RP:Rune-ing From Fate
Summary: After months of studying, Dominic's hard work reaches a turning point, and it's not in the way he wanted it.
Frostmaw Tavern
Dominic sat at the large table in the room that he and Khitti had long been renting from the Frostmaw Tavern. Notes and books littered its surface -- notes with varying degrees of wear, not all of it in his handwriting. He’d been working on this for months. For months, he’d been trying to find the answer to that runed stone of his, the one that amplified their magical powers at the expense of siphoning some of their raw ability with each use. He’d pored through every book on runes the Xalious Library had, bought a few more found in various Frostmaw shops, and of course combed through the book Raiez had given him. He was beginning to think he might never have a breakthrough when something caught his eye in the lattermost book -- only a footnote, but one that jogged memory of something he’d seen in another book when he’d first started his long hunt -- something that might, finally, have his answer. He snapped the book shut and began rifling through all the mountains of books and papers, trying to find that missing piece. Where was it? Why hadn’t he kept his notes more organized? This was one gorram hell of a mess, as Brand would say.
Khitti, on the other hand, had done nothing all day. In fact, she was still in bed. Often times she wouldn't sleep for a day or two, others she'd sleep like the dead. Today was certainly a dead day. That is until Dominic snapped the book shut ever so loudly. To think that -that- would be the sound that'd awaken her after all this time. It wasn't exactly true love's kiss like some sleeping princesses got, but then again, Khitti was not a princess at all. It did remind her, however, of the fairy tale book that had once enchanted her and Amarrah, and had almost sought to do so again to her and Brand. With a frown, she opens her eyes finally, seeking out the source of the shutting book and then the rustling of papers, offering a questioning "Dominic...?" to he who really wasn't being as loud as Khitti thought he was. It's time to wake up anyway, woman. Sheesh.
There was a momentary pause in the paper rustlings as Dominic twisted back toward the bed. “Oh. Good morning, Khitti.” It... wasn’t morning. It was barely even afternoon anymore. “I made tea just a little bit ago if you want some.” He turned back to the papers. More rustling. He muttered something inaudible, probably getting frustrated about not being able to find the particular parchment he was looking for.
With a groan, she slides out of bed and makes her way to his side. Khitti kisses him on the cheek, and while she isn't quite satisfied with just that, she chooses to not interrupt his work much more than that and a bit of questioning. "Vhat are you up to?" She spots that book from Raiez, a frown lining her lips, "Oh." Intent on staying out of his way unless he wanted help, she moved to where the teapot sat and put a hand against the side. "Uh. I zhink it's been longer zhan 'just a little bit ago', love. Zhe tea's quite cold now." Much like she had with the bathtub that day, she keeps her hand against the pot, summoning up the bare minimum of her magic to make it hot again before pouring herself a cup and refilling his own if he needed it.
“Oh,” said Dominic again. For the first time in hours, he turned towards the window. The sun was beginning to sit low in the sky. “...Oh.” His stomach saw this as an opportune time to make itself known with a mighty growl. “...Oh… I suppose it has been. I don’t suppose you’d mind getting us some food once you’re a little more awake? I’ll clean up in here so we can use the table… I’ve, uh, forgotten to eat. Again.”
Khitti blinked a few times at Dominic's stomach, "Are you sure zhat perhaps zhat vas not Brand grumbling about something? Or maybe you've hid a bear away in our room somewhere?" Then she thought about that question. "For my sake, I hope it's not zhe bear." Another thought. "Zhen again, some days a bear might be quite preferable to Brand and his temper." Hopefully he didn't hear that; she'd meant it in the nicest way possible of course.. She's lost in thought for a moment, thinking about the impatient state of mind of bears and Brands and how they were similar and differed. It was quite the thing to muse over. But, she was soon shaking her head to clear her thoughts, offering him a nod and a smile, "Sure. Anything in particular zhat you vant? And, you can clear a spot just for yourself, if you'd like. So you can keep vorking vhile you eat." The vampiress set down her teacup, stepping over to stand behind him, and drape her arms over his shoulder to give him a half hug. "I'm sorry I slept so long. I vould've made sure zhat you vere fed earlier."
Dominic smiled and turned his face upwards for a kiss. “It’s alright, Khitti. I should have paid more mind to the time. And, I don’t know. I’m not really picky. Their meat and potatoes are good. The soup, too.” More sliding about of papers. “I could -swear- I’ve seen that one footnote somewhere else before… Maybe in one of the books I returned already?” Some frustrated utterance sounded from Dominic’s throat and he cracked open another one of the books. Already he was back to his work, talking more to himself than to Khitti.
A kiss was planted on his lips with a grin, nodding again to his suggestions. She was certainly glad he'd found something to do with his time when she wasn't about, and it was definitely something that was obviously important to him. When she realizes that Dominic's no longer talking to her, she merely leaves him in peace, gets dressed, and heads off downstairs. Some time later she returns with their dinner, the middle ground between his two suggestions: a nice big bowl of meat and veggie stew. Khitti'd set his near him, and then return to the bed, crawling under the covers to eat there in comfort as opposed to him having to remove all of his paperwork.
Dominic thanked her and began eating while still foraging through all his many books and notes. All was quiet except for the slurping of soup and the continued moving about of papers. And then -- “Aha!” He was so startled by his discovery that he bumped his elbow into the soup bowl, almost -- but thankfully not quite -- causing its contents to spill. “ ‘A rune with three equidistant, circular markings around it denotes an inversion of its original meaning.’ And here --” Dominic lifted the paper he’d just found -- “ ‘An inverted rune may mean the opposite class of magic applies, or else it may supply a means of undoing an enchantment. One must look at its surrounding runes to determine context, and therefore purpose.’ Khitti, this might be what I’ve been looking for all this time!” He quickly shoveled another few bites into his mouth, and then, while chewing on a hunk of meat, grabbed his runestone from the very end of the table and walked over to the bed to show her. “This one, see? All the markings that make up the rune and then three dots on the outside of it. I couldn’t figure out what it meant. It wasn’t in any of the books, not with those markings around it. Now I just have to look up what it means without the dots, and maybe I’ll be able to undo this thing.”
"Indeed," was given in response, as well as a few blinks while Khitti continued to stuff her own face with food. "I'm glad one of us is able to decipher runes. I've never been able to make much headway vith zhem besides zheir basic meanings, and even zhen it vas only very simple ones for zhe individual elemental magics and nothing so...intricate." As more food is eaten carefully, she takes to staring at the stone itself, her features shifting from the surprise it had held at his excitement to something along the lines of caution and concern. The rune stone gave her an uneasy feeling, but pretty much all magical implements of that nature did; it had been long etched into her brain to fear such a thing, and even now after being long away from home, it still made her wary. "It's about time you found something, zhough. I'm afraid I've not been much help vith it besides teaching you to read. My learning specialty seems to be for stupid fairy tales and nothing more." There might have been a hint of jealousy there. She'd been searching about anything and everything about the Shadow Plane since she'd arrived and found nothing. He, on the other hand, literally had a book dropped right into his lap to point him in the right direction. Hildegarde -had- promised to take her to the forbidden library months ago, but now she wondered if she should even bother bringing it up again.
"Maybe," Dominic mused. "Depending on what the meaning of the rune turns out to be, actually undoing the enchantment might be complex. And because I don't know the origin of the stone -- beyond that it's Catalian -- there's a chance that even trying will trigger something meant to keep me from undoing it in the first place." He shuddered and tried to mask it as a simple shake of his head. "So, yes. This isn't something I should do solo. I probably should have brought the thing to the Mage's Tower ages ago to have it looked at, but Brand wouldn't let me. Something about 'not trustin' them to keep their meddlin' hands to their gorram selves.' " As Dominic quoted Brand, he adopted his terrible exaggeration of a Brand voice and an equally exaggerated scowl.
Khitti dropped her spoon almost immediately after his little impression, shaking her head quickly, a look of concern and almost anger plainly written on her face. "No. Brand is right. Don't -ever- do zhat. -Ever-. Odhranos, maybe, but most mages vould sooner experiment on you and zhe stone zhan help you." She was incredibly serious about the whole thing, not even sparing the tiniest of chuckles for his joke. "I'd rather take zhe chance of something happening and do it for you zhan let anyone else touch it." She didn't know how she was going to go about that, especially with the fact that she wouldn't even touch the stone for more than a few seconds.
“What?” Dominic was more than a bit taken aback. “I don’t think they’d do that. And Brand wouldn’t let them if they tried, anyway. But… yeah, if you and Brand both say so, I won’t.” Dominic pulled a particularly large piece of broccoli out of the stew and chewed on it thoughtfully. Was she so distrustful of those mages because of what had happened to her in her home country? Or was there a particular reason to be wary of -these- mages?
After a few minutes, the redhead realized she was probably a little too harsh. She finished her food and slid off the bed away from him, taking the empty bowl to the table and leaving it there for now. "Look, zhey might not be all bad, but zhere are a lot zhat are. Zhey get one sniff of power and zhey're begging and craving and killing for more." With a look of uneasiness, she crosses her arms over her chest, eyeing first the fireplace, then Dominic, "Don't you remember how I got after zhe battle at zhe gates here? After zhat damned bard decided it vas a good idea to boost our magic? Zhat vas bad. Very, very bad. Granted, most of zhat vas fueled by Amarrah, but still." She glances away again, fixing her attention on her fairy tale book, "I vas always taught not to trust magical devices. Zhey're even more unpredictable zhan real spells zhemselves. You can never know vhether zhe intent behind zhe magic in zhe item vas placed zhere for good or evil. Just use your best judgement. If you really truly zhink it's necessary to speaks to zhe mages, zhen be especially careful. I'll support your decision and stand by you on it, and Brand might too after some convincing, but just take everything you hear vith a grain of salt. I'm not exactly wanting to lose you to something stupid and reckless anytime soon." She pauses and casts a side glance towards him. "Reckless and stupid is my zhing. Not yours."
Dominic merely shook his head as he finished his own bowl, then rose to match Khitti’s movements -- the bowl put away atop hers and his place at her side. “No, I suppose it’s better if I try to figure this out without them at this point. If solving this one rune solves the problem we’re having with the blasted thing in the first place, they won’t even be necessary.” He planted a kiss on her cheek and headed back for the table. “Would you help me look through all this for the right rune? I’m looking for the one that looks like…” He produced the stone and showed her a rune with several curved lines and two bars that passed through them. As he’d said before, there were three dots in a triangle around it. “...this one.”
Khitti side-eyed Dominic as he kissed her and wandered away. With a sigh, she does as she's asked and starts sorting through the papers and books he had laid out. The amount of different kinds of runes made her head spin, and she was suddenly reminded of why she'd given up her endeavor to study the subject.
Unfortunately for Khitti and her desire to be useful, it was Dominic who found his notes on the rune in question. (Well, she still helped.) The page was lifted and compared to the stone he held in his hand, but Dominic’s confusion only grew. “It means… closed? What does -that- mean? The opposite of closed is open so… this thing has an inside? Maybe that’s how I get my magic back out…” Dominic’s gaze flicked from the stone to Khitti. “...Okay, Brand’s magic, mostly.”
Also, unfortunately for Khitti, her jealousy flared up a little more when she realizes her usefullness wasn't really useful at all. She's quick to stop looking once he found the proper notes, a shake of her head given at his questions. "I've no idea, Dominic. You know far more about zhis zhan I do," was said with a sigh as she sank into her chair. The vampiress eyes his notes, and then the books, picking one up to half look at it as he figured out the rune stone.
Dominic skimmed through the pages beneath the one he’d found, looking for further enlightenment, but there was nothing. “I don’t even remember which book I got this from,” he muttered, frowning. “I wish I’d been more organized from the start, but I honestly didn’t think I’d find anything useful on this in the first place.” He rose from his seat and crossed to the wardrobe, putting on both his coat and the scarf Brand had bought to replace the one given to Francis. Only the gloves were left behind as Dominic began picking up the few useful pages of notes and the rune stone. “Come out with me? I have an idea, but we should probably do it away from other people just in case it all goes awry.”
Khitti raised an eyebrow at Dominic, the words 'just in case it all goes awry' causing her to narrow her eyes at him somewhat. "You realize Brand's probably going to yell at you for a month straight if you do anything too crazy, right? I irritate him enough as it is. I don't need you to make it vorse." But, she goes along with his wishes, putting her own coat on and following after him. The vampiress even snatches up his forgotten gloves on the way out, stuffing them into an inner coat pocket just in case he needs them. Silly human. You're in Frostmaw. Of course you're going to need them.
Dominic waited until they had passed through all the noise and ruckus of the tavern before responding to her. “What makes you think he’s not on board with this? We’ve both been working on it. Granted, he’s got more motivation for it than I do. It’s not like my magic really does anything beyond making an illusion he can fight in without getting hurt. Which is plenty useful, don’t get me wrong, but…” Dominic shrugged. “This is more his thing than it is mine. I just like reading more, of the two of us, so most of the research and note-taking has fallen to me.”
"You two don't normally agree on zhings is all." Unless it was her apparently. "It's your magic too, Dominic. Maybe your illusions vill get better vith it? I don't know. I'm zhe vrong person to have a conversation about magic vith. I can barely figure out my own. It took years for Amarrah to teach me anything. I feel sorry for Brand, honestly. He's got a hell of a lot of vork to do to get me to vhere I need to be if I'm going to be using zhe abilities zhe vay zhey're supposed to be used. And, I'm not referring to heating tea and bathtubs." She shoved her hands into her pockets in a very Brand-like fashion as she follows him, aiming to keep them from wringing one another idly with worry about what might happen. Sighing finally, she gives in to allowing him to go ahead with his idea, "If he's fine vith it too, I guess. Just...be careful, okay?"
Amazing View
Dominic slowed so that he could hook his arm around Khitti’s. “Of course. But… I don’t really know what to expect. You know that, right? It’s not like I’ve seen one of these before, and there’s no one who could tell me what might happen. Just the books. We’re pressing forward because it’s even -more- dangerous if the stone gets lost or stolen, and the brunt of Brand’s magical ability with it. He wouldn’t be able to protect anyone. Me… or you, Khitti.” Dominic paused at a crossroads, ultimately deciding to take the path that would lead them towards the forest and, eventually, the very same clearing where he had tried to use magic before, and where Khitti and Brand had sparred. “And just imagine if the stone fell into the hands of someone with cruel intentions. As many times as Brand has used it… that’s a lot of extra power they’d be getting. We’d have to steal it back somehow with the odds stacked against us. And, I mean… Brand can fight -without- magic, too, but I’m under the impression that that’s not exactly preferable.”
"He vouldn't exactly be doing much fighting if it ever came to zhat. Especially not up against someone vith zhat much magic. I vouldn't let him. I'd tie him to a damned chair if I had to, knowing how stubborn he is." Yes because you're definitely not at all, Khitti. The idea of tying either one of them to a chair lingers a bit in her mind (you know, for reasons), but she shakes her head and pushes it from her mind. Definitely files it away for later though. "At any rate, I don't need his protection, okay?" That's...uh...that's... Okay. I'm not gonna even start listing off all the reasons why you -do- need Brand to protect you the majority of the time, Khitti. When she realizes where they are, she frowns a little, remembering that day. Remembering how she managed to irritate Dominic for a change and how her spar with Brand had ended up as a sort of dance instead of a duel. Letting out a sigh, she slides her arm out of his hold and stands near the still-frozen pond, "Vhat are you planning to do?"
The talk of tying people to chairs brought a smirk to Dominic’s face. “Pfft. He’d find a way out even if you got him to sit still long enough to tie him down in the first place. You know that.” Ha. As if Dominic possessed no stubborn streak of his own. That smile he gave her implied he’d give almost as much of a fight as Brand would. When Khitti asked her question, though, he sobered, peering around the scenery thoughtfully. “I was hoping to come up with a better idea for that on the way, but no such luck. All I know for sure is that I have to activate that one rune. And ideally, only that one out of all the runes on the stone. Brand can’t do it in illusion form and I don’t think it can be done from a distance, but I don’t know what’s going to happen when this thing ‘opens’ or what, exactly, that means. That’s why we came out here. It could just be like a container that dumps all the magic back on to me, or… by ‘open,’ it could mean that it opens up a portal to somewhere like your shadow plane and a thousand creepy creatures come slithering out. Or anything in between, really.” Dominic bit his lip nervously. “I wish I had something more reassuring to tell you.”
"He vouldn't get out of Francis' grip unless I villed it to be so. You neither." She points at him in her own sort of joking, stubborn manner. "Don't make me do it. Cause I vill." She does that whole 'I've got my eye on you' motion with her hand. As for the things that might come out of the stone, Khitti frowns a bit, "I might need him regardless it seems. I don't vant to take any chances. He'd be better against strange creatures zhan ve vould. Don't uh...make any sudden movements." She's soon doing that thing she does to draw the spider from his world, her face scrunched up in hopes that it's actually him. It would be most unfortunate if it wasn't. Thankfully, luck was in Khitti's favor, for once the portal opens, out crawls that doofus arachnid with the scarf around its neck. The redhead couldn't even manage to get out a "Oh please god not again!" before he's pouncing onto his adopted mother and pinning her to the ground.
Welp. Khitti was thrown onto the ground by the giant spider before Dominic could even react. He took a moment to gather himself before drawing nearer. “Francis! Uh. D-down, boy! Down!” Thankfully, the giant spider acquiesced, climbing off Khitti and standing before Dominic, eagerly wiggling its butt like a dog would a tail. “Um. Good. Yes. Do you know me?” Ever so gingerly, Dominic reached for Francis’ mandibles, to give him a friendly pat. Francis… purred? It sounded more like some kind of terrifying gargling noise, but there was clearly contentment in those eight eyes. What the heck. “Weirdest spider ever,” murmured Dominic, withdrawing his hand and inspecting it for any errant spider spittle. Finding none, he shoved said hand into his pocket and produced the stone. “Right. Are you ready?”
With an ugh, Khitti pulled herself up off the ground as Dominic dealt with Francis, and then proceeded to pull out the rune stone. "As ready as I'll ever be, I guess." She tried to hide her worry, the word 'sit' breathed nicely towards the spider, as well as, "If you're good and make sure ve're safe, I'll find you something yummy to eat. Vould you like zhat?" Francis sits down like any good pupper and wags his butt like a good boy. Khitti actually grins for a mere second at the creature, but quickly hides it as her mind returns to the task at hand. Maybe she's actually getting used to having a giant arachnid as a pet?
“All right,” Dominic responded, trudging a path through the snow until he was several meters away from both of them. Not so far that they couldn’t make it to his side rather quickly if need be, but far enough away that any otherworldly portals might not spawn on or near them. Hopefully. “Here goes… something.” He shifted the stone in both hands until the face with the rune he wanted was facing up and out, pointed away from him -- and from anyone else. Similarly to how he’d activated other runes before, he traced the edges of it and then pressed hard with both thumbs, willing it to light. But… “Nothing’s happening,” he shouted back to Khitti, frustration written on his face. “All this way, and --” The rune glowed sharply, a brilliant blue that shifted to purple, then red, and then faded away again. Dominic held fast to the stone, but he felt nothing. No shift in weight or texture to the stone, and it seemed Brand could feel no additional magic emanating from it, either. It had begun to seem that the stone might not do anything further at all when it erupted open, splintering apart in Dominic’s hands until it took on a form not entirely unlike a whittled rose, layer upon layer surrounding a solid center. And from this carving sprung an illusion larger and more elaborate by far than anything Dominic had managed before -- but while illusion-Brand appeared nearly solid and virtually indiscernible from the fleshly counterpart, this was… an ethereal white fog. It soon gave way to an equally ghostly ship on a turbulent sea, a ship nearly half of what it might have been in real life. “The Sunderia,” Dominic breathed, taking another step away. Waves of heavy foam crashed against the deck of the ship, and it careened and tossed about wildly. And then… everything vanished, as abruptly as it appeared. The stone splintered further like a glass orb dropped from a great height and with a crackling like lightning, and just as Dominic cried out -- the shards multiplied, spreading up both arms like a series of crystals and then abruptly sinking into his skin. Dominic felt the sting of a thousand tiny daggers getting absorbed into his muscles and screamed, and screamed, and screamed, his legs crumbling under him.
For the most part, Khitti was in a state of shock up until she heard Dominic's screaming. She'd been staring at that ship, unsavory expletives not unlike something Brand would say pouring from her mouth. The redhead soon snapped out of it though, as his pained cries hit her ears, and just before he could hit the ground, she was at his side in an instant. Summoning up all of that vampiric agility of hers, she was like a blur, and once she stood next to him she'd scoop him up into her arms, allowing her own legs to buckle beneath her so she could sit in the snow cradling him. "Dominic! Hey! Focus on me, love. Don't zhink about zhe pain. Don't..." Her voice wavered a bit, tears welling up in her eyes. She didn't know what to do, how to help him. Even Francis was concerned, the spider letting out a blurbled spidery whine as he carefully made his way to Khitti and Dominic's side, nuzzling Dominic's head gently. "Zhink about something happy. Zhink about anything else but zhis. You gotta be just like Brand and I. Gotta do vhat ve do. It's..." She sniffles a bit. "Zhe pain's not really zhere..." But it was there, and she knew it, but she was powerless to stop it.
Those screams soon enough became strangled and silent, and only his tensed muscles and the tears streaming from Dominic’s eyes indicated he was still in pain. In some dim part of his mind that wasn’t registering pain, he wondered if this was how he died, possessed and made host to some foreign crystal. But as the very last crystal sank beyond the barrier of his skin and vanished… so, abruptly, did the pain. Dominic was left reeling, breath ragged, his stomach doing somersaults and threatening to unload its contents right on Khitti’s dress. Dominic let forth a guttural cry that devolved into a whimper and nestled himself more thoroughly in Khitti’s arms. “It’s… it’s okay… I think… and I think it’s gone.” He brushed the tears away with the sleeve of his coat, shuddering still. “Well… sort of. The pain… the p-pain is gone. Brand says… Brand says he feels the magic’s back. And more… m-more than he probably lost, too…” Fearful green eyes searched Khitti’s face. “I’m s-sorry… I knew something bad… might happen, but… I didn’t… I didn’t want to scare you like that… and I d-don’t… know what happens now…”
After he finished speaking, she hugged him closer, leaning down to press a kiss to his lips in an attempt to calm him. "Shhh. It's alright. Ve'll figure it out together." Khitti wiped away any remnants of tears he might have missed, another kiss pressed to his forehead before she asked softly, "Is Brand okay? Besides zhe added magic?" While the blonde wasn't the dominant one at the moment, she was still concerned about both of them nevertheless. "Ve need to get you home, love. Something out here might've heard you." She glanced out towards the woods, a frown forming as she tried to make out any sort of predator that might have happened upon them, though she saw nothing. The redhead was terrified and worried like hell, the emotions showing in her eyes but nothing more as she tried to remain as calm as possible for him. "Can you valk? I can carry you if you'd rather do zhat instead."
“He’s fine… I’m f-fine.” Dominic still shook fiercely even as he struggled to stand. His anxieties were not at all being squelched by the one in the back of his head telling him to be calm, that probably nothing else would happen, that everything would go back to normal now. Brand couldn’t possibly know that any more than Dominic could. Dominic wobbled on uncertain feet and reached for Khitti’s hand. “I’m just… sh-shaken, but… m-maybe you should take me.” He tried to swallow and found that his throat was dry. “I’m just worried if… s-something else happens, and we’re around other people…”
Khitti didn't hesitate to pick him up and hold him in her arms at his insistence. She stared at him as the last of his words left his mouth, her own lips parted, gaping at him in surprise. She'd heard that very same thing before so many times--she was the one that said it, of course. The vampiress soon steeled herself and her emotions, pressing her lips into a thin line momentarily. "If something happens, I vill deal vith it. If someone says something, tries something, zhey're going to answer to me. I von't let anything happen, but if something does come to pass, I vill fight for as long and as hard as I have to to keep you safe." Her own words were oddly confident and full of conviction; she meant every single word of it, that stone-faced look of hers never faltering. "Ve vill stay here as long as you're able to, but not a moment longer. Zhen ve vill go home, and I'll make you tea and get you varmed up, and ve vill get zhrough all of zhis. Together." With her little speech done, she takes off towards the forest line, using the trees as cover to keep him out of the wind. Realizing the mood needed lightening somewhat, she adds, "And, maybe vhen ve get back, I'll draw zhe two of us a bath again..." -That'll- warm him up.
Dominic tugged at his scarf, pulling it a bit tighter around his neck and wrapping it one more loop around. “Alright. Yeah. Maybe… maybe it’ll be alright. We’ll just… wait and see?” He felt confused, muddled somehow, and he wasn’t sure if it was because of something she’d said that he’d misunderstood, or perhaps the effects of the stone -- or the shock alone -- were making him feel as if he were underwater. In the long silence following his statement, marked only by the cadence of his frosty breaths, he cast his gaze to the heavy snow-laden boughs of the trees above, eyes tracing along each pine needle and icicle overhead. Suddenly, in addition to that murky feeling, he felt… heavy, listless. “No, you should… you should take us… home...” He could barely communicate any sense of urgency. He could barely -feel- any sense of urgency. He felt dim, muted, only some hint of panic rippling at the edges of his consciousness. Aside from that faintest fear, it was vaguely reminiscent of how he felt when Brand was the one controlling their shared form. There was that distant sense of being almost in utero, nestled away in some safe and hidden pocket yet still somehow aware of everything going on around him. But he was the one out, wasn’t he? Brand hadn’t taken over. So, why…?
Frostmaw Tavern
Things felt off to Khitti. Dominic didn't seem fine, not one little bit. At his request to go home, she peers down at him with furrowed brows, whatever brave face she had put on for him now gone and concern replaced it. For him to be so afraid of going home one minute and then wanting to the next, it felt wrong. She watched him carefully as she darted back towards the city, navigating around the people that passed through the streets. "I hope your goddamned magic vas vorth it, Brand." She was not happy, not by a long shot, and she only got more livid the longer whatever the hell was happening to Dominic went on. Once in the inn, she fumbled with the doorknob until she was able to kick the door open, and then closed, before taking Dominic to the bed. "Here," she said as she took his coat and shoes, then left him for the moment to put them away and start a fire as well as put on water for tea.
“Khitti…” Dominic burrowed further into the vampiress’ arms as she ran. “It’s not… his fault…” He closed his eyes for the remainder of the trip, falling deeper into that underwater sensation. By some miracle he managed to tuck himself into the bed when they’d arrived back to their room at the tavern, every motion half the speed it should have been. Every blanket was pulled up to his chin as he lay there, watching Khitti with drooping eyes and shivering. Even the fear on the peripheral of his mind was beginning to fade. Everything was… tranquil, if not for the persistent chill.
Khitti's outer shell of stoicism that she had started to build up was already crumbling before she returned to his side. Then she saw how he looked now, covered beneath those blankets, looking like he was hiding from death itself, and the rest of the wall broke. She crawled into bed with him, wrapping an arm around him, tears welling up in her eyes as she rested her head against his shoulder, "I don't know vhat to do." Was he dying? Is this what it's like to watch the person you care for most fade? She couldn't remember her own death now, she'd pushed it from her mind months ago. "You're not allowed to leave me..."
When Khitti curled around him, she’d discover that he was nearly as cold as she was when she’d gone a while without feeding. His teeth began to chatter even as she held him. “K-Khitti… did you… light the fire? I’m so…” A particularly severe tremor overtook Dominic, and -something- not visible erupted from him, though even Khitti’s untrained magical senses would be able to feel it. The fire abruptly crystallized into an aquamarine hue reminiscent of that stone Dominic had possessed. And of course now, well… perhaps it possessed -him-, So, too, did any candles providing additional light to the room snuff out, every crystal providing only the dimmest, shimmering glow. Each still moved as a flame would, though significantly slower. The fire popped in quarter time. Dominic took in the scene around him, apparently quite alert now, and more than a little alarmed. As the gears in his head turned and he realized that power was coming either from him or from something -inside- him, he yelped and buried himself further under the comforter. The cry disturbed whatever power had taken over the room, and in a blink everything returned to how it had been before. Dominic’s voice came muffled from beneath the blankets as he cowered into Khitti’s lap, now quite warm again. “What in the world -was- that?!”
"Shhh" was said finally as everything settled for the time being. Khitti had definitely felt that surge of magic come from him, had seen what had happened to the various flames in the room. Realizing her shushing Dominic wasn't very comforting, she hugs him tightly, drawing him out from beneath the covers, "It's okay. It's stopped." The vampiress gives him a kiss, then slides from the bed, eyeing the candle on dresser. -Now- it looked completely normal, but...she did want to check it out regardless. Hopefully, curiousity doesn't kill the Khat. The few steps needed to reach the dresser was taken, and a few fingertips placed ever so close towards the flame. Oh, it burned like hell and she made that known by a sharp inhale of air sucked between her teeth. "Damn it!" Her hand was pulled away quickly, her body shifting the jolt backwards from the candle to a pivot to face Dominic. "Can you do it again?" She looked almost eager to see if he -could- do it again; it was reminiscent of Brand's excitement over Khitti's summoning of Francis.
Dominic peeked out from under the covers with just a single eyeball. “Are you serious?” The eye vanished and Dominic flailed under the covers before laying flat underneath them, spread out like a starfish. “Whatever that was, I think it’s done. I -hope- it’s done. I knew there was a risk of danger, but I wasn’t expecting -that-.” More flailing, and then Dominic pulled the blankets down so his face could be seen again. “Brand is banned from ever picking up any more mysterious rune stones, okay?”
"Of course, I'm serious! Zhat vas amazing!" Khitti lightly pounced onto him, then burrowed under the covers until she was mimicing him, though positioned on top of him. "Definitely dangerous, but also vunderbar!" Pretending to make a snow angel on top of him, she continues, "But yes...definitely no more rune stones. For now." The vampiress sighs heavily then, carefully flipping over onto her stomach to hug him and rest her head just under his chin, a frown lining her lips, "I vish it vas so easy for me to find stuff on zhe Shadow Plane. I've been looking for so long... I'm kind of jealous of you."
“No!” Dominic insisted with palpable horror. “Leave all the magic to Brand. I want nothing to do with it. And good riddance to that blasted stone. I hope that’s the end of it.” He scooted backwards until his back was resting against the headboard, and hugged his legs to his chest. “This was all just so we wouldn’t be in danger if the stone was lost or stolen. If Brand didn’t have his magic, we’d both be in trouble. But I didn’t want it before and I don’t want it now.”
Khitti just sat there, first staring at him as he backed away, and then at the bed between him, her frown never faltering. "Okay..." She wasn't going to push him, and she hadn't meant to seem like that was her intent. Now she wasn't even sure if she touch him let alone speak anymore on the subject for fear of making things worse. So, instead, she crawled off the bed and tended to water that had finally begun to boil thanks to Dominic's magical interference with the fire. She mixed a bit of the chamomile with some of the lavender, letting the leaves steep in the water and sink to the bottom before she adds in a drop or two of honey. When it was finished, she'd sit on the edge of the bed opposite of him, one hand outstretched towards him, offering Dominic the tea.
Dominic’s expression soon matched Khitti’s, as she rose from the bed and went about preparing the tea. The cup was taken with a subdued word of thanks, and he sat for a time simply staring into it and letting the vapors rise up past his face. “S-sorry. I can see why you’d find it fascinating. But that was never something I wanted. That hasn’t changed. Let Brand do all the experimenting with whatever remnants of the stone exist. But I didn’t ask for it to go -in- me. I feel…” Another shudder shook him from head to toe. “...Violated.”
"No...I understand. Trust me, I do." She offered him a sympathetic expression to go with his tea. "It's just new is all, I guess. And, it's not mine. It's not...creepy...and veird, I suppose. At least, in my opinion. I'm sure you see it differently." Khitti absently rubs the scar along her left forearm as she thinks about her own sort of violation that had taken place long ago. "I von't talk about it, if you don't vant to. But, if zhings get vorse, ve may have to go talk to someone about it." She certainly looked like she didn't like the thought of it, but it might be necessary if they couldn't figure things out.
Dominic reached for Khitti’s hand, the one that was scratching at her scar. He took it and squeezed it, and tugged just enough to indicate he wanted her to move closer. “I know what you mean, but I didn’t even want the illusions when they first started. I guess it turned into a way for Brand to surface at the same time as me, but when all I saw half the time was shadows... it was terrifying.” He sighed. “I suppose that one’s alright, since it’s still something Brand controls and not me. I just… try not to think about it too much, mostly. And… come to think of it, those illusions probably started because of the stone, too. I wonder if --” Dominic didn’t even get to finish his sentence before that nearly opaque image of Brand appeared at the side of the bed, examining his own form. “Don’t mind me, just testin’ to make sure we didn’t gorram break anything.” After a moment, he seemed satisfied and vanished again. Dominic exhaled exasperatedly. “ -- yes, that.”
The vampiress had just started her trek across the bed towards Dominic when Brand just decided to show up out of nowhere. She jumped a bit, then scurried the rest of the way over next to Dominic, glaring at the spot where the blonde had been, "God damn it, Brand!" She mutters a few more curses as she presses her back to the wall beside Dominic, leaning slightly against him. "I know you don't vant any of zhis and I'm sorry zhat it has happened." She pauses, peering down at the tea that he held, her head resting against his shoulder, "But...neither of us can change vhat ve are. I so vish I could zhough, so you could be happy."
Dominic merely shrugged and sipped pensively at his tea. It was exactly the sort of calming mixture he needed; Khitti was getting quite good at this tea-making business. Only once he’d consumed most of the cup did he speak again. “Well, it’s done now. Brand has his magic back and the stone is gone.” He leaned away to set his cup on the end table, and when he returned it was to wrap an arm around Khitti’s waist. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I’m sure it’s over with…” His brows furrowed. “...Hey, did you leave Francis there?”
"Francis vill be fine. He knows vhen to go home, I'm sure. Zhe portal vas left open, and from vhat I can tell, it closes only vhen he leaves." She shakes her head, snuggling closer to him, "My concern vasn't vith him anyway. Only you." She drew his head down to meet hers so she might kiss him, her hand resting against his cheek and her lips lingering just above his, concern written on her features. "Are you okay zhough otherwise...? You vere so cold. It vas almost like you vere..." She couldn't bring herself to say it, and instead buried her head into his arm again.
“I’m -fine-, Khitti. Shaken, but fine.” Dominic frowned and gently brought his lips to hers, to retrieve that kiss she hadn’t quite managed to give him. “You’re sure about Francis, then? I feel bad. I’m sure you’re right if you say so, but neither of us said a word to him, and he seemed so happy to see us. Not that you should summon him here, though… this place sees enough damage without a giant overexcited spider skittering around.”
Khitti kissed him again after he finished speaking, not entirely satisfied with the one that he'd stolen from her. "I'm sure." She crawls into his lap, then pulls covers up around them, clinging close to him, "You're not allowed to scare me like zhat again." The redhead did her best to hide the frown that reappeared as she buried her face in his shirt.
“Agreed,” said Dominic, and covered her in more kisses.