had received enough training to know how to hold his hands steady. "Where?"

[10/26/2013 12:35:25 AM] Samlet Bird Hamlet: The small seadweller simply tilted his head in the opposite direction in response, eyeing the crossbow with what could only be boredom. Either he had no fear of dying, or he knew that if Oberos shot him, there would be no way to find out where Mako had gone. Or, been taken. Ophion took his time before he spoke again, leaning forward a little and resting his small chin against the palm of one hand.

"I don't know that telling you will do any good..." he said, single eye drifting up from the crossbow to Oberos' face. "Wouldn't it just...be easier to let us have him...? What does he really mean to you, after all?"

[10/26/2013 1:10:15 AM] Zeda: Just give him up? Oberos' eyes flashed with outrage at the very suggestion. He knew that he couldn't actually kill his enemy if he wanted to know where he'd taken Mako, and it was true that he was an intelligent and typically rather prudent troll, but that suggestion... the AUDACITY of it-

He fired off a crossbow bolt, aimed precisely enough that it drove into the wooden railing near Ophion's body with a loud 'THOK,' and he could practically picture himself darting across the room and plunging a needle into the other troll's neck but he knew better, he had to tell himself that he KNEW better as his lips peeled back from rows of parting, impossibly sharp needle teeth.

"The only reason I didn't shoot you in the throat is because I need it to work well enough for you to answer my questions." It came out as little more than a sharp hiss, but it was more than loud enough for Ophion to hear in the quiet of the hive. "Now. Where did you take him?"

[10/26/2013 1:26:24 AM] Samlet Bird Hamlet: Ophion flinched visibly when the crossbow bolt flew at him, arms shooting up as if to shield himself, but he stopped in the middle of the action. He put his hands back down on the railing in an almost deliberate gesture, as if trying to cancel out whatever had made him flinch like that. Even if any normal troll probably would have flinched the same way. He leaned forward again, eying the bolt stuck deep in the railing and then returned his gaze to Oberos.

"He killed my moirail, you know," Ophion said, but of course Oberos DID know. The seadweller's voice remained that steady, husky tone, but it halted a little more here and there, like the words physically hurt to push out. "Just...because Makoen killed Jeriko too...doesn't change the fact that he ripped the last person I loved out of my life."

At that, Ophion fixed Oberos with an unbelievably cold look, blunt nails digging crescents into the wood of the railing as he said, "If you lost him, would you want to die?"

[10/26/2013 2:05:00 AM] Zeda: The worst of it was that he could empathize with the seadweller on that one. He knew full well, without any illusions, that Mako had killed a troll who was clearly very deeply loved, and that the trolls who were seeking vengeance against him now might very well have good reason to do so. However, much as he could empathize with the seadweller who was now narrowing his eyes at him from the top of the stairs he could only stare right back, unflinching. After all, he was not a kind of merciful troll, and he knew full well that the trolls he killed and ate still had people who cared for them.

"I would do the same thing as you." He started to move forward, keeping his crossbow level with the seadweller even as he advanced. He wasn't going to show fear, and certainly not while Mako's life was being threatened. "I would try to kill whoever did it, regardless of their caste."

[10/26/2013 2:24:04 AM] Samlet Bird Hamlet: Ophion's gaze followed Oberos as the other troll approached. The ceruleanblood hadn't exactly answered the question directly, but he could still agree with the sentiment. It was impossible to tell from his expression whatever turmoil was going on inside him, but after a moment he said, almost abruptly, "There's a salt water well...north. Not far."

He hadn't said it because of the threat in Oberos' statement, and despite the flinch, he didn't look in the least concerned by the crossbow now. Tethys had told him to drop Makoen down the well and wait for her to get there with Nereid, once the opportunity arose. They didn't exactly live close, but then Ophion was the only one of the three with no life to waste away keeping an eye on the hive of a troll he almost didn't hate anymore. And, he didn't have the energy to drag the other seadweller very far anyway. Not that he would say that to the blueblood advancing on him with a crossbow.

[10/26/2013 3:13:14 AM] Zeda: Oberos' eyes narrowed sharply when Ophion mentioned the well. He didn't have any reason to believe the seadweller, especially not when the goal could very well be to get him out in the open for the sake of making him vulnerable to attack. But, really now... he knew that he wasn't their target. He could imagine himself to play a bigger role all he wanted, but the truth of the matter was that he was little more than an extra variable in this complex equation made-up entirely of powerful, righteously pissed-off seadwellers, and that Ophion probably couldn't have known even now what his relationship to Mako might be beyond SOMETHING close and probably pinkened at least.

And still, he advanced. He didn't see any drawn weapon, and as he made his way to the foot of the stairs he switched his strifes once more, gripping a couple of needles in his fist as he hissed up at the smaller seadweller. He had no gills or fins to flare in his anger, nothing that would hold up even to the damaged ones possessed by this intruder, but he was certainly not friendly or easy to ignore in this state. There was something about his carriage that had never matched with that of the featherbeast that had raised him... something snakelike. Something viperous, even as he felt that the seadweller just above him now was most likely telling the truth about that well.

"I don't blame you for wanting vengeance on behalf of your moirail, and I can honestly say that I respect your dedication to his memory. However, you must understand that it's the same for me." His voice came low and even, but coupled with the laser-hot look he was giving Ophion, there was no mistaking just how hard it must be to maintain an air of civility even with murder on his mind as he ascended the steps, undaunted. "If anyone hurts Mako, I'll rip them apart and eat them alive."

[10/26/2013 3:20:45 AM] Samlet Bird Hamlet: "How romantic...!" Ophion sighed before he could stop himself. He meant it, every syllable, the landdweller's words putting a flutter through his heart that he wasn't used to feeling. He covered his mouth thoughtfully, eye flicking over the last few steps Oberos had to ascend, and then the needles in the other troll's fist. "If you die with him, though...that's almost as romantic."

And quick as a shot he darted away, disappearing out the door as if he'd never been there, leaving the air almost unstirred.

[10/26/2013 3:31:59 AM] Zeda: The troll was gone like a mist at Alternian sunrise before Oberos could really react, but in the wake of words like that, uttered with such heartfelt conviction... he gripped his needles tightly, sealing his thin lips together as he made his way up onto the top landing and began rushing towards the landside hatch, unwilling to stand still and puzzle over just how parallel their senses of romance seemed to run. It struck a strange chord in him, that he should share something so dear to him with a reviled enemy who had thrown his lover down a well-

Oberos burst out into the cool night air and began bolting northward, keeping his needles drawn but holding his armed hand out and behind him, so as to avoid tripping and impaling himself on any of those venomous barbs as he ran. It wasn't that long until sunrise, and if Mako was down a well with no significant alcoves in which to hide he would have to act fast and extract him before dawn arrived. He saw no signs of the small seadweller, and frankly... that was good. Because he would have had to kill him before he allowed his guard to be let down any more than it was already.

[10/26/2013 3:38:41 AM] Samlet Bird Hamlet: The well was easiest enough to find, even with those vague instructions. There were no hives around it, so it must have been abandoned for quite some time. It wasn't deep, either, a fall from the lip wouldn't do much damage, but it was too steep to climb out of easily. Oberos could see Mako's form at the bottom, not moving but hopefully breathing. Hadn't he said the Ophion used knives coated in a paralytic drug? That must have been how the smaller seadweller had managed to take him, and why Mako wasn't moving now. There was no telling how long the toxin lasted, but he couldn't have been down there for long.

[10/26/2013 4:10:41 AM] Zeda: From his vantage point up at the mouth of the well, Oberos couldn't tell if Mako was breathing or not. There was, of course, a sickening weight in his stomach when he saw that his new matesprit wasn't exactly on his back down there, his face partially submerged in the standing water at the bottom of the well, but he had to remind himself that being underwater by no means meant that you couldn't breathe if you were, in fact, a seadweller. He needed to get down there and make sure that Mako was alright, breathing deep and trying to swallow the anxiety that rose in his throat and threatened to strangle him. He'd been doing alright in Ophion's presence, propelled by anger that had been well-tempered by his own sense of prudence in the face of danger, but now that it was just him here all alone, staring down at Mako's prone body, he couldn't help but surrender to the swell of his panic.

"Hold on, Mako!" He didn't see any movement, received no answer, and could only hope that he was remembering Mako's comment about the paralytics correctly as he spun around, looking for an idea. He'd have to get him out, but... well, if he had a rope, then he could tie it to one of the trees and go down there to get him. He couldn't haul him up all on his own, though. He'd have to wait until the paralytic wore off and hope that it would do so before the sun rose- or, maybe if the water rose in that well, he could wait until high tide afforded him less of a struggle towards the top? Yes, that would do.

Either way, he would need rope. Oberos recalled seeing some nautical shipping rope in Mako's hive, though it had been used for decoration... If he went and ripped it down, maybe it would be long enough to reach him? He rushed back to Mako's hive as quickly as he could possibly force his legs to carry him, propelled onward by adrenaline and steadily improving stamina, and when he returned he tied the rope to the nearest and sturdiest tree, panting raggedly through his parted razor teeth as he tested the rope and dragged it over towards the well. It was nothing to throw it in, and relatively little effort to climb over the side and repel down towards his unresponsive lover, but managing not to snatch him up in a panic when he dropped down beside him was quite a challenge.

"Mako, Mako-" Oberos knelt down in water that rose to his hips and drew Mako's limp body up into his lap, brushing the wet hair away from his face and trying desperately to see if he was okay. "It'll be alright-"

[10/26/2013 4:28:27 AM] Samlet Bird Hamlet: The seadweller was breathing, at least, though he didn't move or speak when Oberos got to him. His head lolled limply in the other troll's arms, gaze unfocused. His eyes were tearing up, but it was difficult to tell if that was from fear or because he seemed to be unable to blink, lids half-drooped but unmoving. It seemed, definitely, that this was the work of that paralytic he had spoken of before. And, he didn't move for quite a while, even his heart beat at a steady pace so that it almost seemed like he was trapped in a sleep paralysis, breath coming in slow, easy strokes.

It wasn't until the water in the well had risen to Oberos' chest that Mako moved, but it was miniscule--the twitch of a finger, and his eyelids finally shuddered into a rapid cluster of blinking. When the tide had come in enough that Oberos needed to stand to keep both of their heads above water the seadweller finally gritted out with difficulty, "Ophion...dropped..."

[10/26/2013 4:55:12 AM] Zeda: It was taking so very, very long for Mako to respond, and every moment spent in tense silence as he waited for the beautiful seadweller to move or to speak made Oberos breathless with nervous fear, his fingers steadily stroking through Mako's slick black hair as he tried to keep himself calm and ease the painful transition from this unmoving, frozen unconsciousness towards being fine once again.

"Did you hit anything badly on the way down?" He held Mako close, their heads tipped together as he held the other troll's head gently above the rising water. His matesprit was still too weak and his faculties too far beyond his control for him to be any help in climbing out just yet, but maybe soon... maybe before dawn came they'd be able to crawl out. "What can I do...? I can't pull you out all by myself, Mako, but if you can't climb out with me then I'll have to try..."

[10/26/2013 5:04:11 AM] Samlet Bird Hamlet: Mako grunted, and it was obvious that he was straining to throw off the paralytic even if the effort was wasted. His lip curled to bare his shark-like teeth in frustration as he hissed, "'m...okay. Tethys...and...they'll be here...have to hurry."

He threw out any attempt at adding Nereid's name to that sentence. It was too hard to articulate when his tongue still felt like it had a mind of its own. He let out a growl of frustration, the sound rumbling low in his chest. He loved Oberos, but he couldn't confess to much confidence in the other troll to protect the both of them against three seadwellers and Tethys' lusus. The snake would without a doubt be with them, after all. He wished he'd bitten through its spinal column when he'd had the chance the first sweep he'd met her.

[10/26/2013 5:33:53 AM] Zeda: Oberos pursed his lips tightly around his thin fangs, staring down at Mako's straining expression for a long moment as he absorbed the severity of the situation. His own inadequacy was glaring in a moment like this, where he was forced to become starkly and unflinchingly aware that he was all threats with no strength to back them up. He could very well fail here, and cost Mako his life- but he couldn't let himself think like that. There was no choice but to commit to pulling through for him, and without another moment spared for hesitation the ceruleanblood nodded, accessing his sylladex one-handed and skimming through his wares for something useful. There was a blanket, which while a pain in the ass to get water-logged might actually work... so he pulled it out and lashed it around Mako's limp body like a hammock, taking advantage of the water's assistance in keeping his lover's limp body light enough to manipulate. It was crude and not necessarily the most secure device he'd ever made, but as Oberos turned he was able to pull Mako's arms and some of the blanket over his shoulders like a shawl, dragging the other part of the blanket up from his hip and across his chest so that he could knot the material together. It was an odd sort of grubsling, but the by-now soaking wet fabric of the blanket was far easier to knot securely than it would have been dry.

Now would come the hard part. Oberos took hold of the rope with both hands and gritted his teeth tightly, inhaling deeply and feeling his back expand against Mako's chest as he did so. Then, he began to haul himself up, his arms shaking as he curled in close against the rope and dug his boots in against the interior wall of the well. He was by no means strong enough to do this easily, if at all, but it seemed as though the desperation of the situation was affording him enough adrenaline to propel himself forward, and with each hard grunt he managed to haul their bodies steadily higher. They were closer to the mouth of the well than he would have imagined, but it seemed like such a massive distance with his arms already burning even as he was only just pulling their bodies free of the water below. He strained so hard that his face turned pale blue, right through to the tips of pointed ears that were actually quivering slightly as he forced himself onward. Just a bit more and they'd be able to see over the top-

[10/26/2013 5:54:48 AM] Samlet Bird Hamlet: And, quite suddenly, a long-fingered hand with claw-like black nails grabbed the rope and hauled upward until Oberos and Makoen were both pulled up over the lip of the well to spill in a heap onto the grass. Mako stiffened against the blueblood's back and a blood-curdling snarl erupted from him at the sight of their...well, not rescuers.

"Nice night, boys." The one who spoke was stunningly gorgeous, bowed lips painted black like her nails had been, a dark curtain of long wavy hair falling over one eye like a movie star from dated troll films. There was a beauty mark under the left corner of her mouth, but it was so perfect that it was difficult to tell if it was natural or a cosmetic addition.

"Tethys...!" Mako growled at her.

Her violet eyes cast over him like he was something amusing she'd just missed sinking one of her shiny black stiletto heels into. The girl standing next to her was, by process of elimination, Nereid. A smaller seadweller with a more pixie-ish figure and look about her, with freckling purple patterns on her forehead and ear fins, and an almost naturally pouty mouth. No sign of Ophion, thankfully.

"I've waited so long for this, dear Mako," Tethys cooed, drawing out her 's's until they hissed between her teeth. Something sleek and pale slithered near her feet--her lusus, a giant sea-viper with a head as thick as Oberos' torso. It hissed, tongue flicking out as if in anticipation of what the two trolls on the ground might taste like.

[10/26/2013 6:35:50 AM] Zeda: Oberos was startled when he found not only himself, but Mako being lifted that final foot or so out of the well, and as soon as he felt the threatening rattle of his matesprit's chest against his spine he knew with even more grave certainty that they were facing their enemies now. Once he had solid dirt beneath him he coiled into a more defensive position, planting his sopping wet boots on the ground and lifting his arms defensively, keeping Mako at his back and staunchly separated from the other seadwellers by the shield of his own body. The female with the long hair was gorgeous, there was no mistaking that, a beauty on-par with Sairen... but Oberos' favourable observations began and ended right there, and all he saw before him was a vile bitch of an enemy. When the snake hissed he did it right back, no matter how out-manned and cornered they were. He was only a cerulean, and a deeply unimpressive pale-blooded one at that- but he was at least capable of speed great enough that he drew his syringes again before anyone had the chance to cut him off.

While he may have been quick enough that Tethys and Nereid hadn't yet had the opportunity to react, the huge sea snake lusus had far quicker reflexes than its charge seemed to possess, and for just a fraction of an instant Oberos and the massive snake locked eyes like combatants in a ring before the ivory creature's muscles coiled, too fast to be more than simply perceived- and then it surged forward, maw open wide as it struck. Oberos wasn't in much of a position to dodge with Mako's weight lashed against his back, but his body performed far more favourably when he only demanded sudden surges of energy and speed from himself. He jerked harshly to the side, missing the snake's bite by inches and, in that instant, recognizing that the creature had only meant to strike HIM in a very dismissive, 'get this unnecessary land dweller out of the way' sort of manner.

His hand whipped out and he stuck the snake in the eye with one of his syringes, injecting it and withdrawing with a quick snap. The entire exchange took place with such speed that it was almost too easy to miss what had happened even as the snake reeled back and thrashed unhappily. Had he swatted it? Stabbed it?

[10/26/2013 6:49:48 AM] Samlet Bird Hamlet: Tethys let out an enraged shriek when her lusus took the hit, stepping forward but immediately retreating to avoid its muscular coils as it thrashed through the poison eating into its brain.

Her face went white with rage, and she pulled her whipkind out in a flash, cracking it sharply as she hissed, "You--you--” But, she couldn't seem to find a word insulting enough for what she thought of him. Still, though, without that lusus their chances seemed much improved. Oberos had his long-range specibus, after all, and unless things had changed, Tethys and Nereid had a whip and a pole-arm?

"Not so fast..." a husky voice murmured in Oberos' ear, cool lips and cooler breath a deceptively soft caress as a thin arm circled around the blueblood's chest with surprising strength. Oberos felt the kiss of cold metal as Ophion's curved dagger fit itself against his throat.

Tethys' mask of outrage quickly reorganized itself into a sneer of victory as she saw the grip Ophion had on Oberos, and she tossed her hair as she said, "I was wondering where you'd got to."

Behind them, Mako shifted, getting shakily to his knees. Oberos couldn't turn to look at him from his position, but if he had he'd be able to tell immediately that his matesprit wasn't in any condition to fight, despite the rapier he fumbled to pull out of his strife deck.

[10/26/2013 7:25:59 AM] Zeda: For just a moment there, Oberos had managed to taste the sweetness of victory on the very tip of his tongue, his eyes flickering rapid-fire between the snake lusus as it curled and writhed helplessly in the face of its agony, and the two female trolls as they drew their weapons and readied for combat with him. He was by no means powerful, but he could gauge the odds here as he reached up and rapidly undid the tie on the blanket holding Mako against him, freeing his new matesprit to either keep a safe distance or fight alongside him, if he was able. The whip and the pole arm were both mid-range, so Mako would have a bit of a challenge against either one, but he could hang back and shoot them down with his crossbow, and--

Oberos went still as he felt the blade against his throat, his eyes losing their focus as he became aware of the body pressing in close against him now. He was shocked that he could have missed Ophion's presence, since even given the seadweller's famous stealth he had so-far felt that he did a better job of noticing his presence than most. Well, he'd probably been kidding himself all along, it seemed. He would have bartered his own life for Mako's if it held any value in these circles, but instead he bared his teeth and didn't make a sound, refusing to loosen his grip on the syringe remaining in his hand even though he knew that he didn't have a chance of striking Ophion down before the troll simply exerted a bit of pressure on his throat and killed him.

Nereid and Tethys, apparently satisfied that the distraction had been done away with, seemed far more intent on the clearly vulnerable and swaying form of their one-time acquaintance, and while Nereid wanted to scold the tyrian for ruining the black quadrant she had worked so tirelessly to maintain, she seemed to believe that Tethys had first dibs on the right to call Mako out for all of the quadrants he had ruined, toppling the elegantly simple and powerful links that held their tumultuous little group together one by one until they found themselves here now, with three of their number dead and the rest of the survivors turning on their traitor and his new lapdog.

"After everything that happened, was Anceri really that easy to replace?" Even knowing that Tethys had the right to speak first, Nereid couldn't help but squeeze in her piece. After all, it looked like Makoen would be dead any minute, and she wanted to berate him properly first. "She may have been an insufferable bitch, but you've gotten over her far too easily. Or is the lowblood something different to you?"

She stepped forward and made a sharp, sweeping motion with her pole arm, knocking the rapier from Mako's hands. It was almost insultingly easy... but, then again, he WAS still struggling under the weight of a poisoning from Ophion.

[10/26/2013 3:07:35 PM] Samlet Bird Hamlet: Mako growled as his rapier was knocked from his still stiff fingers, but he didn't say anything. It was too difficult to get and words out through the rage but he knew he didn't want to make himself look like a fool by saying something stupid. Not when he was already shaking a little with dread. He hoped it looked like the effort of sitting upright. At least he had the benefit of experience; being poisoned by Ophion once before would let him know what coming out of it felt like and how long it would take. Even though that didn't help him now.

When Nereid called Anceri a 'bitch', Ophion's grip on Oberos' middle tightened just a bit, as if he'd flinched at the insult. Dissension in the ranks maybe?

"They smell like each other..." he murmured against the cerulean's ear, still uncomfortably close enough for his lips to brush against Oberos with each word. "Matesprits..."

Tethys laughed, high and loud like a cackle, and there was nothing attractive about that sound. She regarded Oberos with renewed interest, a coldly calculating smile on her face now, even though her words were still pure saccharine when she spoke, "Well...that's sort of perfect, isn't it? We'll...all be even won't we? Full circle. You killed my moirail and my matesprit, and I'll kill yours. THEN I'll kill you. Too perfect..."

Mako balked slightly, about the same time Oberos felt Ophion's body tense. Tethys had thrown it out there so casually, it almost seemed a little unreal but.

"You--you killed Anceri?!" Mako demanded, eyes even more wild than they had been a moment ago.

[10/26/2013 4:12:09 PM] Zeda: Every movement of Ophion's lips as he spoke was another soft stroke against the shell of Oberos' ear, and the more he said the more that subtle contact made the blueblood's skin crawl, a shudder worming its way down his spine as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on-end. He was unable to move with the blade at his throat, but his robotic optics darted towards Mako and he gritted his teeth tightly as the sword was knocked from his hopelessly twitching hand. He felt every fibre of his being surge up against the blade at his neck, his skin alive with the need to MOVE so that he could defend Mako from the others even though some dimly-lit part of his mind was more than aware of how gravely outclassed he was.

Despite his hissing and straining against Ophion's tight grip, he didn't miss the timing on the tightening of the grip at his waist, going silent then. He hadn't appreciated it when Nereid referred to Anceri as a 'bitch.' He knew that Anceri was Mako's former moirail, the female troll against whom he had been quietly measuring himself throughout his short tenure as the seadweller's pale, but what had Mako said about the others? She had been the auspistice keeping Ophion and the troll whose corpse he'd eaten from entering into an unhealthy kismesissitude, and without her it was obvious even to him what sort of terrible damage had been inflicted on the smaller seadweller. He swallowed thickly, feeling the blade bob slightly against his neck as his mind raced over all of this. Dissension in the ranks indeed, and he already knew that Ophion found his devotion to Mako to be genuinely romantic, so perhaps there was something here that he could use to their advantage...

He almost missed Tethys' bold assertion, his mind was so wrapped-up in worries about the poisoned blade holding him hostage and the shuddering in Mako's limbs as he faced down his enemies. Would she really be even? Mako had only murdered his kismesis because he believed the man to be responsible for the death of his moirail, but if he hadn't been responsible for that, then all of the dominoes had been set to fall by a very different hand. He didn't understand what she would have believed her motives to be, but he shut his eyes briefly and ran it through his head. Her moirail... yes, the seadweller he'd eaten. The one who attacked Mako, and who had been the abusive kismesis of the troll now tensed against his back. She'd killed Anceri, or at the least gotten her killed, so that she could make room for her moirail to bed who he wanted. She'd killed someone dear to both Mako and Ophion so that she could open up the latter for abuse, and then Mako had misaimed his fury and... it made sense. It was a convoluted and horrific chain of events, but it made sense. While Mako was practically thrumming with fresh rage and Ophion felt as though he'd locked-up against his spine like a vice, Oberos felt strangely, surreally calm all of a sudden. Yes, he understood.

Nereid looked towards Tethys, cocking an eyebrow at the other female. "Is that so?" She was unhappy that someone else had stolen the rights to ending her kismesis' life, of course. After all, by right of black romance Anceri had been HER rival, and no one else ought to have laid claim to her life before she was good and ready to dispose of her. But, now that she thought about it... if Anceri was truly that pathetic, then she probably hadn't been a worthy kismesis to begin with. Nereid pursed her full lips and shook her head at Tethys, but it was much more a gesture that communicated exasperation with a naughty pupa than rage at an interloper on one's own quadrant. Tethys had been naughty, but not so much so that Nereid couldn't consider it water under the bridge. "How rude of you, not to let me in on it sooner. But, I suppose it doesn't matter, really. She's dead whatever way it happened." She returned her focus to Mako, utterly uninterested in Oberos now that Tethys had essentially claimed rights to ending her life. At least she could end Mako's, and afford herself some vengeance for the sweeps spent as custodian to a black quadrant that he ultimately ended out of his own boorish idiocy. "It just means that Makoen finally wrecked the blackrom, that I spent all that time cultivating, for even MORE foolish reasons than I thought before. Really, Mako, taking revenge on the wrong troll... I always KNEW that you hated him too much for a proper kismesissitude."

Oberos tilted his head just slightly, turning his metallic eyes much more so than his head so that he could look at Ophion. He didn't say anything, but the flat line of his mouth interrupted only by his protruding fangs and the calm, quiet look that he gave him communicated the fact that he was waiting. He was perfectly, bizarrely poised at the edge of this precipice and he was only waiting for Ophion to react.

[10/26/2013 4:33:14 PM | Edited 4:39:04 PM] Samlet Bird Hamlet: When Ophion finally did react, the two female seadwellers hardly noticed at first. He took the blade away from Oberos' throat, standing up slowly. His expression was almost wild, made even more so by the stark contrast it had to his normally impassive facade. When Tethys finally noticed him, she looked at him incredulously.

"You're the reason Novall is dead," Ophion said coldly. He raised his knife as if he planned to throw it at Tethys.

She sneered at him, though she eyed the knife he had raised. "The first time in your life you show some backbone, and it's over this? Makoen was the one who killed him. You saw him do it right? Besides, if you betray us now, you'll have no one. Even YOU can understand that, right?"

She spoke to him as if she thought he was stupid. Just a little pawn who had stepped out of line. He threw the knife, and Tethys had halfway move to dodge it before she realized he'd thrown it at an unsuspecting Nereid, who hadn't been prepared for it, and it clipped through her jugular like butter. Purple blood spurted out from the wound and Nereid dropped, gasping and floundering in bewilderment.

"I would rather have no one, than have you," Ophion replied with almost serene calm now as he watched Nereid bleed out.

Tethys stared at Ophion for a moment, every line of her body written with shocked anger. She cracked her whip at him, but instead of flinching away like he had with the crossbow bolt, Ophion raised an arm, letting the stinging leather coil around his forearm where he gripped the tight to the barb on the end. She tugged on the handle, but he didn't let go.

Makoen stood up, and picked up his rapier, slicing through the whip with an expert flick of his wrist. Tethys stumbled backward and fell, carried by her own force, and Mako limped almost calmly toward her.

[10/27/2013 1:07:47 AM | Edited 1:22:03 AM] Zeda: As it all began to unfold around him Oberos felt like little more than a spectator, sitting there on the ground with no option but to watch as the final act in a long and brutal play drew towards its close. He supposed that he should have felt a bit worthless in this situation, slipping quietly to his feet as Nereid dropped to the ground and writhed the last of her life away and just watching as Ophion and Mako disarmed their sole remaining enemy, but this was how it was SUPPOSED to be. If he understood the situation correctly, then those two had been wronged more than enough to deserve whatever vengeance they wrought on the female seadweller now that they had her cornered.

He stepped forward only so that he could get a good look at her, his robotic eyes half-hooded as he tilted his chin slightly upward and regarded her with cold disinterest. She was as good as dead already, scrambling to get to her feet again, and though he still held one last needle in his hand he did not believe that it would be needed now.

[10/27/2013 1:18:25 AM | Edited 1:18:40 AM] Samlet Bird Hamlet: Ophion dropped the half of the whip he'd held, welts from the strike already rising on his arm, but he barely noticed them. He shook his hand out, his own blood flecking the grass where the barb on the end of the whip had bitten into his palm. He could feel the venom it had been laced with, and after a second he sat down hard, though the action when unnoticed by Mako, who was advancing on Tethys as she scrambled backwards.

"I'm popular you know--!" she said, looking like she was starting to panic. "I'll have more friends who come after you!"

"I somehow doubt that," Mako said coldly. "Or I imagine they'd be here with you right now."

Tethys had time for her bottom lip to tremble prettily, maybe in a last effort to garner mercy, before Mako dipped down in perfect fencer's form and thrust the tip of his new rapier perfectly between her ribs and into her heart so cleanly that the blade came out with barely any blood on it. He stepped back from her as she crumpled limply onto the grass and went still.

[10/27/2013 2:17:49 AM | Edited 2:19:01 AM] Zeda: It seemed fitting to Oberos that after all of the lives that had been lost, after all of the tragedy that had been set in-motion by a single act on the part of a selfish and short-sighted seadweller, nobody but Mako himself really seemed to be paying her any mind when she finally crumpled against the dirt and died. Nereid's convulsions had long since ceased by now, and in comparison Tethys' death was almost mercifully immediate, her life cut off abruptly by a single quick flick of Mako's newly-smithed blade. Instead of watching her die, Oberos had long since diverted his attention to the seadweller who had moments ago been holding a blade against his throat, kneeling beside him as his robotic optics flickered over his sagging form. His arm was bloodied, and by now certainly swollen. Of course he could tell that the barbs on Tethys' whip had been tipped with venom, but Oberos had no way of knowing whether or not Ophion could cope with it. He knew that he wielded a pair of venomous weapons, but that by no means indicated any immunity to venom on HIS part. He wanted to ask if there was anything he could do for him, since although the troll had thrown Mako down a well and threatened him with a blade, and done all manner of wrong here he was somehow... not angry with him.

However, he had his priorities, and while Oberos harboured no hard feelings towards Ophion he most certainly granted him little more than a long, concerned look before he diverted his focus towards Mako, making his way over to the tyrian's side and reaching out for him.

"Mako..." Until a moment ago he had been under the impression that, for better or worse, he had reaped some kind of vengeance in Anceri's name. However, now... he quite simply knew differently. Tethys still lay dead at their feet, her corpse bleeding out into the cool soil and representing that Mako had finally avenged Anceri, but Novall was still dead and the situation could very well be a bit overwhelming, even to someone who had NOT been suffering from the effects of a paralytic agent. "You've done well. Nobody will bother you anymore." He wanted to say 'us,' but this had been Mako's burden and his alone long before he ever came to shoulder it alongside him. He wrapped his arms around the tyrianblood from behind, not attempting to divert his attention from Tethys' body as he drew him in against his chest and pressed his nose against his dark, damp hair, trying to comfort one or both of them with the contact.

[10/27/2013 2:34:18 AM] Samlet Bird Hamlet: Mako leaned into the embrace, closing his eyes with a tired sigh. He felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders, the burden getting lighter the more of Tethys' blood spilled out to stain the ground. He had never liked her, or even gotten along with her, but he'd never have thought she could be so short-sighted as to do something that would directly result in the death of her own matesprit. Had she wanted Novall dead too? It was only speculation at this point, they'd never really know. At least now Anceri's memory could finally get some peace.

He returned his rapier to his strife deck and turned around to kiss Oberos gently, mindful of the other troll's teeth. In an exhausted tone, the seadweller said, "Let's go home..."

Ophion wasn't much more than an afterthought, but when they turned to look for him, he had disappeared again.

[10/27/2013 3:28:05 AM] Zeda: As Mako exhaled, Oberos could swear that he felt the tension draining out of his body, flowing out of muscles that had been drawn taut with nervous anticipation and anger for what could very well be the first time since he had known him. Mako had, after all, finally been liberated. This entire, horrible string of events had begun for him when Anceri passed away, and it was obvious that until this very moment the tyrianblood hadn't experienced real, staying relief from the situation. To finally find himself rid of his enemies, well... Oberos could only imagine how grateful he must be, and as Mako turned and kissed him softly he just closed his eyes and kissed him in return, reaching up so that he could run his fingers through his matesprit's hair.

"Yes. Let's go home."

Oberos had meant to turn and see to Ophion as soon as he was able to make certain that Mako was okay, so as he parted from Mako's soft, full lips and turned his head to regard the other seadweller his expression dampened with confusion at the realization that the two of them were now alone. Although he had hurt Mako and was not strictly an ally, Oberos couldn't help the fact that he was concerned. However, even as he cast a last look at the bloodied grounds around the well and at the dark cover of the trees beyond, the sky overhead taking on the palest warm tint as the dreaded morning began to close in, Oberos felt with some degree of certainty that the other seadweller wasn't going to die out here of poisoning in the middle of the woods. There was no telling if they would ever cross paths again, or even if they SHOULD, but... it didn't feel to him like he could possibly be dead yet.

And as long as his instincts were telling him not to worry about Ophion, Oberos saw no reason not to devote his attention to Mako once more. He offered his matesprit another soft, brief kiss to the cheek as he began to steer them in the direction of Mako's half-submerged hive, one arm slipping around Mako's waist so that he could support him as he tilted his head in against the tyrian's, temple-to-temple, a soft gesture of comfort.

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