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rebornfan320
Walking from the shadows of a not so abandoned apartment, the nightwalker's form immediately dissolved, suffusing the darkness within the room and subsequently devouring its inhabitants and any evidence of their lives. When he was finished, which was rather quickly really, he reconstituted his favored form and stepped out onto the balcony to look out over the city. It was in this very moment that something abnormal occurred.
Vis flooded the entirety of the complex that Szayeis now dwelled within. It was likely familiar to the Nightwalker as it washed over his form, its strongest concentration centered just out of his line of sight. There was no voice, no verbal communcation, simply the immense amount of vis that rolled off of the individual in that direction.
There was a brief moment where he felt alarm, but in almost the same moment it became surprise. In response a small smile formed on his lips and he leaned forwards, hands grasping the railing of the balcony in front of him, head bowed. The manipulativeness, the deceit, it fell away, and suddenly it was as if tension visibly fled from his body. It was the sort of thing that no one would realize was there until it was gone, so subtle was it that even Darius who had grown up around the nightwalker, may not have recognized Szayeis after the transition.
For a moment there was only silence, and then he opened his mouth, a smile still on his lips. "Hello sister," he said.
The gentle click of heels as they met hard floor resounded throughout the otherwise silent room, and on to the balcony. A pair of small, delicate white hands rested against the railing near Szayeis' own. The scent of lilac mingled with his cologne, as a veritable wall of purple blew out over the balcony's edge. "Hello, Szayeis." There was a smile in her voice, though he may only have been able to glimpse it through her hair. Her tone was soft, far more gentle than one would expect Szayeis' sister to sound, and it held a lul to it as if it were able to calm a great storm.
"I've missed you."
In response there came an almost harsh, and certainly bitter, chuckle. "I would have visited if you told me where you go when you disappear," he replied, refraining from looking up at her. Yet, despite his attitude, there was relief in him, and comfort that he could really only feel when his twin was around--which was sadly quite infrequent.
A small, sad chuckle fell from her lips, and she leaned forward on the balcony. The black garb she wore coming into view for Szayeis to see out of his peripheral vision. "I would have told you had I known where I was going, but at the same time, you can feel the vis pouring off of me; I'm changing. It's taking quite a lot of focus to keep from being a beacon to every magically inclined creature on this continent."
"Besides, I would only be a hindrance to you like this. You wouldn't be able to get stronger watching over me in this state."
He shook his head, "I guess I don't deserve the chance to pay you back for..." he exhaled sharply, clenching his teeth, but what would normally be rage was made mere irritant in her presence. It faded swiftly and he continued, "...before." He shook his head, pushed up from the railing, and looked at her, his eyes shifting color slightly--glowing--as he regarded her vis, rather than the shell she'd decided to wear. "You look well at least," he said, smiling a bit despite himself, before he turned and opened the glass pane door and walked back into the apartment. If and when she followed his cane would appear and he'd tap the ground.
Her vis, while not fully contained, would find itself hidden...at least for a time. The cane would vanish right afterwards.
"So...if you're here, there must be a reason, given your...condition," he said, the slightest hint of envy in his tone. He'd yet to transition a second time and it ate at him. Always had.
She sighed at Szayeis' words, a pang of guilt aching in her chest as she felt his irritation. It wasn't something that needed to be paid back, but she knew he wouldn't accept that. When he scanned her vis she turned to face him, her eyes changing from purple irises to simply appearing as though they were purple flames within her eye sockets.
She was reading him as well. When he spoke, she smiled, sensing a strong change in his vis. Whether he was aware of it, or not, he was getting stronger.
As he began to walk away, she followed, noting a different sensation as he tapped a cane she'd never seen before on the ground.
"I felt you. When you entered the city. My missing you wasn't a joke, brother." She sighed and walked toward his back, her hand gently resting between his shoulder blades. "The Prae presence is growing stronger here with each passing day, I'm running out of places to hide. I can't defend myself like this... I thought... if you were here, I might be able to..." She trailed off, unsure of what exactly she wanted to say, what information to give.
She didn't want to put him in any more danger than he already was. But, even as she thought that, she was already doing so by being in the same room as him. There was no taking back the action, however, not that she would.
He flinched slightly from the contact, a form of weakness, of vulnerability that he simply did not allow in his every day life, but today was apparently not like other days. "I didn't think it a joke," he said, his body adjusting slightly so that her hand pressed more firmly into his back. After the initial contact, it was soothing really. He knew she felt guilt from his words, part of him liked that he could get that out of her, that he could get any response out of her, but that was...that wasn't all of him.
It was kind of funny, everyone else saw him as a depraved lunatic. A monstrous murdering psychopath of incredible intelligence worthy of death and nothing else. Even his own kind saw him as something to be looked down upon. He was a being who had been conquered by another, unworthy of freedom or notoreity. Unworthy of respect.
But his sister...Nysi, she knew who he really was. She could see past the barriers he made as easily as he made new bodies, as easily as he made minds come undone, as easily as he killed. He was scarred and those marks--though not physical--that marred his psyche and his vis...they ached. They always ached.
He'd had them checked once, by...a friend, a certain doctor that he almost trusted. Someone he knew he could at least rely on, even if he couldn't open himself to the licenti. It was a phantom sensation, not real. It was all in his head, and really that only made it worse.
As Szayeis remained silent, Nysi's body moved closer to his, her arms wrapping gently around his chest as she hugged him from behind, her face buried where her hand had originally been.
He swallowed hard and breathed in, "Thank you," he said as he exhaled, "I'm...not used to being open anymore." It was strange. He was often so removed from this state that he didn't even realize he was compartmentalizing his mind to make everything more tolerable, to make his emotions follow his logic, rather than the other way around. He wondered if anyone might appreciate his plans if they knew that beneath the calm exterior there was a beast that yearned only for destruction or at least silence and near solitude.
Muffled, Nysi's voice vibrated through his body, "You know you never have to thank me, Szay. We're family. We always will be."
"Family has...fallen away before, you're...something else," he replied, thoughts still racing through his mind. He remembered their elder brother now and his eyes narrowed, a low hum emanating from his body before he swallowed hard and let the tension go, let that part of their past go. He sighed, "You came to...ask for my help...and here you are, again, helping me." He gritted his teeth, frustrated.
She squeezed him, in a gentle, but firm sort of gesture. "We're twins, it's give and take, you know that. When you love someone, you share equal amounts of pain and happiness. You protect, and are protected." Her voice still vibrated through his body, her eyes closed as she relaxed more into his back.
"Mmm...I guess," he said non-commitally, a bit confused as he usually was by the sentiment. It was ironic, he was often a cruel despot, unforgiving, unrelenting, manipulative and destructive. Yet, he looked at the world and didn't always understand why people were cruel. He knew that most hadn't gone through things like him, so he just...didn't see how lesser evils could cause people to go down similar paths. Yet, at the same time, he'd made it happen, watched it destroy people, or watched people make the best of a terrible situation and make themselves better because of their circumstances. He'd broken people and he'd built them up--human, licentia, and even prae, it didn't matter. It could happen to any of them, regardless of their race.
None of it made any sense. He didn't make sense to himself, actually, not when he was open like this, not when he didn't have tunnel vision, not while he wasn't moving forwards, working towards a goal. He took a step forwards, breaking their embrace--and regretting it a moment after, "I...need to sit down," he said, before stumbling his way to a couch, and sliding down into it. He felt the human aspects of his form slipping away, melting, and he instantly pulled them into him, his body warping and shifting into the visage of a humanoid shadow--white eyes peering from a dark mask.
He leaned back, his face looking up at the ceiling. "Ugh," it was more a groan than a word as it came from his mouthless form.
When Szayeis pulled away from their embrace, Nysi balanced herself so that she didn't stumble. Her eyes followed her brother as he stumbled toward a couch and his form melted away. She smiled softly at him, though he wasn't looking at her, and her form melted away as well. What that revealed was a feminine humanoid white shape with a gaping hole in the chest which revealed an over-sized soul core of similar coloration to his own, eyes of violet glowing even more brightly due to the composition of her form.
After a moment or two of silence, she moved toward him soundlessly, her form taking up space next to him on the couch, her head resting against his shoulder weightlessly.
"Could've died today," he said with a disturbing casualness, her nearness comforting him, making his racing mind at least tolerable. "Of course, with what I'm doing I suppose that's every day, but today it was more...overt." He let out a long breath and then lifted an arm, bringing it around her, his head resting against hers slightly. He figured that if humans saw them they'd think them oddly intimate, but they wouldn't understand. Twins among licentia--even despite their vast populations--were relatively uncommon, and among nightwalkers they were exceedingly rare. Beyond even that...for a licentia to have reliable family members with no negative intentions--especially when was born into a nightwalker community, where everyone was out to manipulate everyone else for personal gain...well, you clinged to what you could get.
Szayeis had been lucky, in a way, he'd been born with a twin and they hadn't grown apart even in all their years of life. They'd bicker and argue at times, but they never drifted apart, even if distance did separate them more often than not. "It's becoming hard for you to hide, you said," he offered in an attempt to shift the focus of their conversation. He needed to pull himself together, he just didn't have time to feel lost and sorry for himself. He had a sister to help...and a race to oust and destroy.
At his words, Nysi's head rose slightly, but then he continued, and she sighed. "What are you doing?" The question wasn't irritated, or angry, but it did have a hint of worry within it. Even as he brought his arm around her, she could feel his mind working through something, though she didn't interrupt it, and instead waited out the long stretch of silence.
"They've found all of the hideouts I've used over the last six months, even with my trying to hide this enormous amount of vis that's pouring out of me. I can't maintain a form other than this one for any longer than a day, at most. And, I can't trust my ability to fight back because of the massive amount of fluctuations I'm going through." Her voice was tinged with fear, and subconsciously, she found herself moving closer to his side.
"I'm...making sure that the prae will never do what they did to me, to anyone else, ever again," he said, managing to keep the hatred from his voice, though he knew it was pointless, she knew it was there anyways. "Hmm, perhaps I could help, I'd have to have time, a few days. I can call on some friends, ask about vis containment, keep things vague. Ask around about...certain items, and build up a series of spell matrices. I can set up some warehouses for you in the meantime."
When her brother finally answered her question, she didn't say anything in response, prefering silence to words on that particular subject. As he started talking about what to do for her, she listened intently, carefully thinking over what he was offering. "So long as they're not near the slums, or anywhere near that fox's place, the Prae have bolstered searches around the former, and the latter is very territorial, I'd rather avoid other Licentia if I can."
At her second request he laughed slightly, "The Fox is contracted to me. If anything, he'd be forced to protect you, or suffer the consequences. Besides, he'll be weakened for awhile yet after tonight. Of course, if you insist, I'll do what I can. Three days, that's all I ask. If we can keep you safe and hidden that long, I'll have figured out something more...permanent. Something that hides you, or perhaps allows you to protect yourself. We'll see." With that goal cemented in his mind and expressed to her he sat up, careful not to fully dislodge her, and used his perception to look at her again.
The view was disconcerting, what with her soul core so exposed. Someone could just reach in and snatch it away...crush it. She'd be gone.
At the thought he felt a flash of rage...and profound sadness, and then he banished the emotions. The barriers were coming up, shifting back into place. Perhaps one day he wouldn't be able to let them down anymore...the idea scared him, so he filed it away...for now.
"If I'm to find you proper safe houses in that time I should get to work. This apartment will be the first," with that he stood, though he let her move from his shoulder first. Taking in a deep breath, the cane shifted into being, its form slipping out of his body to hover in the air before him. He placed a palm in front of it, aimed along its shaft, over the chamber that contained the soul core.
His vis began to flow through the chamber, through the crystal, and when it came out it was stronger, two to four times more potent in fact. The energy thinned out and began to arrange itself, spreading out slowly from the cane, each subsequent piece of the matrix pushing out those before it until the matrix filled the entire room. He locked it into place, drawing a small portion of his sister's fluctuating energy into it as he did so, and then locked the grid's form, completing it.
The air stilled, her vis stabilized, and where some had begun to leak from the barriers he'd erected several minutes earlier, now none escaped, instead it flowed throughout the matrix invisibly, the energy even bolstering the defenses. "This will protect you, it will hide you and, when I set up the others, it will allow you to transport yourself between safehouses at will without detection."
He turned his gaze to her.
Surprised, Nysi blinked, "The Fox is... contracted to you? How?"
He smiled, a playful glint in his eyes, "I saved his life," he responded cryptically.
"Mm..." Was her only response to his statement.
However, in response to his other statements, she nodded, "I'll give you the three days." When he moved away from the couch and began his work, she watched him curiously. She'd never seen him use something like this before, it intrigued her.
Once the spell matrix was in place, and he explained what it would do, she nodded, and rose from her place on the couch. Slowly, she moved toward him, her arms wrapping around his neck as she hugged him, vis from her core pouring into his body as she did so.
It was a strange feeling, to hug him like that, as he was basically in full contact with her core. At the same time, however, part of her didn't mind. He wouldn't hurt her himself, though he could cause her pain via his actions.
Rather than cause any discomfort, he wrapped his arms around her and, now stable, smiled, his mind well in order, and his emotions far less confused as a result. He squeezed her gently, as if he felt that she was fragile, and let some of his vis intermingle with hers for a moment, before separating--both physically and otherwise--from her embrace. "Good, then I'll make sure to make them count. I'll try to check in, but I can't promise. I can only promise that I'll find a way to help you."
When he separated himself from her hug a third time, she looked up at him, her form much smaller than his in stature. She smiled, somberly, "Szay, we've been apart for much longer than most of the current generation of Humans, or Prae, have been alive; I don't think a few days will do any harm. Though, I wouldn't be displeased with a visit."
He grinned, the thought amusing him more than a little. A human lifetime was hardly a sneeze for most licentia. One could blink and a whole generation of mankind would be gone when you opened your eyes. Such fleeting lives they had. "I'll do my best not to displease then," he said, his grin becoming a smirk, "Now, fair damsel, you stay put until I contact you. Don't try to use the transit channels until I say otherwise. Otherwise the matrix will eject you and that would be bad." He gave her exasperated look, and then, giving her shoulder a quick squeeze, he turned, donning his human visage in an instant, but before he could depart she spoke up, pulling his attention to her.
"Szayeis, wait." Nysi spoke up, her human visage covering her for a few moments.
"Mmm?" he said, turning to regard her, brow raised.
As he turned back around, she closed the distance between them, her body rising up onto the tips of her toes. In a fraction of a second before he could react, her lips connected with his.
A look of genuine surprise and confusion crossed his face for a moment before he accepted her gesture of affection and kissed her back, but only briefly. This was something he'd have to ruminate on.
When he drew away from her, there was evidence of crimson dusting her cheeks. Had she not been in a Human form, not only would that gesture have not been possible, but she also wouldn't be able to blush in the way she was. Nervousness wasn't something that was typical to her nature.
Usually, she'd be more... up front about what she wanted. In this case, however, that proved to be extremely difficult. Not because she thought what she wanted was wrong, but moreso because she didn't know what Szayeis would think of her feelings being on display in that way.
Unable to help himself, Szayeis chuckled lightly and shook his head before kissing her on the head, still smiling, amusement and just enough of a hint of pleasure in his eyes to inform her that he wasn't displeased.
Ruffling her hair lightly, he turned, waving over his shoulder with one hand, before he vanished into the night.
Through the bond that all twins shared, he thought, 'Be safe for the both of us, sister, and then all but the flicker of his presence was gone.
"No, you." Was her verbal response, as she shut the balcony doors, and locked every possible entrance she could find, her Human form falling away once more as the taste of his lips etched itself into her mind.
They would have to talk about that the next time he visited her, and part of her was dreading it. But, now wasn't the time to worry about that, she was going to have to find some way to entertain herself while he was gone.
