Log, Complete
When; March 11th, after dawn.
Rating; Rated R for language, violence, and character death.
Characters; Joshua Christopher [apostleofhope] & Fiore [violet_overture].
Summary; During the rescue mission, Joshua reclaims what is his. It's easy to kill someone, but it's harder to cope with their death when that someone turns out to be irreplaceable.
Log;
Joshua: He had meant to stay by Rosiel's side during this, but he couldn't help but look down at the island. Fiore was down there, wasn't she? A doll that looked like Fiore, and had her voice, but her words were acid. The thought alone nearly brought out a snarl, but it didn't quite let loose until he spotted her.
Someone carrying her out. It. His.
He had barely said a word of temporary farewell before letting his wings fold so that he could dive. They fanned out just in time for him to glide by and snatch the unconscious maidservant from her 'rescuers' arms, ignoring any cries of surprise. A dark skinned woman had followed him back into the air, but the forest beyond the beach made it easy to lose someone.
Letting the wings shimmer into nothingness, he stepped onto a grassy patch and crouched down so he could lay her out. After a quick scan to make sure she was all in one piece, he reached out to touch her cheek. Just a touch.
And then he slapped her. "Wake up."
Fiore: The contact was more than enough to wake her, eyes snapping open though her expression remained placid as always. A slap, surely something that would make the average girl jolt, yell, cry out in either pain or surprise- and Fiore merely opened her eyes. When had she fallen asleep- and how-? Magic, a spell, and to awake here with her old Master hovering over her; Fiore knew she was lost.
She was no fool, and as powerful as she was, she was no match for him. That's why it had been so important, so terribly terribly important to stay inside and hidden away and safely out of reach to keep her darling darling baby darling out of reach and harm and now she'd been too foolish and gotten trapped- and there would be no one to help her now. Not her, or her child.scars in use
Fiore met blue eyes before her gaze swept upwards, taking in her surroundings. Treetops and branches, the barest hint of sky from flat on her back; before seeking that familiar blue once more, a wordless reply.
Joshua: He was quiet as she took in her surroundings, standing back up and letting his hands rest in his pockets for a minute while he sighed and glanced off to the side. Was Rosette safe? He needed to get back to her.
This wouldn't take too long, though.
Looking back down to Fiore, he smiled and leaned over a bit, letting one hand stretch down for her to take. "Fiore. You're mine."
Fiore: Delicate fingers, slender, pale, doll-like as they slid into his grasp, allowing herself to be lifted and standing slowly. No protest, no fighting. Not when such things were inconsequential. Delaying the inevitable. She took her time steading herself, still somewhat dizzy and instinctively, a hand reached to smooth over her stomach. A protective gesture to the child she knew she was bound to lose.
"Yours-" She echoed distantly, head turning to look at the trees with disconnected disinterest. "Yours to kill?"
Joshua: "Mine...to do whatever I want with." His grip on her hand tightened a bit as he watched her touch her stomach. Protecting the baby inside? Not even a baby. A parasite.
Immediately, he pulled her close, wrapping both arms around her and nuzzling her hair. "Aion wouldn't have hurt you. But you had to be foolish and let someone else take you. Damage you beyond repair. Oh, Fiore..."
With a groan, as if irritated, he pushed her away. The horns were there, and the noise was there, and he knew he would have to stop it. Slowly, he would stop it.
Clawed fingers curled into a fist, and with bared teeth, he struck hard. Not hard enough to break the jaw, but oh so very close. He had wanted to hit with everything he had, but then it would have been over too quickly. She needed to savor this.
She needed to learn. "You were a fool. But I promise I'll make you mine again."
Fiore: She expected the blow before it came but did nothing to fend it off- she faltered, body bending under the sheer force of it all before rising back up, righting herself. Affection and pain. To parts of the same whole, and yet the blow left her the same as the first had. Unflinching, expressionless, disinterested. The words, the accusations- didn't register and instead her head canted once more, almost childlike as she spoke. "You're supposed to protect things that are yours."
A statement or an accusation, perhaps a bit of both, and Fiore held her ground. Not out of defiance or anger or any real belief that it would matter, but simply out of habit. She was meant for this after all, was she not? Her purpose was to die protecting the one important to her. Though since Master Joshua had found his sister and Fiore herself was made disposable, what did it matter to trade one important person for another?
Joshua: Fury was there, rippling and nearly overflowing as he reached out to snag the metal ring connected to her choker. "I shouldn't have to! Not with you! Rosette I protect, but you're supposed to be strong! You told me I was yours, but you just let everyone else take you away! Aion! Sandalphon! You lied!"
his other hand was braced against her chest, claws digging in as he shoved her back against the nearest tree, shoving and pulling until the leather finally tore. It was a miracle her neck didn't break in the process, but the choker was soon ripped free and tossed aside to be lost in the tall grass and bushes. "Even Aion would no longer want you! All you do is fail at your job, ever since entering this City!"
Fiore: Fail.
That word in particular stung, the accusation pulling her out of delirium, something at last making contact with the woman she'd been before, with memory and feeling. Her hand nearly went to her stomach once more, but instead, reached for the empty place where her collar had just been. Pulled away. Revoked. Fiore's head fell forward a fraction, the smallest of moments to recover, the pain now a dull throb before she straightened. Inch by inch she straightened, a bit shaken from it all, but upright nonetheless. Shoulders squared, soft and sloping as he chin lifted- and at last, at last, there was recognition in her eyes. Emotion. Meaning.
A small step forward, expression sad, but resigned. It made sense after all. He was right. There was no place for useless things. "If I have failed, then Master Joshua should dispose of me."
Joshua: It only seemed to anger him more, as she became aware. Don't look at me with those eyes.
"Don't tell me what I should do!" Another strike, and then another. He didn't want her to be able to get back up. On the ground. Asleep but awake. He would make sure that her sleep would be silent.
When he had finally had enough of hitting her, his knuckles were almost sore. He was panting, but no he wasn't tired. Never tired. Just...impatient. One more. Just one more strike to send her down to the ground for good, where he could kick.
And there was no mercy as his foot connected with her ribs. Maybe if they broke, they would pierce it and KILL IT. "I'm better than that! I'll keep what's mine. Nobody else will want you when I'm through," he snarled.
Fiore: She hit the ground hard, though the impact didn't matter. The force of the blows was far worse and they only seemed to intensify- eyes squeezed shut and even now, she wouldn't fight in her own defense. Fiore knew, somewhere back where everything made sense, that she was no longer herself. That she'd been changing ever since she entered the City, and that maybe now, her death would right everything again. The kick to her ribs earned a strangled gasp, body arching away out of reflex before she stopped it, laying still for the next blow.
It was his voice that bothered her most. That it was strained and angry and something else, and what hurt worst was knowing that though she noticed those things, she would be unable to comfort him. Breathing alone was becoming difficult and she was certain that a fair number of bones had been broken already.
Still- a cough, and blood sputtered to her lips, brows furrowing a fraction at the pain- still, she manged speak, forcing the words out softly, voice cracking under the strain. "If Master Joshua does not want me, nothing else matters."
Joshua: "Who told you I didn't want you?! Did I say that? If I don't say it, then you don't believe it! You don't believe anything that parasite tells you! The tick-tick-ticking tries to tell me things, but do you think I listen?!"
Another kick.
"I've even gotten so good at ignoring the noise... If I'm strong, why can't you be?! Was it that collar, keeping you at the level of a bitch?! Well it's gone now!" His voice sounded strangled now, and he seemed to be choking on his own words as he leaned over and grabbed a fistful of her dress, hauling her up and slamming her back against the tree once more, causing the bark to split and crack.
"Now there's just you and me!" He struck one last time, but this time right for her gut, and the claws tore into her dress and flesh as if they were air, impaling her clean through until her spine cracked and he could feel the tree trunk on the other side.
There were tears in his eyes as he glowered at her. "And I'll never let you abandon me again."
Fiore: The would-be scream came out a mere gasp- and even now, as bloodied and horribly broken as she was, hands flew up to clutch reflexively at his coat; for something strong and safe and familiar. Was this how it was to die? A sharp pain, burning straight through and then numbness-? With such beautiful eyes so close. She'd long expected a far worse, far lonelier demise. And yet-
The tears in his eyes distracted her, and Fiore struggled to take in breath, to keep her eyes open just a little bit longer. Just you and me, wasn't that what she'd wanted? "Useless things..." she hesitated, words forced and wheezed at best, "get in your way. To kill me... is to help you, help..." Eyes darkened, falling half-mast as her head fell forward, too weak to support it much longer. "because- love... love you"
Fiore was coughing now, lips stained red and fingers trembling in the cloth she held so desperately to. "Nnh- forgive me--" Everything felt heavy, so heavy and so hard to stay awake and with the barest of sighs she let go, fingers going limp in his coat as her body collapsed entirely. Done fighting. Finally done fighting.
Joshua: The sun was up now, speckled spots of light flickering through the trees as the leaves rustled, but Joshua found it hard to see right then. Everything was red. Her blood, his anger, and even his sorrow ran red hot.
Mourning a death that hadn't even quite happened yet, he yanked his hand out of her as she fell, only to quickly wrap the arm around her waist to keep her secure against him. Fiore's blood was so warm. But it wouldn't be soon... Soon it would be cold.
The tears spilled over, streaming down his cheeks as he sunk down to sit on ground, cradling her in his lap as he smoothed her hair back with a hand dripping crimson.
"I can't love you, Fiore. But I can forgive you. I can kiss you. I can even sing to you." Clutching her broken body tightly, he stared down her, not quite able to see her as he wept, and his voice was shallow.
"Do you want me to sing?"
Fiore: She'd thought the world was disconnected before but now it was amplified. No pain, no nothing, safe for the same swell of concern she always felt, the tightening in her heart at the words she'd always known to be true but still never wished to hear. It would be over soon, then she wouldn't have to feel anything. It was so much, just to stay conscious, just to linger with him. Fiore thought it strange, and almost sad that she had managed to at last be where she wished to be- cradled in his embrace, just her, and no Rosette- and she would only get these fleeting seconds.
It seemed fitting.
Her throat was tight, from exertion or unshed tears she didn't care to guess and instead, in the barest of movements her finger lifted- a silent answer, yes, yes. How sweet would it be to be unshed to sleep by the only sound she had ever cared for? The only voice that meant anything.
Joshua: It was a song meant only for his sister, but for Fiore right then, he would have given her anything. Anything but his love. His heart would be his sister's, but for now his voice would be Fiore's. "None sing so wildly well as the angel Israfel... And the giddy stars, so legend tells, ceasing their hymns, attend the spell of his voice, all mute."
The wings of the Apostle spread out, glowing gold and white with a power divine, as if never tainted with the devil's horns. "Tottering above in her highest noon, the enamored moon blushes with love." His voice was a soft coo, surprisingly sturdy now despite the tears that would not stop, and the clearing was filled with the warmth and calm that only an Apostle's voice could provide, as if the Devil in him had not just shed a woman's blood and stained the grass.
"Yes, Heaven is thine, but this is a world of sweets and sours."
Fiore: Slowly, painfully slow, struggled gasps evened out, breaths becoming more and more frightfully shallow. The world outside seemed to become a dull hum and even Joshua's voice, lovely as it was- drifted further and further away. Was this what it was like- to feel cared for? Strange the way people craved the most elusive things, and Fiore could not imagine ending any other way. With her last sight, her last sound, her last touch shared with her most important person- she was so lucky.
And that weight in her chest grew heavier as the creases in her brow eased. No more time for worries and regrets and Fiore held on to that last breath as long as she could, straining to savor each note, to memorize the feel of this one embrace- before the air burned in her lungs, screaming to be let go and she exhaled; slowly- slowly- slowly- as the beating of her heart finally stopped.
Joshua: "Our..." Immediately he stopped. Her eyes were glassy. Her chest wasn't moving. There was no noise.
Joshua bit his lip and reached to slip his hand over her eyes, gently sliding them shut as he forced himself to continue. "Our...f-flowers are merely flowers..." There was a hiccup in his voice as he tried to stay steady. "And the shadow of thy p-perfect bliss...is the sunshine of...ours..."
Unable to continue any longer, the teenager curled up, clutching her tightly as he buried his face against her newly bared neck. Out of nowhere, he let out a scream that sent the birds to the air, leaving him and Fiore to be truly alone so that none could bear witness to the boy as he wept.
Rating; Rated R for language, violence, and character death.
Characters; Joshua Christopher [apostleofhope] & Fiore [violet_overture].
Summary; During the rescue mission, Joshua reclaims what is his. It's easy to kill someone, but it's harder to cope with their death when that someone turns out to be irreplaceable.
Log;
Joshua: He had meant to stay by Rosiel's side during this, but he couldn't help but look down at the island. Fiore was down there, wasn't she? A doll that looked like Fiore, and had her voice, but her words were acid. The thought alone nearly brought out a snarl, but it didn't quite let loose until he spotted her.
Someone carrying her out. It. His.
He had barely said a word of temporary farewell before letting his wings fold so that he could dive. They fanned out just in time for him to glide by and snatch the unconscious maidservant from her 'rescuers' arms, ignoring any cries of surprise. A dark skinned woman had followed him back into the air, but the forest beyond the beach made it easy to lose someone.
Letting the wings shimmer into nothingness, he stepped onto a grassy patch and crouched down so he could lay her out. After a quick scan to make sure she was all in one piece, he reached out to touch her cheek. Just a touch.
And then he slapped her. "Wake up."
Fiore: The contact was more than enough to wake her, eyes snapping open though her expression remained placid as always. A slap, surely something that would make the average girl jolt, yell, cry out in either pain or surprise- and Fiore merely opened her eyes. When had she fallen asleep- and how-? Magic, a spell, and to awake here with her old Master hovering over her; Fiore knew she was lost.
She was no fool, and as powerful as she was, she was no match for him. That's why it had been so important, so terribly terribly important to stay inside and hidden away and safely out of reach to keep her darling darling baby darling out of reach and harm and now she'd been too foolish and gotten trapped- and there would be no one to help her now. Not her, or her child.scars in use
Fiore met blue eyes before her gaze swept upwards, taking in her surroundings. Treetops and branches, the barest hint of sky from flat on her back; before seeking that familiar blue once more, a wordless reply.
Joshua: He was quiet as she took in her surroundings, standing back up and letting his hands rest in his pockets for a minute while he sighed and glanced off to the side. Was Rosette safe? He needed to get back to her.
This wouldn't take too long, though.
Looking back down to Fiore, he smiled and leaned over a bit, letting one hand stretch down for her to take. "Fiore. You're mine."
Fiore: Delicate fingers, slender, pale, doll-like as they slid into his grasp, allowing herself to be lifted and standing slowly. No protest, no fighting. Not when such things were inconsequential. Delaying the inevitable. She took her time steading herself, still somewhat dizzy and instinctively, a hand reached to smooth over her stomach. A protective gesture to the child she knew she was bound to lose.
"Yours-" She echoed distantly, head turning to look at the trees with disconnected disinterest. "Yours to kill?"
Joshua: "Mine...to do whatever I want with." His grip on her hand tightened a bit as he watched her touch her stomach. Protecting the baby inside? Not even a baby. A parasite.
Immediately, he pulled her close, wrapping both arms around her and nuzzling her hair. "Aion wouldn't have hurt you. But you had to be foolish and let someone else take you. Damage you beyond repair. Oh, Fiore..."
With a groan, as if irritated, he pushed her away. The horns were there, and the noise was there, and he knew he would have to stop it. Slowly, he would stop it.
Clawed fingers curled into a fist, and with bared teeth, he struck hard. Not hard enough to break the jaw, but oh so very close. He had wanted to hit with everything he had, but then it would have been over too quickly. She needed to savor this.
She needed to learn. "You were a fool. But I promise I'll make you mine again."
Fiore: She expected the blow before it came but did nothing to fend it off- she faltered, body bending under the sheer force of it all before rising back up, righting herself. Affection and pain. To parts of the same whole, and yet the blow left her the same as the first had. Unflinching, expressionless, disinterested. The words, the accusations- didn't register and instead her head canted once more, almost childlike as she spoke. "You're supposed to protect things that are yours."
A statement or an accusation, perhaps a bit of both, and Fiore held her ground. Not out of defiance or anger or any real belief that it would matter, but simply out of habit. She was meant for this after all, was she not? Her purpose was to die protecting the one important to her. Though since Master Joshua had found his sister and Fiore herself was made disposable, what did it matter to trade one important person for another?
Joshua: Fury was there, rippling and nearly overflowing as he reached out to snag the metal ring connected to her choker. "I shouldn't have to! Not with you! Rosette I protect, but you're supposed to be strong! You told me I was yours, but you just let everyone else take you away! Aion! Sandalphon! You lied!"
his other hand was braced against her chest, claws digging in as he shoved her back against the nearest tree, shoving and pulling until the leather finally tore. It was a miracle her neck didn't break in the process, but the choker was soon ripped free and tossed aside to be lost in the tall grass and bushes. "Even Aion would no longer want you! All you do is fail at your job, ever since entering this City!"
Fiore: Fail.
That word in particular stung, the accusation pulling her out of delirium, something at last making contact with the woman she'd been before, with memory and feeling. Her hand nearly went to her stomach once more, but instead, reached for the empty place where her collar had just been. Pulled away. Revoked. Fiore's head fell forward a fraction, the smallest of moments to recover, the pain now a dull throb before she straightened. Inch by inch she straightened, a bit shaken from it all, but upright nonetheless. Shoulders squared, soft and sloping as he chin lifted- and at last, at last, there was recognition in her eyes. Emotion. Meaning.
A small step forward, expression sad, but resigned. It made sense after all. He was right. There was no place for useless things. "If I have failed, then Master Joshua should dispose of me."
Joshua: It only seemed to anger him more, as she became aware. Don't look at me with those eyes.
"Don't tell me what I should do!" Another strike, and then another. He didn't want her to be able to get back up. On the ground. Asleep but awake. He would make sure that her sleep would be silent.
When he had finally had enough of hitting her, his knuckles were almost sore. He was panting, but no he wasn't tired. Never tired. Just...impatient. One more. Just one more strike to send her down to the ground for good, where he could kick.
And there was no mercy as his foot connected with her ribs. Maybe if they broke, they would pierce it and KILL IT. "I'm better than that! I'll keep what's mine. Nobody else will want you when I'm through," he snarled.
Fiore: She hit the ground hard, though the impact didn't matter. The force of the blows was far worse and they only seemed to intensify- eyes squeezed shut and even now, she wouldn't fight in her own defense. Fiore knew, somewhere back where everything made sense, that she was no longer herself. That she'd been changing ever since she entered the City, and that maybe now, her death would right everything again. The kick to her ribs earned a strangled gasp, body arching away out of reflex before she stopped it, laying still for the next blow.
It was his voice that bothered her most. That it was strained and angry and something else, and what hurt worst was knowing that though she noticed those things, she would be unable to comfort him. Breathing alone was becoming difficult and she was certain that a fair number of bones had been broken already.
Still- a cough, and blood sputtered to her lips, brows furrowing a fraction at the pain- still, she manged speak, forcing the words out softly, voice cracking under the strain. "If Master Joshua does not want me, nothing else matters."
Joshua: "Who told you I didn't want you?! Did I say that? If I don't say it, then you don't believe it! You don't believe anything that parasite tells you! The tick-tick-ticking tries to tell me things, but do you think I listen?!"
Another kick.
"I've even gotten so good at ignoring the noise... If I'm strong, why can't you be?! Was it that collar, keeping you at the level of a bitch?! Well it's gone now!" His voice sounded strangled now, and he seemed to be choking on his own words as he leaned over and grabbed a fistful of her dress, hauling her up and slamming her back against the tree once more, causing the bark to split and crack.
"Now there's just you and me!" He struck one last time, but this time right for her gut, and the claws tore into her dress and flesh as if they were air, impaling her clean through until her spine cracked and he could feel the tree trunk on the other side.
There were tears in his eyes as he glowered at her. "And I'll never let you abandon me again."
Fiore: The would-be scream came out a mere gasp- and even now, as bloodied and horribly broken as she was, hands flew up to clutch reflexively at his coat; for something strong and safe and familiar. Was this how it was to die? A sharp pain, burning straight through and then numbness-? With such beautiful eyes so close. She'd long expected a far worse, far lonelier demise. And yet-
The tears in his eyes distracted her, and Fiore struggled to take in breath, to keep her eyes open just a little bit longer. Just you and me, wasn't that what she'd wanted? "Useless things..." she hesitated, words forced and wheezed at best, "get in your way. To kill me... is to help you, help..." Eyes darkened, falling half-mast as her head fell forward, too weak to support it much longer. "because- love... love you"
Fiore was coughing now, lips stained red and fingers trembling in the cloth she held so desperately to. "Nnh- forgive me--" Everything felt heavy, so heavy and so hard to stay awake and with the barest of sighs she let go, fingers going limp in his coat as her body collapsed entirely. Done fighting. Finally done fighting.
Joshua: The sun was up now, speckled spots of light flickering through the trees as the leaves rustled, but Joshua found it hard to see right then. Everything was red. Her blood, his anger, and even his sorrow ran red hot.
Mourning a death that hadn't even quite happened yet, he yanked his hand out of her as she fell, only to quickly wrap the arm around her waist to keep her secure against him. Fiore's blood was so warm. But it wouldn't be soon... Soon it would be cold.
The tears spilled over, streaming down his cheeks as he sunk down to sit on ground, cradling her in his lap as he smoothed her hair back with a hand dripping crimson.
"I can't love you, Fiore. But I can forgive you. I can kiss you. I can even sing to you." Clutching her broken body tightly, he stared down her, not quite able to see her as he wept, and his voice was shallow.
"Do you want me to sing?"
Fiore: She'd thought the world was disconnected before but now it was amplified. No pain, no nothing, safe for the same swell of concern she always felt, the tightening in her heart at the words she'd always known to be true but still never wished to hear. It would be over soon, then she wouldn't have to feel anything. It was so much, just to stay conscious, just to linger with him. Fiore thought it strange, and almost sad that she had managed to at last be where she wished to be- cradled in his embrace, just her, and no Rosette- and she would only get these fleeting seconds.
It seemed fitting.
Her throat was tight, from exertion or unshed tears she didn't care to guess and instead, in the barest of movements her finger lifted- a silent answer, yes, yes. How sweet would it be to be unshed to sleep by the only sound she had ever cared for? The only voice that meant anything.
Joshua: It was a song meant only for his sister, but for Fiore right then, he would have given her anything. Anything but his love. His heart would be his sister's, but for now his voice would be Fiore's. "None sing so wildly well as the angel Israfel... And the giddy stars, so legend tells, ceasing their hymns, attend the spell of his voice, all mute."
The wings of the Apostle spread out, glowing gold and white with a power divine, as if never tainted with the devil's horns. "Tottering above in her highest noon, the enamored moon blushes with love." His voice was a soft coo, surprisingly sturdy now despite the tears that would not stop, and the clearing was filled with the warmth and calm that only an Apostle's voice could provide, as if the Devil in him had not just shed a woman's blood and stained the grass.
"Yes, Heaven is thine, but this is a world of sweets and sours."
Fiore: Slowly, painfully slow, struggled gasps evened out, breaths becoming more and more frightfully shallow. The world outside seemed to become a dull hum and even Joshua's voice, lovely as it was- drifted further and further away. Was this what it was like- to feel cared for? Strange the way people craved the most elusive things, and Fiore could not imagine ending any other way. With her last sight, her last sound, her last touch shared with her most important person- she was so lucky.
And that weight in her chest grew heavier as the creases in her brow eased. No more time for worries and regrets and Fiore held on to that last breath as long as she could, straining to savor each note, to memorize the feel of this one embrace- before the air burned in her lungs, screaming to be let go and she exhaled; slowly- slowly- slowly- as the beating of her heart finally stopped.
Joshua: "Our..." Immediately he stopped. Her eyes were glassy. Her chest wasn't moving. There was no noise.
Joshua bit his lip and reached to slip his hand over her eyes, gently sliding them shut as he forced himself to continue. "Our...f-flowers are merely flowers..." There was a hiccup in his voice as he tried to stay steady. "And the shadow of thy p-perfect bliss...is the sunshine of...ours..."
Unable to continue any longer, the teenager curled up, clutching her tightly as he buried his face against her newly bared neck. Out of nowhere, he let out a scream that sent the birds to the air, leaving him and Fiore to be truly alone so that none could bear witness to the boy as he wept.