RP:Everything Is Lydia's Fault: Part 2

Part of the Do You Believe In Magic? Arc

Summary: The continuation of Everything Is Lydia's Fault: Part 1.

Raiez's Cave (Dead End)

Dominic tore through the flames, rapidly scooping Khitti up before rushing away as fast as he could possibly go, sprinting across dust and dodging jagged rocks. They'd been here before, these two. Only this time there was no tears marring Dominic's face, no noise and heat of anger across their link. His jaw was set but he seemed relatively unfazed by the fire that had just threatened to consume his girlfriend. “You have to trust me. Trust Brand, too. Trust that we have your best interests at heart.” Dominic slowed to a stop; Brand stood before them, arms folded, scowling. “Even if it doesn't always seem like it,” Dominic added, eyeing the older man warily.

The vampiress was taken off guard as she was wrangled up into Dominic's arms. Vampiress. Fangs. She had fangs again and her heart had quit beating. She frowns at the thought, but clings to Dominic just the same, like she hadn't seen him in days, because...well...she hadn't. "Don't leave me. Don't leave me alone again, please." Khitti couldn't possibly hug him any harder, a side glance shot in Brand's direction. Brand. He looked as surly and unwelcoming as usual. She avoided his gaze though, gripping Dominic's shirt tightly, clearly not wanting to be put down now that she was up there. What the hell happened? Where was Lydia? What was going on? Had she really lost her mind? Was this the true reality?

“Of course not,” said Dominic, adjusting his grip, kissing her. “We didn’t want to. But it all happened so fast and -- there wasn’t much of a choice.” Brand vanished and in his place was a scene of the mages’ escape; first Khitti being swept away by Raiez and then a fleeting image of Brand’s reaction: horror, rage, sorrow all jumbled together, fighting for dominance. Even with a child in his arms, he took a single step towards the image of Khitti and then -- and then, the vision was gone, and there was only Dominic and the mountains of Xalious.

Khitti's eyes welled with tears as she watched the illusion in front of her, seeing Brand fight for her, or at least try to get to her in time. "Is this real? Are you really, truly here? I thought I was still in that jar...but was it all a dream?" She takes his face in her hands carefully and kisses him over and over. The vampiress lifts his shirt a bit soon after, crawling up underneath it to be closer to him, to feel the warmth of his chest against her. She hadn't gotten a chance to be this close to him in so long. There'd been so much fighting and pain on both side. But, to her dismay, Dominic wasn't warm at all. He was cold, colder than Khitti even. With a gasp, she pulls away from him, shaking her head, "Dominic, what's wrong with you? Why're you so cold? What happened?"

In a blink, the scene changed. They were on the outskirts of Frostmaw now, in the mountains overlooking Xalious and Kelay. Snow fell in a frenzy, determined to coat everything for miles in a blinding white. Dominic stood on a ledge, one of the same they’d met on before, turned away from Khitti. There was no jacket shrouding his form like usual, no shuddering rocking his frame, no chill-reddened cheeks. Slowly, he seemed to become alert to Khitti’s presence and turned to face her. No, this wasn’t Dominic. There was no soul present in his eyes. The doppleganger bared fangs and then leapt upon her, as vicious as any long-starved vampire might be.

Khitti was knocked to the ground as he leapt onto her, her head hitting the ground with a 'thud'. "D-Dominic? Vhat zhe hell? Dom--" She tries to wrestle him away, using her own vampiric strength (which sadly wasn't as much as she'd like) and a bit of her agility to flip him over onto his back. Her hands would then quickly move to his wrists, aiming to pin him to the ground. "Dominic, vhat's going on? Vhy are you like zhis? How did zhis happen?" There were only two elders that she knew of, and neither of them were favorable in terms of siring. "It vas zhat damned Dragana voman, vasn't it?!"

Dominic didn’t possess language. He snarled and spat and screeched wildly, flailing underneath her and grappling for control of his body. There was no hint of lucidity, not even the tiniest sign that anything that made up who he was might still be there. This… whatever-he-was at last succeeded in his battle against Khitti’s grip; jagged, dirty nails scrabbled against her skin and tore at her clothes, until -- a flame appeared in the center of the thing’s forehead. The creature’s attention diverted, allowing Khitti time to claw herself away from him if she was able, and then all at once the fire turned it to smoke and ash that dirtied the snow around her.

Khitti scrambled away from Dominic the instant she saw that fire, letting out a cry. Once all was ash, she crawled back towards where he had laid, hands reaching into what was left of him, the dust trailing through her fingertips. The initial shock comes and goes in an instant, and a mournful, banshee-like wail erupts from the vampiress' throat. She clung to the ash, tears falling into it, hands balling into fists as she beat the ground angrily. It carried on for some time, regardless of who or what might show up; she was entirely unconsolable as her pained, sad howls filled the night air, Dominic's name muttered every so often. And then, suddenly, it was gone. That last, good piece of her was dead. The only thing that matter. With Dominic's death, so too would Brand now be gone. Her heart, her very soul, was completely broken. A rage the likes of which has never been seen with Khitti suddenly washed over her, and once she pushed herself up off the ground, leaving Dominic to scatter away with the wind, she yelled quite ever so angrily, "LYDIA!"

A firm hand gripped Khitti’s shoulder, thumb massaging into her. Someone was calling her name, though it felt distant and warped. Again and again they’d call, with increasing volume and urgency, until everything gained sharp focus. Khitti would find herself on a soft cot, face to face with -- “Nightmares, kiwi?” -- No, he wasn’t actually in the bed with her. Of course not. Brand was crouched down at the side of it, hot tea in hand. “Kid’s idea,” he said, extending the cup to her. A dim flame hovered a safe distance away, assisting the stars overhead in lighting their surroundings.

Khitti stirred as she was touched and spoken to, slowly shaking her head to wake herself from whatever hellish nightmare she'd just experienced. "Dominic...you...both of you..." She reached for the cup and took it from him, but her hand shook so much that some of the tea flew over the sides and onto the ground. She was absolutely terrified and furious all at once. Khitti didn't even look at Brand. She couldn't. He'd go away too, wouldn't he? It was only a matter of time. Instead, she stared at the floor, eyes widened, a twitch in her body every so often.

“We what?” Was this even the real Brand? It looked like him, anyway. Was dressed like him. Their surroundings all looked like something that would feasibly exist in Lithrydel. There was a hardness in Brand’s eyes, like even now he was expecting to have to fight something off at any moment. Whether he expected the threat would come for Khitti or -from- her wasn’t clear in his countenance.

Khitti finally managed to take a sip of tea. Dominic always did have the best ideas to calm her down, his kisses and tea most of all. But, those fond memories were forgotten now as she took another bit of tea. Swallowing the drink, she peers up at Brand, her green eyes studying his own. "Dead." That single word lingers on the air as she looks back down at the tea in her hands, "Are you real?"

“What kinda question is that?” Brand shot back, rapid fire, but an instant later his gaze softened ever so slightly. “I get the feelin’ this ain’t more philosophical mumbo-jumbo talk about whether or not I’m the same as the kid, eh?” Sighing, Brand shifted his position so that he could lean his back against the side of the cot, studying her from a sideways vantage point. “...What would it mean to you if I told you… yes, and no?”

Khitti flinched a little at his quick response, but quickly covered it up with some more shakey sipping of that flowery tea. "What does zhat even mean? Vh-vhat is going on? Answer me, Brand! Is zhis real? Is any of zhis real?!" She tosses the cup to the floor, her tone angry, actions erratic. The vampiress pries herself off the cot, moving to sit on her knees next to Brand. Both hands are put on his shoulders as she attempts to shake him, "Brand. You're going to disappear. You're going to leave me. You need to tell vhy is zhis happening to me? Vhy vas Dominic a vampire? Zhe...zhe fire. Did you do it? Did you take him from me?" She spouted off all her questions as tears brimmed her eyes, her grip on his shoulders worsening.

Brand appeared nonplussed. “You’re dreamin’, lass. You’re dreamin’. None of it happened. Kid’s alive. I’m alive. You’re… in a jar, still, I’m afraid. For now. Jus’ for now.” He pulled her forward by one of her arms, spinning her so that she’d be cradled in his lap, not unlike someone trying to comfort a small child. “Lydia’s here. You’ll make it through, mmkay? You can’t lose hope. You can’t, peach. Kid needs you. I need you.” A beat; Brand narrowed his eyes. “Don’t tell me that I told you that or I’ll be in trouble.” Wait. What?

Khitti's red brows furrow as "Brand's" words keep getting more and more strange. "What? L-Lydia? No. You can't be here. Vhy do you keep showing up? Vhat is going on? I-I don't understand...I'm still in the jar?" She didn't budge from the lap she'd been pulled into. What was the point? What was the point in all of this? She was going to die and she wished it sooner rather than later. More memories of the Underdark passed through her mind causing her to cringe and hold her head in pain. "Just let me die...please...I can't do zhis anymore. Zhe valls, zhey are closing in on me. I'll never get out. Ever."

“You can’t die. You can’t. Too many people need you.” Brand was shaking her fervently, anger flaring up in his eyes. “Don’t you care about us? What the frak’s the kid s’posed to do without you, hmm? You jus' gonna abandon your chance at happiness? At true love? That what you want? All those storybook lessons, they mean nothin’ to you now?” He was gripping at her clothes, desperate breath tingling on her skin. Were those… was he starting to cry? “Listen to me. Listen, kiwi. You -cannot- lose hope. There’s too much out there waitin’ for you.” Supporting her head in his hands, Brand pulled her face to his and kissed her.

"N-no. It's only right zhat I die. I'm not supposed to be here. I -should've- died months ago. I'm not---" And then there's that kiss. There's a bit of shock, then she goes to return it, but just as she does she remembers how Brand was when she first kissed him. No. This definitely wasn't him. She pries herself out of his hold and crawls across the ground away from him, knees drawn in close with her arms wrapped around them. "You're not Brand. Brand vould never--he'd never kiss me. Nor does he need me or care about me." Gathering all the odd things in her mind that "Brand" had said, she shakes her head as her line of sight fell to the ground, "Vhy are you doing zhis to me? Just let me die, Lydia. I vant to go away. I can't deal vith zhese memories anymore, let alone my own. My head is going to burst." Her attention shifts elsewhere again, "Dominic isn't my true love. If he vas, I vouldn't have betrayed him. Zhese feelings for Brand vouldn't exist." Now back to Lydia-Brand, eyes narrowing in scrutiny. "He vill find someone else vhen I'm gone. Zhey vill do just as fine after I've gone as zhey had before zhey met me." This thought made her visibly sad, but she swallowed that sadness almost immediately and replaced it with irritation towards her dead sister.

Everything vanished; Khitti was left to the oblivion she so stubbornly craved. A heavy silence descended upon her, a crushing weight she’d feel in every cell of her body. It may have lasted only a moment, or it may have been years -- the oppressive nature of it made it impossible to tell. But eventually Lydia’s voice rang out into the darkness, from everywhere and from nowhere. “You think they were so ‘fine’ before they met you? Do you remember nothing of their story? They might already be dead if they hadn’t met you. They might still die now if you left them behind.” A pinpoint of light appeared in the distance, hurtling closer until the light became the scene of a tavern. Brand was sprawled out at the bar, passed out, a dozen empty drinks at his side. “You and Brand are the only things Dominic has, the only ones pushing him to continue on. And believe it or not, sister, Brand is already falling to despair. They need you. They -both- need you. They won’t come back from this without you. If you won’t live for yourself, will you at least live for them?”

The redhead pushes herself up off the floor as the scene comes into view, and with it Brand. She sits on a stool beside Brand, her arms folding on the counter, her head resting on her forearms. "Brand's a survivor. He has been since his creation. He'll make it zhrough it." One arm reaches out to Brand's face hesitantly, as if she'd destroy the entire image with a single touch. "I love zhem both so much zhat I cannot bear it. Neither of zhem vill understand zhat zhey are one and zhe same to me. Zhey don't see it, but sometimes zhey bleed together, one into zhe other. Sometimes, Dominic's stubborn as hell and has zhat fiery attitude and other times, Brand is kind and shows zhat he has some amount of compassion, even if he'll deny it 'til he dies. Hell, zhey both deny zhat zhey're like zhe other." Her palm finally touches his cheek, her thumb lightly stroking his skin. "I don't zhink Dominic trusts me now and Brand...vell...Brand is Brand. He only cares about number one. Zhere vere so many fights vith both of zhem vhen zhey vere here vith me. I don't blame zhem, zhough." She did, of course, blame herself as usual. Why wouldn't she? "Are you sure it's not pointless to stay here for zhem? I'm not myself right now, I can feel it. Zhe memories from zhe elf are changing me. It's bringing out a darkness I've not known in a decade. I could hurt zhem. Zhey could leave me. I doubt I could come back from zhat, even if I vas still living. I vouldn't be me. I am me zhe most vhen I'm vith zhem and if I lose zhat, I'll..." Well, Lydia could see where this was going. She shook her head, pulling her arm away from the sleeping Brand, the appendage taking it's former place beneath her head. "Are -you- real, Lydia? Or are you just part of zhem dream? Dominic told me...Zhey both did. You sent zhem to me, to find me. I vant to zhank you, but I also vant to hate you for it. But..." She smiles a little as she stares at Brand, her line of sight scouring every inch of his face. There's a sigh, but it's not entirely an unhappy one, the smile remaining somewhat. The image of Brand seemed to have calmed her down somewhat. "...I do love zhem so..."

“They won’t leave you,” said Lydia, firmly. “If I’m wrong, and they do, we can haunt them together.” She flashed Khitti a smirk before continuing, “And besides, are you so sure that Brand only looks out for himself?” Lydia circled to the other side of Brand, hopped up on a stool and started messing with his hair, just because it would probably annoy him if he was awake. “I showed you how he looked when you got recaptured. You think he’d be so distraught if it was only Dominic who cared?”

Khitti's smile grows a little more as Lydia plays with Brand's hair, something she'd long to do for awhile now just as she did with Dominic. "Am I vrong for loving both of zhem? Especially vith zhe vay my first relationship vent? It doesn't...it doesn't feel like zhat. It's different. I guess it could be in my head zhough." Her expression grows a little somber, "He vasn't exactly kind to me vhen I told him. I didn't zhink it possible, but his heart is more hardened zhan mine." She lifts her head finally, looking from Brand to Lydia, "He'll be okay, von't he? I didn't zhink him zhe type to drink so much." She'd slide off her stool, lean over Brand, and kiss him on the cheek. "He'd kill me if he knew I did zhat." Shrugging, she moves to Lydia's side, resting her head against her sister's shoulder. "Is zhis zhe only time I'll be able to see you? You have no idea how much I've missed you."

“He’ll be fine if you keep yourself living,” Lydia said pointedly. Well… depends on your definition of ‘fine’, but this wasn’t the time for pointing out DomiBrand’s chronic predilection for self-destruction. “And… yes, we could see each other again. It’s going to take some work, though.” Lydia stood, squeezing Khitti on the shoulder, and the scene vanished again, though it didn’t transition back to complete darkness; it looked like they were on the outskirts of Frostmaw now. Snow, forest, mountains, and a starry sky surrounded them.What about Khitti’s other thoughts, other questions? Lydia had left them unanswered. And wait, where did she go? She was nowhere to be seen. There was Dominic, though, off in the distance just at the limits of Khitti’s vision. He was dancing amongst the trees; a ring of five or six blue flames circled him, moving as he did, illuminating the branches in an ethereal glow.

The vampiress' brows furrow at the mention of their meeting in any thing besides the dream world as 'going to take some work'. "But..." She didn't get to finish that thought as not only Lydia, but Brand too went away. Again. She was doomed to this madness, wasn't she? She thought she'd see nothing but darkness again, but then she was back in Frostmaw? Did she wake up? Had she been sleep walking? The blue flames caught her eye, and she made her way towards them, finding Dominic therein. She'd stand on the edge of the forestline, watching him. He was like one of those faeries that filled countless stories in her books, the fire mesmerizing. Khitti would watch him for some time, until finally she'd say his name. It wasn't loud enough to startle him, but enough to get his attention. Her heart ached to move near him, but she didn't dare for fear the flames would eat her alive. The look in her eyes betrayed this, told him all the things she felt at the moment, if only he'd look at her.

Dominic paused in his dance and turned to Khitti, joy in his heart. “Look, I figured it out!” he said, extending a hand toward her to welcome her into the circle. “Don’t worry, it won’t hurt you. They’re cold. It doesn’t work like real flame.” To demonstrate, Dominic lifted his free hand into the air, sending one of the orbs of flame to a tree branch above. It travelled along the path from the trunk to the smallest of leaves, leaving a series of icicles and cross-hatched frost in its wake. That done, Dominic tried to pull her close. “Come here. Dance with me.”

Khitti didn't hesitate to run over and place herself within his arms. "You did it! I'm so proud of you! I knew you could." The memory of dream sequences come and gone fade. She forgets what this is so easily, for if she didn't and she woke up, she'd be alone again. With her subconscious acting like a failsafe, she was allowed to be happy again. The vampiress would let him lead, having taught him quite well how to dance all those times that they'd had time to themselves. "I missed you." She paused, taking in the odd feeling that she couldn't explain why it was there now. The loneliness, the sadness. "It feels like I haven't seen you in forever, zhough it's only been an hour or so." Leaning forward, she kisses him; the feeling was much like that of lovers kept apart for weeks, months even instead of moments, only to be reunited again. "I love you, Dominic."

“I’m still not quite sure how I managed it,” Dominic confessed. The ice flames swirled around them, maintaining their distance, occasionally adding more frost to their surroundings as they swept by nearby trees. “But I… I don’t want to hurt anyone, Khitti. I can’t, with this. A-and deep down, I think Brand’s the same way. He just… expresses it differently.” Dominic wouldn’t elaborate, instead falling into a thoughtful silence.

Resting a hand on his cheek as they danced about, she studied him as he spoke, nodding in understand. "I know, love. I know neither of you vant to." Brand would never acknowledge it, but she understood things from his side too. He did it because he -had- to. There was no choice. "Neither one of you ever have to hurt anyone as long as I'm here. I von't let anything bad happen to either one of you. You'll never have to kill and he can retire from doing so ever again." She was incredibly serious, her tone telling him that much. They both meant so much to her, she wasn't going to force them to do anything they didn't want to. "I'll take care of everything from now on on zhat front." Khitti stroked his cheek gently, letting her fingers run up into his hair soon after, "You could...use your magic to do something good. Like maybe...own an ice cream shop?", a grin appearing on her pale features.

“The hell you talkin’ about? I -like- fighting.” And there was Brand, right on cue, stepping out of the darkness of Dominic’s brain to disrupt their sweet little romantic moment. The change was instantaneous, not like the rippling that usually accompanied a change from one form to the next. He didn’t even miss a single step of their dance, instead continuing it as long as Khitti didn’t pull away, a mischievous smirk on his face.

Khitti blinked at Brand. Of course he liked fighting, how could she forget? As their forms melded and Brand took center stage with their shared body, Khitti'd peer up at him, brows furrowed. She didn't know what to say. That longing she'd felt for Dominic, the strong urge to tell him she missed him didn't go away now that the blonde of the two had appeared. Why was that feeling there? It was so fixed in her mind. She felt so lonely. That confusion pushed through from her mind and shown as clear as day on the outside. The vampiress didn't pull away though despite that feeling--to pull away might meant that everything would just go away or so her subconscious told her. There was an aching, gnawing sensation at the back of her brain in the form of deja vu, but she did her best to ignore it.

The orbs of fire around them flickered each in turn and then grew stronger, more vibrant in their cerulean hues. They grew and morphed until all around them was a solid ring of blue flame, rising up in a dome around them, coating any branch or twig inside the hemisphere in a heavy frost. At first it might have looked like Brand was showing off, but as the dome continued to grow in intensity and height he slowed in their dance, visibly perturbed. Claustrophobic, perhaps? Maybe he -hadn’t- been the one in control of them.

"Brand...?" She was much too focused on him to care about the flames. It's not like they'd hurt her anyway. For now, at least. Much like with Dominic, a hand would raise up to his cheek, to get him to look at her again. "I missed you as vell." Even after telling him, it didn't go away. Being with him only seem to make it worse; it was as if her heart was breaking, though she didn't know why. "No. I miss you. It's not past tense. It's happening now. I miss both of you and my heart...it hurts so much. Vhat is going on?" Her voice cracked a little, "Vhy does it feel zhis vay? Both of you are vith me here and now and yet, it feels as zhough you are a million miles away."

“Hold on,” Brand said, though his gaze only ever seemed to grow more distant. “You’ve got to keep holdin’ on, alright peach? Don’t let me down.” The flames were still growing brighter, blinding now, a blue that was almost white, a blue that washed out all other detail. And then… everything faded and was gone again.

Khitti began to panic as the flames grew brighter and brighter and brighter until...Brand was gone. "B-Brand? Brand?! Dominic?!" His words echoed in her head as the cloud seemed to lift from her mind. She woke with a start, hands reaching out for the blonde fire-lover that wasn't there. He was gone. Dominic was gone. Lydia likely didn't even exist. Crimson brows furrow, fear and concern written on her face as reality rushes back to her. ~Hold on. You've got to keep holdin' on, alright peach? Don't let me down.~ As the dream faded, so too did Brand's plea. "But, I can't...and I already have..." Emerald irises shift briefly towards her jar mate, as if the unconscious bitey one held any answers. She didn't, of course, and that only worsened Khitti's mood. Regardless of the elder redhead's existence within the glass cage, she was of no comfort. She might as well have been dead. They both might as well have been dead. No one was coming for them. No one was stupid enough to do it.