RP:Beware the Broken Heart
This is a Healer's Guild RP.
Summary: Thamalys makes haste to the Academy, where Valen, the one creature he fought for in the recent Battle for the Bridge, lies badly injured in a bed of pain. The Avian does his best to take care of the awful wound crossing the chest of the Immortal, but he cannot mend his battered heart, torn to pieces one more time. Faithful friend, improvised healer, Thamalys will never be his (or indeed anybody's) lover - albeit he struggles to make this clear to the vampire till when the latter, eventually, falls asleep, the Avian still at his side now acutely aware of the fact that some wounds are and forever will be beyond his power to heal.
Larket: Academy of Magics
Valen would still be in bed, the wound on the Vampire's shoulder certainly not looking much better than when it had been delivered. His skin, even after Sabrina's healing, had gone back to a sickly grey color mixed with a chalk white pallor. His hair, was no longer that vibrant red...more a dull grey. His face...was covered in age lines that betrayed just what he was, and what happened when a Vampire lost too much blood from their system. He looked more like a pathetic creature, those blue eyes being the only thing that may have remained of his glorious self. Lips once full, were dry and cracked...and thin. His bandages most certainly needed changing, again, and if one were to remove them a most ghastly site would greet them. The huge gash cleft straight through the collar bone on his right chest and back, about half a foot down his skin vertically. The wound itself....much deeper as if one looked carefully at the bloodless gouge...one may even see the small nick in a round muscle, the top of his heart. That wound itself however had almost healed fully. He truly was in bad shape, though he could at the very least talk once again, no longer needing to rely on telepathy or students eager for their teacher's glorious return.
Thamalys paid only little attention to the stunning details of the halls, floors and ceilings melting away before his dash. Barefooted, beautiful plates of mithril - albeit soiled with many streaks of crimson - still partially covering his skinny features, the Avian just ran as fast as his wounds would have allowed, without taking notice of the several glances he obviously got for the few scholars pacing through the Academy. Black leather, cut and ruined, wrapping his legs, a silly, clearly not meant to be worn out of bed white tunic hanging loose on his shoulders, his massive wings a tiny bit unfurled to enable the injury to settle, a huge brownish stain spoiling their ivory white. Golden sparks surfaced from time to time from the solid blue of his eyes, saddened, filled with fury still, lost between the rage of the recent battle and the thought of his dearest friend lying possibly horribly maimed somewhere close by. Eventually he would have found the room he was looking for, thanks to the directions sharply asked to a terrified servant only a minute ago. The door had an handle, obviously, but the Avian had no patience left whatsoever. With very little care for everything or anybody, he thrust himself on the wood, left shoulder first, smashing the hinges and making a dreadful appearance into the room, breathing hard. Less than one second, that much only he needed to locate the slender shapes of Valen laying in the bed. Sleeping, or maybe not, he could not help that beastly cry that shook the silence dominating not only the tiny room, but a sizeable fraction of the academy as a whole itself. "Valen! Gracious be the Wind, you live! I only got a message less than an hour before! If only I knew... Valen, for pity's sake, look at me!"
Valen 's eyes would open wide at the cacophony that assaulted that room and nearly thought that someone had come to try and finish him off for a split second. a hiss of pain would sound as he tried to bolt straight up, before falling back down with...a whimper? It was certainly not like him to give off such sounds, but the fact was he was in a great deal of pain, regardless of how many wine bottles lay strew across the floor on the other side of the bed. Hearing Thamalys speak, those worried and frantic tones, it would taste a lie to say he did not welcome them...or wanted them. This much fuss only meant that the Avian truly cared about him, as if there was ever any doubt, and he actually had -half- a mind to play dead just for a few more seconds. The immortal however, was never cruel, only kind. Turning his head, he would open those vibrant blues and gaze upon Thamalys as a tear from being touched at the worry would seep out and fall to a pillow. "...Now now Tham..I know I look like hell...But really all this fuss?" It was said in a weak voice, and that was not for show, or pretend. A light playful smirk would grace his features, eyes fluttering only just. "With worry like that...My Blue, people might start talking..." Ah...Valen at least had not lost that charm, though he knew the sight of himself was less so. But the Avian had requested he look at him, and so he did, never breaking that caring gaze. "But look at you...are you alright? Are you hurt?" his voice showed concern, as if his own predicament meant nothing. "Please tell me you were not hurt...? If I had known how out of hand that battle would get...I would never have asked you to join me..."
As soon as the Immortal uttered the very first word, Thamalys closed his eyes in response, inhaling sharply and then letting go a massive sigh, his many, knotty braids dancing wildly across his face, those thin lips of him cracking something vaguely resembling a smile. "He lives..." he would have whisper, a split second before hurrying toward the bed, two long strides only needed, the tone of his voice accordingly swift, nervous, twitchy, the notes of a broken song amongst the pain of the living. "How can you even start thinking about me, you silly, beautiful creature? No, be silent, now, that is an order..." he would have went on, his right hand - the tattooed ivy still fiercely glowing blue, sizzling sparks of the tiniest flames running across the bruised skin of the Avian - would have grabbed the Immortal's hair, pulling them back with not so much regard for the pitiful condition of the latter, the seething face of the Spellblade leaning over to meet Valen's forehead. "Do not dare to bring yourself in these conditions - ever. Again." he continued, possibly connecting those grey lips with the Immortal's forehead for a moment only, then standing tall he would have unveiled a rare treat. "I brew this one for you, my dearest friend", said Thamalys, producing from the inner mysteries of his battered tunic a tiny flask, filled with a ominous, murky mixture that, once uncorked would have filled the whole room with the foulest of the stenches. "If you would let me..."
Valen would have most certainly been about to respond but then was told, ordered, to be silent and with a smirk he would play along with the 'doctor's orders'. His eyes would go wide with surprise, shock, then finally just a moment of bliss at the events that just happened. Did...did this man, did this most beautiful creature, this heavenly host, kiss him on his own accord? Granted it was only to the forehead but...ah. It was nothing really to get worked up about then, though a soft sigh would escape his own lips at the gesture. "Blue...You know I cannot promise you that...We both did what we had to. At the scent of that most godawful stench, his stomach turned, roiled, lurched, though he remained quite composed. "Come near me with that Thamalys...and so help me..." would be said with a playful chuckle, but would nod for him to go ahead with his plan. "Thamalys...in all seriousness, your concern is touching but hardly necessary..." Perhaps that was a lie, it was all too evident that he was at the very least enjoying the company, though in truth no matter what he still adored this man. Such passionate caring, it stunned the Immortal how these feelings could only be for a friend, but he would not question it. "Seriously though what is that...and why does it smell like a tomb that's been sealed for over no less than one thousand years?"
"Hardly necessary, I hear you say?" began the Avian, openly frowning and subsequently shaking his head slowly, while at the same time ceremoniously waving the smelly vessel into the air. "This, my friend, is eight parts of red vain kratom and two parts of arcane root, both powdered and then solvated into blue lotus tea. Which, as you might know, is also deemed to be a quite strong beverage. Anyway. This is a recipe I got from a very rare volume I found at the House, but fear not! You don't have to drink it. I must admit the scent cannot be counted amongst the fairest indeed...". Thus the Avian would have balanced the flask on the tiny chest of drawers aside the bed, both hands now intent in undoing the oozy dressing sitting on that freighting wound. "By the Wind, who... who dared to butcher you in this way?" he would have continued, the full extent of the injury now perfectly visible. A very unskilled healer he was, but the books of the House very rarely lie - and he was desperately counting on that. Having collected the stinking flask once more, he would have proceeded to pour the dark liquid - more like a jelly, really - right on the open wound, but not before having fixed his gaze into that of the Immortal, blue against blue. "It is very much likely this would hurt like a fresh hell, I am afraid..."
Valen would give off a scoff at the question "You heard me right, hardly necessary. Stop the fussing." Again, it was said in a joking manner but at the frown a pain would go into his heart and reach out to grasp the male's arm, surprisingly strong given his condition. "....I mean this, truly. I am glad you are here." Letting go, his hand would fall limply to his side as he listened to his explanation. "I already know it smells like S..." He swears, with a chuckle. As the bandages were undone, that gruesome site laid bare, a soft hiss would be given in discomfort, though who could blame him? "...Lionel. The Knight Commander of Frostmaw. It...it was a mistake...He did not know it was me." He realized that the moment the weapon had struck true. The fact that he had said it would hurt like fresh hell, was an understatement. Pain wracked his entire body, head arched back as he let loose with a most gut-wrenching, even more so heartbreaking cry of anguish, their eyes breaking for the briefest of moments before he gazed back, never daring to leave those friendly eyes for even a second. Through gritted teeth, he would say in pain "You know what...hurts worse...Thamalys? The fact that...my...my other, A naga named Xzavior....has yet to even see if I am still here." Tears flooded his gaze, though he never looked away. "I truly think...that perhaps...I may not be worth his time." The utterance of those cold words sprung forth, and pain once more wracked him as the dam in his eyes broke...tears streaming. Mentally hurting, as well as physically, all he could do was just appreciate his most closest friend being there for him, through everything. "I wasted...my last breath on the field...with his name, thinking it was the end....and where is he now...?" would be said, in yet another heartbroken sob.
Thamalys nodded, the memories of the fight forever chiseled into his very mind. So much suffering, so many lives lost, some of which because of him, the sheer power he found in his feathery shapes so alien to him still. They be dead for a reason, he faintly hoped, but he was not sure. Did it matter? An oath does not need any motivation to be fulfilled, after all... that much he would have told to the healers. And on a different note, he still did not find some time to reflect upon the blue flames leaping from his own inking... oh, the mighty mess rummaging within his thoughts. "Lionel? I have been told he brought some havoc through our ranks, but cutting you like this..." he considered, never stopping to rub the ointment on the wound, trying to soak every inch of the once flawless skin of the Immortal into the foul liquid, not for a moment halting even when witnessing the sheer pain exploding to the maltreated flesh of the Vampire. A whole different sort of concern would have then landed on Thamalys' shoulders, having just heard about that suffering that only lovers can inflict to each other. "Ah, of all the creatures in this world, Valen... that is so unfair. However, think twice before blaming him. War is upon us. He may be otherwise engaged. He might be suffering as much as you are now, or even worse, imaging you in pain, far from him, unable to reach his embrace. Have you sent word to him? Needless to say, you know I will be happy to bring him a message of yours... should I try to fetch pen and paper? I reckon I did what I could with that smelly oil of mine... it should help the recovery greatly, though, if not of the whole of yourself, at least in terms of that wound..."
Valen now would have a new face about his countenance, one of scorn...and unadulterated rage as he spoke now. "He was not even there! Yes I sent word to him, why would I not?! He was not even on the field of battle that night! When his ex, Sabrina, was here she made no mention that any skirmishes had happened elsewhere! So what am I supposed to think Thamalys?!" He truly did not mean to speak so hatefully, but after so many things gone wrong he just could not hold it in any longer, and the shouting was in fact due also in part to the pain that was being forced through him. Doing his best to calm down, he would close his eyes, and just remain silent for a moment. "He had told me....there was a chance for him and Sabrina that they could still be together. I...am almost positive that that is what is going on, otherwise what else...would keep him from me." Looking up at him, the ministrations done to his wound, would simply say "If I asked you to take a message to him it would be one of hate...hatred lies about how much I despise him out of my anger. I..." Shaking his head he would softly say "I am simply...done. With love, with all of it. Every relationship, -every- relationship I have ever had...has brought me nothing but heartbreak, caused me to go mad with fear. No more. You can tell him, should you find him, that I am done. He has blue scales, dark hair, an aura of cold about him, and the most wonderful grey eyes...and muscles. Pity that...I will miss it, but I cant afford this kind of hurt. Not today, not ever. Never again." Another sigh. "I thank you...my most closest and prized friend, for at least being there for me when others that should...are not."
Thamalys exhaled, a long breath followed by the whole of the Avian trying to sit on the wooden floor, just aside the bed. He would have listened to the Immortal in utter silence, resting his head on his bleeding shoulder, closing his eyes, his arms embracing his legs thus creating a willowy statue. "So..." he would have begun, banking his cranium slightly so that his gaze would have been directed toward the origin of the ranting speech, his fingers fiddling with the broken leather covering his knees, "... here it is, an Immortal such as you, telling me, telling to himself that never he will truly love, never again he will open himself to another. Ah, Valen..." he went on, this time leaping on his feet, neglecting the sharp pain blossoming in his shoulder, resting his weight on both hands, in turn laying on the edge of the mattress, as if trying to add weight to the words to follow. "Never is a long time, even for a vampire, I believe. I will be at your side whenever you will need me, that much you know, but one day I will fade, if some blade will not take me first... and when that day will come, I will have to know you whole, and merry, and safely in somebody's caring hands. Surely not today, then, possibly not even tomorrow, but some day, you'll have it, of this I am sure as much as I know that I can fly. I'll keep your words dearly in my mind, though... and Sabrina... this is hard news. She is the Master Healer, as you know, and I respond directly to her. What a nasty twist..." he pondered, pacing the room for a little while, the wheels in his head suddenly spinning a bit faster, his duties as a Novice coming to mind altogether. That is, before he set his gaze on Valen again. "There is such suffering in you, my friend... it pains me greatly. You have to rest, that oil should help. And I should do the same, before I bleed to death. Fear not. I will be back soon, and, if you will allow me, I will bring with me a much more skilled Healer than myself. The Guild can spare a few - he said confidently - for Valen, Captain of Larket, Frostmawians' Bane, and, so the enemy says, The Death that lurks in the Shadows. I know you did not want such titles. Neither I wanted to kill myself. And yet, here we are. Not wiser, not healthier, but for one thing, alive and kicking, me and you. Rest..." he would have concluded, caressing the eyes of the Immortal with his right hand, as to close them, soothing his skin with the softest of touches, the callous grip of a warrior playing around with the lightest glass.
Valen would stare defiantly, though on the inside he was a painful mess...both in wound, and in soul. "That is exactly what I am telling you. If this is all love has to offer me, then I do not wish it any longer." A hand would have gone to cradle Thamaly's head, a kiss given to it...perhaps speaking that the immortal's words were already a lie, however pointless it was, tears once more flowing. Life had been unkind, and now his undeath even more unfair. Darkness...was coming in the Vampire's mind and if nothing extinguished it, doom...would be upon all who had slighted him, and perhaps the rest of the land. "Thamalys..." he would say at the next words. "You know you cannot be at my side whenever I need you, not all the time." The news that Thamalys would fade, was unacceptable. He would not allow it. Even though avians could not be turned, he would not accept this one's passing. "I will find a way to keep you with me...always, Blue Angel...I swear it." Looking now into his eyes, he would shake his head and offer "Don't...Don't go..." With a flick of his wrist, shadows would spring from the corners of the room and race towards the Avian, covering completely any and all wounds, not healing them, but at the least keeping the blood contained. "...New Trick I learned....saves me from carrying you back to the spring." He would say with a soft blush, as he remembered that first meeting. "Just....stay with me." he nearly pleaded, though reigned in the emotion that plagued him, lest he seem desperate. He was not going to push this male away, nor was he going to drive him away, he just...He did not know what he wanted other than for Thamalys to not leave his side, to have his head rested once more on his shoulder. "I appreciate the titles, but I think one fitting for you would be not angel...But my Sapphire Savior." The touch to his eyes made more tears flow, a hand would reach up to caress his face...and before he knew it he had leaned up, another wince but damn it all, and place another soft kiss...like at the bath, to his lips. He was tired of the hurt, tired of the heartache...but one last try, and would not count this against the Blue if he turned him away once more. This closeness, between just friends, was something he could not comprehend, but every ounce of himself was telling him to kiss him...and so he did.
Thamalys laughed, softly, shaking his throbbing shoulders already wrapped into the silky web of shadows protruding by the resourceful Immortal. "Now, this is a neat trickery indeed..." he commented, trying to catch a glimpse of his own hands into the dark haze spiralling toward him, with very little success. "And I will stay, if you ask me so." Something about the sound of the word shappire made him uneasy, though, a far too distant memory of a silver blade breaking to the fog still concealing his memories. He would have spent some time to try to recall that particular thought more clearly, if the vampire would not have taken advantage - again! - of his favorable stance to rest a kiss upon Thamalys' lips. How could the Avian even try to build some rage against the broken creature near by, him whose heart was so utterly tired of being torn apart, again, and again, and again. As much as he would have loved to be able to mend it, though, it was not in his power to do so. Slowly and yet plainly enough, he would have pulled back from the kiss, a bony finger pointing instead on the Immortal's chest. "Not even today, my dearest friend, will you be able to change what cannot be changed. You can kiss me, you can even feed on me, if you so wish, I would not protest. But ask yourself: what is the point of a rainy day, if that water does not manage to nurture the earth? Or is it just indeed, the man who kill another without reason? And lastly, would you give yourself to somebody who will never be able to love you back? Because there would be no joy, and my kisses will be cold, my blood tasteless. You will lose yourself into my scent while I could only just watch your madness, unable to rescue you. Is that what you want? No, you deserve much more. Thus, leave my lips alone, and if the thought of me does bring you pain, than I will leave - as I could not bear the thought of being another nail in your heart." None of these words would have been voiced harshly, despite their meaning being irrefutable, crystal clear. Too much the Immortal has suffered already. "Ah, Valen..." he concluded then with a long sigh, letting go of the vampire and lowering himself on the wooden floor, staring at the elaborate paintings on the ceiling. Healer, he would have loved to become, but up to know The Blue only managed to bring death to his enemies and sorrow to his friends.
Valen listened to this man's words with tears but understanding. He did not feel like a fool, he did not feel embarrassed. Those tears, were simply because he could not help who he loves. Valen, you silly Vampire, some people were just not meant to feel as you do, to see the world as you. "Just....stay." he would say finally. "Your head on my shoulder felt nice and..I know it does not mean anything...like -that- to you..." He would look up now, all the adoration in the world laid bare. "But it meant the world to me. If I feed from you though...Remember what I told you? I am okay with the fact you would not feel it romantic, but I do have certain...protocols. I...kiss, before I feed Thamalys." He had never explained his feeding process before, though he would certainly not want to have any more surprises between them. "I do that to calm them. I massage their wings as I do so, if they are avian. I would not want you to be uncomfortable." The question about the rainy day though, would earn the most heartfelt answer he could ever have given. "It gives hope..It shows promise. False hope it may be, but I am at the point where I would rather live a -lie-...than to face eternity alone. If you can not understand, I will certainly accept that. The thought of you, never has brought me pain. Even though you caution me...I know what I have with you, and it is fine...You could never hurt me that way. Just know..." A shuddering breath as he wraps his arms gently about the male in a hug, careful to not hurt him. "Even cold kisses bring comfort to the damned...Thamalys." When he moved to sit on the floor, Valen would sigh and move over to the far side of the bed and motion for the spot next to him. "I offered you to stay...I meant it. You...don't have to worry, I sleep like the dead. But dammit all...I think you need company more than I do, so you at least come up here...and keep me company. Nothing need happen...just you, here with me as I drift off. No matter what, I cannot help how I feel, but for you...I can put all of that aside if it means you stay near me...if just tonight." Regardless of whether the man accepted, he was tired, and would eventually find sleep. Some time in the night he may waken, and write a letter, but otherwise...he would sleep.
This RP is linked to: Battle for the Bridge