Ask Ice Cyu

[Karys]

Karys probably would have flinched at Cyu's response, if they weren't facing down certain death that is. Karys' hand fell to the hilt of his lightsaber, he wondered if he'd have to try and hack his way through all of these scorpions. Then Cyu asked him if he trusted her, his eyebrow ridge quirked. "I barely know you." He replied with a smirk as their eyes met. "Absolutely fucking not!" He continued with a laugh. "But anything is better than either of those." He said as he nodded towards the razor-ice storm and the scorpions buried in the snow.

Karys watched as Cyu touched an amulet around her neck and felt her draw upon the Dark Side. The amulet would glow like an ember at her command. Without warning a pillar of flame would roar to life, encircle her outstretched arm, and then slam into a bank of snow that rested above the scorpion's resting site. The snow would cascade and bury five of the ten scorpions, likely killing them in the onrush of snow. The rest, now alerted to something being wrong would burrow from their hiding spots, their off-white bodies would rush upwards to meet the new threat.

Karys would fish out the secondary lightsaber, the one he'd claimed from the fallen Dark Jedi on Zygerria and toss it to Cyu. He hadn't thought they'd have to use them but it was better safe than sorry. Karys drew upon the Dark Side himself, he found difficulty gathering the power to fuel himself and the speed he'd need to outpace the stinger strikes of the scorpions. "I'll take the stingers first, you go for killing blows." Karys told her as he ignited his blood-orange blade.

Karys would utilize the Speed borrowed from the Force to carve through the stinger of the first Scorpion. He'd move through the majority of the Scorpions, keeping pace with strikes as he carved through the remainder. However, it was at the very end that he felt something pump into his veins. His gaze fell down to a severed stinger that had buried itself into his leg when he carved it off. The venom sac had emptied into his calf.

The pain was almost unbearable but Karys couldn't scream.

Instead, Karys' body simply went rigid as collapsed backwards in to the snow. With widened eyes and gritted teeth, Karys would lay there in silent agony. His body occasionally twitching or giving a small spasm until the suffering snatched his consciousness away.

@Xorism

 

[Nevizkas]

The response from Karys almost sent Cyu into hysterics. At the very least, her effort had eased the difficult path ahead. Catching the saber hilt that he threw her way, the pureblood watched as he raced off into the thick of it. 'Wa-" She started to say before begrudgingly following behind with thunderous speed.

The first scorpion struck out and lost a stinger before shortly after its life, then the next and next following in short order as the pair worked in sync. By the last beast in the line, she cleaved through its shell like a hot knife through butter, ending its reign of terror. A small grin etched itself on her face as she admired the trail of bodies littered behind them before hearing a thump behind her.

Turning suddenly, she spotted Karys collapsed into the snow in agony. Excitement turned to confusion before she noticed that empty venom sac beside his body. "Stupid idiot." She howled, racing over toward him, concerned for the worst. She leaned down over him trying to lift his heavy ass without much luck, the body turning stiff as a doornail.

Cyu stood back with hands on her hip, trying desperately to remember what he'd told her earlier. It...wasn't lethal? Right? To what she could recall, but that wasn't even the most pressing concern. He'd already told her about the incoming deadly storm and with him being stuck out here, he'd surely die buried under a ton of snow if she didn't do something.

But that wasn't her problem. Was it?

He was clearly out like a light and wouldn't suffer any of it, a strong urge compelled her to simply leave him behind and find safety herself. Survival of the fittest and all that, a few steps away from his body toward the manor, she stopped in her tracks to glance over her shoulder.

FUCK. What are you doing? She thought. It made no sense to stop, and yet she couldn't just leave him there after what he'd done for her. With one hand behind her, she reached out with the force to latch on to the lumbering hulk and pull. "Now we're even." She said quietly to herself.

With a determined effort, she'd drag his sleepy ass all the way up to the manor and through its front door into the first room she could find.

The interior was old and outdated, cool but not cold. Cyu spotted a small fireplace with only dust to burn, it didn't seem very useful. Instead, she simply rolled him over onto his side and opened his large fur coat for a moment, enough for her to practically climb into herself. Using the force, she pulled his arm over her body, enclosing the two together under his coat to ensure that neither would freeze as she snuggled her back into his chest.

And from there in the quaint little room, she too would drift away into the night's sky, as the storm began to pass overhead with all its might.

@Apollyon

 

[Karys]

Eventually, the paralytic venom’s effects ended and the nerves that were alight dulled. Karys’ exhausted body drifted from unconsciousness to true sleep. He felt the weight against his chest but his tired mind registered it as Azar not Cyutadakyr.

He dreamt of his lover as he rested. His mind remembering Azar’s smile as they laid in his bed at the Academy. The taste of his saliva. The sounds of that perfect giggle. Cyu would feel Karys shift in his sleep every once in a while.

Morning brought the end of his dreams and the reality that the weight on his chest wasn’t Azar. Disappointment panged in his chest when his gaze fell to Cyu. Karys missed the nook, he missed reading Azar’s notes, and he missed running his fingers through his lover’s hair. Karys would begin to steadily unzip his jacket, and gently begin to rouse Cyu. He knew Cyu had lived in a cage, she didn’t do things like this. Even still, Karys would begin trying to gently stand to his feet.

“Why did you save me?” He asked as he peered down at her. “I was nothing but dead weight. Why waste your time and energy on me?” He questioned.

@Xorism

 

[Nevizkas]

Spoiler: theme

The omnipresent darkness wrestled for control of the night sky against the luminous display of its lunar bodies. Trickles of light shed through the clouds high above, providing a bare minimum of illumination for the barefoot child sprinting through sand dune after sand dune. Tears flowed freely like a mountain river after Spring's first melt, coursing against the small hot crimson cheeks and into the ground below.

The desert held a silence broken only by her muffled cries, unsteady steps and staggered breath.

In the horizon, a faint orange glow stirred, as Horuset rose from his slumber to bring forth light to the lands below. The changing of the guard occurred as the night folk scurried back into their dens, content and filled from their treks, scrambling to avoid the creatures of the day. Still, the little girl ran.

A robed figure appeared atop the next dune, causing the girl to pause, ushering a wave of anxiety to flood her system as she glanced down. The hands washed in the life-force of kin, a mortal sin, still clutching the knife, seemingly unable to release it. The night's exhaustion enveloped her, a crushing sensation pulling down upon her knees. Dry tears flowed from the lunar-burnt girl, her eyes watching the stranger's feet approach.

The man's calloused hand, a finger gently curled up under her chin as his thumb wiped softly across her cheek. "Do it." Came the hushed voice, a sharp point pressed vehemently against herself. "Or come with me, and I will teach you to control it." Glancing up, her eyes stared into the yellow iris matching hers as she struggled, battling her inner demons.

After what felt like aeons, the little red girl began bottling these feelings, the raw emotional carnage behind lock and key. The knife remained at her side, a painful reminder of her sin, a noose around her neck.

Cyutadakyr awoke, subconsciously clinging to a scabbard, moderately started by the shuffling giant sliding her out of his oversized cloak. An annoyed look soon stirred, flashing across her face as she rolled away from him. "Did I? Maybe you sleepwalked." Her eyes shifted across the room now that the storm had passed, and more light began entering it.

She could tell he wasn't satisfied with her response. Breath began escaping her lips as she shrugged her shoulders. "How can I hold it over your head for all eternity, if you're dead?"

She certainly wouldn't be delving into the list of reasons she might, just maybe, possibly, need him. No, thank you.

@Apollyon

 

[Karys]

Karys didn’t miss the annoyed look that flashed on Cyu’s tired face. He didn’t comment on it. Instead, he focused on kneading the knots out of his thigh muscles. The scorpion’s venom had caused his muscles to bunch and loosen rapidly, causing him to tight aches in his leg, arms, and across his back.

At Cyu’s initial response, Karys frowned and glanced over at her while massaging his legs. “Come on, don’t give me that.” He replied quickly as he worked the bunched muscle loose.

At her second explanation, Karys gently rolled his crimson eyes. She clearly wasn’t giving it up. “You know, you can just admit that you’d miss me.” He teased. “I wouldn’t hold it against you…much.”

After a while, Karys would have rubbed the knots out of his legs sufficiently enough for him to limp around the room. As he did, he’d repeat the process on his shoulders and arms. His eyes would drink in the details of the room, this was a place no one in his family had been in for at least a generation.

“My grandfather grew up here.” He told Cyu as he lightly drug his finger tips across a mantle above the fireplace. “Before the scorpions came.” He quickly added. “No one has been here since his rule.” Karys confined as his gaze jump from item to item, surface to surface. “It feels surreal to be here.”

@Xorism