Half a Heart

[Kouros]

It had been three weeks.
Three weeks since she slipped away without word.
Kouros ground his teeth, a deep rumble filled his chest as cat-like fangs bit into his tongue. The ground was warm, evidence of the encroachig summer heat. He wasn't sure which form was better suited for the weather: the man or the cheetah. But the cheetah dehydrated too easily, leaving Kouros standing on two legs, closer to the sun. It hurt his eyes at times with how bright it was on the cloudless day, but the dark, cheetah-stripes beneath his eyes helped with the reflection of light.

He had traveled from the earth Nation to the Uncharted Regions on a tip and a hunch that his Aubrey had wanted some neutrality in her life. Else she wasn't here by choice.
The line on Kouros's brow deepened; his lips curled back in a slight snarl; his eyes narrowed, flashing hatred.
...Aubrey...
He would kill who-ever had taken her.
Without question. Without pause. Without thought.
...If someone had taken her.

Nothing out of the ordinary had preceeded her departure. The pair had argued --no surprise there. Aubrey yelled and screamed --she even threw a plate at Kouros's precise, sarcastic comments before storming out of the small town resteraunt. Kouros had finished his meal in silence even with the other patron's staring at him. He had too much pride to walk out. Besides, he'd been hungry and he wasn't going to let their hard earned meal go to waste. Aubrey could go hungry for all he'd cared.
Eventually, he figured, she'd walk it off ...Or sleep it off with some crude, moneypockets... and then return to their room at the Inn. They had treated themselves to a week in a soft bed after that muddy trip to the town and Aubrey wasn't going to pass up a soft bed.
Or so he thought.
Two days later, Aubrey hadn't returned and Kouros had gone one night without sleep. Three weeks later, he'd scoured the small town, as human and cheetah, and had little more than an overheard conversation and a disappated scent that had led him to the Shepard's Fields. That, however, was as far as the scent had gone. Kouros couldn't tell if it had faded simply as an effect of time and the melting snow and rain, or if someone had been smart enough to clean up after themselves.

Kouros thoughts grew grimer each day, but he refused to let the fire in his heart go out. They'd been together too long, been through too much for him to let go now. He could not --would not give up on her. He would die searching for her before he ever gave up on his fire.
...Aubrey...

In the end, Kouros had made a base in the Caves of Nere. He didnt have much: a cloak, some medicinal herbs, a pot, a pair of cups, a satchel in which to keep all of the small things, and extra rope. They weren't much, but they were his. And Aubrey's.
At the moment, Kouros was not home...

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[Jaden]

The forest swept by with relentless monotony. For some time now, the trees had remained similar and the sounds repetitive. Hot rays of the sun burned down on the earth washing out almost all intensity and distinction between the colors of the wild. Leaves brushed at the passing wind as branches reached for contact, but nothing of physical form had hope of catching this fleeting breeze.

Slim in form, a shadow among the trees whisked past. Even as the woman glided upon the winds of the wilds, those very currents played with her long ebony hair flowing behind her and at the thin black fabric barely covering her feminine figure. With grace and speed, she navigated her way beneath the dense canopy without forsaking caution. Stealth was not a particular concern as one would suspect.

She was quite bored often sighing to herself even in the midst of haphazard flight patterns, unknown destinations, and strange lands. As a woman constantly seeking out adventure and fun, she much preferred the city to the loneliness of the untamed neutral regions. The people tended to add to the interest or more accurately, the men tend to encourage more interest from her. Still, traveling through the wilds was necessary because these undomesticated areas that bored her so would provide her with a variety unattainable in any of the nations divided by race and god. Wind was off limits as a nation for her and the Earth nation had grown dull besides the fact that her ‘master’ resided in Earth’s capital.

With this all in mind and despite the fact she is desperately bored of being alone, the woman decided she needed to rest. Her body was hot and her wings tired. Additionally, her mahogany eyes needed a break from the fast paced search for obstacles speeding in her way. She decided to find a cool spot to land for a small time.

Bare feet touched down on the cool rough rock shelf in the middle of a thinning wood. The birds sang their routine song filling still, humid air with the guise of activity, but it was a more subtle sound that drew her attention. From a little ways off the faint trickle of water reached her delicate ears. She followed the sound to a thin cavern slightly to her right. Thirsty, the woman entered without second thought.

Black translucent wings folded behind her to fit the tight space. Even she was now out of the direct heat of the sun, her copper-toned skin seemed to glow in the light coming through the entrance. It was enough light for her to see the general layout of the fissure. Inside she found a small spring leaking from the wall of the cave and draining into a pool created by decades of erosion. She dropped to her knees, pulled her black hair out of the way with a fair hand, leaned over the pool and put her lips to the water.

After taking a few swallows to quench her momentary thirst, the woman stood again. This proved a perfect place for a rest. The air was cool and the water cold. It was hidden too which was always a plus.

Innately curious, the small winged woman began to explore the chasm. It was not long, however, until she found something that did not belong. A little further into the cave, she found remnants of fire, a bag, and a few other personal items of a stranger.

Oh why, thank you. You are just so kind.

Quickly finding a cloak, she held it against her face. Oooo… her hopes were high. She could smell him on the clothing. He was rough and dirty but still so masculine – at least that is what she assumed from the texture and condition of his equipment. For a few moments she just stayed there with the cloak against her face taking in his scent. Then she took it and partially rolled it around her arm. Removing her arm after it was half-way rolled, the visiting woman placed it on the ground on the opposite side of the ashes. She then lay down with her wings loosely folded behind her laying her head on the pile of rough cloth and hugging the rest. Her ebony silk hair stayed where it fell.

She soon closed her eyes. Unfortunately, it was not long before she heard a boot fall in the dirt behind her. She could not help but feel happy for her luck.

[Kouros]

Another fruitless search.
Kouros stepped from sun to shade pressing the base of his palm to his eye. Nails dug into his scalp. Blonde, strangely spotted hair twisted between his fingers. Where was she?! His boots, the opted protection from the ground echoed from the cavern and through his heart. He had never been this alone...
...Aubrey...
He stopped and shook the child from his eyes. It would not find her, make her reappear by his cloak with a welcome smile of spite. If only.

Before moving forward, Kouros removed his boots in two deft motions and pinched them in one hand to carry them. That left him in a pair of slacks, brown from days of caked-on earth. He wiggled his toes, free from their prison, and rocked on his heels glad to again have the pebbled surface of stone prickling his soles. The earth always made him feel connected to her.

He rolled his shoulders ready for a midday rest --the first real rest he would allow himself since two nights previous. Having pushed his search circle all the wider, he could afford no time to come back to rest or eat unless he chose to move camp each day, something he had seriously considered doing on the trek back. He could cover more ground that way. At the same time, he could simply abandon it all and travel as the cat.
But that meant abandoning Aubrey's thing and to Kouros that was the same as abandoning Aubrey.

Shuffling around the rock formation that hid his little encampment --if it could be called that-- the last thing he expected to find was a shape rolled in his cloak. His heart leapt at the sight of her legs --her!-- and her hair. He wanted to yell at her, hate her for how worried he'd been, and hug her, keep her closer than ever before, feel her breathing, her warmth. Make sure she was real.
But the hair was black and Kouros closed his mouth, pressing his lips to a grim line. Aubrey's hair was brown, two shades darker than her tanned skin. If the girl beneath his cloak moved, Kouros did little more than narrow his chocolate eyes and watch her every move. He gripped his laceless-boots with a tensity that would have broken something more solid. Ice crawled over his expression.
She was not welcome.
Kouros was beyond fury.

"What--"
The word was clipped, as if he ground his teeth together not to keep from snapping at her, but to keep from physically assaulting her being.
"--do you want?"


[- edit: ending addition, hope it doesnt screw you up too badly -]

[Jaden]

Lifting her upper body by a hand and an elbow, the small wandering woman twisted to look at him. She laid back down on the dirt with his cloak intertwined in her slender arms her chin on her forearm only long enough for her lower half to straighten with the rest of her form. Jaden lifted herself again slowly with both hands. Her thin black clothes accentuated her figure’s seductive curves.

“Some rest,” she answered his clipped inquiry with silken confidence, “and maybe a bit of company.”

Jaden straightened upright. Her knees folded next to her figure with her legs one on top of the other. At the same time, black translucent wings lifted slightly to escape from the confinement of remaining folded behind her back. Reaching a small distance in front of her, the unnamed witch from Wind picked a few twigs and brushed the pebbles from the immediate area. She rubbed the ground in circles and patted it like a cushion.

“Come sit with me… if you don’t mind.” Her voice remained steady and remotely warm. “You are a handsome young man, but you look simply exhausted. Come rest.” Jaden turned on her charm and began to weave the initial workings of her spell. With a voice masked in a façade of comfort, the venomous vixen waited in the shadows.

Her hair is black, her clothes are black, her draconic wings are dark, and her copper-tone skin possesses a smooth tan. Still, the woman all but blends into the caves with their dim lighting and uneven background. Mahogany eyes glimmer with excitement, adrenaline, and hope.

[Kouros]

1....
What...what was she trying to pull? If she didn't leave by the time he finished counting to twenty, Kouros refused to be held responsible for his actions. Even if they started a civil war. He would tear that hand --that hand twined in the cloak he'd put over Aubrey's shoulders-- he would tear that hand from her wrist, shredding muscle by force, popping the joint from her forearm, detaching nerve endings, ending viens with the unfillable spece of air.

“Some rest and maybe a bit of company.”

...2.
No... he would not remove her wrist.
He would pluck those black wings from her shoulders. He would pin those curves, those bare legs to the stone floor, press the body within that skimpy black dress with all the strength his body and pull at those feathered limbs, those amombinations from her shoulders.
He would start a war between Earth and Wind... over a petty lover's quarrel. And he would not care. He would not care if he lost his life for it...

She plucked pebbles and twigs from the floor beside her, dusting out a patch of earth.

...3.
Or maybe, maybe he would rip one feather at a time from her back and then pin them to her legs and arms, cover the ...fresh limbs that she tempted him with. He would replace the raven feathers from her wings to her flesh, poking holes in her skin to bleed over her silky copper skin.

Kouros could not deny that his eyes roved what she so delicately laid before him. He watched --with a fury insurmountable and growing only in his contempt for himself-- as she had laid herself out for him, stretched her lengthy, bare legs only to fold them away, and then purposefully work her arms and shoulders, hair spilling over them, just for him. Oh how he hated her for knowing her art and finding him, of all men, when what he wanted most was a woman.

...4--
“Come sit with me… if you don’t mind.”
--5--
“You are a handsome young man, but you look simply exhausted. Come rest.”
--6....

But no.
Aubrey.
That was who he wanted. His passionate, firey, argumentative, absent-minded, impulsive, Aubrey. The girl that ordered him around and kicked at him. That blew their coin on showers and new shoes, body art and fancy meals.
His best friend. His reason.

Kouros closed his eyes, took a long silent breath.
...7...
He did not lost his temper like Aubrey did. He was the calm one, the one with the brains, the common sense. Just because she was ... missing did not mean he could lost his grip on reality. If he started this fight now, he would not have the time he needed to look for her. He would be wanted by both Earth and Wind. Finding her then, would do her more harm than good.

Kouros swallowed his pride and made for the spot to which she suggested he "come rest". Purposefully avoiding her shape, he lowered himself to sit on his heels. Only then did he find that her mahogany eyes, did he regret the decision. They reminded him so much of Aubrey's: mischevious and so full of hope. And then there was this... something that Kouros couldn't place. Was it a pitiful loneliness or was it reckless abandon? And then, was it some sort of triumph?

Still, what Kouros raised his voice to say to her may not have been what she expected to hear. Her reaction was hers to have, but that did not cease the rumble beneath his clear, hard voice. He wouldn't deny the cat its warning and if she did not figure out what he was from the black stripes beneath his eyes and the matching black spots in his blonde hair, he would have transformed and chased her to the ground before she could reach the cave entrance and the skies beyong. For her sake, Kouros hoped she was listening.


...9...
"I am half way to twenty. Do not push your luck or you will have no more chances. Answer me this winged-witch: What do you hope to gain from this?"
Here Kouros felt his heart strong enough to let his eyes rove her body. Some animal in him eagerly sucked in her slenderness, her exoitic aura, but just as he might allow himself a thought, Aubrey would be sleeping on his shoulder, tossing a flower crown over his head, helping his mother with the laundry, and all at once that thought lost words. Kouros found her face again, chocolate cat eyes clawing through her gaze.
"You can give me nothing my Aubrey cannot already provide.

[Jaden]

Her eyes narrowed and her lips curved into a mischievous smile when she noticed the long thoughtful breath. This would definitely prove to be fun… She felt his eyes wandered her curves and knew her presence was beginning to made the desired effect.

Then he stepped forward passed either his anger or his stubbornness, it didn’t matter to her as long as he came close. Her heart leapt in joy and excitement with each step – things were often easier for her when the man came to her accepting her offer. She watched him carefully as the strange man upon whose camp she had intruded weaved around a cold fire pit. Jaden finally caught his chocolate brown eyes as he lowered himself onto his hunches. Oh, the life that flowed in those deep pools of his, but it was the yearning in them that she found appealing. Once the man stopped at her level, his fragrance enticed her and the mosaic in his eyes called to her.

Jaden felt his breath on her and leaned closer into it. Her copper-toned face slowly inched closer to his striped and spotted features. As a being of Wind, the woman did not recognize the markings. In her nation, the beauty of the cheetah is a rare sight undeniably if it ever did venture into their cool and breezy environment. The woman only smiled wider at him when he paused at the sight of her eyes. Indeed, her presence was taking some effect. She wondered how much further he could resist her intoxicating spell.

Ivory pearls peaked through slightly parted lips; she intentionally did not should him her fangs, however. The psyche-witch listened with unwavering emotions to his clear voice. His harsh low voice along with the stubbornness it reflected only fascinated her further. It was these men, these men with strong personalities and independent minds, who made her self-proclaimed job worth any trouble and complete fun…

Aubrey…?

… especially when they possessed a woman of their own, or better yet, when there was a woman who had already claimed that man’s heart.

“What do I hope to gain?” she repeated her voice singing and echoing through the cave’s musky air. Jaden’s spell had to have been taking some effect on his inhibitions she noted with his hesitations, but his words as strong as they come signified a firm grasp of reality. Still, he had to have been fighting it since she was certainly still here in his cave and he had come closer. “I thought I already told you.”

Twisting around from her hip, Jaden supported herself on hands and knees. Her ebony hair fell around her neck framing her bosom and playfully hiding some of it. With a graceful shift of weight to the support of one hand, the woman freed up a hand to gently and persistently cross the short distance to his cheek. “I just want some company.” Using her other hand as a brace in the dirt, she pulled her winged body forward to perhaps an inch from his structured frame. Delicate fingers found their way into his blonde hair as her palm rested over his ear.

Of course, she was moving closer as she spoke. Her small face was now passed his on the opposite side from her hand. She paused at his ear. “… and perhaps a bit of fun to pass the time,” she whispered with the sweet seduction she had mastered during the course of her life.

She backed off again to view the portal that is his eyes. Jaden smiled for him again this time displaying an ivory fang behind her exquisite lips. “How do you know I can give you nothing, sweetheart?” Her voice remained consistent in its silky texture. By far this was one of her favorite things; she could not bear to contain herself. The seductress leaned in further, not that she could really get much closer now, her breasts displayed nicely in front of her impending figure.

“Allow me to prove myself to you.”

With hopeful eyes and perfect form, she waited for him to recognize her invitation. She waited for him to slowly lose control. Jaden waited for Kouros to hand himself over into her hands.

ooc: too much muse to stop! .... hope you like it

[...deliverance...]

ooc: sorry… its so long. I had a lot of explaining to do. lol

Three weeks.

Three weeks she’d been separated from him, and not of her own volition. Well, to be fair, it had started that way—an argument and a tantrum, as was characteristic of the tigress. She’d abandoned the calm, reasonable Kouros at the restaurant and headed back towards no where in particular. Thoughts had plagued her steps, as her fuming mind slowly quieted; her rage placated by a soothing longing that could only be attributed to the lack of Kouros’s accompaniment.
Conflict had temporarily plagued her as panic told her to retrace her steps, but her stubbornness would not dare to apologize, thus she could not just go back and sit back at the table with him. It would admit her defeat, and Aubrey would not be satisfied with such an end.
So, she had decided to return to the inn, await him there in the room that they’d paid for while they were in town—a small, earthen town near the borders of the uncharted regions. Exactly where they were on the map, Aubrey hadn’t known… and even now, only minutely understood.

She’d never made it to the inn.
An old face she’d known long ago, when her skills of illusion and deceit were not so perfected, had happened across her path.

---

Kouros would even know him, the “lucky thief” who’d they seen at a bar several years back. He’d come across a lucky heist then, and was boasting of his new inheritance, when Aubrey picked him as their newest target. Kouros had disapproved. The man was unpredictable, and seemed lucid still even after swallowing several pints of the inns hard ale. Of course, only Kouros would notice such details… and as was usual Aubrey went about her own opinions, coyly distracting and enticing as was usual in their routine. The con had scored the duo several weeks worth of supplies and board, and Ian had been forgotten.

---

That had been three years ago, enough time for a drunkard to move on… if he even remembered the theft. Most of the men, Aubrey conned never remembered her or Kouros. Her gifts of illusions assured that… but this time, she’d been careless… and Ian had remembered her. For three years he’d remembered.

He saw her then, in the street after the argument. And he’d taken his opportunity.
Grabbing her off the street, he’d been sure to remind her who he was—demanding back what they had stolen all those years ago. Of course, Aubrey knew they would not have it now, but one cannot argue with a mad-man… and so he claimed Aubrey as his compensation—debt forgiven.

He’d dragged her along on his travels over the next couple weeks, and maintained his hold on her for over 2 weeks, before she managed to elude him. Leaving her a fresh wandering in a wide empty wilderness—lost in an uncharted region she could not name nor navigate.

She was free but she was lost. Kouros had always been her guiding star, the resourceful one… the one who realized what they needed to survive and which roads were the safest. She knew nothing… NOTHING. And that brought her to despair and panic, emotions she hadn’t felt since she was a child—a crying little girl, embraced in the arms of a frightened, but silent young boy. She’d become the stubborn, volatile tigress to protect that little girl… but now she’d regressed. Through open and vulnerable into a world she only barely comprehended.

So that brings us to now, three days since her escape from Ian.

A tired body pulled itself up among the higher rocks above her—fighting a terrain that she’d initially avoided. The mountains would give her a vantage point, the caves… shelter. Yet, she was exhausted and tired and hunger and pain had weakened her resolve, and her progress was slow. She spent longer hours sleeping now than anything else… and her hope for finding Kouros or even civilization in Earth was slimming.

Reaching the flat of a ledge, she pulled herself up and reclined against the next step she would eventually have to master, but rest now. Strong amber eyes had lost their shimmer, and her copper skin had become pallid beneath the cuts and bruises which lined her arms, legs, and face. She had with her, Ian’s cloak, which shielded her tattered rags and her battered body from the elements, but no matter how she wrapped herself she could never protect her mind from the onslaught of despairing thoughts.

Anger had mixed itself with her fear, and her viciousness had increased. She hated this mountain, hated the earth itself, hated every tree and brush she had struggled against, and every wild animal that made her jump in the night. This was a worse hell than any hell she’d faced with Kouros… she’d actually hated him for a time. Being the stubborn, sarcastic woman that she was… she’d waited, wandering around wondering where Kouros was. What was taking him so long to find her? But that reckless stupidity had faded and now all she wanted to do was find him.

But who was she kidding… it had been three weeks since her disappearance. Where was the hope that if he hadn’t found her now, how would he ever find her? She’d let the realism enter her head from time to time, but she’d never let it defeat her. She had nothing left if she accepted it.

Dozing briefly upon the slate, she felt her senses twitch in awareness as something caught her tired eyes.

Suddenly alert, she leaned forward to better view the new figure below.
First there was fear. Had Ian found her trail? Was he after her again? Was he really so close?
Then there was hope…
No, She’d left Ian far behind, near the borders of Wind. It could not be Ian. Then who?

…

Kouros… Her heart broke at the thought of it, her soul shattered in relief at the very idea that that could be Kouros below. He was so far away, she could not see his golden hair or his striped eyes… but it was Kouros. If it wasn’t then her mind had already broken.

Carefully descending, she followed the figure at a safe distance. She had no more strength for illusions. So needn’t the space to compensate. She also had an innate fear of anyone who was NOT Kouros, thus she could not find the voice to call to him, nor the boldness to step out to him. She did not want to meet another “Ian.” The reminder in his name was almost too much and she flinched at the memories he had given her.

She soon watched from afar as the would-be-Kouros disappeared into the cave. She could not see within, and could barely hear the muffled voices that echoed incoherently from around the corner of the entrance.

She paused there for a moment, letting reality settle back into her thoughts. What if this wasn’t Kouros? It could be a benevolent traveler…? Or a malevolent one… and then it COULD be Kouros.

Oh if only it were him.

Unable to control her curiosity and hopeful desperation, Aubrey removed herself from her safe ledge and trudged soundlessly towards the cave entrance—cautiously curling her neck around the stone so that her eyes might glimpse the figure she’d followed.

In that moment her heart stopped, and the world began to spin about her. Her mind fluttered in absolute, inconsolable relief as a tears welled behind dry eyes. Her hardened resolve, and bitter outlook melted into that little girl from so long ago… as she looked at the man who had been her only comfort over the years. This was her revelation as she saw him there. The lack of having him had reminded her how much she desperately needed him. Like the intoxicating array of fresh air, the sight of him filled her with joy… and butchered her self resolve. In that instant, Aubrey broke.

But it was not the absolute thrill of finding her Kouros. It was not the reunion and the safety she suddenly felt. She should have felt safe now, should have gone coasting in, reprimanding him for not finding her sooner—playing off the seriousness of her detainment with her rapid sarcasm and sharp tongue. But she hadn’t the voice… not while she watched him sit there with her—some wily old witch who’d curled her evil tendrils around him. Who hovered over him, touching him with lecherous fingers that she could not forgive. For this was devilry. Kouros would never forsake her and love another. Kouros could not have moved on… and yet… the anger, hate, and betrayal that welled inside her, bubbled within her soul did not burst like the savage volcanic flame that she was. No… Aubrey stumbled into the open, soundlessly. Her face frozen with a look of disbelief and a mixture of heartbreak and despair.

For a second she only watched… her mind imagined terrible things: ripping the wings off the beast, tearing through her flesh with her bare hands, mutilating her beautiful face, blinding her, suffocating her, breaking her arms, her legs, her neck… mutilating the witch until nothing could be recognized—a carnage she would readily inflict if only she had the resolve.

But anger slowly ebbed as the bronze tigress shuddered and fell, her knees buckling, her body sliding slowly to kneel upon the cold stone. She looked away from the scene—the woman’s hands touching Kouros, the way her body seductively curled around him, her head near his… and he did nothing. At least she had yet to see him do anything. All she saw was him and her in intimate proximity, and as it dawned upon her the tear flow came. They were quiet tears, rivulets of water that ran down the contours of her face, washing clean the grime in small clear streaks. Her eyes found the cave floor as the pain left her, abandoned her… realism… Kouros had moved on…

Had he really moved on? He couldn’t have. She was his Aubrey… was it so easy to forget when three weeks time had passed? Was it so easy to move on to the next beautiful face.

No. If she could accept that as the truth then she did not know her Kouros, and she KNEW her Kouros.

Yet, the small broken tears continued to escape her as her gentle sobs began to make sound out of her silence. She did not look up, it hurt her to look up, and though the anger had come again—that fierce burning hate welling and pitching within her like a violent storm—she could not stop the flow of pain from her eyes. Could not cease the torrents. She could only let them come and come they did.

She felt repulsion, anguish, and hate… everything welling and hammering against her mind… everything jumbled together—the joy of the reunion and the betrayal of finding another woman so close to her beloved companion. Though her tears portrayed her heartbreak… her anger was there, daring someone to provoke it. She wasn’t looking for comfort, though her soft cries might incline she did. She just needed release, and she was getting that. Everything was leaving her… everything she’d bottled up since she became the tigress. Right now, she was that little girl from so long ago.

But Kouros, needn’t worry. His fiery Aubrey was still there, it was just difficult to find her in her current vulnerable and volatile state of being.

[Kouros]

Oh she was good. At playing coy and weaving her little web of half lies. She knew she had the god-given graces of the wily and she used them well. She twisted herself just right, came just close enough, pouted her lips just the right way to make the men watch her. Her voice sang excuses and perfect reasoning while her eyes whispered suggestions and desire.

Her fingertips danced along Kouros's face and he could feel himself drowning. In the darkness of her hair, in his lonliness, in despair, in hopes and dreams and wishes and memories. The thought that he might not ever find Aubrey again rose in his throat in perfect timing with her whisper and retreat --No, no he couldn't let himself believe that. He couldn't give up on her. Not now. Not after so long. She would come back. He would find her. He had to... or else..
Something in his gaze began to break.

“How do you know I can give you nothing, sweetheart?”

When was the last time he had been touched like that? Like someone saw him as... a man and not some pawn to be used only at thier whim and need? This winged-woman played him well, using sugar names he had secretly longed to hear to topple the defenses years has built around the only thing he had left to give: his heart.

“Allow me to prove myself to you.”

And there she was, poised just right to stirr the natural instinct to procreate. She would welcome him, he knew, with more than just a smile. She would make him something she treasured, if only for the moment. And Kouros wanted to be treasured so dearly. He wanted to belong to someone, to let himself be more than vulnerable for someone.

And yet, Kouros kept his distance and his eyes dared not wander to what he knew she had on display for him. Lips stretched to a grim line, Kouros held his own. He stared back at her enticing eyes and kept his mind counting the depth of his breath.
Suddenly she stuck out her tongue and with a nasty twist of lemon on her voice told him to keep dreaming. She would not be taken so easily.
Kouros blinked, visibly confused only to realize he'd made that unexpected turn of situation.
A daydream... of Aubrey...
With a hard swallow, Kouros backed away and sat taller, more secure with more space between his body and the vixen's.

It was an unexpected noise that cracked the seductress's hold on Kouros. A soft crying filled the silence that stretched between the mismatched Earth and Wind pair and with slow perception Kouros pulled his gaze warily from the woman to find it's source.
To the other side of the cavern hold, another shape had joined the scene: limp brown hair dangled over her sun-browned skin only barely hidden by a ragged ensemble Kouros only barely recognized beneath the grime. It was the pointed ears and curve of her neck and cheek that Kouros's brown eyes widened at.
And then, her eyes.

"...Au-...Aubrey...?"

Rasping, broken, the voice did not belong to the man that had so clearly told the winged woman 'no' moments before. This man sat rigid at reality crashed at him and he was breaking faster than the seductress could have ever hoped.

He wanted so desperately to say something --to express his joy at seeing her, his pain at her condition-- but words would not come. Panic closed his throat and cemented his joints. But he needed her. He needed to be near her so desperately that he would have forced himself to break every bone in his body to be next to her.
And so he did.
With a desire so much more blinding than that for the seductress, Kouros moved in slow motion. First his arms, to push himself up, then his back and legs, unfurling as he stood. Each passing second oiled his movements until he swept fluid as water over to his treasure where he lowered himself fluidly to one knee at Aubrey's side.

He saw only her amber eyes, full of tears he hadn't seen since their parents died so long ago, and indeed, Aubrey was all he saw, the Wind woman long forgotten with her temptations and his cloak in the shadowed corner of the cave.
He raised a hand, stiff once more with shock, hatred, and defeat, to wipe away those tears in her eyes, but he could not bring himself to touch her. His hand, fingers curled, hovered over her body as though repelled be some invisible force akin to that of magnets. He could see her now; the women Kouros had starved, hunted sleepless, and breathed to see sat before him broken, beaten, bruised, and baffled. What had she been through? Scratches raked her complexion; purple and blue blotches shadowed her curves; tears lined her face. Kouros could have cried to see her.

"Wha... I..."

He had failed.

He had failed her so completely.

[Jaden]

Her delicate fingers played in his hair with her soft palm cupping his ear. She swallowed against the anticipation. How excited she was to finally take him as hers. Deep breaths flowed through parted lips. Jaden’s chest heaved in steady pattern with a yearning to breath with him, in him, through him. The seductress could hardly bear to hold herself back and savory the moment though savoring the sensations were all that made the activity interesting. This was her first man in months of travel. Kouros was a lucky man in a way as well for being that man. She would show him such sweetness and give him all the attention and ‘control’ he desired. She would feed him the sensations every man desires to know.Locking her fingers in his hair behind his ear, the witch began to pull him back through the space he had just created with seductively pursed lips. She wanted to lock him up tight in her web of venomous beauty. Jaden wished to begin with the real game. As though granted by the gods, her wish came into reality but not in the way one would expect.

An interruption of unexpected proportions pulled the yet unnamed man from her trap that preyed on the vulnerability of lonely hearts. Mahogany eyes followed the man’s to a broken figure on the far side of the cave. This ripple in the tide loosen her grip on Kouros both physically and mentally and he ran to her

Jaden lowered herself gently back to her hip bracing herself with the same hand facing the scene now unraveling near the cave’s entrance. Aubrey… she had heard him whisper. Her eyes narrowed in conjunction with the appearance of a smile as malicious as only a twisted mind such as Jaden’s could concoct. How fortunate it is for the woman who has stolen her target’s heart as appeared before them… at least it was fortunate in the seductress’s eyes.

Pushing herself up from the dust and dirt of the cave floor, she stood the cloak falling from her to revealing her outfit or lack there of covering as everything it was. The small woman glided on slender copper-toned bare feet towards the partially reunited couple. With meticulous grace, Jaden sauntered over to them her hips swaying just right as they usually did when she was working.

Finding herself behind Kouros, she folded her perfect legs under her once again but this time she practically was sliding down his sculpted back. First things first; she had to take Kouros’s mind back. Gentle hands, after rubbing his shoulders for a moment, caressed his flesh following the muscles of his arms. Her fingers then danced across to his chest then back up to rubbing the whole of his shoulders – front and back. Meanwhile, she kissed him – his upper back, his shoulder blades, the back of his neck, his ears. Moist lips had even found their way to just beyond his ear to his strong cheek bone.

“Come back to me, darling.” Her voice sang in his ears with a song only for the men of the world. She worked to weave her magic into him more quickly than before to get her grip back to where it was before their little interruption and beyond. Jaden kissed him again on the back of his neck.

The woman then pulled her face out from behind his hair to rest her chin on his firm shoulder. Looking directly at the distraught woman called Aubrey, venom laced her voice as she addressed the woman, “Go back to your forest. It’s rude to interrupt.” Jaden smiled casually before turning her attention back to the male in her arms and kissing him again this time near the boundary of his jaw. Carefully, slowly, and persistently, the winged woman leaned back pulling her chosen for the day into the comfort of her bosom.

ooc: ;D I like muse

[...deliverance...]

She was suddenly aware of someone beside her, and impulsively she flinched—regretting it the second her skin shivered away from him. How could she move away from him! Desperately she looked at him, eyes rapidly scanning him, wanting him, loving him. What she saw softened an angry heart, quelled a bitter rebuke. He was there, defeated before her, pained by her, overjoyed by her.

For how many years had they been together? How could she have ever thought that a few passing weeks could unravel that?
Slowly she moved her hand, reaching for his—wanting nothing more than to assure him she was alright. That she was here again, wholly here: his Aubrey.

But a dark shadow descended upon her as the moment shattered, broken by a venomous snake whose tendrils wove out of the black to curl around Kouros, pulling him away from her with sweet words and an arousing touch.

Aubrey recoiled from them both, her own venom soaking through her eyes as her heart shut down upon itself, withering away, cowering from the darkness which now descended upon the reunion.

Aubrey hated her.
This insatiable wrath was new to her, but it filled her so rapidly that she could not control it. A snarl growled out of her parched throat as the impulsive desire to kill overwhelmed her reason. Aubrey was not physically adept at fighting, but she had other methods.

A flash of light suddenly sparked within the cave’s fire lit darkness. It was a blinding white heat that filled the crevices and blinked out color, sight, and sound. Out of this white fire life sparked; an orange flame—vibrant and wild—yellow eyes blaring with an unconquerable hate as silver claws reached out to smite the vibrancy of life. A tiger, in all its animal glory leapt forth from Aubrey’s once broken form to embrace Jaden with the viciousness of a wild animal—to kill and mangle… its bestial face snarling with wild vengeance.

The attack was swift and sudden, over and done within the flash of a second.
Her illusion spent, the vivid white light flickered out, the tiger with it before the vision could fake any true damage.
But, Aubrey did not doubt its potency. Fed by memories of reality, it had all the strength and anger of a mighty tigress.

If she’d had a blade, she would have taken full advantage of the distraction, and Jaden would have been nicely carved in the end. But alas, there was no blade, but her desire to be rid of this pest was more than tempting. Aubrey wanted to see her conniving smile wiped clear by a deathly stare, wanted to see her stealing tendrils wither into nothing. Her presence erased—never to be remembered again.

Instead she sat where she was, Kouros nearby, but tainted by Jaden’s coveting embrace.
Aubrey’s tears had stopped, and now her face was dangerously dark, venomous and cold…

Throw her away Kouros!

She screamed at him from the silence in her mind, but her jaw remained locked and the words would not come out.

Throw her away! she shouted again within her silence, …preferably over the cliff, she added as a humorous side note for her own benefit.

“What would you have me do?” she bitterly directed towards Kouros. Her tone was dark, threatening, but hopeful. It had only begun to set in that maybe this was real, and his pain was regret or guilt. Had he really betrayed her?

Don’t tell me that.

Pain filled her chest, choking her.

Kouros, don’t tell me that…

[Kouros]

“What would you have me do?”

Kouros blinked in his confusion.
HE didn't know what had just happened, so how was he supposed to know what to do? He remembered a light, hot and blinding and the growl of a cat, maybe his cheetah. No, not his cheetah, deeper, larger, more ferocious. It had rumbled through him, driven claws through his back, shearing him in two, and showing him only the deadly eyes of the half elf maiden before him.
Aubrey was furious, filled with a hatred he remembered feeling each and every time Aubrey worked her wiles and illusions on their theiving victums. Her eyes swirled with the distinct wish for death of the other one. Kouros recognized that hatred of hers for the hatred he had felt each time a greasy hand reached for her on the street and yet, he also felt so very small in the clutches of that gaze. As if, he had been the one doing the wrong. What had he done before that violent torrent of animal tearing into his consciousness?

Before that... before that there had been... Aubrey, sad and hurt, crying and paining, but she had been happy to see him. Her hand and come forth and he had held his breath in hopes to feel her vivacty encompass his hand.

And then... and then the shadows of bat-wings-- the Wind witch!

The hand that had fallen at Aubrey's sudden repulsion closed around itself, pain searing up his arm. His hackles would have rose, if he had any hair on his back. Brown eyes narrowed, pupils becoming cat-like slits, pain pounded in his head. Every inch of Kouros became tense; his silence so absolute, it could be tasted.

Her chin still rested upon his shoulder, black hair gently brushing his cheek. His skin remembered her fingers dancing down his chest and the warmth of her lips as she pressed them to his neck and back. Her posions. She had whispered delicasies to him, softened him with her hands, and thrived on Aubrey's pain and his... weakness. She had been rude and crude, wanting only Kouros and to win her little game.

“What would you have me do?”

Aubrey's words rang in his mind.

"Nothing."

No pause. No hesitation.
He turned on the winged woman and stalked her until he stood towering over her. Whether or not her back had found the ground beneath her or the cavern wall behind his makeshift camp, he did not care. She had played him, twisted him, caught him-- and she could have had him all she wanted so long as she had left Aubrey out of the matter. But no, Aubrey was hurt, hurt in worse ways than beatings and bindings. She cried in ways he could not see, but he had felt.
And this... creature that he stood before, staring at, had caused it.
"You..."
A whisper audible to none save the ghosts of the past. His lips had barely moved; the dark target could have guessed the brief brush with words were directed at her, but he did not permit her time to try and puzzle out the single syllable.
His arms lashed out, lightning, fingers unfurled to reveal the cat-claws of his semi-transformation intent on piercing her wings and pressing them back to the stone. Slitted, chocolate, cat-eyes fround her face and held it captive.

"What would you have me do?"
The stingingly soft words were not for Kouros's captive any longer. He refused to speak to her, but in his hatred he could not look away from her while he addressed Aubrey, lest the witch throw another net over his head. That he could not--would not have.
The purring echo of Aubrey's demand fell so softly on the scene that it left near to no echo in the caverns. He seethed. Vehement in his need for retribution. But it would not be his vengance, it would be Aubreys. She need only to say it and it would be done.
A pledge of loyalty, salted with power and peppered with violence.

[Jaden]

Suddenly, a flash of blinding light and a deafening low roar forced Jaden’s copper toned face behind the safety of Kouros’s broad shoulder. The sensation of ghost-like claws tearing through her rippled through her body. She remained there for a moment longer while the realization settled in that she had been tricked. That woman had apparently used her only defense, or attack if she really wanted to call the illusion as such. Cute.

Pulling herself back together with her smug smile still intact, the small snake of a woman raised her chin to rest on his shoulder again. Along the way, her cheek dragging and pulled against his back while she gave him small kisses. Mahogany eyes took in the view with a pleased spark. The woman was angry and she was very close to breaking. That look of pure venom in her amber eyes and the bitter taste in her voice directed at the man drowning in slender arms. This was what Jaden lived for – a man’s weakness reinforced with the pain of his beloved. Her arms weaved around his chest again to rub his upper arms coupled with a gentle embrace as her smile only became wider to reveal more of her own fangs.

Just then she felt her horror come into reality. She felt her control slip through her fingers. It was gone. With his single word, “nothing,” she knew her control was completely gone along with any certainty she would leave these caves unscathed. Instantly upon this realization, he turned on her wheeling around knocking her to the ground. Air was forced from her mouth with the harsh contact between her back and the rocky ground.

Jaden quickly pushed herself back from the threat now looming over her until the cold fire pit stopped her backwards advancement. Frantic eyes searched the space between them for any hope. She looked for any possible way she could still have him. She searched for a reason she had lost control. What she found was bestial. His eyes seethed with monstrous fury. He was no man. This was why her attempts were now useless. It was as if she was trying to charm a true snake. His venom dripped from his fangs in a furious desire to kill.

Tears were nearly upon her in fear for her life. Her breath came short and rushed. Her pulse throbbed throughout her system. Adrenaline rushed her body carried by her blood.

With lightening speed the man lashed at her. Instinct surged forward. It was the most of instincts – fight or flight syndrome – or rather in her case, flight or dodge syndrome. She dodged curling herself up to create some form of protection against extended claws since an attempted escape would leave her beloved wings to the mercy of a beast. Her wings folded around her producing a thin shield of leather around her fair form but mainly it was to pull her wings away from a potential shredding.

Eyes clenched tight. The suddenly vulnerable woman held herself shaking in fear of danger that was all too real. All too quickly she was reminded of the collar and broken chain hanging of her neck and the contract it represented – the slavery she had temporarily escaped.

Keeping her eyes shut tight in fear of what she would find inches from her face, Jaden was without words for once. Here she was trapped in a cave with a narrow escape against a monster that seemed impervious to her sweetness. She listened to him speak with his love. This unexpected turn of the tides had cornered a witch experienced in her arts.

She did not know how to handle it.

[...deliverance...]

“Don’t.” she spat.

It was a brisk tone, a hard tone, a resentful tone. It harbored as much anger as if she had sentenced the woman to death. She hated the unknown, Jaden… but as soon as it was suddenly in her power to commit all those vengeful things that had played out in her mind—as soon as she saw the panic and fear fill Jaden’s eyes, tears welling behind those serpent pools—her murderous thoughts floated into fantasy as she began to wonder if she really had the right to sentence another to death.

Death. Such an absolute ending that now as Aubrey hesitated—salivating over the retribution that Kouros was offering her—she wondered if they were murderers. They were thieves, bandits, vagrants, outcasts… whatever you would call them, but was Kouros—was she—a murderer?

Now that judgment was at hand she wondered: no matter how much she hated Jaden; no matter how much she wanted the woman dead for what she tried to do… did Aubrey really have the right to kill?

Mercy was a crutch, but she couldn’t ignore it and reason outplayed her wrath as she moved forward cautiously towards Kouros—a hard frown upon her face while a victorious light danced within her eyes. Seeing the witch flee, seeing her curl in defensively around herself, seeing her helplessness, made Aubrey smile cruelly.

She may not want Jaden dead by their hands, but that did not diminish her hate for her, or her delight in seeing Jaden as helpless as Aubrey had just recently felt.
If not dead, Aubrey would settle for broken.

She came abroad near Kouros, but did not touch him—did not distract him from his quarry.

“Don’t,” she repeated softly, “She’s not worth it.”
There was a bitter edge which sharply lanced in Jaden’s direction.
She looked towards the winged serpent, hoping to find the woman’s fearful face, but seeing nothing but the leather shell which she had cocooned around herself.
“I’d say, ground the witch and let the forest and the mountains have her.”
Aubrey smiled ruefully, vengeance heavy within her tone. Her intent: to dethrone the winged vagrant from the skies and tie her to the earth—shred that sensitive leather so that the wilderness could wreak its havoc upon her.

But leave her alive. Death was such a pretty escape, and Aubrey worried over a murderer’s crime. Would someone notice if Jaden disappeared? Would someone care? Aubrey did not know, but the risk frightened her. She did not want to be hunted.
Besides wings could heal, and healer’s were masters of their art... Aubrey only wished a more permanent solution was available that would not weigh down upon her conscience.

Aubrey flicked a vehement glare towards Jaden, anger welling in her, satisfaction growing… she’d stated her opinion in the matter—her judgment.

If Kouros had other ideas, Aubrey was willing to listen.
Curiously, she tilted her face towards Kouros, observing his angry wrath with a surge of relief and awe. He was defending her, enacting penance upon someone who had jeopardized their relationship. Exactly what their relationship was, remained slightly fogged in her opinion, but she now had a clearer picture. And with it she felt a pang of guilt. He did so much for her, protected her, guided her, tolerated her… and what had she done for him? Less than she now would have liked.

The urge to touch him overwhelmed her, and thus she locked her hand tightly together. She wanted to hold him, to thank him, to feel him… everything they were was just a breath away.

Anger flashed viscously across her face.
They just had to get rid of Jaden first.

[Kouros]

There she was, curled up into a tight leather ball. Even though they stood at the same height, Kouros dwarfed her now. He knelt over her, one clawed hand to the side of each shoulder. The beauty was gone; no more seductress spell, just a quivering little girl that had no one to save her. He had her --he had her captive, just like his prey. Those stupid rabbits. Try as they might they could never hope to out play the cheetah. And she was just as weak, just as defenseless as them. She shook the same way; she would wail the same way; she would bleed the same way --no fight.

The cheetah drank in her fear --the beast so excited for a kill it almost shook in anticipation. He ground his nails into the rock to keep from slicing open her black cacoon and exposing her vitals beneath. He ground his claws with so much force they hurt, threatening to snap form the pressure. He wanted... No, the cheetah wanted to feel her flesh give way beneath his claws.

But then... a voice...
“Don’t.”
The cat snarled, unleashing a menacing growl. That was NOT what it wanted to hear. It wanted blood. It wanted vengance. It wanted a meal. But it listened, trying and failing to turn Kouros's human ear's as Aubrey stood and approached. The cheetah growled in soft recognition of the body standing over its shoulder.
“Don’t. She’s not worth it.”
...and Kouros blinked seeing the girl for the sorry, defenseless thing she was, and realized he had all the power in the world over her. She could live or she could die, as decided by Aubrey. He had, after all, given her the choice. And yet... he wanted her to pay, to feel an anguish not remotely close enough to how he and Aubrey felt. Something had to be done with her to make her remember...
“I’d say, ground the witch and let the forest and the mountains have her.”

Silently, Kouros proceeded to stand. He would not put blood on his hands or Aubrey's --No, she would never forgive herself for that-- but they could not let her go. Not without punishment and for a moment, he looked as if he was going to leave her there and let her get away.
Kouros nudged her with his bare foot, just nudged. A small tap to startle her out of that tight-wad position. He was going to enjoy this little charade of theirs and he wanted her to be afraid while he did. The fear is what she would need to remember, the fear of being de-wined, and the kindness of being let go. Another nudge with his foot, this one a little more forceful. To show that he meant business.

It must have been something in this nameless woman's expression that made Kouros's face split. He grinned something vicious, something violent, lips parting for a line of white teeth, fanged to match the ones she had taunted him with. How ironic, for him to bear the fangs she had boasted in deceptive power moments before. He hoped she could see them. He hoped she quailed at the thought of him.
"Tear off her wings, huh?"
It was probably the first time Kouros had ever sounded... interested and playful while questioning Aubrey. He sounded giddy at the prospect and yet... there was something very wrong in the way he tilted his head, eyeing her with a prodding toe as if appraising a carcass to be spitted over a fire.

Whether or not she responded to either of the preliminary touches made no matter now. Kouros descended upon the girl with a snake-like elasticity that probably even startled Aubrey. He looked for every opening, trying to twist her wrists and fingers at strange angles, shove her face to the ground, and pull at her wings. He could taste her fear.
Intoxicating.
But to say the humanoid shape that moved to wrestle the demonic angel to expose her back would be incorrect. That was not Kouros. That was the beast. The one that wanted revenge for Aubrey's pains. The one fueled by self-loathing. The one that Kouros has shoved in a box since their parents had been... Someone had to pay. Someone had to pay for taking it all away. For giving them nothing. For stealing Aubrey. For hurting the only thing he had left.
Someone had to bleed.

...It had been so long since Kouros last lost control.
That was the last time he'd cried too.

[Jaden]

Delicate hands encased an ebony-crowned head one gripping the back of her slender neck and the other with its fingers weaved into silk strands. Elbows pressed tightly against her chest by bare knees bent into a fetal position for protection against terror. Her skirt would have barely covered her figure but that did not matter for reasons beside her treacherous personality. Pulled tightly around her pathetic form shaking in the dirt, her wings created a leather-like shield. Behind it hid her charms, her spells, her beauty, her face.

Copper-toned flesh quivered in fear. Death could be felt looming over her, looking upon its next victim. Could nothing be done to save a witch at her prime from an untimely and ironic death? Would that which enjoyed so much be what ultimately kills her? Her manipulative mind could not wrap itself around the idea and mahogany eyes could not bear to look. Until that man, that monster, backed off and she could no longer feel the heat of his fury, she could not let herself relax.

ground the witch…

Her eyes popped open in shock to view a world coated in shadow. The muffled light from the cave entrance through her black webbing of her wings gave her a bleak preview of what might be to come. She was on her side, but world had turned upside down all because of that woman, all because she had made him say one word. Still, her eyes searched for any possible way to escape; she could not let them. They just could not separate her from her beloved wings and her only freedom in this life. Jaden would not let them.

The silence could have drowned her. Having the very idea of losing her beautiful limbs pull at the sanity in her mind was torture enough. After all, hearing it talked about it was one thing, but the prospect that it was being pondered over by one seeking any sort of bloodied vengeance was another story.

A foot to her lower back scared her into released her grip on her head. Her hands pulled away from hair and flesh but stayed within an inch from her nose and cheek. However, her shield remained raised hiding everything, especially her face if not her fear. Dilated pupils frantically searched for hope.

With what seemed no time at all, a second kick, one more forceful and to the point, shocked her out of her cocoon. The second jolt was hard opening her up. She jumped slightly catching herself on hands and knees. Her reptilian wings folded half around her creating some sort of umbrella against the predicted rain. Gazing over her shoulder, fearful eyes once full of malicious confidence followed his muscular form shadowed by the light coming in from the entrance behind him. Angled that her left side faced him Jaden watched the former target.

Since the light was as it was, low and coming from behind, his facial features appeared skewed and semi-indistinguishable. Despite this, she could recognize the expression of violent retribution anywhere. Everything about him seemed just wrong. Frightening muscles were extenuated and humanity dulled. Then the horrible twinkle in his eyes and the glisten off his fangs solidified her nightmare. He verbally confirmed what she had feared he was pondering. His voice twisted in the ironic manner of a beast. This man sounded playful, interested, and all the more approving of Aubrey’s suggestion. Tears welled overcoming the barrier and overwhelming the woman bringing her back to the scared little girl she as she had started life. She had to get away. It was as simple as that.

Fearsome as any beast, the man once under control fell to her. Instinct grabbed hold again as the witch scrambling to get away from his bite. With all her might, Jaden pulled herself away through the ashes of the pit. The witch turned to face him and to protect her wings from his claws. Limbs flailed in a defensive blur. Any nip at her ankles was answered with a kick. Any attempt to grab hold of her was answered by her own claws slashing in a fury at his face. High pitched, her scream echoed through the underground crevices. She was screaming at him and her breathing came just barely within her reach. Adrenaline provided the speed of haste and her legs provided a distraction to keep him away long enough to find two things which had the potential to help.

Instinct guiding her, she flung a handful of dirt and ashes in the general direction of his face immediately followed by his cloak to buy her some time. Her vision and senses distorted from tears and the confused chaos of survival, she hoped it had work. She hesitated in her frantic defense to kick away from him. Rocks beneath her grated against her lower back bringing forth blood to add to that on her arms and legs from her struggle against the monster.

Standing, the witch turned back to appraise the condition of her attacker. Her eyes flicked from him to her escape to the woman behind him judging her chances. It was not good. If she did happen to get beyond the man, would his love confront her, stop her?

Through the tears, one would be able to see the apprehension and the calculation.

Can she really walk away from this one?


ooc: I didn't misunderstand anything did I?... once I got going the muse really ran with me