.::{Ro & Ap} :: A Continued Story ::~Love Doesn't Always Have a Happy Ending~::. CAMEO by Leu!

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Continued from pms
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Dominik's guilt built as he saw the pain and anxiety grow in Sai's eyes, but there was truly nothing they could do at this point. Veyr couldn't go back, Sai would probably never let her leave her sight again, and he would be lonely beyond measure. Again feeling incredibly selfish, he nodded calmly even as Sai seemed to threaten him if he harmed her sister. "Trust me, Sai, if I or anyone else ever harmed my beloved, I would never forgive myself. You have my word that if anything happens to her, I will come to you and let you do what you please." He swallowed hard, hating the thought of anything happening to Veyr. It was an unacceptable idea. Her place would be with him, by his side, for the rest of their lives. (Luckily enough, both elves and Avians had extended life cycles, which meant they would grow old at the same rate, versus if one or the other grew up with a human).

"And we're off," he murmured, wrapping a firm arm around Veyr's waist before flapping his creamy wings powerfully and shooting off into the sky. He gave a short wave to the elf below, hoping that he hadn't made a bad decision. At the last moment he had left another token for her - a carved stone flower that he had meant to give to Veyr the last time they had met, that he had forgot about when they had... Well, he had gotten distracted. He knew that it wasn't much, but at least it was rock, and not wood, and he hoped she would find it on the stone that he had placed it on and would remember his promise to her, that he would never let anything happen to Veyr.

With a mixture of joy and worry in his heart, he turned in the direction of the night elf Ebyni's home, his happiness growing as they neared the house on the other edge of the forest. It was quite a ways, a good half-hour flight, and he talked with Veyr about what had happened on the way, each consoling the other that they had had no other choice. Even so, he couldn't completely shake his guilt.

They finally landed at the place, an old stone structure that looked more like a small castle than a mortal's home. He squeezed Veyr's hand lightly as they approached the front door, a thick, forboding wooden structure, and knocked. The sound reverberated throughout the small clearing, and he waited for the elf to appear. He readjusted the sack around his shoulders, glad to have lost the weight of the stone figurine, but also felt reassured that his gifts for the proud elf were still within. He owed her at least that much for what she was willing to do for them.

As Dominik took a hold of her waist, flaring his wings, Veyr put her own arms around his in a strong grip, knowing that she didn’t need to hold on so tightly, but if her sister was watching from the trees, she would worry if she didn’t hold on. She huffed a little of the hair that blew in her face out of the way, turning to face the wind. The sky was still beautiful, the stars glimmering in the darkness like tiny dancing fireflies, but the night had lost some of the magic that it had held before Sai had found them by the lake.

Dominik’s words were comforting, but deep inside she knew Sai was hurting, even though she could do nothing to stop it. She just hoped her sister wouldn’t tell the other elves about their forbidden relationship- Sai wasn’t the most sensible of elves, but she would surely see that this was no charade, they truly did love each other, and hopefully, hopefully it would bring the elvenkind and the Aiwenor closer together? As long as the elf didn’t do anything rash…

When they landed outside Ebyni’s, the house looking more foreboding than friendly, she uncurled her hands from Dominik’s, stretching out her fingers. They were stiff from hanging on, but she wouldn’t miss flying with him for the world. Following the avian to the door, she waited next to him as he knocked, feeling suddenly self-conscious in only her shift. Of course, she was still clutching her dress, but she didn’t want to spoil the rich fabric by getting it damp. And she would look hardly presentable if the night elf opened the door and she was halfway through putting it on…

After a few moments of standing outside the door, the wood staying firmly closed, Veyr looked up to Dominik, biting her lip.
“Maybe she’s out? Ebyni sometimes keeps strange times… Could she be in the garden somewhere?” She turned to look around the clearing, squinting through the darkness to see if she could see the other elf- But of course, her dark inky skin made it hard to see.

Guest

Dominik nodded, feeling a little foolish. Of course Ebyni would be out. She was a night elf, after all, and they weren't called that for nothing. He meandered around the side of the stone structure, towards the garden he knew was back beside the side of the castle that caught the most moonlight. Once there, he saw Ebyni's familiar dark form amongst the plants, tending to them in whatever strange way she did, with her silver hair like rippling silver water in the light of the moon. He smiled down a bit nervously at Veyr, then approached the woman.

"Don't just stand there," Ebyni suddenly said, not looking up from her work. "Come, help me pull out these weeds that are choking my foxgloves." It was as if the pair, still wet and bedraggled, appearing on the night elf's doorstep in the dead of the night was the most normal thing in the world, the way she reacted. After a moment, she looked up and gave them a slight smile, her bright eyes the same color as her hair. "I'm sure we have much to talk about, but right now the garden needs to be tended to. We can learn a lot from the plants," she continued, bending down by some small, dark flowers and gently pulling away the black weeds that threatened to overwhelm them. Dominik obeyed, reaching down to help her. "Like these weeds, there are people in our lives that we must remove in order for us to live without being strangled." Ebyni said. "Their roots may sometimes go deep," Here, she plucked out a plant with particularly long, thick roots,"but those are the ones that cause the most harm, the ones that are unwilling to let go. Do you understand?" She fell silent for a while, until the weeds were completely removed, before standing and brushing off her dark work robe. "Now, let us go inside for a drink, shall we?" Without another word, she led the way through the side door, into a large room that contained a table, fireplace, and an assortment of other furniture and shelves. She busied herself preparing a tea, motioning to the couple to sit wherever they pleased.

Soon enough, she produced three mugs, and handed each of the pair their own to drink from. She adjusted herself until she was perched facing towards them, sipping at her own drink. "Now," she said. "Would you like to tell me what you are doing soaking wet and," she raised her eyebrow at Veyr,"dressed so... unusually?"

The elf was strange, Dominik knew, but he also knew that she could be trusted with nearly anything. He explained to her what had happened, then trailed into silence, feeling the guilt rise into his chest again. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to live knowing that he had taken Veyr from her family. "I didn't know where else to go," he finished, taking a long draught of his tea. It was spicy and pleasantly sweet, and it filled him with warmth. He sat close to Veyr's side, as though afraid that if he didn't keep her close, she would vanish from his sight. Everything just felt wrong...

Ebyni listened intently to Dominik's story, wincing a little at the tell of Sai discovering them. "Alas, I was afraid that would happen eventually," she sighed, glancing down at the grains of wood in the table. "Well, better to have it done and over with than to still be fearful of it happening, I suppose." She bit her lip, pondering the situation. "You're free to stay here as long as you please," she finally said. "I only ask that you pay for your stay with work, but I'm sure that won't be an issue. I still assume you want to go ahead with the wedding, but I think that for the present, you should simply try to get used to the way your lives are going to change." She felt bad for them, but couldn't really relate. She had a relationship, yes, and it was complicated, but not in the way that Dominik and Veyr's was. Leuan was simply a free spirit, and for all she knew, off saving the world with that God-awful sword of his. The thought brought a faint smile to her lips, but she turned her attention back to the present. "You can stay upstairs in the guest bedroom. It's comfortable, and I assume you don't have any issues with sharing a room." She winked slyly. "Just remember that you are not alone in the house." They spoke for a while longer, before Ebyni took their mugs and motioned upstairs. "Go on, I'm sure Paphos will be eager to see you," she smiled, then turned to a book on the table, pouring over who-knew-what, probably some knew spells or, maybe, wedding preparation?

Dominik nodded thankfully to the elf and went with Veyr upstairs to the room she had spoke of. It was large and cozy, and he sank gratefully onto the bed, running a hand through his messy gold hair as he blew out a strangled breath. "Well, tonight didn't go exactly as planned," he muttered, sighing. He caught a glimmer from the ring on Veyr's finger, though, and a faint smile touched his lips. "At least we're together," he added softly.

Before he could say more, a dark figure bounded into the room, black with streaks of bright green. "Heello, mates!" cried a strongly accented voice, filling the room with excitement. "Eebyni just told me ye vere here, so Aye thought Aye'd stop by an' geeve ye some comp'ny!" Paphos didn't seem to register the solemn mood of the couple, and padded straight to Veyr, nuzzling his entire horse-sized body against her own. "How're ye on this fine night, eh?"

Scooping her dress into her arms a little better, Veyr followed Dominik around the side of the foreboding building, her eyes skirting over the edge of the forest warily. There could be any sort of monsters out there, the building being so secluded- but of course, she thought a little foolishly, Ebyni’s magic would protect the boundary of her house against them.

As they caught sight of the strange night elf, working amongst her garden plants, she gave a weak smile, catching sight of Dominik’s equally nervous one out of the corner of her eye. She couldn’t help but jump a little at Ebyni’s commanding words though, never really knowing what she should expect from the woman. Tucking her dress under one arm, she crouched and slowly started to untangle some bindweed from a flower trying to reach its way out of the soil. As she pulled it out of the ground, following its weaving path through the plants that were supposed to be growing, she slowed, looking down at the ground as Ebyni put her points across. The truths were painful, but she couldn’t deny them- which somehow made them all the harder to bear. She gave a small sigh and started on the next weed along, avoiding any looks the night elf might be shooting her.

She brushed the dirt off her hands when they were finished, catching her dress again as it slipped from her grasp. She left a dirty handprint on the scarlet fabric and bit her lip- for all her attempts to keep the garment clean and dry, she had failed at the last hurdle.

As they finally entered the house- or more, castle- she picked one of the chairs at the table, bunching her dress on her lap and wrapping her hands around the much that Ebyni gave her, sniffing in pleasure at the warm brew. She gingerly took a sip, a faint smile coming to her lips at the taste. It wasn’t something you found readily, outside of Ebyni’s house. She gave a deep blush at her comment about her dress, tucking a damp lock behind one ear self-consciously and taking another sip of her tea to avoid answering.

She let Dominik explain what had happened, chipping in occasionally. She finished her tea much too quickly, scalding the back of her throat and removing the one thing that could have distracted her from the conversation- although she couldn’t be distracted from it, not really. Putting the mug on the table, she gave the night elf a smile.
“Thank you for your kind offer. We’ll help out in any way you would want us to.” Ebyni certainly was being very kind, allowing them into her house like this, when normally she didn’t have company and certainly not company that stayed for any length of time in her house, unlike themselves; she could see them having to stay for a while, until they found some other safe place to be.

Veyr gave an awkward giggle at her insinuation, the tips of her ears burning. She climbed to her feet, thanking her again. Seeing the friendly acid dragon definitely was a brightening prospect. She dumped her dress in the corner of the bedroom they entered, caring little for the wrinkles it gained now. It would be tainted with memory anyway. Veyr sat on the bed next to Dominik, leaning her head against his shoulder. Whatever else happened, he would still be there, her rock in all the chaos.

“Yes… things will improve, I hope.” She murmured back. She really did hope… The thought was cut off as Paphos erupted into the room, his joy obvious in his strange speech and face. Veyr gave a slight smile as he rubbed against her, bracing herself with one hand before she stroked his shoulders, massaging the smooth scales.
“We’re okay Paphos, yourself?” she said softly, trying to stay positive.

((Sorry for any spelling mistakes/general crappiness. Writing on a time constraint doesn't give great results! Razz

))

Heavy wingbeats disturbed the peacdful air around the castle as a figure made his way towards the building. The man looked entirely human apart from the wings which originated from his back- the skin stretched over thick shoulder and back muscles melded smoothly into black feathers at the base of the two extra limbs, and the dark feathers continued until the tips of the wings, which were coloured a dark but still bright green.

Leuan smiled as he felt the slight ripple of magic which meant he had passed through the spells and wards which encircled Ebyni's castle. He didn't live there continuously, still occasionally visiting his old home and spending a lot of time travelling in the skies. He left for days occasionally, more commonly several weeks, and sometimes even a couple of months at a stretch. He hadn't been back for about three and a half weeks now, and he was sure Paphos, Ebyni's dragon, would have an enthusiastic greeting in store for him. He grimaced slightly- he had got over his initial fears of the dragon, and indeed dragons in general, but he was still uncomfortable around most and while Paphos was definitely a friend of his, he could be a little rough on occasion.

Now, Leuan hovered by a window for a second, wondering if Ebyni was upstairs or downstairs, and he peered through it to see. To his surprise, he saw Paphos, an elf and another avian inside. He shrugged and slid in through the window, giving the three of them a brief smile.
'Hey Paphos, I'm back,' he announced unnecessarily. 'And hi to you two as well,' he added, looking at the elf and the avian.
'I'm gonna go down and surprise Eb, we can catch up and get introduced in a bit.' He grinned and as he walked out, he tagged on the end:
'Nice wings.'

He quietly descended to the ground floor, approaching Ebyni from behind with the silent calmness he had learnt from years of hunting birds. When he was a couple of inches away from her, he paused for a moment before leaning forwards and wrapping his arms around her from behind.
'I'm home, Inky,' he informed her teasingly.

Guest

Dominik enveloped Veyr in his arms as she rested against his shoulder, nuzzling her hair softly as he continued to contemplate their predicament. The elves would surely be on the look for them now, even if Sai didn't tell anyone about their meeting. It would only take a day or two for people to realize that Veyr was missing, and that she hadn't left any explanation of why. They would send out search parties for days, if not weeks. At least they were safe here with Ebyni. Her home was protected by wards that made the castle-like building invisible to all those that didn't know it was there. (That was why Dominik and Veyr were able to see it - they had been there before.) None of the elvish people knew that Ebyni was there, and therefore it would be nigh on impossible to find it; there were also wards that nudged people away from the building, so none stumbled upon it by accident. Yes, they would be safe here until they knew what their next move would be.

Dominik's thoughts were interrupted by the playful dragon, and a smile crept onto his face unwittingly, even with his less than chipper mood. "Hey mate," he said, scratching Paphos under the chin. "It's nice to see another friendly face." There weren't too many of those nowadays... Actually, now that he came to think about it, his own family would be on the search sooner or later. They knew he often would disappear occasionally for a few days or even a week, but he always returned from his travels. By next week they would be keeping a closer eye on things, and another week after they would send their own scouts out. It might be a bit more difficult to hide from them. Still, the spells should hold... As long as Paphos didn't go out and give them away. "Veyr's being a bit optimistic, Paphos... We're really not doing so well at the moment. In fact, I need you to make sure you don't give away our whereabouts to anyone, no matter who they are, alright?" He knew the dragon was quite friendly with everyone and would often greet strangers as though they were old friends. It wouldn't take much for him to blurt out about his visitors, unless he was told. Dominik was certain, however, that he would keep his mouth shut now that he was told.

Another thought crossed his mind. He knew that there was another avian that often lived with Ebyni as well... Leuan? He would have to be sure to tell him about their predicament as well. And even just as he was thinking this, the man himself appeared, as if summoned by Dominik's thoughts. He had never actually met him, only heard the name from Ebyni, but he was surprised to see another Avian that wasn't of his own city. All the Avians from his home had light-colored wings - Leuan's were jet-black with an odd green marking on each end. "Sounds good," he replied to him, nodding politely. He was intrigued to get to know the man better. Leuan's last remark even brought a quiet chuckle from him. "Well, looks like we won't be the only couple in the house," he joked to Veyr. He had to admit - Paphos's positive energy was somewhat contagious. He was beginning to feel a bit better already.

Paphos nodded understandingly. Ebyni had told him before about Veyr and Dominik's relationship, and he felt terrible for the suffering they had to go through because of it. It sounded like everything was out in the open now, so he would keep his mouth shut. "Aye understand, me mouth ees shut." He perked up once more at the appearance of Leuan. "Ay, ve vere beeginnin' t' vonder where ye weent, Feethers! Eebyni'll be pleesed t' see that yer home." He gave his best dragon-grin to the Avian, then turned back to Veyr and Dominik as he left. "He can be a pain in the arse at times, but Aye think ye'll like heem, eef ye can put up vith his vanity an' attraction t' mirrors." He laughed at his own joke, then stretched. "Veell, Aye can see that yer both exhausted, so Aye think Aye'll slip down t' make sure Eb doesn't geeve Leuan too much of a hard time. Eet vas lovely t' see ye again, an' just know that eef ye need anythin' at all, don't be afraid t' ask." With one last nuzzle, he turned and padded outside, closing the door quietly behind him and leaving the two alone for the rest of the night.

Ebyni was still browsing through a particularly complicated magical spell that she wanted to perform as a surprise for the wedding when a pair of strong, familiar arms wrapped around her from the back. She jumped, startled, then relaxed as Leuan spoke. "You birdbrain," she chuckled, loosening his grip slightly so she could turn to see his handsome face. "You should know better by now not to startle me. I could've set some spell on you in defense, and then where would we be?" His hair was windblown, as to be expected, but he still held the same charm and self-confidence in his features that she had known for over a year and a half now. Their relationship was still rocky and unstable at times, but they had eventually grown to know each other better over the drama with the demons that seemed to have happened so long ago. And of course, their relationship had gone to levels she never in her wildest dreams would have expected at the time of their first confrontation, but life was full of surprises, she had come to realize.

"You were gone for a long time," she murmured, reaching up to tuck a strand of wild hair behind his ear. "I take it your travels went well?" She had lived alone for so long that his long disappearances didn't bother her too much, but she did occasionally miss the feeling of his presence (who ever would have thought!?) when she was looking over her spellbooks, trying to interpret the strange words and meanings. His sword, which he still had and regularly practiced with, was always a huge help with her work.

Now that he was back, though, she wasn't going to cut him any slack. "Well, you're here now, so I'm going to put you to work preparing for the wedding." She winked at him, though he obviously had no idea what she was talking about. "I trust that you've already met our visitors, who will be living with us for as long as they please. They just got engaged today - though there was much drama to go along with it - and they've asked me to do the honors. Strange, isn't it? Me taking the place of a high council member to perform a bonding ritual?" She chuckled, then reached up and finally planted the kiss on the edge of his mouth that she had been anticipating since she realized he was home. "I'm glad you're back," she added in a whisper.

Dominik made a comfortable pillow as Veyr rubbed at Paphos’ scales- it was good to see the dragon again, despite the less-than-fortunate turn of events that had just befallen the two. Maybe Dominik’s tactic was the right one to take- She didn’t want to bring down the dragon’s good mood, but he did tend to blurt out anything and everything he heard… Hopefully Dominik’s words would be enough of a deterrent, and keep them safe. Who knew what would happen if the elves caught him- or her for that matter, if Sai told her father, they would never be allowed to see one another again… And she was convinced that harm would be slow and painful, because a quick death would never suffice when it came to capturing such an important avian. It was a bleak thought, and she tried to rid herself of it, snuggling further against her beloved’s chest. Things were safe now.

She suddenly heard a small clatter at the window, withdrawing her hand from Paphos’ neck as she bent to see what had made it. She frowned as she tried to make out the black shape against the dark night, then her eyes widened as another avian stepped through, sliding up the pane. She gave a shriek as he jumped down onto the floor, folding his wings neatly to his sides, and clapped her hands over her ears, her heart beating like a drum. Oh god, there was an avian in the house… He was sure to try and kill her, Dominik or no Dominik. She shrunk back into his arms, shaking as the avian left with a compliment to Dominik and a greeting to the dragon. Had… had he not noticed? The other two seemed fine with having him around, but of course, they hadn’t been brought up to fear avians since they were a babe. They didn’t have to contend with the inbuilt fear that elves had of the other race- Why, it had taken her long enough to quell her fear of Dominik, in the start, but that still didn’t make it easy for her to be around other avians- or it wouldn’t have, had she ever been around others.

As Paphos wandered off again, nuzzling at her briefly before departing, her hands slowly slipped from her ears, resting curled in the hollow between her collarbones. Frightened shivers ran through her frame as she turned to bury her face in Dominik’s chest, her hair falling along the side of her face. She was faintly pleased that they had the room back to themselves again, so she didn’t have to put up the guise of being fine. Because with a shock like that, she really wasn’t.
“There’s another avian… In the house…” she whispered, not looking up.

As Veyr squealed, Leuan cast her a puzzled look but didn't comment, figuring it might be better not to- from her face, she seemed to be scared of him or something.

As Ebyni turned in his arms downstairs and jokingly scolded him, he grinned at her and jerked his head down to the sword which was firmly attached to his belt.
'I don't think we'd have too many issues there, honeymuffin. In fact, in that instance you're probably the one who should be worried.' Ebyni would know as well as he did that these were empty words, though- the brief time when he would perhaps have turned the sword on her was now long gone and while the couple still bickered reguarly, they spent the majority of their time together in good moods with one another.

As the elf's slender hand reached up to his hair, Leuan lifted his own hand and caught Ebyni's on its way back down. He twisted it a little so that he could softly kiss it on the palm, and replied in a quieter tone to match hers,
'I know, I was a while. I'm planning to be here for about as long, though... Wouldn't want to deprive you.' He briefly raised an eyebrow at her as he let go of her wrist.

'Oh yeah, I did. What's the issue there? The girl looked terrified when she saw me. I have to say, I wouldn't think of you as the sort to be doing weddings, either... I guess we've got a bit to catch up on.' When Ebyni stretched up once more, he turned his head slightly to return her kiss more fully, but at her whispered words he drew back his head a little, surprised. He gave her a quizzical look- it wasn't really like her to say that sort of thing. But he did miss her when he was away- and more than just in the fact that he had resolved not to cheat on her. He hadn't really been close enough to anyone to miss them since his childhood.
'I missed you, I'm glad to be back too,' he murmured, kissing her again and hugging her a little tighter. 'I don't think I'm going to keep going away for so long... It was a good trip I guess, but I would've preferred to be here some of the time.' With this, he thoroughly shocked himself. He really had become close to Ebyni.

Guest

Dominik was jolted with fear at Veyr's shriek, and at first he didn't understand what was wrong. He frowned in concern and held tightly onto her as she shrunk against him, in case she fainted or panicked. "Veyr, what's wrong?" he murmured, but at that instant, he followed her shocked gaze to the Avian, and it clicked. Of course. She wouldn't know that Leuan wasn't of his people, and had been taught to fear them her entire life. She would think that as soon as he discovered she was an elf, he would try to kill her. Her own terror made him wonder how much Leuan knew about them, but it was obvious from his casual entrance and exit that it wasn't much. As soon as he left, he pulled Veyr into his lap and held her, cradling her small frame in his own protective one.

"Veyr, love, it's alright. He's not from my city. Ebyni has told me about him.... I don't know where he's from, but he has no hatred for you or your people. Just look at his wings - they're descended from a family completely different from my own. He won't hurt you." He continued to console her until she relaxed somewhat, but he knew that it would take a while, if ever, for her to get used to living with another Avian around.

When they had settled, he yawned and said,"I think we better get some rest. Today was... Difficult, and I'm sure Ebyni won't give us very much slack tomorrow." In that, he meant that she would probably wake them up at the break of dawn to do any odd assortment of house chores (for him, probably cleaning out old paper wasp nests in the upper exterior corners of her home, since he and Leuan were the only two that could reach them). He was actually looking forward to doing something of the like, to get his mind off of what had happened that day, and what it meant for them. He hoped Ebyni would take it easier on Veyr, though. She was a bit frail, and especially so after the multitude of stressful events that had occurred recently. He gently let her out of his arms before going and shutting the window, then took off his shirt before getting into bed next to her. It was a warm night. "Tomorrow will be a better day," he whispered, then kissed her hair lightly before wrapping an arm around her waist and closing his eyes. He dearly hoped he was right.

Ebyni ritually rolled her eyes at Leuan's petname, a habit they had taken to since almost their first meeting. "You know you'd never hurt me," she tutted, placing a hand on the hilt of the sword. It was oddly warm, but she had learned to not be surprised by the odd properties of the weapon. She raised an eyebrow as he quieted his voice, but let a small smile cross her lips as he gently took hold of and kissed her hand. What a charmer. "Mmm. I guess I'll have to take every advantage of that time that I can." Ah, but with Dominik and Veyr in the house, they wouldn't be as free to play around as they usually did... She would have to make sure they were both on their best behavior, since she had already strictly told the other couple to do so.

At his next comment, she frowned, then blinked in understanding. "Oh, I should have told her you might be coming.... Well, it's a rather long, sad, complex story, but to put it shortly, she has grown up her entire life learning to hate and fear the Avian race. She wasn't aware that you are from a different strand of Avians, so naturally she would be terrified of you." Hopefully Dominik would be taking care of that... Poor thing. "Just... Try not to do anything too frightening with her around. You know, maybe cover that frightening face and put on a shirt to cover your hideous muscles." She let a full grin flash across her face at the jibe. Of course her words were far from the truth (his face was gorgeous and his body was, well, quite lovely), but she had to tease him about it. As for doing weddings, she put on a front of surprised hurt at his words. "You can't imagine me performing a wedding?" she gasped. "Why, but I am so trained in the arts of love and marriage... How could I not be a good officiant?" Truth was, she really couldn't care less for the bonds of husband and wife, but she wanted to make it special for the poor couple that had stumbled upon her doorsteps, which meant she needed to act like she really cared. "Anyway... You'll have to do the whole ring-bearer thing, I think, as we have a lack of cute young children to do so." Her eyes sparkled with amusement as Leuan turned his head to meet her lips more full-on, before she dropped her gaze at his words. It wasn't too often that he spoke so softly, and it made her feel like he really did care more deeply for her than he normally seemed. "Well, I.... Would be pleased for you to be around more often. It... really is more pleasant when you are around." She wasn't one to normally talk in such words, but with Leuan so close and open with her, she felt the need to say something.

She turned away to hide her moment of weakness, closing her book for a distraction. "Well, I'm going to head up to bed... It's been a long day. I've been researching recently about a new type of magyk, and it has taken a lot out of me. Something to do with summoning and blood rituals.... Nothing that I would want to do, I think, but quite fascinating all the same." She traced a hand down one of his wings once more before walking away from him towards her room, but paused before exiting. "It's been rather cold in my room lately. Some company would be appreciated." She winked slyly at him before finally leaving Leuan alone in the room.

Dominik’s warm embrace instantly started to calm Veyr’s nerves as he pulled her close, her face hidden against his chest. At first she was a little worried that his calming words were just that, but they really did make sense- from the little glance she had got at the other avian, he had looked nothing like Dominik did. And… well, he hadn’t attacked her or anything, so…

She slowly relaxed against his side, reluctant to move away. She kicked off her short boots, shoving them away from the end of the bed so she could tuck her legs up, scooting down the bed and wriggling underneath the covers. Her hair was drying in twisted strands, but she left it how it was, having nothing to brush it out with. She shook her bangs out of her eyes and twisted her arms around his neck as he slid into the bed next to her, a faint smile crossing her lips. “I hope so.” She whispered before tucking herself close and relaxing, her earlier fright almost forgotten. It would all be okay…

The singing of the birds in the forest around Ebyni’s house woke Veyr the next morning, a few rays of sunshine peeping through the window as the sun rose slowly over the canopy. She yawned and rolled over, still tired from their late night adventures, but couldn’t get back to sleep again with the room being so light. Giving Dominik a sleepy smile, she sat up, tugging her shift straight. She caught sight of herself in the mirror on the table and grimaced, tugging her fingers through her hair. They got stuck and she gave up, giving Dominik a kiss on the nose before sliding out of the bed.
“I’ll be back in a minute Dom.”

Padding quietly to the door, she gave him a long look before slipping out, her bare feet making little noise on the floor. She wandered down to the kitchen, peeking hesitantly around the doorway before entering, nervous in case Leuan was up too- She wasn’t quite certain about him, despite Dominik’s soothing words, and would rather meet him for a second time (and properly), in the company of the others. As it was though, the kitchen was empty, and after a peek out of the window to see if Ebyni was already in the garden- who knew, she kept strange hours- she turned and made her way out of the room again, looking for her. She didn’t think she would be in any of the other rooms already, and didn’t have the nerve to try the other doorhandles, but thought she might catch the elf on her way down to the kitchen if she hung around the right place. She retraced her steps to the kitchen again after peering up the staircase, pouring herself a drink of water- breakfast was out of the question, as she didn’t know where Ebyni kept her things. Maybe she could get her to show her, then she could help out with the cooking later?

She washed up her mug again, then set out back into the corridor- this time she was lucky, and almost walked right into Ebyni. She gave her a light smile and a cheerful greeting.
“Good morning! Um… Did you sleep well?” She twisted her fingers into one another behind her back, then blushed. “Um… Can I borrow some of your clothes? In all the rush last night, I didn’t get to pick up any of mine, and my dress is all wet and muddy.” She tugged at one edge of her shift, making the white fabric flutter around her ankles. “I can’t really just wear this…” She blushed even deeper, then looked up with an embarrassed smile, the tips of her ears burning.

‘Perhaps not,’ admitted Leuan, watching Ebyni’s face as she touched the bizarre weapon which was strapped firmly to his belt. He raised an eyebrow at her suggestive comment, not at all disliking it- but of course the elf had other guests, which meant they would have to be sociable and talk to them. Hopefully they were going to make good company- the other avian could well be somebody Leuan would get on with, but that elf just seemed wet and a bit pathetic.

However, as Ebyni explained the woman’s past, he realised that his presence alone must have seemed a threat to her.
‘Right. I’ll see about a balaclava, then,’ he joked. ‘But I’m afraid I’m not so keen on the shirt part. Have you ever tried feeding eighteen feet of wings through slits in the back of clothing? Of course, some avians use laces round the back, but... It’s not really my sort of thing, and it isn’t easy to tie them either.’ He grimaced at the thought- back when he had lived in the town with others of his race he had had to wear such garments on occasion, and he hadn’t exactly enjoyed it. He laughed at her next words, pushing a stray strand of her silvery hair away from her dark face.
‘Of course. You’re so sweet and affectionate, especially upon meeting your future lover for the first time. You know all about love.’ He examined her face as she suggested a role for him in the wedding, not entirely sure if she was serious or not. ‘Well,’ he said. ‘I guess there’ll be cute young children for next time if we have a newlywed couple hanging around.’

At Ebyni’s more serious words, similar to his own, Leuan looked awkwardly at the ground to their side, only glancing up when she had finished speaking. At this rate, it would be their turn to get married next. He let his arms drop back to his sides when Ebyni stepped away a little, running his eyes down the length of her body while she was facing the other way. She certainly didn’t look much different from when he had left, still with her long and slender legs and curved figure. He listened only absent-mindedly to her as she told him about her magics, distracted and not particularly interested. ‘Mm, doesn’t sound great,’ he vaguely responded. Still looking down at her legs, he only saw her turn again and so jumped a little as he felt her hand on his wing. Her words made his face spread into a wide grin, an almost mischievous glint sparking briefly in his eyes. He was sure she’d forgive him for not donning a shirt just yet... He stretched and yawned, looking around the familiar room which he had half-forgotten before he sauntered after Ebyni.

Guest

Ebyni woke in Leu's warm embrace, which was doubly comfortable due to his built-in feathery comforters. She let a smile creep up her face, then stretched, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed his nose. "Morning, Beak," she greeted him with a smirk. It was nice to have him back, but that wasn't going to soften their relationship, if she could help it. With a yawn, she stepped carefully out of bed and donned her normal dark, calf-length robe, knowing that Leuan would prefer one of her shorter ones that she had grown accustomed to wearing with him around. However, with guests in the house, she wasn't going to give him that satisfaction. She brushed out her mercury hair and draped a red and black skull-shaped necklace over her neck before exiting the room out into the hallway. Before she could get to the kitchen, however, she bumped into none other than Veyr, who was looking very lost and embarrassed in her light clothing. "I slept.... Wonderfully, thank you," she replied, feeling her own cheeks burns a little at the white lie. She smiled gently, uncharacteristically, at the elf's predicament. "I'm sure I have something that will fit. And I can have a look at the dress too; a little magic will probably get it looking proper in no time." She led Veyr to her closet, mostly filled with long robes and a few more boyish tunics and leggings for hard work, but there was plenty for the elf to chose from.

After she had decided what she wanted to wear, and after a quick breakfast (and chiding about how skinny Veyr was), Ebyni sent her to work pruning the plants that had begun to grow too large in her garden. Being an elf, Veyr had a natural ability working with plants, as did Ebyni, though she specialized more in magical botany than fruits and vegetables. Still, she grew nearly every sort of native plant one could imagine, as well as others she had picked up from her travels. She worked nearby on an especially nasty patch of deadly nightshade, which was trying to strangle her sweet peas. That's what she got for trying to place the two so close together...

She expected Leuan to come out at any moment too, and hopefully Dominik as well. A shadow darted across the ground suddenly, and Ebyni frowned, looking up at the sky. She didn't see anything, so she brushed it off as being her imagination, and went back to murmuring spells over the dangerous plant. "So," she began, deciding to make conversation with Veyr. "You and Dominik, getting married, hmm?" She knew how head-over-heels Veyr had become for the Avian, and was almost certain that she would have a lot to say on the subject. If she didn't get upset about the night before...

Dominik muttered something unintelligible at Veyr as she got up and left the room. He was used to being able to sleep in back in his Avian community, and it took a while for him to wake up, especially after the late night. After a few more minutes, he managed to wake up and yawn, ruffling his feathery hair boyishly until he could remember where he was. The night before came back at him with a jolt, and he sighed. "The past is the past," he muttered, and got out of bed. At least Veyr was here with him. And Ebyni. And Leuan... Hmm, maybe the other Avian was up by now. He wanted to talk to him. He had never heard of an Avian that came from a different community than his own other than the dark-winged man, and he was interested to know more about him. He put on a clean shirt he found in the laundry room (Ebyni wouldn't care, he hoped, and Leuan didn't seem to like them anyway) and went down into the kitchen, scrounging around before finding a loaf of bread and some fruit. He tucked into them quietly, but didn't stop until he was full; he knew Ebyni well enough to feel comfortable treating her house like his own, but maybe that also had to do with his rebellious streak. If he wanted something, and no one was around to tell him no, he would get it.

He decided to go outside to stretch his wings. They were cramped from the human-style bed he had spent the night in, and he was eager to show off his pride - his tawny wings - in front of the other Avian. Okay, so maybe he was a bit competitive too. He couldn't help wanting to prove himself to the slightly older male, especially considering they came from different Avian ancestors. Once out in the sunshine, he squinted up at the sun and slowly but proudly spread his 14-foot wingspan, grinning as the feathers shone in the sun. He flapped a couple times before taking up into the air. He flew around a few times to get the blood flowing in his veins, then, spotting the two women below, landed nearby. "Good morning," he greeted. They were hard at work already! And Veyr looked lovely, as always. He gazed at her lovingly for a few moments before catching himself and turning his attention to Ebyni. "Need any help?" He wasn't particularly interested in plants, but Ebyni was sure to have something else that he could work on.

Before she could answer, however, the shadow appeared again, but this time it stopped and hovered over the trio. Dominik glanced up and let out a stunned gasp. Above them was a giant Cloud Raptor, a huge bird known to attack and kill Avians, as well as other humanoid creatures unlucky enough to catch one's sight. It was the color of a light cloudy sky with patches of white and slate blue feathers, but it didn't make the giant raptor any less threatening. Its feet were decorated with razor sharp claws each as long as one of Dominik's fingers, and twice as thick. Along with a beak sharp and strong enough to cut through bone and hard wood, it was a frightening sight. It screeched at the group before making a dive for Veyr.

"NO!" Dominik yelled, and sprang into action. He had had a few run-ins with the predator before, and knew, at least, how to survive an attack. Fighting one off would be a different matter. He could only hope that maybe Leuan would appear with a weapon of some sort, because as it was, all he had with him was a short hunting knife, and it was pretty dull. He rammed into the creature moments before it could grab Veyr, and wrangled with it in the air. It squawked madly and thrashed around until Dominik was thrown off, but he managed to stay airborne. "Get inside!" he yelled at the two women before going on attack again, this time slashing at the raptor's wings with his knife. He managed to scratch it, but barely, and it seemed to make it more angry than hurt. It came at him with its beak snapping, and he only just dodged before it bit off an arm... This was an unfair fight. The bird was twice as big as him, and trained to kill his very species.

At Ebyni’s offer to try and fix her dress, Veyr gave a relieved smile, twisting her fingers together behind her back, pleased. “Thank you! I didn’t know you could do that.” She had obviously underestimated the night elf’s abilities- something she should have learnt by now not to do. She was similarly surprised by the wide range of clothing that Ebyni showed her, giving her another grateful smile before starting to sift through all the clothing she had a pick from, in her element as she held up one handsome garment after another.

She finally decided on just a pair of trousers (a relief, considering her sister had been making her wear long dresses for the past week, and they were most inappropriate for working in) and a plain shirt, pretty enough to look feminine, but not get in the way of anything that Ebyni might set her doing. Once she was properly dressed, and not in the thin shift that she had spent the night in, she went back down to the kitchen, where she found breakfast practically ready. She kept quiet and to herself, still unnerved by the presence of Leuan, barely countering Ebyni’s light reprimanding. Although it was clear he wouldn’t do anything, she just couldn’t quite bring herself to be normal around him- her normal shyness seemed tenfold, and she had to stop herself from stuttering. As soon as she was finished she escaped with Ebyni into the garden, breathing a silent sigh of relief. She just couldn’t get used to having another avian around, not after her whole life fearing them…

Working amongst Ebyni’s plants settled her nerves somewhat, and she was soon immersed in untangling the various plants that she grew, getting a little pleasure out of each plant as they were released from the various weeds that had grown up around them. She liked working amongst the plants, and being in a more open space than the deep forest- she didn’t notice it while amongst the trees, but once you were away from them, you realised how pressing they could be. It was nice to see the sky.

“Yes, getting married!” She gave a little squeak of excitement, her eyes glowing as she looked up at the night elf. “I didn’t expect it at all- although, what with so many barriers between my family and Dom’s… Well, could you have?” She smiled, the corners of her eyes wrinkling up in delight. “And… You’re going to do the ceremony? Oh… If my family could see…” Her smile drooped and she looked down at the ground again, stopping her chatter for a moment. “But that’s not possible, is it… Dominik’s my only family now.”
Almost as though his name had called him, the avian fluttered down out of the sky and she stopped, brushing the hair out of her eyes with her wrist.
“Good morning!” she chirped, blushing slightly under his gaze, his presence returning her to the present. She withheld her laugh at his offer, knowing he would much rather be off doing something much more exciting than pruning weeds.

It was with that thought in mind that she felt a cool shadow drop across her, and she craned her head up into the sky, squinting to see what had made it. Leuan couldn’t have made a shadow that large, he couldn’t have had a much more massive wingspan than Dominik, and he had hardly made a shadow at all. She recoiled as she spotted the giant bird, fear twisting in the pit of her stomach as she heard her fiancé’s gasp- but… couldn’t Ebyni’s wards hold back monsters like that?

It seemed not as the monstrous creature dived towards her, a scream issuing from her lips as widened its claws to drag her up into the sky. She flung one arm over her face, falling back against the ground as Dominik took to the sky, looking up in fear as no talons took hold of her, no beak tried to tear her to shreds. She leapt to her feet, her heart in her mouth as Dominik wrestled with the creature, frozen to the spot in fear for him. His shout brought her to her senses, and she grabbed hold of Ebyni’s hand, running for her house, where it was safe. She tripped on her pile of discarded weed-rubbish, falling to her hands and knees for a moment before she scrambled upright again, tugging a bramble away from one hand where the thorns had bit into her palm. She shot the sky another frightened look, wishing there was some way she could be less of a hindrance and more of a help.

Leuan woke with a start to find warm lips pressing on his nose. His first thoughts were slightly panicked:
Oh shit, how much did I have to drink last night? Eb's gonna murder me if she finds out...
However, the issue was rectified as soon as he heard the nickname; he suspiciously flipped his eyes open to see Ebyni's face. Of course... He was back again. He was surprised he hadn't recognised Ebyni's face, but he had been tired after the long flight yesterday.
'Hey, snookums,' he replied with a yawn, flopping back onto his pillow. 'You're looking pleased with yourself.' He watched her pull on a robe and then walk out of the door before rolling out of bed with a groan. With an idea to wake himself up a little, he headed across the room to the hallway to splash some cold water on his face. He didn't bother to put on anything other than the loose trousers he usually slept in as he padded across the hall, nodding to Veyr in slight surprise when he saw her talking to Ebyni.
'Morning,' he said lightly, hoping his presence wouldn't overly scare the girl. He had forgotten about their guests, too... Standing in the bathroom, he grimaced. Most likely Eb wouldn't be pleased with him for leaving their room without tidying himself up first. He quickly sorted himself out and then returned to their room to don his normal trousers. However, he did add a shirt, carefully passing his wings through the holes he had cut in the back of it and then not bothering to button up the front- he always felt too hot in a shirt, not being used to wearing one. As he hurried down the stairs, he rolled the cuffs back to his elbows and pulled at it around his wings uncomfortably.

As he entered the kitchen, he tried not to look at Veyr, who still seemed terrified by him. He swiftly shoved a meal down his throat before jogging to the door, calling over his shoulder,
'I'm just going out for a quick fly!'
He made a wide circuit over the area, taking in the familiar sights swiftly. As he swooped over the castle for the second time, he heard a faint shout from below.
'... Get inside!' He didn't recognise the voice, but as he squinted downwards he knew the canopy of the wings he had complimented the previous day... Besides, who else would be in Ebyni's garden? Another few seconds let him take in the entire situation, including the huge predator, and he let out a few vicious oaths as he brought his wings together behind his back, dropping like a stone until he landed on the creature. It thrashed round furiously at its new opponent, snapping at him with its fearsome beak. Leuan swore again and drew his hunting knife- despite having the sword now, it was his preferred weapon and the one he used most and instinctively. He didn't even think about the power of the other weapon, still not really used to having it at his disposal. He hacked at the bird's neck with his knife, which he kept sharp for the birds which he routinely hunted- he'd never had to use it on anything like this before though. But of course, he knew what he was fighting, just that the humans in his town had made sure the Cloud Raptors stayed well away. A great plus for its avian inhabitants.

Guest

"Hmm," Ebyni smiled with an amused sound. "You two were made for each other. Hopeless romantics, the both of you. Or hopeful, I should say," she corrected herself. She didn't want to make the elf feel worse than she already did. "I hope I can do you both justice. Marriage is... Not my strong suit, to say the least." Even as she said it, Leuan's familiar form began to circle above, and she grinned. "Leuan and I, our relationship is.... Interesting. I don't know if marriage is in our near future or not, if at all." Not that she thought they would break up. Just that neither of them seemed to want to be held down by any solid commitments. And marriage was one of them. She grinned at Dominik as the man himself appeared. "Good morning to you, too," she greeted. She got straight to business. Plants weren't Dominik's thing, she knew, so she replied,"There are some pesky old nests and hives up around the eaves that could use some cleaning. Leuan hasn't had the chance to get up there, and they're too hard for me to see to use magic." That ought to keep him busy for a while. Her home was quite huge, and she hadn't done a good exterior cleaning in a while.

Her musings were interrupted by the shadow, and this time she knew it wasn't her imagination. As she whirled around and looked up, she let out a startled gasp. A Cloud Raptor. She had never seen one before, only heard horror tales about them, and it was even more fearsome than the pictures had portrayed. What on earth was it doing so far away from the Avian community? "Veyr!" she screamed as the bird dove, but it was pointless - Dominik leapt at the creature, and the resounding crash knocked her back into her senses. "Dominik, no!" Her warning was cut short by Veyr grabbing at her hand and pulling her away from the fight. "Stop, Veyr, I have to help!" she tried to plead at the elf, but her mind was only on one thing - escape. And her terrified grasp was like a vice. Ebyni helped her to a standing position after she stumbled, and she shooed Veyr on, while she took a few steps back toward the fight and lifted her hands. A bone hair piece as long as her hand was now in her grasp, having been plucked from her hair. It was etched with an assortment of mystic symbols, giving away that it was more than just a simple decoration. She began her usual murmuring over the knife as the pair grappled in the air, and even as she did so, Leuan dropped like a weight from the sky, slamming the beast almost into the ground and slicing at its neck. He succeeded in harming it, but the bird was far from giving up.

It lashed at its new oppressor's arm before turning once more to Dominik, who had flew back a few feet to catch his breath while it was occupied with Leuan. It screeched in a pitch far higher and more piercing than any normal bird could muster, and snapped at Dominik. He had been about to warn Ebyni once more to get back, and so he was too distracted to see the beak flying at him. It managed to latch onto his upper arm before he turned back around, and he let out a agonized scream as a large piece of flesh was ripped from his bicep. The bird, satisfied with the attack, pulled back and screeched, then whirled back to Leuan as Dominik dropped in altitude. His vision was as red as the blood now pumping out from his wound, and he felt terribly dizzy. But he couldn't let it defeat him so easily. He mustered up all the little energy he had left and let out a sharp whistle, pitched perfectly to paralyze the raptor. It was a trick he had learned a while back when he and his friends had been attacked by a smaller raptor. It rendered the beast useless for a few seconds, long enough for an Avian to get the upper hand. He hoped Leuan knew what he was doing. Spent, he fell to the ground near Ebyni's home with a loud thump. He only hoped that Veyr had managed to get away...

Ebyni saw Dominik fall and ached to go help him, but she couldn't break her concentration. As she continued the spell, the dagger glowed an angry violet color, and began to pulse. Black threads of what looks like electricity began to crackle along the needle, and with a last cry, she shot it at the creature, where it hit the mark perfectly - the eye. The raptor screamed in pain and thrashed wildly as the black threads constricted it and forced it to the ground, where Leuan would more than likely be able to finish it off. That done, she raced over to where Dominik lay limp on the ground. A large chunk was taken from the broad muscle in his shoulder, and she swore. A wound as large as that was going to take a lot of energy to heal, and time to heal completely and properly. She had to act quickly, though, before he lost too much blood. "Veyr!" she yelled back to where the elf had ran to. "Dominik needs you!" This was going to hurt worse than the actual wound had, if she was correct, and he would need all the help he could get. If anything, Ebyni might also have to feed off of some of the elf's energy in order to fix the wound. She could only hope that Leuan was faring better than Dominik had.

It was only then that Paphos came bounding around from behind the house, mouth open in shock. "Vhat on earth happened?!" he gasped, then, seeing the still-struggling raptor, went to help Leuan slay it. Even he had a hard time trying to kill it, with Leuan's help. He wished he had come sooner, especially after seeing the damage and chaos it had brought. A section of Ebyni's garden had been destroyed, and he knew she would be distraught. She looked after the plants like they were her children. "Aye'm sorry Aye deedn't come sooner..." he murmured.

Terrified, Veyr had to resist the urge to tug Ebyni away again as she turned to aid the two avians, frozen to the spot for a moment as she watched the night elf pull a dagger from her hair, starting to cast a spell. She had half a mind to try and help her, but then her fear overcame her again and she ran for the house, pressing against the wall as she watched the battle raging overhead. Leuan was lending a hand, and it looked like they might actually get the upper hand over the ferocious beast for a moment, the raven-haired avian tussling with the bird while Dominik took a breather. Despite it being so early, and not having had breakfast, he was still spectacular in the air, and if he hadn’t been in so much danger, she could have watched him soar for hours.

She clapped her hands over her ears when the raptor screamed, the noise unbearably loud for her long, sensitive ears. She closed her eyes, covering her face with her elbows until the bird stopped its call, taking her hands away and looking up again.

Another scream ripped through the air, chilling her to the bone. She saw the bird rip its beak away from Dominik’s shoulder, time seeming to move very slowly as it screeched into the air in victory, its cold eyes focussing on Leuan as it suddenly deemed Dominik to be too weak a prey to fight now. She watched in horror for a moment as he dropped, then let out an agonised scream. “Dominik!”

She couldn’t tear her eyes away as he gave one last call, paralysing the raptor, then plunged out of the sky, his wings folding around him like a kite that had just lost the wind. Her face creased in fear and, giving no heed to the bird that was still in the sky, found herself suddenly racing towards his fallen form, tears already pricking at the corners of her eyes. She didn’t take notice of the other drama unfolding, her eyes only for her fallen fiancé. Somehow Ebyni beat her to his side, and it wasn’t until she was close she saw the full extent of the destruction that the cloud raptor had wreaked.

With a strangled sob she fell to her knees, invisible metal bands constricting around her chest and making it hard to breathe. So much blood… She gulped, trying to resist the urge to be sick- or faint. She gave another sob, one hand reaching tentatively towards his wound, then stopped, her face crumpling as she bent over his head, cupping it gently in her hands as tears fled down her cheeks, brushing a few feathery strands of hair out of his eyes.
“Dominik… Oh Dominik…”

When the lethal beak came at him, Leuan dodged it, receiving only a long scratch down his forearm. He looked up at Dominik in plenty of time to see the bird lunge for the other avian. As the Cloud Raptor struck, Leuan shuddered at the spurt of blood and the gaping hole left in Dominik's arm. Cursing, Leuan looked from the immobilised bird, to where Ebyni was muttering on the ground and then to the plummeting avian. A fall from this height could do serious damage to his wings... The avian gritted his teeth and held his own wings back, dropping fast enough to catch the spreadeagled Dominik. As soon as he had hold of the other man, he snapped his wings out again, groaning at the strain the sudden weight put on them. He descended more slowly, laid his acquaintance on the ground, and then shot back up in the air just in time to see the bird drop from the sky.

Thankfully, Leuan folded away his now-aching wings and landed on the ground, straightening the instant he stopped moving and then sprinting over to the fallen bird. His eyes lingered on Paphos for only a fraction of a second before sliding on to the predator. How to kill it...? His knife had made a gash in the creature, but it hadn't seemed to make much difference. Paphos seemed to know what to do, instantly going for the bird's vulnerable eyes with his sharp teeth, but of course Leuan had no such natural weapons. He made a few stabs with the knife, seeming to succeed only in causing the creature pain, before dropping it and scrabbling at the scabbard on the side on his belt.

His sword! How idiotic of him to forget? How had he even managed? Leuan grasped the handle and yanked it from the sheath, swinging it round in a large and incompetent arc over his head to bury the blade deep in the animal's side. Deep, but perhaps not deep enough due to the Raptor's vast size... The avian closed his eyes tightly and focused for a second, going through the familiar process of gathering up energy- which he directed the weapon to sap from the bird- and the thought of what he wanted the expelled energy to do- to shield, to harm, or whatever else. The sword was extremely versatile- before letting the missile which he had mentally constructed fly, straight into the creature's insides. It didn't explode, but instead destroyed the internal organs of the raptor, quite definitely finishing it off.

'Yeah, me too,' he gasped after Paphos' words. 'Never had to fight one of them before...' He jogged over to Dominik and the elves, kneeling around the fallen avian beside the two women. He wasn't the best when it came to wounds, but he had helped Ebyni before, simply because he had been around. Now, he threw the sword on the ground behind him and yanked the shirt he had put on off over his wings. It wouldn't help, what with the unbuttoned front hanging in the wound. Leuan looked expectantly up at Ebyni and asked,
'What should I do?'

Guest

Ebyni glanced gratefully at Leuan and Veyr as they both came running to Dominik's side, but the worst was yet to come. She inspected the wound quickly, but the more she saw, the more sick she felt. The bird had taken a bite out of Dominik's shoulder as a dog would a take a bite of steak, and even with the energy of all three of them, and even Paphos, she wasn't certain if she would be able to heal him enough to give him full use of the arm ever again. "Veyr, dear, you'll need to give me space," she said gently to the distraught elf. She didn't want to separate the two, but she couldn't have any distractions while she worked. And she needed to work soon. Already Dominik was weakly thrashing as the lifeblood coursed from his veins, and his skin slowly paled. "Leuan, channel the energy of the sword into me, but be careful. I will try to use myself as a vessel for the energy to go into him, but I have to trust that you won't harm me by mistake." This was nearly the most trusting thing she could ask of the avian, as it could easily backfire and kill her, if he wasn't careful. She took a deep, scared glance into Leuan's eyes, before turning back to Dominik. "This is going to hurt worse than the actual wound. Veyr, I might need energy from you too. Because you are so close to him, it would be the best to help him heal." When Leuan was ready, she took a shaky, steadying breath, then bent her hands over the gaping hole in Dominik's shoulder and began to chant. A dark purple glow emanated from the wound, and the still semi-conscious Dominik gasped in pain. Ebyni gritted her teeth. 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry,' she thought, but continued the spell. Once the muscle began to bubble, she slowly reached out with her senses and began to take energy from Veyr, using it as a sort of food to regrow the muscle that had been lost. Slowly, the fibers began to grow back, singly at first, then faster as the spell went on. Soon, the muscle was back to the way it had been, albeit a little smaller, but the skin was still missing. Dominik had already lost the energy to even cry out in pain, so he suffered in silent agony as the process went on.

Paphos paced back and forth impatiently as the spell was being spoken. He felt useless - even Leuan had had to use his sword to kill the beast, with little help on Paphos's part. He tore at the ground with his claws. Ebyni was using a lot of her own energy for the spell - he could tell from the color of the glow that was being produced. The sword may have been helping, but he still didn't know that it would be enough.

Ebyni paused a moment, then took another breath before grabbing a fistful of herbs nearby and tossing them on the exposed muscle. A flash of deep blue ignited the leaves, and when Ebyni brushed them aside, the job was complete. It was far from perfect - there was scar tissue that mangled the edges of the wound, and the skin was slightly lower in that area than the surrounding shoulder - but it was better than what she could have hoped for. She let out a relieved puff of air. "He'll live," she murmured. She then buckled and fell backwards into Leuan, spent from the spell, and the one she had already performed earlier. She was powerful, but two such energy-sapping spells was too much for her. Her vision blackened, then focused again as she slipped in and out of consciousness.

Dominik couldn't tell what was going on. His vision was red, slowing turning black, and all he could feel was fire on his shoulder. He could vaguely hear Veyr's sobbing voice, but it sounded like she was talking through a tunnel, and he was on the opposite end. She wanted to reach out and tell her everything was going to be okay, but his arm wouldn't move. Then the fire began to burn brighter and more agonizing, and his mind screamed. It lasted for what seemed like eternity, in which he slowly started to lose the will to fight, but before he could stop battling completely, the fire sizzled and burned out. His shoulder was still a mass of throbbing, intense pain, but it was bearable now. Weakly, his eyelids fluttered open, and he realized he could see colors again. "Veyr..." he croaked. With his uninjured arm, he felt around the ground until his fingertips brushed along her familiar form. He let out a relieved sigh. "You're alright."

Paphos leaped to Ebyni's side as she collapsed, gently nosing her to make sure she was alright. She was still alive and breathing, but sweat beaded her face, and she was shivering from exertion. Paphos warbled in concern. "Ye did too much," he chided, then looked to Leuan. "Geet her out of the sun and avay from that horrid bird. She should be fine, but she needs to regain her strength." He glanced over at Domink and Veyr, but they both seemed alright, if pale and weak. "Aye'm so sorry," he murmured. "Aye should have come sooner..."

Veyr didn’t have enough energy to be frightened of Leuan in such a state as she was, tears coursing unchecked down her cheeks as she bent over Dominik’s face, pressing her damp cheek against his cold one- cold from the wind, or cold from his draining life? She heard Ebyni’s soft words, but couldn’t bear to move for a moment as she wrestled with herself and the choice between what her heart was feeling, which was to stay where she was, and her head, which told her to move. Fiercely brushing away some of her tears she scooted around to his other side as Ebyni spoke with Leuan, trying to steel herself for what would come. She stretched one hand across to Ebyni, offering her own magic when she needed it, feeling the steady drain once the other elf started using her magic. She screwed her eyes tightly shut, not wanting to see what was happening, but she couldn’t block out Dominik’s gasp of pain or the sound of Ebyni’s spell and she had to endure.

She finally opened her eyes at Ebyni’s conformation, looking first at Dominik’s face before her gaze was hesitantly drawn to where his gaping wound had been. It wasn’t pretty, but it was so much better than what had been, and was now little more than a horrible, horrible memory. Drawing in a deep relieved breath she found herself crying even harder, hiccupping despite the fact that she knew he would be okay. Running two fingers down the side of his face where the corners of his eyes had creased in pain, she tried to control her crying before he woke up and started to worry about her- as if he should, when he was in such a predicament, and that was putting it very lightly indeed! Ebyni had fallen back against her own lover, her normally overzealous dragon markedly quiet as he padded over to check that she was alright, which was quite the blessing, along with Dominik being allowed to keep his life.

She started in surprise as he suddenly opened his eyes, recoiling in shock. Awake so soon? Was that possible? It seemed so. Was it healthy? Probably not, but she didn’t much care for the fact, lacing her fingers between his as his good hand searched for her and folding her other hand over the top.
“Of course I’m okay.” She choked, gulping to try and sound less feeble. “Oh Dominik, I thought you were… that you were going to…” she gulped, blinking rapidly as more tears sprang to her eyes and threatened to break the little composure she had retrieved. “But you’re so strong.” She clutched at his hand, not wanting to let go as Paphos muttered his condolences, shuffling a little closer to his side and laying their clasped hands in her lap. She knew she should probably go and find some medical supplies to bandage up the scar, which still looked bright and raw from the recent healing, but didn’t want to leave him alone so close after what had happened.

((Sorry for short post in comparison! Razz

))

As soon as the words had left Ebyni's mouth, Leuan reached out behind him and grabbed the sword from where he had left it. He licked his lips nervously. He'd used the sword a fair few times before, it was true, but there would never have been consequences as severe as this if it went wrong. Now, he grasped the hilt firmly in both hands and touched the blade to Ebyni's skin. Letting it rest on her arm, he forcefully projected his thoughts through the weapon, prodding at the spirit which resided within it until it unwillingly stirred.
What do you want? The spirit definitely sounded grumpy, but then it always did and this was a time when Leuan definitely needed to talk to it rather than just let his general intentions guide the actions of the powerful being.
As you can likely see, my friend is badly wounded. He needs to be healed- you could probably guess that she is going to do the magic.
So why do you need me?
You must give her your stored energy, and help with the spell and the control of the power, and... Make sure it works, however you're going to do that. I'm no expert on healing or magic. However, also make sure that she isn't hurt in the process. Don't do some trick which kills her or something, or you aren't getting out again in my lifetime. Grudgingly, the spirit agreed, and Leuan gave Ebyni a nod to begin her magic. He kept an eye on the entity and the energy flowing down the sword as the spell healed Dominik, finally relaxing when he heard Ebyni's words. He quickly sheathed the sword, an instant dismissal for the spirit, and caught the night elf as she fell back into him. ‘Dammit,’ he muttered, looking up as Paphos came over. ‘She should’ve let the sword do more of the work,’ he said in agreement, picking up the woman and carrying her into the shade of a pungent tree. Having spent longer living with Ebyni than Leuan had, Paphos knew more about physic than the avian, and so he obeyed the instructions without question. Not at all sure that it would be a good idea for the elf to lapse into unconsciousness, he shook her occasionally to keep her awake. Really, it didn’t seem fair that if he was careful his own magic had no effect on him... Then again, he would be hopeless without the sword.