RP:All Good Things...

Summary: Artia returns home to Odhranos and Ava-Marie after her ordeal at the hands of Kristos

Artia's Ranch

Artia had washed up at the academy before she headed home, not wanting to scare Ava about the blood soaked mother stumbling in. She feed and had her energy back, still walked with a limp. Keeping a cloak wrapped around her body tightly til she moved inside her ranch, hanging it up. Calling out, “My loves? I'm home.” Lashes and bruises cover her pale skin in patches, hardly any white showing from the lashes and bruises. Some spots burned badly from Kristos blood, She kept fighting nonstop, and never gave him what he wanted. Left jaw swollen, broken nose, lips more plump from being swollen and busted open. The female's eyes blackened and swollen. Above her heart a deep burn of insignia outline, hands purple and black. Open wound from where daggers were twisted around inside, leaving her hands a pain to move. Around her neck a collar with rune symbols to keep her unable to use magic, slowing down her healing process. safe to say not a spot of her wasn't covered in damage from Kristos. Her tattoos on her arms were different, he had added to them. Moving into the kitchen she stumbled slightly, grabbing a roll of gauze to cover her hands up with medical ointment and wrap them up. “Odhranos? Ava?” She started to shake as fear leaked into her heart, did kristos free her to take on her family.

Odhranos awoke with a start, having dozed off at his desk, but the sound of Artia's voice had instantly woken him. "Artia?" He called out confused, unsure if he had dreamt hearing her. Ava was woken be Odhranos call and began to wail at having been woken so. Picking up his daughter from her cot and soothing her with quiet murmurs and cuddles, the mage walked from his study and into the foyer. Hear the sounds coming from the kitchen, the mage held Ava close against him, before slowly walking into the kitchen, one hand raised with tendrils of sand creeping into the palm to form a small swirling projectile. Upon catching sight of Artia, the hand was dropped rapidly, the sand whisking away and the mage rushed across to her. He reached out for her, but stayed his hand after noticing her wounds. "Artia.... what happened?"

As soon as Artia heard them, she smiled standing up as she heard their hearts move closer. His hand might've stayed back, bit her beaten, bruised arms did not. They wrapped tightly around Ava and Odhranos, her face buried into his chest inhaling his scent listening to their hearts. “Kristos, he wanted to find our who taught me to use the magic I possess. He tortured and beat me, starved me. I'm collared, and can't use my magic any more. Each time I try, the collar tightens and my magic goes out loke a flame to a candle. I pushed to survive each beating each time I almost bleed out to make it back home. You two kept me alive, I never thought I'd see you two again.” The tears broke, her body shuddered as she pushed her face into his chest crying deeply. Lifting her head up to place her almost useless hand against his cheek, placing a soft kiss to his lips. Looking to Ava, who she now flooded with kisses, wiping her tears away. “I wouldn't scream out but once, he let me go. I guess I wasn't exciting enough because I wouldn't scream or give out the sounds he wanted me tell him anything he wanted to know.” She then kissed Odhranos again, this time on his cheek. “Can we go sit in the living room? It hurts to stand still.”

Odhranos stood frozen as Artia turned towards him, but when she rushed forwards, his free arm wrapped tightly around her, holding her tight and helping her stand. "Sven above, I thought I'd lost you. We thought we'd lost you, that you weren't coming back. Mythayus told us you'd been taken, but not where, or by whom." The mage complied with Artia's request and helped her into the living room, as she leaned heavily on his arm. He laid her down on the couch and placed Ava down, who straight away tried to climb up onto the couch to get to her mommy. "Ava, no honey, Mommy is quite hurt right now, you can't climb up there." Odh spoke softly, taking the little girl's hand from where it was gripping the cushions and placed it gently on Artia's own hand instead.

Artia smiled which threatened her lips to rip back open from being hit so much, “I'm harder to kill then that, my love. I would walk through hell fire to get back home, I'm not moving to Vailkrin anymore. If Larewen needs me she can send for me, my place is here at home with Ava. An undead city isn't healthy for a human child to be raised in full time, I know Larewen will not be pleased. I don't want you two out of my sight, again.” As for Ava she would lean over, revealing the claw marks and branding Kristos had placed on her. “She can sit with me, my body is actually numb from all the pain. I just can't use my hands very well yet, he liked twisting daggers in them. I just don't know why he let me go.” As she finished speaking out of the shadows walked an elemental familiar, staring at the three of them. “He gave me one of his elementals..i don't know what to make of it. Mythayus found me passed out near the riverbank, helped me get clean before I came home covered in my own blood. I am poisoned from the dragons blood, I fought back and got his blood on me. That and this collar is slowing down my healing.” She pauses, “Myth told me he told you not to look for me, that he would. He sent out Ari and his lycan pack, but he never left Larket.” She looked away to the elemental, “I was told not to look for you when I was pregnant, and I still did. Even hired people to help, pleaded the healers guild to help me. I'm glad you stayed home, that way our Ava could have least one parent alive if I didn't make it home.” She leaned her head back, “Kristos would hurt me then get gentle, or wasn't til the last day he feed me. And he just wouldn't stop whipping me..i passed out. Never once screamed, I kept threatening him, mocking him...but why let me go?”

Odhranos nodded and helped lift Ava up onto the couch, where she snuggled her little form down against her mother's side, resting her head against Artia's shoulder and rubbing her curly locks against her cheek. Leaning closer, Odhranos kissed Artia's cheek softly then turned his attention to the collar bound around Artia's neck. Examining the material and the angry scrawling runes across it's surface, the mage gently laid his fingers against the collar and closed his eyes, letting his focus drift to the point of contact between the item and his fingers. After a moment, he recoiled sharply, as if burned. "That's... angry magic within that collar. Like a caged animal, it's biting at anything it can get at." he whispered, rubbing his hand vigerously to get feeling back into it, before brushing his hand against Artia's cheek gently. "Is there anything I can get you? Food, drink, a vial of blood?"

Artia teared up looking down at the curly headed child cuddling her, lifting her arm to wrap around her. Artia flesh was warm, a sign she feed recently, helping to curb her almost unquenchable hungry that had grown within her. She blamed Kristos, but truth was he helped awaken the corruption she hid under lock and key. The evil Odhranos helped her push away with his love when they first met. “I've missed you my little amore.” When Odhranos kissed her cheek, she stiffened up giving out a growl from the studying of the collar. Cyan eyes with the gold starburst went wide at the way she reacted, “Odhranos...im sorry. I'm just having difficult time with contact, Kristos liked to try to push boundaries..” Meaning he tried to get too friendly, but stopped when she got mad enough at the dragon. Patting Ava back, “Kristos is an ancient shadow dragon, his magic is nothing but angry and chaos. The insignia burned above my heart, he did that. I can sense him or any dragon nearby...i...i attacked myth thinking kristos was messing with my head again. It's when I learned about this collar, I feel like I'm just some pet now.” She stared at the wall, “I know he isn't near, but I can still feel him breathing down my neck.” Looking back to Odhranos. “I'm not sure if being here is real or not. I don't drink vials of blood, I drink from the source or drain energy.”

Odhranos' eyes widened as Artia growled ferally, meeting her eyes with a wary concern that softened as she explained. He listened to her words, and his grey eyes took on all the colour and quality of steel, hard, and cold. "Ancient and dragon though he may be, if he steps foot within a mile of this house, I will destroy him. I'll imprison him within the bowels of the earth for eternity." He stated quietly, his dangerously soft tone conveying the cold rage behind his words. His eyes then softened and he went from Odhranos, Mage of Stone, to Odhranos Kerrigan, tired and upset father. "You're here Artia. With me, with Ava. Hear my voice, feel her hair against your skin. You are home and you are safe."

The vampire stared at him, smiling at his tone and how he all sudden went protective. “He won't harm Ava, but he said I'll belong to him one way or another. I don't want to think what he means by that, at all. It took hours for Myth to convince me I was really there with him. I slipped out of the academy while he was sleeping on the couch, didn't want to disturb him.” She winked her blackened eye at him, “You sound hot when you get mad, meow.” Then she remembered Kristos crumbling the delicate gem stone ring Odhranos made her, “I uh..he..my ring. He broke it and threatened to cut my finger off with it on to send to you, but I dared him too. So he just broke it.” She leaned towards him, kissing his chin, dragging her fangs along his flesh. Pulling away to help Ava to crawl upon her lap, “He has elementals, they helped him counter my attacks. Bonus of this insignia, I'll know if a dragon is near.” Looking down to Ava, "I honestly never want to leave the ranch again."

Odhranos gave a tired smile at her teasing and reached out to tentatively brush her hand; he didn't want to risk upsetting her again. "It's alright, rings can be replaced, I'd rather you had lost it than a finger." The mage smiled wanly as she continued. "Elementals? Elementals are crude but depending on their user, they can be effective. You need to know what type to use in what instance. But I'd imagine he does. Wonderful." The mage deflated somewhat, resting on his knees beside the couch as he reached over and rubbed Ava's back gently.

Artia nods, "He has one for every element, it's why I lost the fight and got captured." She then looks towards the elemental who shifted into a green color with what looked to have moss for skin, "But gave me one of his, I just don't know. Something is missing, or I'm not seeing it. I'm branded by his crest, he fixed my tattoos he ruined and added to them. Let me go. You just don't do things like that to someone you torture..." The gold in her eyes began to swallow the cyan blue, clearing her throat. "Odhranos, Take ava. Quickly." As soon as ava moved artia shot out of the ranch the the backyard, placing her hand on the large willow. A white glow highlights her fingers into the tree, lead by leaf lost its green. Crumbled and falling to the ground around her, the branches began to splinter some fall around her as she drained the life from the willow. Once it was fully dead, she would turn around, panting staring at her hands. The willow then crumbled into a manner of saw dust behind her as she moved back inside the house. "I feel something clawing at my skin from inside, and it scares me.. I regret becoming a vampire. But a deal is a deal, and no matter what Ava is protected by Larewen and her coven. That's all that matters."

Odhranos was about to reply that he agreed with her suspicions, that there was clearly more going on, he couldn't have just -let- her go without some sort of ulterior motive, but suddenly a change came across Artia and the mage quickly grabbed Ava from her as she shot upright and out into the garden. Ava cried out and began to wail loudly, squirming in Odhranos' arms, who stared at Artia in a mixture of concern and horror. "Artia... what is happening to you?" He spoke in a quiet, afraid tone, as he watched the ancient tree turn to spores and dry rot, crumbling in on itself as the very life was sucked out of it. The Mage's eyes grew wide and afraid, as he backed away from the door slowly, his eyes riveted to Artia as she re-entered. "What... what was that?" He asked, the obvious underlying question being; when is it going to happen again?

Artia didn't want to look at him, instead she ruffled the curly too if Ava hair. Smiling at her, the cyan blue was back with jist the gold freckles. "I...i.. I'm not like other vampires Odhranos, Larewen hasn't seen a vampire like me before. Kristos and Larewen never seen someone animate corpses with flora..everything I could do before is gone. I'm learning my new abilities, I just drain the life energy from the tree instead drinking blood. I was starved for almost a week, and I guess my body is trying to catch up." She kissed ava head, glancing up at Odhranos, "When I get that sudden hunger I don't want to attack anyone for blood, instead I get a sharp pain through my body and need to drain energy. I get two different hungers. I don't like it, and there is no vampire like me to teach me. I'm learning it all on my own, I was doing fine til kristos took me away. Something has cracked inside of me..i don't know what to do. Other then go back to kristos and see what he did, maybe reverse it? I'm scared to go back, but I need this collar off."

Odhranos looked at Artia with a sad expression, one that spoke volumes. About the wounds he bore from the desert, scarring his soul still. About his fear for what was happening to Artia, and his helplessness to try and save her. About his concern for Ava, and the world she was to grow up in, full of magic and wonder, yes, but also madmen and monsters. And finally, Odhranos' sorrow, that no matter if the worst never came to pass, if the world righted itself, they would still be apart, as the years took Odhranos' body, mind and soul and made of them a dust, while Artia lived forever youthful. The mage thought of how there could be no future for them, much as his heart pained him, he could not follow her down that path. And so, with a whisper of dust, the mage's heart broke. Wordlessly, the mage left the room, tucked Ava into bed with a sorrowful kiss, then returned to Artia. "I think... we need to talk..."