In this world, Magic is Everything. All people, all races, are granted with the power to perform mystical and magical feats via grimories, mystical tomes granted to each and every child on their 15th birthday. Those blessed by the mana can have their names written down in legend.
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Post by Satori Ryuutei on Dec 4, 2020 7:57:01 GMT -5
She finally talked.
That was all he'd wanted. He just wanted her to talk to him. To explain, to think, to listen. When it finally came, it came crashing down on him like an anvil. A mass of weight that he couldn't break, couldn't fight, crushing his chest as the words filled the air.
If I had drowned that night.
His grip tightened to the point of pain. Did he mean so little? Was he that useless that even in her dark moments, her mind went to leaving him? There was too much information. All he felt was pain in his chest. Satori was a man of action, forward perspective, unstoppable willpower that even at his lowest, would continue fighting and pushing until his dying breath without regret. But June wasn't. He buried it. Buried it, and buried it under mountains of thoughts and words and excuses.
He was useless. Unable to even mean enough to sway his lover from suicide. Weak.
That words repeated in his mind, echoing like a curse as his jaw clenched in rage, rage at himself. At how powerless he truly was. Nothing had changed from that day he'd chosen his name. 'Enlightenment' indeed. The reason he'd chosen his name, that he had been 'enlightened' to the face of the world. Of nature. That only strength won, in the end. That power was needed in all things, or you were nothing in the end. You would lose things you loved, things that were yours. Your life the lesser of those options.
"It is my fault. Not would be." He murmured softly, staring down at the grass as she cried out into his chest. Numb. But he needed to force through it. He would train later. Bleed later. Force himself forward later. Right now she needed his words. Her suicidal thoughts were his fault.
"I told you it was our fault, Flower." He murmured softly to her, slowly releasing a breath as his hand lifted up and gently cup her cheek. Tired grey eyes looking down into her own. "Not your fault. We were too weak. I'm the one who trained you, the one who never pushed you. You have more talent than I ever have. You could have made a difference. Instead you were too weak... and that is our fault. But I blame myself because you, and yours, are mine." Bengal's brain had them filed. They were his to care for. His to raise. His to protect. His to give strength and lend aid. He had done none of these things.
His eyes slowly slid closed. "I'm sorry it pushed you so hard. My clan's teachings are that sorrow is evil. It does nothing. We hold festivals of life, not funerals. We thank the dead for what we take, we don't apologize. We move forward and remember the life that those we cared for led fondly. To miss them is natural. But to let it rule you is folly. I never said you couldn't miss them, June." He hated this part. The part he had to desperately fight against his own self to say before, to reveal how fragile he was. How weak. How useless her male had become.
"I simply... said that I wanted us to be stronger together. I said that I didn't want to be prey, again. Because I am useless. I failed you, as your husband. I failed your family. Just as I failed every," his jaw clenched so tightly that June felt something hot and wet drip to her shoulder. Bengal's fangs digging into his own gums as he hissed the words out. "Single. Person. That died because of my ineptitude." His head slowly lowered, forehead lightly thunking against her shoulder.
"And even you. To want to leave me instead of facing my failure. What does that even make me?" The final words lacked any anger, there was only empty pain. Regret. Bengal had always stood back up. He would stand back up. But right now, he was defeated.
WC: 704 TWC: 3,883
Statistics
Rank: Grand Fame: Tier 4 Strength: Intermediate Speed: 25m/s
Mana Skin: 24/24 Health: 20/20 Mana: 465/465 Mana Regen: +55/75
June stayed where she was even though Bengal's grip on her arms hurt, threatening to bruise her through her mana skin. He had wanted her to listen more than anything else, so she did. The small woman was silent while Bengal berated himself up until he called himself useless.
"Stop it." The words were simple, but they were uttered in his native tongue in a desperate attempt to get his attention, in hopes of getting him to look up from his downward spiral.
Her throat was tight and her head ached from the profuse tears pouring out of her eyes. She had never seen Bengal this broken or vulnerable, never seen him truly hurt. Her chest ached and her nose was starting to become too clogged to breathe through it, each inhale causing a soft snuffling sound.
"Satori you aren't useless. Don't say useless about my own husband."
June lacked finesse and perfect grammar in Bengal's native tongue, but she could communicate her ideas clearly enough. The lack of pretty words and expressions made what she meant clear and plain to see.
"You don't have to stay weak. I was weak, too. Not sorrow, okay? Big missing. It hurts. Fault hurts. So let's get strong." Her grammar broke down while she tried to plead with her love not to give up. "I'm sorry I tried to give up. I won't leave, so please keep trying with me."
The short woman stroked the mammoth of a man's hair while she stood there, sniffling quietly. After a few moments she turned her face to kiss the top of Bengal's head. The gesture felt odd. Typically, he was the one to kiss her forehead or pat her head. He was the strong one, the bigger one, the taller one.
The whole situation felt surreal.
"I..." June's fingers curled into the thick, wild tresses of Bengal's hair, "I wasn't... it wasn't to leave you. It hurt so much... I wanted... I wanted to make it stop. To hurt the person who wasn't there for them." She sighed. "I know why your clan considers sorrow to be so evil... something that can convince someone to abandon their own life is..." the noblewoman trailed off. "It's not good."
She buried her face in his hair, inhaling the scent of her lover as though if she could overwhelm her senses with his presence enough, everything else would go away. Instead of pushing him away, June was pressing closer and clinging tighter. Rather than shutting him out this time, she was holding on as though her life depended on it.
In the face of Bengal's weakness, June still leaned on him as though he were her strength.
"Satori," she began again, "weak or no I don't want to live without you. That's what you are to me. You're my life now."
Her grip on him tightened as though she feared he might disappear should she let him go.
490/3,260
Last Edit: Dec 4, 2020 12:33:16 GMT -5 by June Silva
Post by Satori Ryuutei on Dec 4, 2020 17:29:32 GMT -5
Bengal was quiet after she suddenly spoke in his tongue. The language of Hino, altered into a dialect all its own filling the air. The rapid spin of sounds, tinged with guttural noises that were so rough on the vocal cords of natives within Clover coming from the small woman would have been surprising to some. But, to him it was a natural sound. She was trying hard to learn his tongue, and he'd not been aware of the progress she had already made thus far.
Perhaps that was a sign of something he hadn't realized. As much as he had said it felt like she was refusing his culture, that was wrong. She'd been trying, in her own ways. She'd just hit a limit, on something far more foreign than she was prepared for due to the rage and guilt within her. The words kept coming, and his muscles tensed slightly as her small fingers wrapped their ways around them. Holding him close. Then closer.
Her words were gentle, yet firm. For the first time strength came from her instead of him. He knew she was right. Knew that logically the weakness, and guilt had no footing within him. That he could resist it. But, it didn't change the fact of this shame he felt for his failures. This was his duty as the head of his clan, as the replacement of his father, as the husband of his love. That thought made his mind shift back with her words. As that strength that had shown from within her began to grow, as her words desperately clung to him just as her body did.
His mind fell back to so long ago, as he sat next to his father after training. The large man's long, wild mane falling around him as the curls found their way winding across the floor. Satori swung the blade above his head downward, over, and over. Perfecting his form while Kiyoshi watched. Kiyoshi finally speaking suddenly.
"Pup. One day you'll lead us. When you do, find a good woman." Kiyoshi spoke, causing Satori to look over in confusion. Blinking a few times and tilting is head.
"Why do I need a woman? Isn't training more important to command the Clan? To lead?" Satori's question caused Kiyoshi to laugh, rumbling the air around them.
"How like you, pup. But no. Your strength is important. But no matter how strong you are, you'll hit your limit one day. When that day comes, you need strength beyond your own. When that time comes, your woman must be strong too. Or she's useless. If she crumples with you, nothing can be achieved. Show her your weakness, and let her be your strength. If you find more than one, keep them, too. Strong women are more than just their power." Kiyoshi's eyes softened as he leaned down, ruffling the teens hair lightly.
"A warrior is only as strong as the spirit of the people supporting him. Always remember that." With these words, Kiyoshi then gripped his son's skull, and hurled him like a ball across the ground. Bouncing and cursing as Kiyoshi cackled. "Though you're still too much of a greenhorn to attract a woman anyway, pup!"
The memory faded as he recalled the anger at his father as a teen. His eyes softening against June's chest slowly. Such an old memory, one that he'd brushed off as a teenager. He had always been the strength for others. He was the one other came to for lessons and power. He protected them. He gave them strength. This was something new, and a new low. Yet with it, came a new high. A new sensation of support. Warmth.
June's scent. His hand gently lifted, pulling her tighter against him as his head lifted. Forehead gently pressing against her own, something far more intimate for them then the kiss. An action she had acclimated to within his clan. Pure affection and love. No lust, no teasing, no pain. Just love for her, and for the words she had offered.
"Thank you, Flower." He murmured softly to her, it was enough. She was enough. Even if he failed, if he fell, and broke, and suffered. If he had her, he could keep going. For a silent moment, Satori thanked her. Then further than that, he thanked his father. Thanked him for a lesson he had given him, so long ago. A lesson that, finally he had learned.
WC: 779 TWC: 4,662
Statistics
Rank: Grand Fame: Tier 4 Strength: Intermediate Speed: 25m/s
Mana Skin: 24/24 Health: 20/20 Mana: 465/465 Mana Regen: +55/75
The instant Bengal pressed his forehead against her own and uttered words of thanks, he was struck by waves of relief not just from her ki but in the way she relaxed, sagging against him. She wiped at the tears drying on her cheeks but the motion only served to smudge the tacky remains of her sobbing. She blinked, clearing away the remaining moisture in her eyes so that she could see her love's face clearly. Finally, finally she had managed to get her point across. For all her skill with language and speech, communication was not June's strong suit. Actions were much easier than words.
It seemed that using his mother tongue had been the right move. How many times would she have needed to tell Bengal that her reaction hadn't been because she meant to reject his culture in her own tongue to match the effectiveness of proving that she cared by showing him the skill she'd gained in his language?
Gently, she massaged her temple. The pounding headache that had come with her tears still lingered. Her eyes were puffy and her throat was raw. Too much crying.
"Crying hurts," she grumbled quietly.
June moved from their position, foreheads pressed together, to kiss her fiancé's cheek. Shortly after, she found the side of his neck, burying her face in it. The feeling of his warm skin felt nice and soothing, further relaxing the now spent woman. She was tired, more than she should have been from the mission.
The emotional moment with Bengal had sucked up the last of her energy. In truth, June hadn't been eating or sleeping enough for her usual level of activity. Despite eating more than what she had in the first days after discovering her parents' deaths, the noblewoman still lacked a proper appetite.
Lacking the desire to eat didn't change her energy needs, though. Her body still needed the energy even if June wouldn't consume it, leaving her easily exhausted and irritable. Today was hardly different. Irritability put aside for the moment, tiredness remained.
Each limb felt heavy, like sandbags had been tied to them to weigh them down. June rested her arms around Bengal's neck and yawned, legs lifting up to wrap around his waist and secure herself snuggly against his torso.
"I carry the deer, you carry me," the petite noblewoman mumbled.
With some concentration, she was able to recast River Step. The stream of water reformed beneath the pile of deer carcasses, lifting them and snaking along the grass towards the pair.
Another soft kiss was pressed into Bengal's shoulder while his wife to be clung onto his front using her remaining strength. She had no intention of getting down and walking and was too tired to care about appearances. As they moved through the town, the deer carcasses trailing behind them on River Step, June wrapped her hand around a fistful of Bengal's hair. His locks were long enough that it barely pulled against his scalp even when she wound the hair around her hand to hold onto it.
June wasn't an unaffectionate woman, but now, she was more clingy than usual. The arm's length at which she'd held Bengal was gone, replaced by a heightened desire for closeness.
543/3,803
Exit
3 Stat/Spell Points
Last Edit: Dec 4, 2020 20:38:16 GMT -5 by June Silva
Post by Satori Ryuutei on Dec 4, 2020 18:55:35 GMT -5
Feeling the small arms wrap around him as she melted against him, Bengal kissed the top of her head gently. She was adorable. But he was tired, too. It was emotional exhaustion, not physical that drained him now. He was so used to the constant draining of physical energy, of fatigue and draining mana. This was different. Emotional damage was something entirely new. It was a strain on his own energy in a different way, something he wasn't used to.
Still, he felt little as she clung to him so tightly. A hand lowering and scooping under her, holding her by her bottom and lifting her easily. Her tired mumble caused a tired smile to spread across his lips. She was so small in moments like this. A kiss pressed to the side of her neck as the water flowed around the bodies. It would be a bit of a walk back toward his Clan's home, but he'd make due. Right now he didn't mind in the slightest.
She was in his arms again, and to him that's all that mattered. Releasing a slow breath, he kissed her again. Simply because he wished to. Before walking the long treck back toward the Ryuutei Clan compound.
"Good job, Flower," he murmured simply to his lover. She had done amazing. Truly. But more than that she had saved him. Something that, though she'd done in some minor ways before, had never been to this level. She had saved him.
"Thank you." he murmured again, before static electricity spread across his body. Flickering off, with the flowing water in tow. He was tired, they had more jobs to do but... for now, this was enough. He just wanted to hold her, and eat, and sleep. Beyond that would come later.
[Exit] [+4 Spell Points]
WC: 331 TWC: 4,993
Statistics
Rank: Grand Fame: Tier 4 Strength: Intermediate Speed: 25m/s
Mana Skin: 24/24 Health: 20/20 Mana: 465/465 Mana Regen: +55/75