Strange and Stranger Encounters (Titan)

[Deleted]

Belle wandered through the gardens outside the Castle. Stopping to smell a rose, she let out a sigh. It was quiet now.. It was nice. There had been some disturbances lately, but it seemed things had finally begun to quiet down once again. Thankfully, nothing had truly been damaged or removed from the Castle, so there was no harm done.

Sitting down on a small stone bench among rosebushes, Belle dusted off the skirt of her blue dress and looked around. She wasn't sure who had been around previously, but somehow visitors weren't too surprising, though they often were few and far between. In fact, the last visitor she had actually encountered had been the sentient creature who had introduced himself as Nanaki. He had been wary of the human influence in the Castle. And Belle had been wary of Nanaki as well, but he had not been a threat to anyone. In fact, he had seemed to like the books in the Castle's Library, and Belle had been more than happy to share.

Brushing her fingers over the soft petals of a white rose, Belle smiled. At least Nanaki had been quiet and non-intrusive in his visit to the Castle. However, some who visited were not as..considerate. She shivered, remembering the flames and ruin that had once existed when the horrible horrible Dark lady had come.. They had had to evacuate, until repairs had been done. But that was a long time ago, now. Everything had been replaced or repaired, and life had gone on. One had not returned, however..

Beast had not come back from wherever he had gone. And she missed him.. but he had come and gone before, so perhaps he would return once again. She believed he would..And in her heart she knew she was right. Those who shared True Love did not stay separated for long.

Looking at the roses, Belle decided that she would gather a few to put in a vase inside. She sucked a finger after getting a thorn stuck in it; but she had the roses she needed. The thorn was a small price to pay for a beautiful arrangement.

[Deleted]

陰 Dragon ☯ Shaman 陽

Can you see through the mist !?

---

Found himself struggling to hold his consciousness. He had barely managed to escape that sandstorm, let alone that world. His body was heavy and his mind having trouble focusing on anything but the pain that not encompassed his body. During battle the aches were dull throbs in the back of his mind, but now that all was calm once more he could feel every cut and bruise. What he felt most of all was his broken arm.It was not terribly shattered, but a minor fracture that required a day of rest, but he was not to be privvy to such things. The frost of the countryside did not terribly affect him, but it made traveling in a foreign land difficult. The woods would possess a great obstacle with his injuries and diminished stamina. He had not eaten for days now, darkness or proper sustenance, in such a seemingly desolate world.

Snow had not touched the ground yet, but the ground was beginning to taste the bitter touch of the winds. Frozen ground made digging impossible so the brute had no means to find any tubers and roots he could eat. He was not quite he voracious carnivore the Fairy Tales painted his kind. He was as at home eating potatoes as he was grilled fish. His wounds had ceased their bleeding, but his stomach furiously snarled from neglect. His wounds could not heal as quickly without Darkness to provide his body with energy, nor could he find end to his brother’s rage.

Perhaps they were merely hallucinations brought in by a lonely mind. Maybe they were all that were left to manifest from the Charm that housed what was left of the summon’s spirit. The Shishi Dragon of white bounced along the forest floor, leading his sibling up and down paths. Every occasion the giant red beast would pass a tree, only to caught the faint sight of Cai. The man stood with a scowl, his own gloved hands held onto a tree as he watched Fai in judgement. Disgust flowed past his lips.

‘Worthless hatchling.’ Fai could not argue the truth. ‘All you do is fail.’ Maybe it was true. ‘If you continue to grow weak… you’ll never find me.’ Fai felt his heart jump at that particular accusation.

He whorled around only to find the woods staring back at him. “No!” He roared. “...please.” He begged softly. “...don’t leave me.” Fai felt his back hit against a metal gate.

The cold sting was a welcome comfort against his heated body. The bruises were hot to the touch and his weakening form was as well. The tiny dog-shaped spirit barked out a bright chirp. It bound it way over to Fai, pawing at his face. But the man would not move, merely gurgle. Looking around with its claret eyes the winged Shishi would look up toward the gates. Someone lived here… The tiny creature of light squeezed through the gates with a pop and bound through the garden in search of help. He spotted someone. They looked to be arranging flowers or something. It was a woman! The summon flapped his wings hard and jumped up, doing cute little backflips. If the tiny Shishi would catch the woman’s attention with his fluttering wings he would chirp and try to lead her toward where his vassal lay.

---

龍 Fai 'Titan' Jiao-long 巫
46 | Male | Dragon
profile

TAGS: Belle~! | NOTES: I don't want to... not alone. No more.

[Deleted]

Belle was just finishing her rose arrangement when she sensed something approaching. The woods outside the gardens were quiet...too quiet. Usually one heard birds or forest life, sometimes even the wolves she had once encountered. But at the moment all was still and silent. Whatever it was that was causing such a deafening lack of noise...was coming slowly, but steadily. In fact, she felt darkness..and something she couldn't quite put a finger on. A glimmer of light..but that light was somewhat off..strange.

Standing, Belle turned to view the metal gates at the back of the gardens, hearing sounds much like a bird's chirp, but they weren't familiar tones..very different, in fact. Yet a bird was the only thing she could really compare it to. Tilting her head a bit, she saw a small shape glimmering with Light coming closer from among a clump of flowerbushes, apparently having been searching for something..or someone. And it seemed to have noticed her, attempting to get her attention with several more of the unique chirps. Following it to the gates, it stopped..and Belle saw from between the bars of the gates, there was a man? This little spirit-like creature had brought her to find this person..she was sure. And yet...the same sense of Darkness she had felt surrounded this man.

Nonetheless, he was in great need, as apparent by his prone state. Opening one of the gates, Belle knelt at the man's side, noting his strange attire, and the bruising and wounds he carried. Had he been in a battle? Some great confrontation? She would not know unless he was able to speak, and just at the moment it seemed he would not be able to say anything for a little while. She stood, looking around. She needed to get some supplies, or move the man into the gardens or a room of the Castle, so that the gates could be closed once more. The last thing they needed right now was more surprises.

Looking down at the little spirit creature, Belle half-knelt to look more closely at it. Though it shone with Light, there was something very odd about it..besides its appearance. She couldn't quite figure out why it felt rather limited or tainted, but there was no time for questioning just now. Leaning closer to it, she voiced a request to it.

"Do you have a way of helping me move him? I cannot leave the gates open very long..other dangers often come around here. I'm not sure I would be able to move him on my own.."

[Deleted]

陰 Dragon ☯ Shaman 陽

Can you see through the mist !?

---

The man seemed barely clothed. His shirt, twas not even a shirt, but a wrap of fabric over his chest, similar to a modified, eastern dhoti. Even with the soft, warm fur tickling at his neck, it did not appear that the skin tight fabric provides anything more than decoration. Deep down, his nature prevented his from reaching an early state of hypothermia. But with an empty belly, he could not keep the fire in his belly stoked. His short, wild hair was thick and maintained despite his, seemingly, haggard state. Along his exposed, right arm, a bruise traced its way down into his sleeves which came only halfway up his wrist. If the sleeve was moved or folded back, the bruise would crawl the length his forearm to his elbow, showing the reach of the damage beneath his skin.

His skin was dry, rough to the touch. It could be that the cold had gotten to him, for it would be ice on the touch. His sheer size and added dead weight would make it difficult to move him without help. If the vindictive little spirit had his way, he would not think twice of letting the man suffer thrice of what they suffered when their own life and power was ripped away by Heartless. But to keep up appearances, the being of light keep its upbeat attitude. How would he save that which did not deserve it? Even the Titanic golem was feeling the woe of his regret. Facing the two opponents he had left him far from strong, or full.

No matter how much he wished to instill into the Knight the belief he was at fault for the Heartless, the harder he fought. There was no meal if no Darkness was offered up. Even as his lifeless, honey-colored eyes traced the blurry figure nearby, it would be just more Light! That heavy lid slipped back over his eyes, making his task of keeping awake difficult, if not ever impossible now. His hunger was reaching its limit. The avatar of Light looked around. With a chirp it bound to and fro before dashing off into the woods.

Twas not but a moment later that the creature came scuttling back with a branch in mouth, likely fallen through the path of this feral beast! The Summon dashed off again, only to repeat the process until they had three, strong branches. The tiny creature wagged his curled tail of luxurious plume and chirped at the woman. The branches could be used to design a simple, makeshift gurney, bit the summon had neither string or thumbs to pull off that part!

It would be up to the Princess of Hearts. But what reason had she to save this man, let alone a clear delver of darkness. If he was as such, why did the light spirit watch over him?

---

龍 Fai 'Titan' Jiao-long 巫
46 | Male | Dragon
profile

TAGS: Belle~!| NOTES: Sometimes it's hard knowing if helping someone is the right thing to do.

[Deleted]

Belle watched the little creature of Light as it bounded away and vanished. She shook her head, continuing to kneel by the titanous figure that had somehow made its way to the gates of the Castle's gardens. Had the little Light being led him here? He was in bad shape..she could tell that much. Seating herself more comfortably in order to look the man over more closely, Belle noticed the aura that usually came from those who walked in Darkness or were one with it. However, in the man's current state, Belle did not feel he was a threat. He wore a skin-tight wrapped jacket of sorts across his torso, with a bit of fur collar on it. It reminded her of Beast's fur as her fingers brushed the lining every so lightly.

Furred though it was, the jacket certainly did was not doing the man any good, not even keeping him warm. His skin was dry and rough, cold to the touch. She wondered at this, uncertain how long he had been out roaming. The woods were not the friendliest of places to wander, nor was the chilly weather favorable for light clothing this time of year. How had this man come to the Castle? And by the question she didn't mean how had he traveled..but rather she marveled at his making it this far. He had injuries, from some encounter no doubt. And he had come from it worse for wear. She needed to get him by a fire, and wrapped in blankets. Food could come later if he actually awakened. Once this man was indoors and warming she could assess whether he truly was a threat.

Rustling in the bushes made Belle look up from her assessment of the man; the Light creature was coming back. He came and went three times, ending up retrieving and bringing three large and sturdy sticks. Massive branches, broken off by someone passing through. Had the man lying in front of her been so powerful as to cause such limbs to break as he walked through them? But the time for questioning was not now. She would have plenty of time for that once this man was inside and no longer in danger of dying due to hypothermia or his injuries. Looking from the Light creature (who seemed so proud of his work) to the branches and back to the man, Belle realized the Light creature's plan. One could indeed make a transport of a kind from these. Tying them together would make a way to pull the man to the Castle. She had to smile at the little creature's wagging tail.

"How very clever! A very useful idea, indeed. Thank you..!"

Swiftly getting to work, Belle found vines and used some of the smaller branches on the limbs the Light creature had brought; using them as a rope to tie the branches together, thanking her father silently for his knack of inventions.. Once the task was completed, Belle had a sturdy (though strange-looking) sled. Kneeling beside the man once more, Belle pushed him as hard as she could while still being careful of his injuries, half-rolling him onto the newly-made sled. With the pull ropes in hand, Belle looked down at the Light creature.

"All right...I think we're all set. Are you coming, too?"

With the invitation in question, Belle started to pull the sled toward the Castle's entrance. If the Light creature was going to come, it was welcome. But she had to get the man inside before he froze to death..if he had not already.

[Deleted]

陰 Dragon ☯ Shaman 陽

Can you see through the mist !?

---

Though the beast could not see, he could still hear, feel, and smell everything around him. The cold sting of winter was a familiar weight on his chest. The winds made a distinct sound as they twisted between the trees and the call of the birds carried much farther than usual. It was like the voice of the mountain, which called to the lost souls that were to be lead into the next world. The mountains were a haunting place, one  that seemed to suit a family on the brink of the end. They would need but step one stone more to reach the heavens and stand by the end of their clan.

He felt the woman as she moved around him, her small hands touching against the thin fabrics of his arm and torso, the smell of her hair as she drew near him. Each press to his flesh sent off painful singles across his body, his flesh still burning with the tendrils of light expelled by the Knight and the burn marks from the Pot Centipede's stingers. He hadn’t the strength to grab her and push her from him, each touch like a whip’s strike. The weak feeling paramount in sensation to being trapped in a corner. Animals were typically highly aggressive when pushed to their limit and dragons were quite proud beings, so getting backed up and left helpless set them downright murderous if they did not keep calm. If not for the sheer damage wrought on his body, nor the presence of his Avatar, he would likely have fought to the last drop of his consciousness. But that he clung to, listening to the woman’s voice as she spoke to his brother, at least those were the memories the Titanic beast held of what remained in that small shadow.

The weight on his chest was in fact Cai. When Belle had secured the fire-haired Titan the smaller Nymph had hopped onto his chest, letting out a melodious chirp of agreement. The small Avatar was what remained of a great Guardian of Light. The Heartless had ravaged his heart, his power, leaving nothing but the hollow, empty vessel with little room for any greater emotion than the drive to smite the Darkness, whomever or wherever it may be. This sometimes left the draconic titan at a disadvantage when his own Avatar took the opportunity to smite him on occasion. But something there remained of a Guardian. The immature vessel was known as a Shishi, the smallest form of a Guardian, one who has not yet to reach his potential, but even still the body of a Shishi was riddled with pure, untapped power. It was, put simply: a Dragon’s Spirit. He was a permanent fragment, one whom Fai could not let go. This shadow of his brother, what left remained in this world of his life, the twin coveted. To him it was a possession more prized than his Dragon’s Pearl, the source of a maturing Dragon’s Power.

As he was pulled by the woman, the motion of the sled lulled him into slumber where he dreamed memories of his past.

They always climbed the mountains together, even in the heaviest of snowfalls. They had taken refuge at an abandoned camp, likely belonging to one of the small, passing, Mongol groups. At this time in the past they were small bands, nothing to be feared or worry of, they had no order, no presence on these distant borders. They had left their horses to graze, the boys sitting and taking in the starlight. The larger Fai say with his legs splayed, back pressed against a icy stone pillar, blanketed by the white fluff. His arms were crossed over his chest and eyes closed. “Ne, Fai…” Cai called to him with that soft, gentle voice. Opening his eyes, feeling movement around him, the amber orbs of the dragon would come face to face with the claret mirrors which belonged to his brother. Cai had settled with his hands at either side of Fai’s torso, the smaller male smiling weakly, cheeks flushed from embarrassment. Fai’s cheeks were still red, but not from embarrassment. In the stead the larger male’s cheeks were adorned with scratch marks, punishment from his twin after they had failed to corner their quarry. It had not been fault of Fai, but the dragon’s horse could not keep its footing in the deeper snows of the higher reaches. Cai had rode up to Fai and removed his glove to cross his claws over Fai’s cheeks, accusing him of wishing their starvation, calling him a clumsy fool. He offered many more degrading remarks about the uselessness that carried well with a Dark Dragon such as he. Fai looked away from the claret reflections of his own visage, the feeling of regret weighing on his broad shoulders. Cai reached out his glove covered hand, the chill of the leather sheaths pressed to the wound, causing the larger twin to hiss. “Saa…,” Cai crooned. “I’m sorry Fai. I didn’t mean to hurt you. It’s just… your existence, it fuels my hatred for the dark. Look how it has cursed you. Harmed the one I love most in the world.” he offered to his larger twin with that scorning gaze. Fai shook his head, moving to raise his hand onto Cai’s. “It’s okay. He understands. But we’ll have no food this night. Tis fault of mine.” He held no anger toward his brother. Those smooth, calloused words were out of love, not out of hatred. No matter what Cai did, Fai would always forgive him. Cai let out a bright laugh as he sat back. Fai had remembered him clearly. Even in the darkness of the night, as the snow fell, he carried a distinct memory of his brother’s smile in his heart, carved deeply within him. He felt his heart start to race as fear gripped him. Cai leaned in close once again, Fai unsure just when he had gotten but a nose away. “Worry not brother. From you, this one shall beat back the darkness so you remain as pure as you are capable of, but you will never be strong so long as you service the Dark and our clan stands without a temple. Make amends tonight. We shall feed on his darkness!”

Waking up with a start the Dragon found himself suffocating. He weakly flailed, only to snarl out feeling the stabbing pain in his arm from the broken bone. When they had pulled to the door the small Light Spirit jumped onto Fai’s face: sitting his fluffy rump on the red-head, trying to smother him back to life. When Fai flailed painfully the Shadow landed beside Belle on the steps of the castle door, sitting proudly as if it had done naught to punish his brother! The beast pulled his arm against his chest, clutching it with his free hand. Heavy breathing set in as he now fell unconscious, the sudden movement and snap of pain pushing him over the edge.

---

龍 Fai 'Titan' Jiao-long 巫
46 | Male | Dragon
profile

TAGS: @belle~!| NOTES: In a haunting memory, the twisted only see that which they wish.

[Deleted]

Belle still felt that off sense of presence for the little Light creature, but her concern was far more focused on the Dark man and his injuries. When she turned around to pull the man into the Castle, she saw that the little creature had climbed onto the man's face. Could he breathe??

"H-Hey, you shouldn't do that! Get down...he's hurt. He can't breathe if you sit there."

The injured man flailed in an obviously painful way, and the creature was unseated and sent flying to land on the steps beside her feet. Shaking her head at the little one, she looked back at the man. His face was etched with pain, and he had tucked his arm closer to his chest and covered it with his free hand before going unconscious. Sighing, Belle pulled the little sled into the Castle's hallway and closing the door. Taking them both to one of the main living rooms with a roaring fireplace, Belle set to work on getting supplies like cloths, warm water, and bandages. This man's arm was apparently broken, and it would need to be splinted and set before he woke up again.

Situating the man in front of the fireplace, where the heat would envelop him and warm the frozen skin, Belle began to clean the wounds the man had obtained. A few of them looked like Heartless marks, while others seemed to have been made by a Light attack. What had this man been up to before he ended up wandering the woods? Shaking her head, Belle finished cleaning the wounds and placed bandages over them, to keep them from becoming infected. Her gaze turned to the arm that was clutched so protectively against the man's chest. She needed that arm..it had to be splinted. Gently, carefully, she eased the unconscious man's free hand away from his arm. While it didn't move willingly, Belle moved it enough to be able to do her work.

Getting two sturdy, substantial pieces of wood from beside the fireplace, Belle set them and the bandage wraps beside her and picked up the injured arm. Checking for any open injuries, she moved the arm so that the bone would straighten and set in the right place. She placed the pieces of wood, and wrapped the bandages as snugly as she could. She hoped it would hold long enough for the break to start reforming on its own. Glancing at the man, she sighed. At least he was sleeping...even if it was an unconscious sleep. Maybe he would rest long enough for his injuries to heal.

Standing to clean up her used cloths and water, Belle noticed with surprise that it was now night-time.. Had it really taken that long to treat this man? She hadn't realized..she had been so focused on taking care of him and trying to figure out how and why he'd been out in the woods in the first place..and why he felt so strongly of Darkness. If the man truly was of Darkness, why was there a Light creature with him? It was most puzzling...but she had time until the man woke up. She would try to figure it out. Sitting down in a chair nearby, Belle picked up a book and waited..

[Deleted]

陰 Dragon ☯ Shaman 陽

Can you see through the mist !?

---

The dragon lay unconscious as the woman worked. As she worked he dreamed a pain filled dream. His mother sat over him as he lay in bed with fever. Cai sat knelt at his head, blowing his stuffy nose into mother’s handkerchief. Fai was shuffled in the linen sheets of his sleeping mat, just steps away from the crackling fire of the family’s cooking pit. The two boys were still young so the small hut did not seem as crowded as it did when they had grown. The brothers slept together on the same mat, but for now Fai was given a chance to rest as his fever had grown worse with the season’s heat. His mover placed a wet towel on his head, speaking to him. But his memories couldn’t make sense of the words. He had probably been delirious from the cold. He weakly nodded to his mother, the woman upset the boys had gotten themselves in such a condition. The warm scolded was that of a worried mother. He missed that time. It was when the Darkness was not as strong as the Light so he could live with his brother peacefully. Why had it all changed?

Someone made it change.

The Darkness could not survive without Light nor could it work in reverse. Even as the being of darkness lay there, the Avatar of Light sat at his head as Belle worked. Aside from the occasional squeak and chirp as the woman moved the injured man, it remained attentive. Even its earlier mischievousness seemed a thing of the past. The pair were well off in each other's company, even if the smaller one tried to suffocate the big guy. That was neither here nor there. The little one was worried. Just as Far could not exist without Cai, Cai had no place without Fai. The night had fallen much more quickly than anyone would expect, but with winter upon the world, perhaps it was merely the way of the clouds. The storms had pushed the beast to its limits with an already damaged body, but the warmth of the fire had restored some of its senses. The dragon was born of the icy depths of the mountains, but even the most cold tempered beast could not hold his own with such dire injuries and a state of starvation upon them.

The tiny avatar moved to follow Belle, like some sort of puppy. It hopped on its hind legs, the wings spreading out to balance his motions. It acted nothing like the glorious beast it was born to be, but it was the deception of its nature. Light may have been pure, but that did not make it merciful nor kind. Just like those with dark nature's could harbor good intentions within their madness: madness could harbor within the good intentions of the light's nature. After all it was the goal of light to burn away the dark just as it was the dark's inter to purge the light.

His muscles twitched. A soft whistle escaped the unmoving maw of the spirit. It seemed the dragon was rousing from his deep state of slumber. The white summoned beast sat back and pricked up those soft ears as his cloudy tail began to sway. A rough exhale escaped the beast as his body roused from his rock-hard slumber. His chest visibly rose and fell, jaws parting at each breathe. For a moment, one could swear that his teeth were instead a row of shark-like fangs, but on second look they would have returned to a normal, human state, though his canines appeared slightly pronounced. His eyes were blurry, caught by the bright light of the nearby fires. For a moment he wondered if he was among the dead, but soft touch of something on his forehead drew him from the trepidation and fear that came with passing on. Reaching his uninjured, left arm toward his head he touched against the wet cloth. Relief filled him when he realized he had not fallen victim to his own foolharty tempt over the Light.

The small shadow of light jumped from Belle’s side and padded toward the ailing wizard. Raising a tiny paw the creature would press the soft pads against the man’s warming cheek. Color was slowly returning to his features, but he was still pale in comparison to his healthier tan tone. “Cai…” the soft whisper of his voice crawled from the depths of darkness. “You’re okay.” It was a chilling tone, but edged against a plane of gentleness that was usually lost on others.

Amber eyes traced what surroundings he could see in his prone position. He was not comfortable lying on his back so pushed to sit up. He hissed in pain, his arm not yet healed. With no darkness to consume and nothing but the light at his back, he was a haggard mess. The small creature of light pushed onto his hind paws and padded at the brute’s back, stretching much in the manner of a cat; it spread its luxurious wings and whisked its tail about the air. The dragon looked around, head turning toward Belle. He seemed to be processing everything.

“Where is he?” He moved his right hand to rest over his eye as he tried to recall his earlier moments. He was lost -- out in the cold. “How did he get here? Who is she?” He seemed to sneer at her, distressed, annoyed -- hungry. His stomach twisted in protest, growling out itself before one could escape the dragon’s lips.

---

龍 Fai 'Titan' Jiao-long 巫
46 | Male | Dragon
profile

TAGS: @belle~! | NOTES: A beast forsook by his own Darkness.