RP:I Dream Of Khitti: Part 2

Part of the Do You Believe In Magic? Arc

Summary: The continuation of I Dream Of Khitti.

The Dancing Destrier

"You shouldn't be here. I know vhat I must do, but I vill not have it be you. Or Brand. Or Alex. Or anyone else here. Zhey'll cast me out. Zhey'll...zhey'll...zhink I'm a monster. More zhan zhey likely already do." Khitti's voice crept out of the darkness; it was nothing more than a memory, Dominic's voice following soon after. "Anyone who calls you a monster for that can deal with Brand; he’ll show them what a real monster looks like.” There's a pause before Khitti speaks again, "Brand is no monster." Her words back then, outside the wall of Frostmaw, had been sincere. "Brand...?" Her voice echoed throughout the blackness that Lydia had left the moody blonde in, "I vant to go home..." Her plea to him inside the jar, from that increasingly uncomfortable conversation they'd had. Sniffling and faint crying came from somewhere behind him, too far away for him to see at the moment. "You don't like me, do you? I guess you never have, really. You just tolerate me for his sake. I suppose you did make it really clear zhat day you and Dominic saved me. I should've listened to you. Stayed away. Neither of you vould be in zhis mess. He could've found someone else. Someone better. And you vouldn't have to deal vith me. I'm so sorry, Brand. For everything." The crying didn't cease, didn't fade away.

Brand hunted for the source of the voices, even though he knew better. There was no one here. He was alone again, just like he’d wanted, and -- “Brand.” Dominic’s voice pierced the man’s thoughts, clear and strong. Brand pivoted to see disembodied green eyes peering at him from over a great stone wall. “You know I don’t think that anymore, right? About you?” Those orbs bobbed along as if looking for a way down and over the wall, but there was none -- it went on endlessly in a yawning parabola with Brand at its focus. But the blonde turned away without a response. There was nothing to say. To Khitti, to Dominic -- none of it mattered. None of it would make a difference. What started as an apathetic stroll away from it all soon became a jog, then a full-on sprint, but while he could outrun the eyes and the wall, that crying lingered. That damned, persistent crying. Why couldn’t he escape it? Why did it tug at him so?

Soon, Brand would happen upon the source of the sobbing. There was an odd light, as if a streetlamp hovered overhead, casting a spotlight on Khitti's body. Blood pooled from her head, her arms and legs spread about like a broken doll. The crying continued, seemingly coming from a butterfly that sat on the vampiress' chest. Wait...a butterfly? A very large, purple and black butterfly to be exact.

Brand’s expression hardened as he slowed and approached the scene. “Amarrah. What’d you do?” He kneeled at Khitti’s side, looking her over while careful not to touch anything that might be broken -- no. This was just a dream, right? None of this was real. But still he searched her for signs of life -- as if the fate of this Khitti was somehow tied to the real one, back in Raiez’s cave somewhere.

"Me?!" came the distorted voice from the rather large insect. "No. -You- did this. -You- didn't save her! -You- didn't take her with you!" The shrill tones of the shadow being pierced the silence of the void, echoing outwards into the great unknown. "You left her to die! And now she will because of you! I should've killed you in Frostmaw when she was weak! This is all your fault. ALL YOUR FAULT." Amarrah flits around in Brand's face angrily, steadily growing in size. Soon, the butterfly's form shifts into something more massive. The odd humanoid creature was nearly nine feet tall with lanky arms and legs that weren't without a small amount of muscle. The thing that Amarrah had become had no face; instead, it seemed to bloom like a lily, opening to reveal rows upon rows of sharp teeth. It screeches at Brand, long claws reaches out to grab him so she might eat him as a poisonous, shadowy spore cloud begins to surround them.

For some reason Brand just… took it. Unflinchingly he stood there, staring into the great horror as it morphed, the slightest tilt of his head given to the creature as it rose to a greater height. “What could I have done? It happened too quickly to think.” His words were only barely above a whisper, and he still wasn't moving. Whatever Amarrah was seeking to do to him, it didn't seem that he was going to fight it.

Amarrah screeched again at Brand, at his excuses. The body and the light behind her dissipated into nothingness. Just as the former butterfly leaned forward to begin the devouring of Brand, she was suddenly knocked out of the way, a dark figure pouncing Amarrah from the side. "You were told to never harm him!" Khitti wrestled with the beast, ultimately sinking her fangs into Amarrah's shoulder. As she drained Amarrah's life force, her veins turned as black as night and her skin began to blister and peel away. Amarrah was incapacitated for now but Khitti would surely die. Again. It seemed to be a reoccurring thing in Brand's mind.

And yet once again, Brand couldn’t seem to help but to go to her, to hold her in his arms and watch her fade away. And once more he looked to her and she transformed to that blonde-haired woman and back, like the flickering of a projection that wasn’t getting quite enough power. Khitti… and back to Viera. Khitti… Viera. Khitti once more. Brand blinked away what must have been a blur in his vision and squinted down at her as she lay limp in his arms. No… he couldn’t lose her again. No. There must be something different he could do. He -must- find a way. His fingernails squeezed into her flesh as he tried to rouse her, hoping despite all the evidence to the contrary that he might still save her.

Khitti didn't budge. Nor did her eyes open. Soon the world melted away again and her voice would fill the air. "Brand? Where did you go? She opened the door to her bedroom and found Brand cradling her rather large silver dragon plushie. "Hey. Are you okay? I thought I heard you talking to someone. What are you doing in here?" Her tone wasn't demanding, though it was a bit concerned and confused. Flipping on the light above them, she moves to kneel beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Brand?"

Brand cracked his eyes open and found himself back in that damned apartment. Hadn't the whole thing flooded just moments ago? No matter. Seeing Khitti put his mind to ease, and a faint smile came to rest upon his features -- and in an instant was snatched away, transformed into a grimace by the pain that shot up through his torso when he tried to sit up. A hand darted to the locus of the pain and met with a damp sort of stickiness. Blood. It soaked through his fine white collared shirt and stained the bed sheets below. “K-Khitti, I --”

"B-Brand...what did you do...?" She pushes him back against the pillows, trying to find the source of the blood. "W-why did you...? Tears began to well up in those emerald eyes of hers as she put pressure where the blood flowed, trying to get it to stop. "Brand...please...I need you..."

Ack. No, no, the pressure made things worse.Cursing, Brand shoved her hands away, digging into the wound with two fingers and fishing out -- what in blazes even was that?! Jagged metal glistened in the overhead light, some shard of an engraved dagger split from its blade. Brand cast it aside with more curses. “Khitti, listen to me. We've got… we've gotta get movin’, kiwi.” He threw himself off the bed with a grunt and tore one of her pillows out of its case, pressing the balled-up cloth to his wound and stumbling past her for the exit. His free hand reached back for her, and the momentary glimmer of fear in his eyes was the only explanation he offered.

"What? Brand, no. You need to lay down. I can call an ambulance for you." The worry was evident in her voice now, but she still took his hand regardless, a frown lining her lips. "What the hell is going on? Did you do this to yourself?" The questions continued as she allowed herself to be dragged out the door and likely out of the apartment by him.

That last question earned her a brief respite from their journey through the apartment and out the door. Gripping Khitti’s shirt, he pulled her close, close enough that she’d be able to feel his breath on her face. “Khitti, I know I’m a lotta things and I know you’ve never quite managed to wrap your head around any of ‘em, but do you -really- think I’m the sort of person to frakkin’ stab himself in the gut for kicks?” He wrenched her yet closer; she’d have to stand on her tiptoes or else dangle there as he held her eyes level with his. “No more stupid questions.” And he was pulling her again, through the front door and out into the heat of a searing summer sun. “What’s the fastest way away from here?”

Khitti's right eye twitched a bit as the implication that she might be an idiot was made clear. Once she was dragged outside, she wrenched her hand away from him in irritation and moves towards her car. "I'm going to assume you don't want to go to a doctor." There was quite a bit of attitude in her tone. "Get in." She opens the door to the driver's side of the black Mini Cooper. Outside, along the back, purple butterfly decals adorned the shiny black paint. Inside was no different. The seat and steering wheel covers were also covered in butterflies and a crystal likeness of the insect hung from her mirror.

Brand squinted skeptically at the large glass and metal cage, but ultimately did as he was told and collapsed into the passenger’s seat. “No, no healers. That’s what she’d expect. She’d find me there, finish what she started.” Somehow he’d known to put his seatbelt on without it being explained to him, though he had to push it out of the way somewhat to keep pressure on the wound. His focus remained there, not on the road or on Khitti. “This was intentional. She wants me to suffer first.” Brand, what on earth are you even going on about?

Khitti frowned as she glanced at him, "She? Healer...? Have you been playing Warcraft without me? And who the hell is 'she'? Some psycho you had a one night stand again?" They make their way out of the parking lot, Khitti's driving nearly as reckless as the majority of Khitti's actions in Lithrydel. The small foreign car sped along, Khitti attempting to keep aware of the speed limit but also trying to get as far away from their apartment as possible. "Put this on. If someone sees you with that blood, they're going to freak out." Carefully, she reaches back behind her seat, grabbing a suspiciously familiar coat. Dominic's coat. It's tossed in Brand's lap before her hand moves back to the stickshift. "Where should we go? Somewhere crowded?"

“Viera,” Brand breathed through clenched teeth. “Damned woman’s hunting me.” He’d suspected even before he’d pulled the bit of blade out, but the markings on it had confirmed the already obvious. Never mind that the real Viera was long dead -- Brand’s mind was relentlessly conjuring up one nightmare scenario after the next. “Maybe you too. Didn’t want you involved, but it’s a bit late for that now. And, yeah,” Brand grunted again as he twisted to get the jacket around him, “the bigger the crowd, the better. She’s not gonna want the attention.”

That frown of Khitti's only worsened further as he spoke. Her questions finally ceased and she drove on as they sat in silence. Where were they going to go? What place was crowded enough that this woman couldn't find them? As if on cue, Highly Suspect came on the radio and Khitti got quite the idea. She turns up the radio and drowns out her thoughts with 'Bath Salts' as they head downtown.

As Khitti slowed the car and slid into a parallel park, Brand tumbled out the door and scurried to the driver’s side, practically dragging Khitti out before she’d even gotten her keys free of the ignition. “C’mon. I’m sure she’s already seen you with me. Means your life’s on the gorram line as well.” Brand pulled Khitti into the crowd, then turned her to face him as the mob swirled around them. “I can keep her from you, but only if we don’t get separated, y’hear?” A hand grazed her chin, tilting her gaze to meet his. “Don’t. Lose me.” And he was off, tugging her along again.

Khitti laced her fingers with Brand's absently as he pulls her along, making sure that she doesn't get separated. "Brand, come on. Hold on. I have to get the damn tickets." It's her turn to drag him around now as she moves to where the ticket vendor was. She fishes out an odd plastic card and hands it over as payment. The tickets and her card is handed over and she shoves Brand's ticket at his hand. "Well? Let's go, then." Assuming he'd take the lead again, she says, "This isn't exactly how I wanted your early birthday present to be given," a sigh following up the thought. "You can't ever stay out of trouble can you? I told you not to hang around those people from college...but you never listen to me. Who'd want to listen to the crazy female?!" She waves her hand about in mock enthusiasm.

Brand stared from the tickets to the entryway ahead of them. “Birthday…?” A beat passed before he shook his head and pressed forward, into the stadium ahead of them. “That’ll work. And… you’re not -always- unhinged, peach.” Brand smirked over his shoulder at her. “Sharp as a tack most of the time!” Two blinks. He looked almost surprised at his own words before the expression was obscured. “Yeah, I can give praise sometimes. Don’t let it go to your head.”

"Yeah. Birthday. Didja forget what that was? I'm probably the only one that remembered to be honest...or cared. All those people you hang out with, they...they don't..." Khitti was getting distracted from the task at hand, and as she realized this, she quickly changed the subject. "This way. Down those stairs." The path would lead them to floor area that was obviously standing room only and also right in front of the stage. "Hopefully you can stand for this long of a time like that. I'm sure you'll be too busy looking out for what's-her-face to pay attention, I guess." Another sigh. She seemed a bit disappointed by this thought but tried to hide it.

“Standing ain't a problem,” Brand said absently, his focus indeed on the crowd around them. Granted, there was no one occupying the stage just yet. One protective arm wrapped around Khitti's shoulders, and his stance conveyed the expectation that he might have to shield her at any moment. “And Khitti… thanks. For staying with me. I'd worry if you hadn't.” His gaze drew to her for an instant before flitting back over the heads in the crowd. Brand cleared his throat as if to chase away the moment of vulnerability. “C’mon. Deeper in.” He pulled her further into the pit.

"Why wouldn't I stay with you?" Her question wasn't allowed to be answered as he pulled her into the typically designated spot for a moshpit. The band took the stage and that song that shared the same name as Khitti's sister began to play. The music was loud, much moreso than anything played in Lithrydel that wasn't being used as an attack by a bard. It wasn't too jarring though compared to most music. It's too loud for the two to speak however. Khitti reaches to her side, gently resting her hand against where Brand's wound is, offering him a quizzical look that silently asked how he was doing. The redhead looks at him for only as long as necessary as she keeps an eye out for anything suspicious, pulling away as she stands on her toes to glance over the crowd at the band. The aforementioned moshpit forms and Khitti's dragged into it, getting shoved further and further away from Brand, his name called out to him in a frantic panic.

No. Not this again. Brand dove in after her, shoving aside quite a few taller men and shouting her name. But no one would be able to hear him over all this noise. And how was he supposed to see anything in this lighting? The song came to its end, and still no Khitti, but -- what? Oh, speak of the devil. Not Khitti, but her sister stood on the stage as the song of the same name concluded, staring down at him as the halo of the spotlight lit around her brilliantly.

Khitti was lost at sea in the crowd of moshing, screaming fans. She struggled against them, like a ship in a storm pressing on through the huge waves. "Braaaaand!" First she's elbowed in the ribs, and then takes a blow to the temple. As her body goes through that slow motion like movement as she falls to the floor she sees...Lydia? The name passes her lips and her head hits the ground, shrieks and screams of horror and 'stop!' come from Khitti's direction once people realize she's unconscious, but it's difficult to hear it over the music that played nearby. It's probably a good thing Khitti's out cold for the moment or else her brain would likely implode.

Brand finally found her, but not in time to stop her from hitting the ground. He'd yet again come upon her unconscious form, a trope that had come up times innumerable in this nightmare. No matter what else happened, this image would continue plaguing him. Brand raised his line of sight back up to Lydia, questions on his lips, but he never got the chance to ask anything of her -- he blinked back the brightness and discovered that he was awake, squinting into the curious eyes of some concerned older woman he'd never seen before in his life. She pulled back after thrusting a cup of water into his hands, clicking her tongue disapprovingly. “Glad to finally see ye conscious. Drank yerself right into a coma, ye did. Ye’ve been out fer three days.”