What am I to you?

What am i to you? Am I nothing?

[sephxemmettxinspo]

Since the fires had moved to destroy his peoples home, Darius’ emotions had become a roller coaster. Ranging from optimism to pure rage, he’d finally gone to settle somewhere in between. A stone cold expression had seemed suitable, while words could bite or sooth just about any situation.

It was Draugur who spotted the crumpled body against the ground first. Darius likely would have paid him little mind otherwise, but the creature seemed persistent, and after a moments hesitation, he moved to stand before the man, arms crossing over his chest into a frown. “Get up and go back to the village. We’re still rounding up survivors, and it isn’t going to do you any good sitting out here alone. Not if people start hunting for those who haven’t returned and question their loyalties. Go.”

[tamathegrounder-blog]

Tama shook on the ground. They're here. He's here. I knew it. He shook his head, shuffling back away from the man towering over him. After Lilith he expected to be stronger but everything had just caught up with him. He could run away to his home, he thinks he know how to get there. Maybe they will accept him again. Even being shunned by his family will be better than bleeding for a village where he means nothing.

"NO." he said through tears with a croaked voice. "I'm not going back." He has the opportunity whether Neo comes or not. He has the chance to get something more, only he wasn't sure how. Tama dreamed about this man once. He remembers the back of his head as his own exhausted legs failed to carry him. Tama prayed he hadn't looked into the future that night.

[tamathegrounder-blog]

Tama crawled trough the forest, his dirt covered body making him look beastly, his hair matted to his face awkwardly and if it wasn't for the dried tear marks on his face someone could swear he was an animal. How could she have done that? How could Neo have watched him fly through the air. He could feel the bile rise from his belly at just the image. As he vomited by a tree he could feel the sobs wrack his chest again, the familiar rattle and coolness on his cheeks. 

Drawing his knees up to his chest he hoped he wouldn't see Neo for a while, not until either of them calm down. She had been demented. Her eyes no longer his own. Tama shook his head just thinking about it. Then he wasn't alone, another person was near, he saw them even through the tears. They've finally found me. They were going to drag him back kicking and screaming like the time they first caught him. He could already feel the tightness of a rope pinching his wrists as a horse trotted before him. Perhaps it was the only way.

[tamathegrounder-blog]

The Fallen Flower|| Flashback

[fearlessanastasia-deactivated20]

"It’s for power, a tactic to force your people into doing whatever it is they wish", she spoke thoughtfully. She plopped down onto the ground beneath her as she decided he wasn’t posing any immediate threat. "Make you a slave to prove some point, use you as leverage… You know you just have to gain their trust, and when the opportunity come you run, you know where you home is right?"

[tamathegrounder-blog]

"A slave?" His stomach dropped and his heart sunk. He remember his own clan having a few but they were always treated fairly and were more so just serving that humanless. He was hoping that he would be treated like they had been. He finished the bowl and handed it back to her. "So... you're saying don't fight them?" But didn't he have to show them he was more than just a coward. Didn't he have to show them they couldn't just stand on him still he stops moving. Didn't he have to fight? "Then I can run away? What if they catch me... won't it be worse?"

[tamathegrounder-blog]

The Fallen Flower|| Flashback

[fearlessanastasia-deactivated20]

It was times like these that she was so thankful she was able to live alone, no one to question what was going on or what on earth she thought she was doing. She watched him gulp down the soup, retrieving the bowl and refilling it before returning it to him along with a small loaf of bread. She ignored his thanks entirely, justifying it would mean something awful to her.Her eyebrows arching as she spoke, “that must be why they took you…” She dropped closer to him, her voice a disgusted whisper, “people seem so cruel”.

[tamathegrounder-blog]

"I don't understand why, I can't fight, I'm not even a warrior yet." He said in between mouthfuls of bread and soup. He liked this soon to be leader, she understood that people were horrible. As a boy he thought everyone loved him- how could they not? He was the son of the leader. He was important to his people...so how did he end up a hostage? "What do you think they'll do with me?" He asked.

[tamathegrounder-blog]

The Fallen Flower|| Flashback

[fearlessanastasia-deactivated20]

She laughed, bemused at the boy’s confidence, and somewhat impressed by his will. She grabbed a rag and wiped the spit from her cheek, eyeing him curiously, “don’t do that”. She stood and poured some of the soup into a carved bowl, bringing it back to the boy and reaching it out towards him. “Here, you must be hungry”. She sat on the floor in front of him and tried her best to seem somewhat warm, “someday I’ll be the leader of this clan”.

[tamathegrounder-blog]

He eyed her through thin eyelids. Who was she and why did she rescue him- or was she just tricking him. He watched as she poured soup into the bowl, his stomach growling and his mouth watering at the mere sight of it. Even still he hesitantly grabbed it from her, smelling it before he made any real decisions. But she looked warm and she said she was going to be the leader one day so, for some unknown reason, a small part of him trusted he. Not even bothering to use the spoon he drank it as if it were water. Big gulps as some spilled down the front of him. "Thank you." he said without so much of a thought, his old habits kicking in. He wished he hadn't said it because he was angry. "I am the son of a Chief- a leader." He offered, hoping the information will make his life easier or they will realize and send him home. Hopefully.

[mieuxperdu]

Cross Your Fingers| Tama & Neo

[mieuxperdu]

She pulled one of the buckets from his hands, in an attempt to show some kind of positive emotion. She looked over to him, unsure exactly what to say to him. What did she want exactly. There was always honesty, she had very few friends and the the two people she thought she had seemed never to be around. On top of that she couldn’t help but feel drawn to the fact that perhaps this boy might be familiar with what she was feeling. The words she spoke felt truthful as they passed her lips, “what I want is to be far away from here, but that’s not going to happen, so I figured I’d talk to you”.

[tamathegrounder-blog]

"Why would you want to talk to me?" He hadn't asked questions so liberally in so long. It felt good to know he could address her when he wanted with a slap to the face. As he walked towards the well, only one bucket in tow now, he wondered why a small girl would run after him. Maybe she knew who he was. Perhaps she can help escape back to his mother, see his Chief father and tell him he didn't mean to get kidnapped. Maybe they can do it together. It was nice to know she wanted to run away too but he couldn't understand why she would want to.

[mieuxperdu]

Cross Your Fingers| Tama & Neo

[mieuxperdu]

She automatically crossed her arms at the boys tone, “you don’t have to sound so excited”. It took her a moment for her to remember that this boy had every right to be slightly contrary, he had every right to be furious. She walked closer to him as her tone softened, “I just thought maybe you’d like some company”.

She examined the boys face, searching it for some sign as to why he deserved to be kept like this. Perhaps there was something hiding beneath the surface that could explain this, if she only looked a little closer, “I’m Neo”.

[tamathegrounder-blog]

The young boy picked up his buckets and swung them beside him in boredom. When she introduced herself, he was wary that it was a trick but she looked innocent and they were so far into the woods that it couldn't  possibly. He wondered if he should just turn away and carry on his way.

But he replied regardless. "Tama." He looked at her curiously, she seemed different to the rest of them but maybe that was because she looked like the same age as him. "what do you want?"

[tamathegrounder-blog]

The Fallen Flower|| Flashback

[fearlessanastasia-deactivated20]

She watched curiously from the small fenced in area where they practiced hand to hand combat, seeing as the boy kicked and screamed while they pulled him into the camp. She knew what this was, he was some child they had taken from a clan or nomad, some child ripped from their family. 

There had been whispers for weeks that at the duties ceremony she would be named the next leader, she didn’t doubt it. The only thought racing through her mind, I would never let this happen. She already had a certain power over the members of the clan, even at this age. She stepped forward, “give the boy to me Naj, I will take him from here… Kiera says I should practice”. The guard nodded kindly at her, she grabbed the boy by his arms dragging him towards her hut. Once they had entered she crouched down before him, her voice a whisper, “you’d do better not to fight it, it’ll make it easier for you to run away later”.

[tamathegrounder-blog]

He spat and cursed his kidnappers, they strong arms easily holding down. He was almost thankful when the arms changed to kinder ones. But that didn't stop him from cursing and resisting. She dragged into a hut but he didn't take much mind. The girl before him wasn't like the others but she wasn't warm either.

Tama fell to the ground, his knees scraping on the hard floor. He glared her down, showing he was strong as she crouched before him whispering. He would fight. He was the son of a chief. He had every right ever right to leave. They couldn't keep him here. He spat in her face, refusing to acknowledge what she said.

[mieuxperdu]

Cross Your Fingers| Tama & Neo

Neo had found herself watching the young boy from her hut for the better part of the afternoon. She remembered the way he had fought when they’d brought him here, but now he seemed much more approachable. Still she couldn’t help but find the fight he had had intriguing.  She remembered what it was like to be afraid, but still she held on to hope that someday her parents would return, she imagined this boy wanted to someday be reunited with his family as well. She  waited until she saw the boy head off into the woods to most likely fetch water, throwing on her jacket before heading off into the woods behind him. She ran to catch up to the boy until she could see his head bobbing up ahead, “hey, hey!”

[mieuxperdu]

[tamathegrounder-blog]

Tama had been in the village long enough to learn that his place was silent, and that fighting only made everything worse. Once he accepted he didn't want more pain it seemed a lot better. They ordered him to get water so he did but not without an eye roll and a groan. 

Sulking with a couple of buckets to the well just outside the village he was startled when he heard a voice call after him. Did he forget something? He spun around, surprised to see a small blonde girl. She always looked lonely bu it was never his business. They told him not to ask questions but that didn't mean he wanted to. "What do you want?" He said brassily. 

[tamathegrounder-blog]

The Fallen Flower|| Flashback

As a young boy Tama hadn't taken kindly to rough hands dragging him away from all the things he was familiar with. A child he had wanted to be a warrior, the greatest one the Sea Clan had ever seen. One day he would be leader. He would be Chief. 

The rough hands held him now and the angry boy kicked and screamed, yelling as his messy curls fell into his eyes. The threw him to the dirt, kicking him, spitting on him. He didn't understand. One moment he had been in the arms of his mother now he was entering a village he didn't recognize with faces staring back at him. Tama kicked and screamed some more, his yelling echoing off the side off huts. He refused to go down without a fight, a warrior never yields, they stand strong and don't give. Not for anyone.

[mieuxperdu]

Fallout || Tama, Neo and Grey

[mieuxperdu]

The boy being pushed off of her came to a relief, as air flooded her lungs once again and she began to coughing. The sound of it was horrid as she curled onto her side, but it was a reminder that she could breathe, that she was alive. Her weak head peeked up as she saw the boy knock her rescuer over. She was filled with regret for her crusade when she saw those familiar curls. He had seen it all, or at least enough of it for him to see what she had become. It brought her shame that now she would cause him pain, after this she would certainly run as far away as possible, where she could hurt no one but herself. When she saw the boy move towards Tama she called out to him, pulling herself to her feet, “it’s really not fair to leave in the middle of a game”.

Grey tossed the added attacker to the side, grinning when he saw that it was the grounder who had once threatened him. The boy that sat huddled somewhere in his shadows winced at the vivid thoughts that flashed through his imagination. All this boy wanted was to protect this girl, and now he would destroy him. He sauntered towards him, fists ready, when he turned to face the sound of the girls voice. He bent over picking up the knife, holding it tightly as he made his way towards the girl, “you weren’t making it very fun”.

[tamathegrounder-blog]

The knife glinted in the golden sun and he knew he had to do something. He'd never killed anyone before but he figured he could probably make and exception for Neo. If it meant freedom and peace and hope, he could do it. He thinks at least. Looking around him for a log or something heavy to smack him over the head with, all he could see was the charred forest and nothing to help him. His heart sunk. Raising his own fists and scrambling to his feet he'd never felt so terrified in his life not even when he was kidnapped. "Leave us alone." He tried to sound strong but it came out as a pitiful croak. Surely he wouldn't make it through this.

[losingtherace]

Shifting uncomfortably, something that was quite uncharacteristic for the girl, Lilith turned back to the other— looking at him in disbelief.  ”That’s what I am trying to give you.”  She replied, unused to being called by her name when it came to the other.

"You may leave and have your freedom, but don’t waste your time on second chances if you plan on presenting them to the likes of me.  You might as well be giving a gunman another bullet because they missed you the first time."

Pain wasn’t exactly something Lilith wanted to cause the other, but it was addictive and therapeutic— almost inevitable in a way.  If she wanted to put an end to the pain, to keep from becoming her uncle, she had to ruin all of her chances of hurting the other right then and there…  whether she was happy about it she wasn’t or not.

[tamathegrounder-blog]

He wanted to hurt her but thinking about it only made him feel worse. For years he had dreamt of the moment when he'd finally be free from her ice cold grasp and he would go on living his life. Now that it was here and he was facing it head on, he wasn't sure what to do exactly. Tama had been so angry, so dead set on being strong and stoic but he could feel the slump of his shoulders returning. He needed to at least know she would be okay.

"Lilith, I forgive you." His eyes wide and true, the makings of tears pricking the corners of his eyes. Never once had he held a grudge and he didn't want her nightmares haunting his own dreams. Not anymore. Not when they both had an opportunity for freedom. "It's okay."

[mieuxperdu]

Fallout || Tama, Neo and Grey

[mieuxperdu]

She felt the blade pressed to her throat, her eyes widening up at the boy on top of her, his knees pinning her painfully to the ground. Suddenly she was back on the icy ground and her wet hair stuck to her forehead, her body shivered from the icy water as his words reached into her soul and ripped something from her.

Grey tossed the knife away his hands grasping the girls thin neck and he smiled as she gasped for air once again, her chest heaving as she searched for oxygen. “You know I’d love to play, but I’m on a bit of a deadline. You see I’m really tired of this pesky humanity thing”. 

[tamathegrounder-blog]

Tama moved his feet as fast as he could but he felt as if he was wadding through water, as if the hands around her neck was getting tighter with each step. What had cemmeted him out of fear was now throwing him onto her attacker. His strong shoulders slamming into Grey as he pushed him off her, hoping it gave her time to at least get her breath back. But he could see it in her eyes. He could see that that wouldn't be enough. She wanted revenge and it twisted his stomach into knots, terrified of her as wrestled with the other boy. But Tama wasn't strong enough, not when he had no energy, and he was easily thrown to the side. Coughing up dirt, he tried his best to not fear to not worry she was coming after him next. 

[gifs-and-sorts]

[tamathegrounder-blog]

The evoloution of Tama of the sea clan

[mieuxperdu]

Fallout || Tama, Neo and Grey

She felt it in her stomach, like nothing she had known before there was a rage that seemed to be boiling over. Everything was wrong, the universe was wrong and justice didn’t exist. The one thing that had pushed her through her worst days was the knowledge -the fictional fact- that the universe would always right itself. When her mother and father went missing, she had found the woods clan. When that boy had tried to break her she had found Tama. Now she was realizing that the universe wanted nothing more than her destruction, the girl who had found her had beaten her bloody and the man that she loved was tortured. 

The only Justice there would be for Neo was the one that she exacted.

Read More

[tamathegrounder-blog]

Tama had noticed the shift in tension and mood before he noticed it. Neo's shoulders raising as he saw the hairs on her neck stand on end. It happened so quickly, before he knew it Neo's face was ravaged and hungry for revenge and he was left watching in awe. By no means did he like Grey, in fact he was certain if he ever did anything else to her he would blind him.

He watched as she pulled the knife from her belt, too shocked to move, too scared to help. Tama didn't even notice he was holding his breath until he saw the look in her eye. It wasn't the Neo he knew. She had gone and something horrible had been replaced. Tama thanked the stars that he hadn't been on the other end. He couldn't move, it was as if he had been cemented to the ground, forced to watch by the gods who had disowned him.

He felt sick as his finger reached up to her lips- Tama had kissed them and he couldn't imagine it ever again. "Neo-" His voice sounding out of place iamong the tense atmosphere. He hoped he could snap her out of it, tell her this wasn't her, tell her that no matter how much she was hurting violence was not going to work. It was only then he realized that he may actually be afraid of her,

[tamathegrounder-blog]

[tamathegrounder-blog]

His curls fell in his eyes when he shook his head, what was left was sticking to the staling sweat on his forehead. “There is nothing to worry about. Just some cuts and bruises.” He lied a little. He was used to some pain, able to push the feeling of seeping blood from his...

[tamathegrounder-blog]

"I'm just so glad you're here and we've found each other," he said pressing his forehead to hers. It wasn't often that he was so soppy with another and yet it felt like he'd never feltore at home before. "We should runaway." It came as a shock to even him that'd he even suggest it. Tama just wanted to put everything behind him. Find a new life as a free man. A new life with her.

[losingtherace]

Lilith couldn’t help the way her stomach seemed to sink following the other’s words.  He had finally been given the chance to leave, but upon it merely cared about the insults she thrusted onto others.  Part of her was bitter that all the ex-slave cared to say was in order to correct her words; another part of her screamed: "Who could blame him?"

"I was referring to their kind as a whole."  She said simply, teeth pulling at her bottom lip as she listened to the other continue.  The grounder knew the words were meant to be sincere, but also that they were still empty, whether or not he was aware of it.  "I believe in second chances."  Lilith began in a soft voice that was still somehow different from the light teasing one she typically used with the other.  

"I just don’t believe everyone deserves them…"  She then finished, turning to look over her shoulder at the taller of the two.

[tamathegrounder-blog]

Had he finally won? His heart beat so loud he could hardly even hear what she was saying, a lumping forming in his throat. If he was winning, why did he feel so bad about it. It didn't feel right to have said such horrible things even though he knew he had to do it to be strong. Tama had to. 

He wondered if she meant she didn't deserve one or she was just referring to himself again. It made him feel sick that she would think that about herself. In the past he may not have liked what she did to him, and he may have nightmares about it every night, but that doesn't mean you can't be redeemed. He was sure even someone as spiritless as himself could be capable of happiness. "Everyone deserves freedom, Lilith." He used her name, trying to strip away his slave disciplines. He could be a free man, but he couldn't let her suffer more, even if it meant he had to help his nightmare.