RP:An Interesting Development Pt. 2

Synopsis: An interesting development ensues when Kyros seeks Desparrow out after witnessing his fight and parting ways with Tanya.

Location: Sage Forest, Xalious (Watch Tower)

Date: 04 December, 2011

Characters: Desparrow, Kyros

Background

Continued from An Interesting Development Pt. 1

After training with Desparrow in the morning, Kyros leaves to see Tanya. He is surprised to find her badly crippled and in a great deal of pain. She tells him that Desparrow is the one who injured her, and he returns in anger to the elf, wishing to defend what is right.

The Next Day

Desparrow had already taught Kyros a bit more about archery early in the morning, hoping that as he had instructed the day before, that he followed instructions. He seemed to be doing alright, just needed a firm guiding hand, one that wouldn’t be like Tanya’s and Trissayne’s, whom beat the lessons into one through merciless fighting, instead it had to be gentle, but strong, like handling a disobedient child. It was going to be a rough road to traverse, but it should be fun. Desparrow had never had an apprentice, and if Kyros could learn all his techniques while developing a style of his own, then this could be rather exciting. Being mid-day, the sun shone through the trees while a light breeze blew through. He was ready for some action today, and he wouldn’t go light, as per request of Kyros. “Are you ready for some more fighting practice? You have a good solid base, now you just need to develop it. You have the style of a brawler, you need to mature into the style of a fighter.” Taking a quick offensive stance, he held out two fingers each from his hands, the rest curled into an incomplete fist, “Come at me.”

Kyros had left after a morning of archery practice. He felt he was doing better, even with the obvious lack of rest. He'd slept okay, but a man used to his bed would, he assumed, not sleep very well on the forest floor no matter the conditions. He'd left, his stomach still full from breakfast, and while buying a bow and quall of arrows for himself, he'd recieved word that Tanya was looking for him. Hesitant though he'd been, he had gone, and the short conversation weighed heavily on him even now as he walked back into the clearing where he'd met with Desparrow the day before. The elf, exuberant as always, caught a stance before Kyros was even fully within a few arms' reach, and the man dropped his things onto the ground, walking quickly and angrily toward him. "Why did you attack Tanya?!" he asks, voice rising. "She says she denied you another fight and so you came at her last night. I've seen her - she has broken ribs and both legs crippled, and says she nearly died from your attack. And here you are without a scratch to speak of," he motions to the elf, eyes narrowed. Though he was inclined to disbelieve Tanya even now, he'd seen the broken bones himself, and the woman was in poor shape.

Desparrow was surprised, not only at how the human seemed rather boisterous, but that he had ignored him, and was he even raising his voice? This was unheard of! Would he really defy him so. This would not go unpunished, but for now, he had asked a viable question and seemed truly concerned. “I did beat her. I beat her to death’s door, and then I saved her from it when she was merely inches beyond Death’s grasp. You would not understand the betrayal that she has thrown at me. She deserved to be punished, and so I took it upon myself to make my pain physically manifest on her own body. It was rather pleasing to see her suffer. But I cannot say that I wouldn’t do it again, just for the hell of it.” His hands balled up and tightened, his knuckles cracking while crossing his arms over his clothed chest. His pecs pushed outwards, outlined against the tight shirt due to the crossing of his arms while he examined Kyros, trying to gather the intent from his posture. “What is it to you?”

Kyros stood straight with his arms crossed indignantly over his chest, eyes narrowed. "You had a duel with her. A fair fight, for the very reason that she betrayed you - and you lost. And only a coward would go then after her, ensuring broken bones and crippling her to the point of no longer being able to walk." Kyros scoffed, loud and angry, his foot stamping as if he wanted to get some of his energy out, but wasn't sure how. "And you kept beating her after she denied the chance to fight you back... After you'd disgraced her by leaving her, already." He eyed Desparrow up and down. "And she cried to me and begged me to stay because she was in such pain," he spat, gritting his teeth.

Desparrow’s eyes remained fixed upon the man, rather impressed that he was being so confrontational towards the elf. “A coward you say? I held up my end of the bargain quite fairly. She misunderstood the purpose of my incessant beating upon her figure. She will be deformed now, and she will live with it. But that is not the reason.” Around him the aurora of his aura began to appear, looking like ribbons while a brief golden light flickered. “I have switched from the path of darkness to the path of light. She is godless, and she had sinned, she would not escape retribution for her crimes. Just like my mother never could escape hers.” In face of the turmoil that seemed to be running with Kyros, Desparrow stood vigilant and proud, as if nothing was wrong at all, as if he had committed no crime, but that was because in his mind he didn’t.

Kyros stared the man down, shaking his head. What had appealed to him before in Desparrow had been a sense of fairness, a desire to play by some sort of rule at all times and what he thought, at least, had been a unique sense of logic. That was now gone from his mind. "You say that, but would you beat a beast ten times your size for walking in darkness? Would you take on a drow or vampire or elf with ten times your strength, just for chosing a godless path? No, you wouldn't. It was an act of spite and cowardice!" he shouted, pointing towards the edge of the forest. "And she deserves to be alone and friendless and humiliated, but not crippled or beat to death! And it's a stupid, selfish fool that can't see the wrong in what you did."

Desparrow listened to what he had to say, and then slowly, as if nothing were going on inside his head, walked up to Kyros. Then as fast as his body would allow, his left arm went up and his hand went to grab around the man’s throat. Should this succeed, he would lift the male into the air, and slam him against the nearest tree, upon which his breath would be hot on the human’s face while he spoke through his teeth. “You have no idea what I would do. Do you really believe this is all there is to me? I have more power than you have yet bared to witness. Tanya got what was coming for her. She can have all the pain and misery she deserves. And just so you know, I would go up against any fool that dared to challenge the faith. No matter what the hell they are. It is my duty as a Ryder to uphold my beliefs and to enforce the will of the Goddess! In the meantime, you have slandered me and I don’t appreciate it.” His face was contorted with fury as he spoke, actually spitting out words as he continued till the end.

Kyros stood fast, and when the hand came to close around his throat, lifting him up, he felt a painful snap inbetween his shoulders, and heard a loud pop, his human body strong, but not built to be lifted by the throat. Further, being slammed against the tree rendered him breathless, and both hands grabbed into Desparrow's hand, coughing and kicking his feet against the tree in desperation for escape. He clawed at the hand around his throat, making slight purchase with his nails, and his lip was turned up in a wince or a snarl, perhaps both. There was nothing he could do, though, until he was released, his bare feet scraping chunks of bark from the tree, his chest heaving when his breath started to get short.

Desparrow was pleased to watch the man struggle, but it wasn’t long before he dropped him. The nails dug into his skin, drew blood, but it didn’t matter in the least, the pain was bearable. When the male dropped, unless Kyros caught himself, the elf knelt down and whispered in his ear, “Try me again, and we will fight, and I promise that you will learn rapidly. Try me, I want you to.” His lips were just barely pressing against the man’s ear lobe before he stood up and turned away, moving towards the water of the spring, thinking nothing of what had just occurred between the two of them. He wouldn’t hold it against the human, nor would he beat on him like he had promised, but the training had to commence, maybe Kyros would attack him in anger, that would be a good lesson to teach.

Kyros felt fear, sharp and alert, and he dropped hard onto the forest floor, legs crumpling under him painfully, though he was sure nothing was broken. There was throbbing to the back of his neck, painful and heavy between his shoulderblades, like perhaps something had popped or a muscle pulled. He turned his head away at Desparrow's taunting, jaw set and eyes low. There were no more words from his lips, but fear in his face, and he watched the nonchalance with which Desparrow turned and walked away. Kyros stood, body rigid, and with a very slight limp, walked back in the direction he'd come from.

Desparrow was not about to let the male leave, and when he heard the rustle of the grass and not the rampaging footsteps of the human, he turned and called out, “Where do you think you are going? Get over here Kyros. We aren’t done.” If the human didn’t listen, he was fully prepared to use magic on him, he did on Tanya once, it was at this very place to, she was angry with him for it, but it paid off. Actually no, he wouldn’t use magic, instead he ran up to the male and grabbed him from behind, turning Kyros to face him and forcing him to look in his eyes, “You aren’t leaving yet,” sapphire eyes were filled with a lonely sorrow, and a plead of forgiveness, but it would never be admitted out loud. He didn’t mean to hurt him how he did, but his anger got the best of him. With faces barely inches apart, Desparrow searched for something that may or may not have been there. What was it? He didn’t know.

Kyros wrenched away when the elf grabbed him from behind, determined to leave, so that the elf had to grab him another time to finally make him stop and earn his attention. Kyros glared at him, an anger visible in his face, even past the fear. He let a low growl rip through his chest, and he'd been fully prepared the wrench away again when he caught Desparrow's eyes. He didn't know how to take that look, and his face tilted just a little, brow furrowing. The man's eyes searched over Desparrow's face, watching and finally letting his snarl soften. He seemed to understand, though no words were spoken between them of what was being said. Kyros reached a hand out, placing it on Desparrow's chest, palm flat. "You let your anger take hold of you too often," he said quietly, easing his hand forward. "Perhaps we can both learn from each other." Then he moved back, no longer trying to leave, but placed a hand firmly on Desparrow's wrist and gripped tightly there, twisting the skin and bending his arm just enough to be vaguely uncomfortable. "And if you come at me in anger again, I promise you it will be the last you see of me."

Desparrow didn’t know what he was looking for, but did this count as forgiveness? Did it matter? They would move on. The anger that Kyros had felt was relatable. Desparrow himself would not have enjoyed the experience if it had been done unto him. When Kyros placed his hand on the elf’s chest, it was like a static shock just bolted through his body, the contact made his spine shiver. What the hell was going on? Why did it make him feel so.. strange? Perhaps it was dangerous to linger on right now, he would think on it later. “I am sorry.” His head hung a bit, low and eyes no longer meeting his face, “I didn’t mean to.” Desparrow didn’t notice the step back, not until he looked up, but by then his arm was already in the human’s grasp. A sharp intake of breath was all that came in response from the elf, and it was all that was needed as he listened to the ultimatum that Kyros gave. “I got it.” He waited for him to let go, the feeling rather irritating.

Fighting It Out

Kyros did release him, as soon as confirmation was given that his point had gotten across. He nodded and let his eyes travel over Desparrow's body. Finally, he turned and took a few more steps away before turning to face him again. He steadied himself, standing straight and crouching down, taking the same wide-shouldered stance he had before. "Teach me, and I'll show you a place I know before dinner time. You will like it," he assured him, fairly sure Desparrow was as of yet unaware of the place he meant. It seemed, at least, that most everyone else in the lands was. And it was, perhaps. good consolation for the small tiff they'd fought through today.

Desparrow pulled away his arm and stepped off, listening as he got into his own stance. “Sure, why not. Come at me then.” He hadn’t noticed the male look him over, but even if he had, how would he have reacted? Didn’t matter. He brought out his hands and curled out the other three fingers into a semi fist with the other two, his main pointer and middle finger sticking out as he motioned for Kyros to advance. “And I will teach you.” He knew that it would catch Kyros by surprise, this was going to be a technique that he could use since… well. He couldn’t remember learning it, but it was a fighting style he always seemed to have. It was actually from his memories in his past life as Dsperil. That was so many years ago.

Kyros nodded once, watching with a vaguely focused intent, his feet far apart and his shoulders drawn in. He came at Desparrow like he was told, the same anger in his eyes and his movements as had been there before, when he'd been held against the tree. He swung an arm, aiming to hit wherever he could, his fear replaced with anger, guiding him and pushing him harder than before. Desparrow grinned as Kyros did exactly what he wanted him to do. The human chose to fight with anger, and although good when used right, it was making him act with haste, quick decisions that were brash and out of control. He danced around the fist, then went to grab the arm and then placed the two outstretched fingers on the inside of his elbow, “If this had been a true fight, I would have taken out the very nerves that rest here, and you would have lost this arm.” Moving on rapidly, he spins about, turning around Kyros and gripping him from behind, the same two fingers placed at the eleven o clock position on his neck, “and here, I would have made you blind in your left eye. Already you would be at such a disadvantage that it would be pointless for you to go on.”

Kyros was hardly taken aback by the dodge, but he was far from new to the fight. He ducked down from the grip on his arm, knowing full well he'd have lost it anyway, and spun out from the hand on his neck, though had Desparrow applied the right pressure, he'd have lost his sight anyway. Still, his reflexes were strong, and because he still had his arm and his sight, he could swing out his arm, fingers straight and extended, using them like a board to drive hard pressure against Desparrow's diaphragm, hoping to take his breath momentarily. If this worked, he would use the opposite hand to wrap around from behind, dragging him forward onto the ground. Desparrow let him go when he retaliated, backed up, then went for a blow with his fist for the man’s jaw, which would be followed through with a dodge to the side, to avoid the hand that was coming to attack, and then he would ram him with the side of his forearm, strike at his nose with his elbow in a side swipe, and then, with his back to the male at this point in the combination strike, elbow his face, before spinning and delivering a devastating backhand, however each strike would be soft, to show that he isn’t trying to beat Kyros half to death, or within an inch of his life like others most likely would. That wouldn’t be teaching then, it would be assaulting one weaker than themselves, and that he frowned upon heavily.

Kyros felt the fist to his jaw too clearly, the pain sending a resonating ringing through his head. His attack was dodged, and then he felt the side of the elf's forearm push against him hard, enough to send him back a step, nearly knocking him over. He was fast enough to dodge the elbow to his face and ducked out of the way before Desparrow could turn his back to him, hoping to catch him off guard with an arm wrapped around the elf's neck. He wanted to drag him down, pull him to the ground and drop him onto his back before pushing the side of his arm into the elf's throat, keeping him there.

Desparrow grinned, satisfied as everything worked out pretty good. But then his attack missed, usually people were too stunned after the first two blows to actually fight back anymore. Oh well it wouldn’t matter because when the human’s arm went for his neck, he went for the grab, which would allow him to turn around and pull Kyros close to him, bringing his forehead to the male’s, to look in his eyes and distract him with the close contact from his leg which would hook around and with his arm, placing it on the back of Kyros’ head affectionately, would allow the elf to set the human on the ground, if only to place a knee on his chest in a pin while bending over, “Had enough?”

Kyros continued to fight back, pulling back to get away from the grip on the back of his head, even while he stared into Desparrow's eyes. His dark browns were focused, bright and dilated and, perhaps, a little fierce, as he gazed back, breathing close enough that he could feel his own breath coming back at him from hitting Desparrow's mouth and chin, their air mingling and his chest heaving slowly. He completely missed the intent, taken aback when he felt the leg hook behind his own, and though he tried hard to keep balance, hands grabbing Desparrow's shirt tightly, he had no chance. He went down without much trouble, landing hard on his back and letting out a groan then, feeling defeated when the knee pinned him down. He looked up at him piercingly, and it was clear his mind was running through attacks, figuring out how best to free himself of the situation. Finally, resigned, he said "Yeah... Perhaps for now," letting his body relax. "Perhaps a break."

Desparrow grinned, the rather up close and intimate moment gone from his mind, or was it? He thought about it, the way Kyros’ eyes looked, how his breath felt on his skin. Shoving it from his mind, his smile grew wide, revealing all but the back teeth he had, each shining from his careful dental care as he sat down next to the male. Sweat was beading on his forehead, his chest heaving from the effort, but in time this would become child’s play yet again. He started to laugh as he began to slip off his shirt, tossing it to the side and then stretching. As he did this, his muscles stretched, rippling under the skin and he did in in such a way that it would appear as if he is showing off, like a peacock strutting its beauty. “Alright then, a break. Haha.” He looked up at the sky, the sun still high in the sky, time not having passed as quickly as it felt it did. Would this be a slow day, what to do what to do.. Oh that is right! “So…. You said you were going to show me this place that you have been?” now that he thought of it, it piqued his curiosity. What could it be?

Travels

Kyros raised his eyebrows up at him, watching as Desparrow grinned at him, almost unsure if he should be worried by that sentiment or not. He smiled though, just a little with the corner of his mouth, looking up at the elf and raising himself up off of the ground, breathless. He watched the man stretch and, rather unabashedly said, "You have a nice body, you know," before he rose to his feet and turned his body just a little, so that he could look out of the corner of his eye while he appeared to be gazing upstream at the nearby river. "I'll show you," he said, turning to look at him. "We'll have to go into Xalious and up the mountain paths there. It might be a day's hike or so," He glanced up to see if Desparrow still seemed interested, "But I've never seen anyone else go that way, and I think you'd rather like it."

Desparrow didn’t know what to think of Kyros. Not at all, he listened well, and of course he had the air of masculinity around him, but what else was there? The elf nodded, chuckling at the remark about having a nice body, “Thanks. I guess.” And then the stretches came, not noticing that the human was watching him out of the corner of his eye, but at the same time, did Kyros know that Desparrow was secretly watching him as well? “Through Xalious you say? Sure why not, I actually like the ancient mountains myself. Should be good.” He didn’t know of this place that he spoke of that supposedly existed in the mountains, what could possibly be there? He didn’t know, but it was worth checking out. “Alright then, Let’s go. Onward, you lead and I will follow.” He would be sure to grab his sacs first however, not the ones filled with his armor and weapons, but the ones filled with provisions for the journey.

Kyros waited for him to gather his bags, though the satchel he carried had enough water and food for the trip. He figured it would be better to have more than less, and he continued walking towards the edge of the forest, in the direction of the path towards Xalious. He was silent at first, but as he continued on, his bare feet moving over rough rocks and leaves, he fell in step with Desparrow, following the worn path that led the way, at least until they reached civilization. "How did you meet Tanya?" he asked, glancing over at him with raised eyebrows. He was unsure, really, why he was interested in such a thing. It seemed surreal to him, the near fight they'd had minutes earlier, and the fact that somewhere, the woman still lay crippled and in pain.

Desparrow followed suit with where Kyros was going. He slowed his stride so that he wouldn’t actually pass the human and instead remained a few feet behind, a bit excited at the day’s circulation of events so far. Upon hearing the question he knew exactly how to answer, “I happened upon her the day I came to these lands. She immediately fell in love, as did I. I knew it was destiny that brought me to find her, for I wasn’t actually looking for her in the first place, I was looking for her new mother, Sabine. She is the one that I had wanted to hunt down, for she had been spiteful against my family clan. I didn’t let Sabine know that I knew her on first sight. The actual plan was to join their little family, and destroy it entirely, the fall of the Vellandos name.” He figured that was enough to satisfy him, it was all true, but sadly his intentions had drifted off the chosen path since he had come here and it was rather surprising that Kyros didn’t seem angry anymore. What were the man’s intentions… It would be something to ponder.

Kyros eyed him out of the corner of his eye, furrowing his brow and shaking his head. "That's ridiculous," he said, continuing to walk and letting his neck cant up so he was staring at the foliage overhead, the thick layer of trees that served to cut off some of the sun, keeping them in a shaded point at any given time, excepting for rough, oddly-shaped patches of sun that shone through too brightly. He was thankful for the trees. There would be no such cover for the most of the journey. "Sabine seems, to me at least, to be sneaky. I've met her only once, and she couldn't for the life of me stop glaring." He shook his head, and then his eyes found Desparrow, looking back at him for a moment. "You, though..." he trailed off there and crossed his arms over his chest, sighing in the cool air through his nose and out from his mouth. "Anyway, I suppose it's good, you've got a good spirit to defeat those who seek to harm you." Desparrow chuckled, sifting through his memories of Sabine from the past life. “She is more than just sneaky.” His pace became more natural, starting to get faster, if only because that was how he got when he thought too much. “She is a witch that creates her own magic. She uses her spells to defeat and to aid. However her clan and her life have fallen into ruin. That is one thing that made me pity her. I wanted to face the Sabine that was known long ago, the headstrong woman that kept her pride in reserve, while still having an open hand to those that were willing to get help.” He didn’t mention the erotic qualities that Sabine held, or the fact that she hated most men. Returning his gaze to the human, he wondered what the man was thinking, “…. Thanks. I guess I don’t really have a response to that.”

Kyros nodded. "You need not respond to that, really. Consider it a compliment," he said, but was it really? In a way, a part of him despised that. The fact that Desparrow so ruthlessly could go after others, and without regret. Maybe a small part of him envied it. It was, however, to his benefit, if they were to be spending time together. He would learn a small bit of that ruthlessness, and yet he would also be protected, for if anyone sought to harm him in Desparrow's presence, he had a feeling that the elf would have little trouble felling them. It was a safe sort of feeling that he hadn't had in a long time. As his mind wandered, he walked, sticking to the outskirts of villages, and mostly he didn't speak. They passed through Kelay and he stopped into the Tavern long enough to order an ale and sit to relax, glancing back at Desparrow as he paused at the building's threshold. "I'm hungry, and this is the last place I know for fresh ale on the way there. Mind if we stop?" he asked, though, not sure if he felt like being around people, he glanced to the west. "On the other hand, there's a short path up this way, if you wanted to sit somewhere less noisy to eat?" he asked.

Desparrow followed him, nodding in response to his initial comment. While Kyros thought of how callous he may or may not truly be for time would tell, the elf thought about other things. One of them being how he was going to deal with Sabine, and how he was going to finish off Tanya and her little horde of vampire men. They sickened him, he would have them all purged and destroyed. As they walked on, out of the forest, his mind drifted to how Kyros held himself, his eyes devouring every detail of the human form. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, but then he was snapped out of it when they arrived at the tavern. As Kyros went in, Desparrow watched, curious as to the intention. It was obvious when the male sat down and seemed to relax, and so the elf meandered in as well, nodding to a few recognizable forms before taking a seat a little bit away from Kyros, if only to distance himself. Ordering three whiskey, one for himself, and then two bottles for the trip, he paid with the required amount of money, and then stored the bottles before downing his own glass. “Sure, why not?” a shrug followed the comment and he too sat back, leaning against the counter, actually surprised Mesthak even served him. The answer he gave was to the place not too far, where they may eat. “Where is it?” he wondered.

Behind The Stone Wall

Kyros glanced back at Desparrow briefly and then shaking his head. "It's not far. On our way," he assured, beginning towards the door as soon as he'd had a drink of ale. He stood straighter as he walked than before, refreshed and with a new sense of being, his eyes lost in permanence to the horizon once they crossed back through the threshold of the Tavern once more. Again he said nothing, until such time as they were on the edge of a large grassy area, and he turned off the trail to climb over semblance of an old stone wall, one leg and then the other. He dropped to the other side, and here, water was visible, just past the edge of the grass that stretched in front of them. He didn't venture on, though, but rather sat on the side of the stone wall, legs bent at the knee in front of him.

Desparrow took leave as soon as Kyros did, making sure to stay at least a bit behind, even if he knew where they may have been going. It was the human’s turn to teach, and he would listen well. As they went, his overconfident gait was about him once more, the air of superiority flowing freely again. He was pressing him on further. This time however his eyes were on the scenery and he thought about how it would be in the winter, when everything would be much colder. Would the land look as nice then as it does now? In the summer, would it be even more beautiful? The very grass brought him back to memories of his home, where he had been cast out as a beacon, to lead the others here. Where were they? He didn’t know, perhaps already dead, which would be a good thing for him. He stopped at the stone wall and quickly swung himself over, landing with a gratifying thud, and a squelch, for his feet had met a soggy spot. What a nice thing, to wreck any attempt. Sighing, he walked back the few steps and leaned against the wall, “What brought us here?” he looked out, beyond the trees, into the road that could be found out there somewhere leading to the town a bit further north.

Kyros looked up when Desparrow came to sit next to him. The human's back remained against the low wall, and soon his eyes shifted back, scanning the horizon again. He turned to his pack after minutes had passed, finding a biscuit and eating a bite of it. It was stale, save for the middle, due to the human not having enough real-world skill to know the way of wrapping them properly, to keep out the air. He ripped off a hard part and spoke, "When I first came to these lands, this was where I found myself. I couldn't get back to Kelay, and I had no idea it was just over this wall. I wandered for two days, starving, before I happened upon one named Antonio and trailed him back to the Tavern. I suppose this place is sentimental."

Desparrow listened to the short story, being able to relate in a different way. He too felt lost at one point, when he was trying to find this land in general. Passing through the portals that he himself could not create to make his way to this wonderful land. At first he had every intention of destroying it, but now he had come to like it here and would strive to protect it. “I see..” the more he thought of Kyros’ plight the funnier it became. He had to try hard not to laugh, and the corners of his mouth curled up in a small grin. “I can’t really say I have been lost,” he lied, the words passing through his lips easily, smooth like silk, but he wasn’t about to tell his tale, not to anyone. It might remain a carefully guarded secret till the day he died.

Kyros furrowed his brow in what seemed like jealousy or, perhaps, annoyance. To hear that Desparrow had never been lost shot a sense of jealousy through him, a sense of inferiority that may or may not have been exaggerated. He couldn't honestly tell. He looked at the elf even now with a sense of respect, though as his fingers picked at the biscuit in his lap, he wondered... "How old are you, anyway?" he asked, brows raising as he looked at his companion. Surely the number was higher than Kyros' age. Perhaps higher than Kyros' age ever would be. He knew not the exact lifespan of elves, but knew it was longer than a human's by far. "I suppose I'm still young, and that is why I don't know things. Young in general, I think, not just for a human." He glanced over at him. "I'm only twenty-two, and only six of those years have been spent looking after myself. It seems such a short time when I think about it all."

Desparrow grinned widely and looked at him, “Twenty-two you said? That’s my age!” his boyish features were delighted once again as he lightly punched Kyros on the arm, as if they were close buddies. He looked older, by the scars on his face and his missing right ear, but he was only twenty-two, having been trained to fight most of his life, since he was ten. And then he was thrust out to search out this seemingly foreign land when he was but sixteen, it took him six years to find this place, but now he enjoyed it. He scanned the terrain that surrounded them, taking it all in as he became silent, just enjoying the peace that this place offered. The breeze was cooling, and the sounds of the stream soothing. It was wonderful being out in the open like this.

Kyros was used to being alone, to traveling and enjoying the silence and reverence of places like this. It was less often that he was around people and got to experience things with a companion. His lips turned up when the elf said he was the same age, nudging back against the playful punch to his arm. "Shut up. That's crazy," he laughed. "Tell me your birth date. I wonder if our signs are the same," he said, which may have been quite a funny thing to ask, but then Kyros was a strong believer in astronomy and the value of the stars.

Desparrow nods, nodding when he was nudged, “That I am, but twenty-two, quite young. As are you.” He looked up at the sky, then down to the ground, curious to know the state of his homeworld, that was until the train of thought had been disrupted by the question. “My birthdate?” he didn’t even know what it was, he never had celebrated a birthday, he just kind of, was. Perhaps Kyros didn’t notice his missing navel that so many others had. It was because he was created, using the bodily remains of the one before him and the memories, they formed this male right next to kyros, the creators of his kind: The other ryders. It was rather strange circumstances how he came to be.. was he grown? Or did he just materialize.

Kyros raised his eyebrows. "You're only twenty-two," he said, though he just shook his head and looked away. He'd known creatures of hundreds of years who no longer remembered their date of birth, but Kyros, mortal human that he was, had a fixation with his birthdate, his family, his morals and viewpoints. Undoubtedly, that would cease to be if he were ever to be something but mortal. For some time, he'd considered it, when Tanya had told him there was a way, in some years, she may be able to sire him. He had told her no, but then he'd thought about the logistics, the possibility of it. He'd forget his age, then. After a moment, he stood up and looked down at Desparrow, watching with great interest, his eyes scanning the man's face. The line of his jaw, his piercing eyes.

Desparrow had allowed himself to be sired by Tanya, but he had purged himself of the vampiric traits that he had acquired. It was no longer his thing, he would not allow himself to become such an incarnation of evil. “Indeed that I am.” Desparrow himself, knew that his mother was very old, but she was trapped forever beautiful, as was his deceased aunt. Would he live like they did, outcasts in the Ryder clan? He would start his own bloodline of the clan, and he would have descendants that would uphold the clan name with pride. When he looked up, he saw the way the human was looking at him, and he too slowly stood, if only to return the gaze. A prickly sensation ran down his skin along his arms and back, it was peculiar that he felt this way. Why though. Was it his eyes? His build? Cerulean hues took in all of his features, the longer brown hair, the striking eyes, the human bone structure that he had, since the elf himself had the high cheek bones and more stern appearance.

Kyros met his gaze in kind and watched, silent and focused, as Desparrow watched him back. A strong urge to pull his eyes away shyly caught him off guard. True, he had many an interesting thought running through his too-fast mind. The human nearly felt as though Desparrow could somehow see through his eyes into his mind, into the very thoughts he was thinking, and just the inward suggestion made him uneasy. If the elf could read his thoughts, he'd know of his curiosity towards him, of his uncertainty and his unruly questioning of what the elf's skin felt like and how, if it were possible, he might find purchase within his mind. At this, Kyros turned his eyes away. A deep, telling blush spread over his lightly tanned skin, from his cheeks up to his eyes, his whole face lightly going red, though he said nothing. It was only now, in this silence, he was truly acutely aware of his own thoughts toward this Desparrow and he thought, in a way, if he were going to entertain such thoughts, he had better make it for something. He shook his head though and turned back towards the stone wall. "Should we get going?" he asked quietly.

Desparrow kept his eyes locked on the male’s face, watching him closely, rather interested in the human. He too was having odd thoughts, could it be a form of attraction? He only wished he could get into Kyros’ head, that would be nice, because then he could see what the male thought, but for now his own thoughts would remain his and safely guarded. They would be put under a lock and key, if only divulged when he was ready. To save the man some dignity when he blushed, he turned away and acted like he didn’t see it, unwilling to allow his indeterminate feelings to reveal themselves in a similar fashion. In the end he grabbed up his bags and nodded to Kyros, “I guess we should, as you said, it is about a day’s trek from where we started, and I am excited to know of this place that you speak.”

With the uncertainty of Desparrow's turned figure, Kyros shook his head and looked down and away, rather embarrassed for himself. It was only a moment after Desparrow spoke that his blush turned deeper, and he went over to the wall hastily, pulling himself up by his arms and swinging his body over. "Yep. Come on," he instructed, and began walking. He walked more quickly than before, as if he were trying to outrun his thoughts, or the moment that had just happened, but he showed, regardless, no signs of slowing, knowing that Desparrow could easily keep up. And, besides, they still had more than half a day's walk, as he guessed.

Desparrow watched and was a bit surprised at how quickly the human moved, and he was actually going faster than his normal pace, so he had to increase his stride in order to keep up. Not that they were back on the move, his thoughts slowly flitted away, no longer being forced to linger upon them. It was simple now. “So… tell me about this place a bit.. I am eager for our arrival there.” He huffed, the short break having rejuvenated the energy that he used from the workout of earlier. Xalious, he hadn’t been up there in a while, had he really ever been up there other than to get somewhere necessary. No he hadn’t… The place should be interesting. Kyros shrugged up his shoulders as he walked. They were headed back down the path from which they came, though now instead of heading East into the heart of Kelay, they'd be taking the Westbound bridge. Kyros had his arms crossed over his chest and was still very much lingering on the regretful thoughts he'd had minutes before. Shaking his head, Kyros glanced back at him. "You'll see. It's nice," he said quietly.

Desparrow wasn’t sure if he had seen conflict, an inner turmoil perhaps, displayed on his face when he looked back at him? It wouldn’t be long before he knew he had to confront his own thoughts, but that could wait, lest it ruin the journey. “Alright. I will trust you on this one.” Not like he was harboring any misgivings or distrust for the human, he was actually already quite fond of him, which he normally never felt that way so soon for any male. Typically it was anger or hatred that would consume him so readily. Kyros kept his pace up, noticing that it felt nice to move faster than he would otherwise. His feet were bare, and grazed over the cold ground quickly, the white of his shirt blowing in the breeze and at the peak of his speed, he was nearly at a slow jog, though he waned when they actually started to climb the mountain, not too steep to walk up, but certainly not easy for a fast pace. "We're close," he said, looking back at him. They were coming upon what looked to be an old, abandoned watch tower near the mountain's edge, and Kyros went inside and towards the stairs easily.

The Watch Tower

Desparrow picked up his own speed, if only to keep up with the lively human, bounding over to the watch tower. His own boots had been making their own clink with each step, which actually became annoying to the point where he had to pause and remove them to leave the infernal articles outside. This could be the chance he may have been looking for. He had to move quickly to catch up to the male. When he had finally arrived he slowed his pace and stayed close to Kyros, “So we are going to the top?” he had never known this place was here, and it did intrigue him a bit to be brought to it.

Kyros glanced back then when the noise made by the elf's boots stopped, only to realize they'd just been taken off. He nodded and let his lips turn up into a smile. "Easy to see all of Xalious from up there," he said, going up the three flights of winding stairs. Pausing, he looked up and turned into the third level. Here, a mat to sleep on and several other amenities had been set, and Kyros dropped his things there before continuing up to the top level. He leaned his forearms on the short wall that surrounded them, glancing back to the elf. "Nice, isn't it?" he asked, smiling vaguely. "I love to come up here. Never brought anyone else, though."

Desparrow grinned a bit as he watched Kyros set all of his things down. His eyes traversed the human’s body warily as thoughts flowed through his mind. What was happening to him? He silently followed, waiting until the human was leaning against the wall, and when he turned, he would find Desparrow only inches away, slowly placing his hands on the wall, closing him in the small space that the elf’s arms allowed. Moving his face even closer he whispered quietly, “I see the looks you give me, I know the look in your eye. Thoughts I have never had before are running through my mind and I can’t do anything about them. I need to know what you think about me before I make a decision.” Slowly, his right hand slid onto Kyros’ and the moved up his arm affectionately.

Kyros turned, and the content, connected grin slowly turned into a look of focus, of more serious matters, as he listened to Desparrow's words. He opened his mouth to speak, but found no words, though his heart moved rapidly against his chest and he knew for certain that the glances had not been just coincidence now. The human shook his head and looked away briefly before turning back. "What I think of you..." he began. A shiver ran up his spine, though he wasn't sure if it was for the hand creeping up his arm or the cold. Either way, he found himself pressing in closer. "What I think of you... I suppose I think a lot of you. I think you're quite interesting. I think, if I could be bold enough, you're someone I'd rather like to be... close to," he said, his dark brown eyes searching Desparrow's face.

Desparrow growled softly, knowing that Kyros knew what he meant when he said what he thought of him. He wrapped his hand around the human arm gently, not knowing what to do in this situation. It was completely alien to him, but yet the burning so fierce within his mind. Touching his forehead to Kyros’, he stared into the brown hues, and then he was filled with a desire to have ownership, to be with this male before him. It felt like static was running along his skin, this new sensation. To know what his lips tasted like. Slowly he brought his face down, his eyes locked onto his and then lightly brushed his lips to the human’s own. His heart was racing, and his body was heating up. He wanted him badly now. “Be mine…” he couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. Desparrow was asking to be with a man. This must be another development, just like the others that he had recently undergone. Were the gods changing him into something completely different from what he was? Or was this destiny…

Kyros looked back, his eyes just as focused as they had been before. He stared back and closed his eyes, giving himself over to the lips on his own, the heavy thud in his chest, the deep desire beyond it, and he felt like laughing with a sort of tension release. He said nothing to the words, just regarded him silently. His hands, soft and smooth, moved down over Desparrow's chest, gently resting against his lower stomach. "I bet you have never been with a man physically before," he said. Nevermind the fact that he hadn't, either. There was something of confidence to be said about knowing he had someone in his grasp. He began to wonder to himself if this was why he'd brought Desparrow here in the first place. He let a slow breath out of his throat and with it came a noise, a growl almost, and very suddenly there was a more prominent point of his personality, an obvious superiority in thought. He dug his nails in, just below the hem of his pants. He stepped in further and moved his hands around, back to the elf's lower back to guide, dragging him back toward the stairs, feeling his backside under eager palms, pressing close against him as he shifted, pushing him a step backwards for the simple fact the cold was so biting.

Finalization

Desparrow turned his head, feeling a bit tired after their lovemaking session, but altogether he enjoyed it. When Kyros leaned on him, he stroked his head, running his fingers through his long black hair affectionately. He turned onto his side, and then started to wrap his arms about the form of the man next to him when Kyros moved to lay next to him. Bringing his face closer, he met his lips, “I’m sorry if it hurt.. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” He genuinely did feel bad, he was just acting on his instincts at the moment. His lips would press against Kyros’ mouth again, hands cupping the sides of his face while tongue would slip past the barrier of his own lips in a passionate kiss.

Kyros was surprised, though he didn't quite show it, at the elf's show of affection. He'd somewhat expected him not to want to touch after it was all said and done, perhaps just for the fact that this was so new to both of them. A sigh left his lips in content as Desparrow's arms moved around him, and Kyros turrned on his side, kissing him gently. He shook his head. "Don't be sorry," he whispered against the elf's tongue, his own body twisting to bring them closer. His tongue slid against the other man's, his arm pushing around his side, pulling him in, and his body curling into the one that had taken him just minutes before. "It was a minimal pain. Nothing I cannot deal with," he explained quietly, taking in a breath, though his eyes remained tired and his body stilled. "When you asked, earlier, for me to be yours, you meant just in the throes of passion, correct?" the human asked slowly, his eyes looking up to Desparrow.

Desparrow was satisfied with his explanation, but knew that it was most likely more painful than he was willing to admit it to be. As they kissed he thought about how these last two days turned out to this. It was rather strange and curious, but perhaps that was a topic to delve into later. As he was pulled closer, he slid one hand from cheek to side, then down to thigh, the touch enticing. After being asked about his question earlier he thought and quickly replayed the memory. With what had just happened, he gazed at Kyros with soft eyes, but he remained silent. What did he want? After sorting out his emotions he refocused, giving one more kiss to the other male, “I want you. Now I want you more than I did before.” The love-making session they had just had created a bond in his mind and heart, and he only wanted to seal it with a relationship to follow.

Kyros eyed him and pressed his lips together. "Hmm," he hummed, thinking through things in his mind and then letting a slow, worn sigh pass his lips. "It is not to say that I would not be satisfied with you." he says quietly. "Because I would, but I think that for you to have women in addition, and for me to be no different, perhaps less important, than any one of them... That would seem unfair to me, were I to be giving myself to you fully." Of course, Kyros knew not how many others Desparrow had, but at least knew of Ehli, and had seen her affiliation to him, and at least knew what he spoke to Tanya of, and that was enough. "And I know for certain you would not be satisfied with just me," he spoke regretfully, his voice low and calm.

Desparrow sighed, knowing that someone would realize what he had been doing behind the scenes eventually. Closing his eyes he breathed deeply for a few moments, getting everything straight in his mind at least. When they opened again they were filled with a deeper understanding and acceptance. “If you want me to let them go.. Ehli and Tanya, I will. I beat Ehli in a fight and she belongs to me, and I won’t bed them anymore, if that is what you desire.” These two women were a sacrifice he could live with, if it was to have this one man. He would say nothing of Blanchette however, for that was a secret to everyone, no one would find out about them if it could be helped.