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... almost makes you wonder if we're saving up the bad stuff for later. >:3
But yeah, cyclopti children are rare enough and cause for celebration with Drusilla's tribe, so they had to go back to Sicily for her baby shower. Given that they're cyclops though there's gonna be beer and lots of it, hence the title. :P","writing":"Simoni blinks as the boat rocks gently under her, the girl yawning as she rolls over and snuggles up close to Arja. She'd slept better that night than she had since Castle Fullmoon's destruction. When Stephy got back and told her about the island he'd given over to the dragons she'd almost tackled the fae off his feet. She'd spent the whole time since their encounter with Alyzya and Kirzar stressed out, worried, and paranoid like she was waiting for the other shoe (or giant scaly claw) to drop and, well, now it wasn't an issue.\n\nTrue the dragons probably were still angry at her, but Stephy had promised that once they got settled in he'd go to the island and explain what had happened and how she'd been manipulated by Morrigan. Dusk was curled up on the other side, the kitten nestled up against Arja's belly as he'd discovered on the trip that the girl, even in her human form, was nice and warm to curl up to (something about her fire magic made her body temperature slightly hotter overall).\n\nArja smiles softly as she rubs Dusk's cheek, \"Glad you're feeling better Simoni…\" she says happily. Arja always woke up early, usually right at sunrise, but she didn't want to disturb the kitten on her tummy, simply happy to lay snuggled in for a bit. \"The dragons should calm down as they get settled in, hopefully that’ll be the end of it.\"\n\nSimoni giggles, snuggling into the monkey as she wraps her arms around her, \"Its just... I was so scared I'd just started a fae war or something and... now it's over.\" she sighs, then smirks, \"I wonder how long it'll last this time. I mean, Nelen is okay now but, jeez... a baby? I'm a little panicky over it and all that I'll have to do is buy the kid the loudest and most obnoxious toys for their birthday.\" she smirks, \"After all, it'd be my duty as a good aunt.\" she nods, grinning as she leans in and nibbles Arja's ear playfully.\n\nIn Drusilla and Nelen's cabin the blood mage was already awake, letting the cyclops sleep in, and he was staring out the window with that same troubled expression that men have had since some ancient human had first worked out why his mate was suddenly putting on so much weight. \"I'm going to be someone's father...\" he mutters under his breath, glancing back at Drusilla. She was (at least) three months pregnant and it was starting to show, her belly becoming rounder as his future child grew inside her. He glances back out the window, then down at his bandaged hands. He doesn't say it, but someone who'd be looking could almost hear him thinking 'I'm going to be someone's demon-possessed warlock father...'\n\nDrusilla was still in bed, snoring softly. The Cyclops girl was taking her pregnancy well, in contrast to Nelen, mainly just eating a good deal more than usual. Cyclops pregnancy was celebrated, but expecting mothers weren't given special status. Warriors fought, priests did their work, workers worked. There are many statues and cave paintings of Cyclopian mothers wading into battle with their child still nursing from them.\n\nIn their own cabin, Nessa and Alice were awake already, their 'guest' was as much early riser as Arja. Patli was close to breaking the door down as she tugs on it, Nessa grabbing her and dragging her back. \"Damn it, I haven’t told anyone you were coming along yet, you storming through the ship won't exactly be a good impression…\" she huffs as Alice laughs softly, shaking her head \"I'm looking forward to this, I've only read about Cyclopi before, I don't think a Roche has encountered one proper since the old days.”\n\nEventually the morning wears on and they can't stay in bed any longer. Between Simoni and Arja getting hungry, Dusk getting bored, and Patli getting loose there's soon too much going on.\n\nSoon enough the whole boat is up, either naturally or summoned as Patli slips Nessa's hold and goes darting down the hall in search of breakfast. Drusilla yawns softly as she wakes, standing up and sliding a bathrobe on (most of her leathers were a bit snug to begin with, the girl quickly running out of 'maternity clothes' to pick from). \"Did you do that staring and muttering thing all night again or did you at least get some sleep?\n\nNelen turns to her and that alone answers her question, the blood mage has dark rings under his eyes, which are looking a bit red themselves (though not the dangerous 'Merihim wants to say hi' red). \"I slept a few hours...\" he replies, though he doesn't meet her eye when he does as Dawn yawns from the top of the dresser, all curled up in her animal form, \"He didn't. He's been in full on angst mode since at least two or so.\" she mrowls, her tail twitching.\n\nDrusilla sighs, walking over to rub his back, \"It worries me when you get like this. You're gonna be a great dad, I have faith in you.\" she nods with a little smile, \"Come on, maybe spending some time with family will help you out, you can talk to the other parents.\"\n\nNelen smiles a bit at her, then sighs as he and Drusilla leave the cabin to go get some food, Dawn following behind on all fours. Drusilla is really the best he could ask for. Someone who's understanding, energetic, and strong as two oxen... but still, he couldn't tell her... especially with the baby on the way.\n\nIt wasn't himself Nelen was worried about.\n\nDrusilla sighs a bit as she goes to follow the rest to the ship's meal area, a spread already laid out, though a good chunk was taken out thanks to Patli's breakfast. \"We should almost be there, right?\" asks the cyclops as she takes a seat, Arja nodding in response. \"Yea, ‘bout an hour or so probably.\"\n\nSimoni gets some of the remaining bacon and eggs on her plate, then giggles, \"Funny isn't it? I mean this is the same way we went there the first time.\" she nods to Arja, \"Boat and all, just this time Rajesh, Iravati, and Natasha aren't here.\" she nods. Originally they'd tried to go to Sicily using a boat to make it harder to track them down and avoid another assassin like Paale, only to wind up running into Edwood for the first time. Naturally, Edwood had outright refused to come when Nelen had offered him a chance to make amends for last time.\n\n\"Look man, I 'preciate th' offer 'n all... but these're fuggin cyclops yer talkin 'bout. Best way I can say 'm sorry is ta make sure they never see me again.\" he had said.\n\nNatasha had stayed behind with Lupe, who had refused to leave Sandra's side after the siege was over. While Sandra wasn't dead, she had been hurt very badly by Franklin's men, all of whom had been using silver-edged weapons. She was Lupe's packmate and, while Lupe went to help rescue Iravati, she made sure she wouldn't be away from Sandra until her wounds healed... the long slow natural way that only silver-inflicted wounds can heal on a werewolf.\n\nArja nods, grinning at Simoni, \"Hopefully a more pleasant meeting too.\" she replies as she eats, Drusilla taking nearly the rest of the breakfast for herself as she eagerly digs in, \"Yeah, better reason to see them than last time too, this should be a lot more social and friendly.\"\n\nNelen shrugs, downing two cans of coke (he -hates- coffee) in quick succession and then twitching a bit as the caffeine kicks in. \"I dunno, some of them seemed pretty happy once Dawn told them about how Clan Fullmoon's guys all had super-strength...\" he replies, then scratches his beard, \"Come to think of it... we never did find all of Franklin's followers...\"\n\nDawn just grins up from a plate of fried fish she'd been eating with her brother, \"Well... I miiiiiiiiight've mentioned some things like, say, good breeding stock and strong male sons...\" she replies to which Nelen sighs and rubs at his eyeballs, \"Great. My cat condemned some of my relatives to 'death by snu snu'.\"\n\nDrusilla smirks, \"Oh come on, some of them may make the cut and get to stay with the tribe.\" she teases as she finishes her meal, sliding the plate away, \" 's how you got through.\"\n\nNelen rolls his eyes, \"Yeah, I got through by almost having a fit when Dawn told everyone.\" he says, though he smirks a bit as he does. Eventually the boat docks at Sicily and the group disembarks. Nelen is wearing what he always does, teeshirt, long jacket to hide his scars, hat, and so on. Dawn decided to stay in animal form for now, padding along with the group as Dusk darts off into the tall grass yelling 'mouse! Mine! I saw it first! Mine!'. Simoni went with a green tank top and shorts, going barefoot for now, as Stephy wound up with a loose pale blue summery dress and sandals. \"So, where are we heading then Drus?\" asks Nelen, \"I mean, we only ever met them in town...\"\n\nDrusilla just grins, watching the kitten dart off, \"Careful, there’s snakes.\" she warns Dusk as she walks from the docks. She had changed from her white bathrobe to about the only thing she had still fitting her, a rather basic white toga with a shiny snakeskin belt and a brooch that seemed to be made from bone, relics from her Naga fights. \"This looks like a good place…\" she nods, looking around to be sure there was enough space before she rears back and unleashes a massive roar that echos around the group! There's a long pause before another, fainter, roar responds \"They're thataway.\" she giggles, pointing in the direction it came from.\n\nDusk yelps and almost jumps right out of the grass at the sound of Drusilla's bellow, Nelen wincing a bit but clearly prepared for it as Stephy tilts his head, \"Huh... I always thought that was something in the jungles when I'd hear that sound...\" he says in a bemused tone, glancing between her and Nelen as the latter coughs and tries to ignore him, heading off in the direction Drusilla had indicated. Simoni seems to make the connection too, the girl grimacing and trying to banish the image of what could prompt a roar like that from her when she's back in India and in bed from her mind, whimpering \"Ew ew ew ew...\" the entire time.\n\nDrusilla just giggles as she walks. Luckily it wasn't that long of a hike into a nearby woods where her tribe had made camp. By camp, of course, they mean they knocked a bunch of trees down, used those trees for makeshift hide covered shelters, and currently had a bonfire burning for cooking. Sammi just grins as he sees the 'camp', the fae boy actually dressed fairly low key (for him) a sparkly pale blue shirt and snug jeans were his only covering besides shoes. \"I always appreciated the giantkin's directness.\" he smirks, Arja nodding happily as well. The girl was wearing a pair of black shorts and a green and white striped shirt, no shoes on either, considering they had gone into a forest where she could climb and such.\n\nSimoni giggles. It was a pretty good distance from the mundanes too. No need to worry about cameras or anything this far out. Nelen takes a breath as Dawn teleports onto his shoulder, the cat whispering to him as he replies in the same soft muttering. Someone really close might catch a few words like 'afraid' or 'him', but nothing else. Dawn can whisper right into his ear and Nelen can be as quiet as he likes thanks to how sensitive her ears are. Though Dawn's fur stands on end as she almost talks loud enough to be heard for a moment, \"Al?!\" she hisses before Nelen puts his hand over her muzzle and shakes his head, the cat sighing and nodding, going quiet.\n\nDrusilla raises her brow at the pair, \"Everything ok?\" she asks as the group gets to the border of the camp. It seemed the tribe was gathered already, laughing and talking loudly as they drank from large kegs scattered around the fire.\nNelen nods at her, \"Yeah, everything is fine Drus. C'mon, lets go say hi to your mother.\" he smiles tiredly at her, though Dawn still looks troubled, her fur just starting to settle back down as the group walks into the camp.\n\nDrusilla shrugs, grinning as she waves to the clan gathered around, \"We're home!\" she announces, her mother laughing loudly as she waves them over. \"Took you long enough, thought you got lost.\" she grins, \"How's my girl doing, and my new son?\" she laughs, looking over to Nelen with a wide smile, showing her mouth of pointy teeth. They’re obviously not natural, filed as some kind of status symbol...\n\nNelen shrugs, \"Tired, had a bit of trouble sleeping on the boat.\" he replies. No reason not to be honest, he looked like he hadn't slept anyways. \"Guess I'm just getting nervous about... well... y'know.\" he shrugs, putting an arm around Drusilla and patting her belly.\n\nThe rest of the group makes themselves at home as Nelen nods to the woman. \"How about you guys Kurega? Anyone get hurt during the siege? I mean, we never really got a chance to take stock after the castle got destroyed.\"\n\nKurega nods, \"Yea, a few injuries but nothing bad, we got out with the same that went in... actually a few extra!\" she laughs loudly, slapping Nelen's back, \"Hope your clan doesn't mind us poaching a few war trophies, you Fullmoon boys are some of the last proper warrior clans left around.”\n\nNelen winces at the slap, the force of the playful smack almost knocking him off his feet. He straightens up and adjusts his glasses, nodding, \"We were wondering where a few of my uncles went...\" he nods, glancing at Dawn who just grins right back at him and whispers, 'snu snu' as the mage sighs, \"I don't think Jeanne will complain too loudly about it, if she even notices. I mean we're a pretty big clan and she's already got her hands full just trying to rebuild and get all the others in line.\" he nods.\n\nShe just laughs again, nodding, \"Well can't have Dru takin the responsibility for growing the tribe alone can we?\" she teases. \"Speaking of...\" she grins as another roar comes from the forest, the sounds of heavy footsteps getting closer, \"Rest of the clan should been here soon, then we can really celebrate!\"\n\nNelen raises an eyebrow, looking around, \"Huh, kind of surprised that there's this many of you guys left...\" he nods, \"I mean, giant-kin are pretty rare and all...\" he nods as Simoni and Arja show off for some of Drusilla's tribemates, Arja riding on Simoni's back as the girls work together to conjure rings of fire to fly through. Simoni seems to be having a much easier time of it than she has been for a while too, thoughts of the dragons must have really been weighing on her.\n\nKurega nods, \"Yeah, we're about the biggest tribe left. Our guys stay in the main camp to hold the fort, but hey, why not celebrate as full as we can?\" she teases. The men soon enough break through the trees as the tribe cheers Simoni and Arja on. The men are about the same size as the woman, but much wider, a blend of fat and muscle forming massive frames with shoulders as wide as a full grown adult human laying down. Their other unique atribute, the men all had horns, either a long one sprouting from their forehead over their eye, or a pair like ram horns on the sides of their skulls.\n\nNelen raises an eyebrow at that, making a note to make a few changes to something as the ground shakes from all the cyclopti marching into the camp. He idly wonders if one of them might actually be Drusilla's father, they never did meet him after all.\n\nAt the sight of the giants Simoni angles downwards, landing in the clearing and letting Arja climb off her back as she gazes around, \"Geez... feeling a bit dwarfed here.\" she giggles to her, shaking her feathers off as she changes back into her human form.\n\nArja smirks, \"Yea if these are the kin I'd hate to see a real giant...\" she teases, one of the males laughing loudly at that, \"Never seen a real giant huh little monkey?\" he grins, taking his place next to Kurega and putting an arm around her shoulder. He was massive, with ruddy toned skin that was a patchwork of old scars and burns all across his body, and a single long, sharp, horn coming from his forehead over his massive dark purple eye. \"Not surprisin’, if we're rare they're near myths at this point. The ancient ones, first of our kind, they were proper giants. Could reach into the sky and pluck a flock of birds out for dinner, or drag a hand through the sea and have a feast of fish. Ages passed, though, the biggest were hunted down... sad part of bein’ the biggest, you're the biggest target too. We bred with the humans and other races, and while we never grew to our old numbers, we survived. That's the thing about us, we always survive...\"\n\nHe then lets out a loud laugh, almost knocking a few trees over with the force of it before looking at the rest of the group, \"Now which of you is the magician that got with my girl?\" he grins, eye falling on the fae, \"No offense boys but I hope it ain't you... we respect the fair folk but... well... ogres and such are about the only kind most respectable cyclops gals would bed…\" he grins, the cyclops man trying not to sound insulting.\n\nStephy giggles, \"Nah, my girlfriend would kill me.\" he replies, leaning into Trixie as Nelen raises one of his bandaged hands, \"That'd be me.\" he says, looking up at the cyclops. \"Seen a few fights huh?\" he asks, knowing exactly how to break the ice with someone like this. \"Where'd ya get that one?\" he asks, pointing to a huge gash on the man's upper arm.\n\nThe man grins wide, the question obvious working on him as he holds his arm up, admiring the gash. \"Minotaur, back around the time Kurega was knocked up actually, he was a big bastard, got me with his axe before I tossed him into the sea.\n\nNelen smirks, this might be easier than he thought. \"Well, thats not bad... but how about these?\" he asks, shrugging off his jacket, then taking off his hat long enough to remove his shirt, showing the mish mash of scar tissue he called an 'upper body'. Several huge claw marks across his stomach like something had tried to disembowel him at one point, a huge puckered white mess where one of his nipples should be, fang, claw, and bullet wounds all up and down his arms and shoulders, and even more on his back as well. \"See this one here?\" he asks, pointing to a large gash on his side, \"Wendigo, eight years ago. My magic doesn't work on the undead and I didn't realize it was one until the thing had its claws in me.\"\n\nHe laughs, nodding \"The starvers, right? Come back feral and people hungry?\" he asks as he turns, showing what looks like a web of jagged claw marks all down his right shoulder blade, \"Nest of ghouls up in Rome, damn things were in the ruins, got the jump on me, literally.\" he laughs. \"I like you, you're small, but you're tough!\" he grins.\n\nNelen smirks, \"You're not bad yourself.\" he replies, turning around and whistling for Dawn. \"Show him the one from Prague.\" he says as Dawn points to two large scrapes down his back, going across his backbone. \"Some giant spider thing got me from behind, would've severed my spine if I hadn't dove forward right as it tried to put the fangs in me.\"\n\nAs the men continue to compare scars Kurega just grins, grabbing kegs from the ground, \"Any of you want a drink?\" she offers as Drusilla grabs one, Trixie trying her best to hold one as well, \"They'll be at this a while I think.\" she chuckles.\n\nSimoni giggles, though she looks warily at Drusilla, \"Is it okay for her to do that if she's pregnant?\" she asks, not wanting her future niece or nephew to wind up with fetal alcohol syndrome or something... but then, Drusilla wasn't human as Nelen seems to be enjoying himself. It’s rare to find someone who looks more impressed than disturbed when they see him shirtless. He points to a huge burn mark on his side and says, \"Rogue pyromancer trying to set London Bridge on fire because of the voices in his head.\"\n\nKurega nods as Drusilla bashes the lid open of her keg, reaching to do the same for Trixie's, \"Oh yeah, don't worry, our kids can handle it, we're tough even in the womb.\" she smirks \"Though for all we know maybe this whole time we're meant to have two eyes and we just haven't had a generation where the mothers stopped drinking long enough to test that.\" she smirks, tapping her keg against Drusilla’s in a sort of toast before knocking the whole thing back.\n\nDawn smirks, glancing over at Nelen as he keeps trying to outdo Drusilla's dad on the 'who's got the best battle damage' contest ('Chupacabra bite, Texas 2009!') as Simoni gently but firmly pushes her back from the alcohol, \"Yeah, you and Dusk can have water and nothing else to drink... We don't need a bunch of guys strong enough to uproot trees to get 'the crazies'.\" she nods firmly as Dawn frowns and curls up on the ground, \"Spoilsport...\"\n\nKurega nods faintly as she looks to Simoni and the rest, \"So, glad to see all of you in one piece after that. I assume your clan is doing better now that things have settled?\"\n\nSimoni winces, \"Well... we don't have to worry about Clan Fullmoon anymore but... things have gotten a bit weird. See this little guy?\" she asks, holding up Dusk by the scruff of the neck, \"He was trapped inside the Mundane Blade before it broke... and... well... turns out so were a lot of other things.\" she nods, telling Kurega about Abel and the dragons, \"... and those were just two. The Mundane Blade was, well, ancient, like pre-Roman Empire ancient, and we found out from Jeanne that after it was used on Kirzar and Alyzya that it got stolen from Clan Fullmoon and stayed missing until Franklin got his hands on it... so there's no telling what might've escaped.\" she nods.\n\nShe nods at that, frowning, \"Hrm, interesting... Well, should make for more fun around here hopefully.\" she grins. The Cyclopi, it seemed were very hard to faze with news like that.\n\nSimoni shrugs, \"Well, I dunno. I mean historically the blades were used against stuff that couldn't be dealt with any other way... It wouldn't be such a big deal if it was, I dunno...\" she thinks, trying to remember any greek myths that the cyclopti might enjoy fighting, \"Maybe like the Nemian Lion or something... but what if something really bad got out?\" she asks.\n\nShe shrugs, \"Then we'll deal with it.\" she replies matter-of-factly, downing another keg and tossing it away. \"That's how we've done for ages, not about to change and start getting scared because a sword got broke.\"\n\nSimoni glances at Arja, then nods, \"Well, alright... don't say I didn't warn you.\" she nods, leaning against the monkey girl as she sighs. Well, with any luck it wouldn't be a dragon. She's pretty sure she can't remember hearing about any dragons in Greece...\n\nDrusilla smirks faintly, \"When you spend most of your history hunted and enslaved you tend to focus on the now more than the future.\" she teases, patting Simoni's back. \n\nThe party continues for a good few more hours, the cyclopi drinking and laughing and sharing stories (Nelen is a big hit with the men it seems), before eventually the drinks run out, the wildness starting to die down to normality.\n\nNelen eventually heads over to where the girls are sitting by the fire, flopping down with a slightly red face as Simoni raises her eyebrow at him, \"Yeah yeah, I had a couple...\" he smirks, then adds, \"A couple drinks, not kegs. I'm not a cyclops y'know, I can't down that much... and live.\" he nods as Simoni smirks at him, \"Well, at least you get along well with them.\" she giggles as he leans back, gazing up at the sky as the sun begins to set.\n\n\"Still weird... I mean, after I made my pact and went on the run I never thought I'd be doing anything this normal...\" he glances over at Drusilla downing another keg of homebrewed beer, \"... well, close to normal again. Hell, I figured I'd be dead by now... and it’s not for lack of trying.\" he nods, gesturing to his chest and arms.\n\nArja nods, \"Well, maybe it's a sign or something? I mean, maybe it's less a 'vessel' thing and more symbiosis at this point? Can't deny you live a life that 'feeds' your demon well. Maybe the two of you have reached some kinda balance?\"\n\nNelen sighs, \"I doubt it. I really doubt it.\" he frowns, glancing down at one of his hands. \"Girls, you have to remember. Merihim may have been a god before, but he's a demon now. I'm not the first person he made that pact with, and it never ends well for any of them.\" he sighs, \"I can keep him bound, I can control him to a degree... but it's like putting a leash on a rabid dog. Sooner or later someone is going to get bitten.\"\n\nArja just chuckles softly, \"Yeah but still, maybe you're the rabid dog whisperer\" she teases, having had a few drinks herself it seemed. \"I dunno, wasn't the deal that he was gonna stick around until you carved your bloody path through Franklin's guys? If he's still around maybe you're a more 'worthy host' than he's had before?\"\n\nNelen frowns, \"Not exactly... the deal was that I'd make a pact with him 'until my death'. Maybe he expected me to die at Castle Fullmoon, but that didn't happen.\" he nods, \"Hes been... unusually quiet too. Like he doesn't get as agitated as he used to. He got a bit worked up when Nessa's mom showed up, but that's all lately.\" he frowns, \"He's up to something... but I don't know what...\"\n\nArja chuckles, \"Maybe he likes vessels that are harder to kill, maybe you're paranoid.\" she teases as Drusilla giggles, making her way over, \"That why you've been so freaked out lately?\" she asks, plopping down next to him.\n\nNelen winces at that, \"Thats... part of it yeah.\" he nods as Dawn pads up, still in her animal form as she frowns up at him, \"Would you just TELL them already?\" she hisses, \"If they're not suspicious by now...\" she grumbles as Nelen frowns at her. Drusilla nods at the cat’s words, \"I'm drunk, not dumb, what's goin’ on?\"\n\nNelen sighs, \"Alright alright, I was hoping he wouldn't come up again...\" he nods, holding up his bandaged hand, \"I suppose I should start at the beginning. See, I didn't start out knowing how to make these and use them to bind Merihim.\" he explains, \"Back when I first learned my blood magic every single day was me struggling to keep him from forcing his way into control again... and, well... finally I got desperate enough to try the Nightside.\" he continues.\n\n\"It took the better part of a month to get to London, and along the way I had more than a few close calls and...\" he sighs, \"... about a dozen deaths where I lost control and Merihim killed someone... but I got there and I got some information and... well...\" he pauses as Dawn sighs, \"He met his teacher. That's the 'Al' I was freaking out about earlier.\" she nods as Nelen grunts, \"Yeah, Al. He showed me how to bind Merihim and, later, taught Dawn how to transform herself, though she still isn't doing it right...\" he smirks at her as Dawn hisses and nips at his arm, \"But... yeah. The thing is, he's always aware of what I've been up to and I've been waiting for him to do something ever since the Mundane Blade got destroyed...\" he sighs.\n\nDrusilla nods at that, furrowing her brow a bit as Arja speaks up, \"And that's a bad thing, if he 'does something' it sounds like?\"\n\nNelen nods, \"Yeah. I can't tell you his full name, I mean I literally can't by the way, even if I try my throat will just stop working until I give up.\" he replies, \"But... he's a demon too, a powerful one.\" he nods, \"Lot worse than Merihim... it’s how he knew how to bind him.\" he adds. \"Mind you, I didn't know he was at first, but once I found out I got the hell out of there.\" he frowns as Dawn adds, \"He's one of the ones we were gonna ask about Inishmor before we ran into Merlin. Nelen was gonna drop you guys off somewhere else first though.\"\n\nDrusilla nods, rubbing Nelen's back, \"Well, fuck that!\" she says simply, \"We'll handle this with you. If this 'Al' comes calling, we'll fuck him up. We fucked plenty of bad things up before.\" she grins as Arja nods at the cyclops’s words.\n\nNelen winces a bit as Dawn folds her ears, \"Um... guys?\" she mewls, \"Al is... like... really bad bad. Like, half step below Mammon bad.\" she nods as Nelen adds, \"Yeah... see, the reason we didn't know he was a demon at first is, well, he doesn't have to possess anyone to be outside of Hell. He's an extremely powerful sorcerer... I'm not his only student so he might not show up yet... but...\" he frowns, \"He will eventually. I know him.\"\n\nDrusilla just waves her hand, \"Fine, he's powerful, but so are we. We've proven that, fuck him\" she repeats, Trixie raising a brow, \"Wait... is this... THE 'Al'? As the one we don't use the full name of just in case he's listening but that one that wrote the books and shit?\" she asks, frowning.\n\nNelen sighs, \"Yeah, I have a couple books in my library back in India that are hand written and signed 'Al' or 'Gally'. He's the one who wrote them.\" he nods, the books in question were also at least eight or nine hundred years old and required translation from Latin just to read. \"But it’s a moot point. Only his students know his full name and we're spelled so we can't tell anyone who doesn't know it.\"\n\nTrixie nods, but smirks softly, \"Cool, always wanted to shoot an immortal sorcerer in the face\". Arja laughs at that, shaking her head, \"Nelen, we all have chains that connect us to the darkness, that's what my grandfather tells me. Weights of sins in past lives, or mistakes in the current, only the enlightened are free of their chains. The only way TO be enlightened is to break your chains. So, yea, what your drunk babymama said. Fuck him. He's just another chain to break.\"\n\nNelen frowns, \"Yeah, and this chain is made out of titanium and covered in red-hot barbed wire.\" he replies, grumbling as he reaches back, dunks a mug in a large wooden keg, and then takes a long pull from it. Drusilla just chuckles lightly, shaking her head, \"Chains were made to be broken, thats Cyclops wisdom. The gods forged chains no mortal could break, and we broke them. Your little pointy hot chain doesn't scare me\" she grins.\n\nNelen takes off his glasses and rubs his eyes, \"Point is, sooner or later we're going to run into him, and I'd rather it be much much later.\" he nods, laying back on the grass, \"Well, at least it's peaceful tonight...\"\n\nAfter a moment of silence there's a low rumble from the forest, stomping coming through... as well as snorting... before a massive figure comes crashing through. Well, massive compared to the visitors at least. He was around six and a half feet tall, wearing black leather pants and boots, and no shirt over his muscled, slightly scarred, chest. In his hands he gripped a giant axe, the double bladed head shining lightly in the fading light. He also had the head of a massive brown bull, white horns shining in the light, bright red eyes glaring at the group, \"CYCLOPTI!\" he roars, \"We have business to attend to!\"\n\nNelen sighs, sitting back up, \"Why do you let me say shit like that Dawn?\" he asks as the cat grins, shapeshifting into her humanoid form, \"Keeps life interesting.\" she replies. Simoni has already jumped to her feet as Stephy eeps and peeks out of the bushes where he and Trixie were probably just whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears. They stand ready (except for Stephy who seems to be fussing with his dress) as they wait to see exactly what this thing is going to do.\n\nA minotaur is dangerous, yes, but at the same time they're cyclops and 'business' could mean a lot of things for them. It'd be rude to interfere until he's certain that it'd cause that kind of trouble.\n\nThe cyclopti don't seem to care much, Drusilla's father simply laughing at him despite his menacing appearance, \"Gorag, was wondering when you'd lumber in here.\" he grins, standing to tower over the minotaur, Drusilla just sighs softly, \"Dad...how fresh is that axe wound in your arm?\" she asks, the man grinning faintly, \" ‘bout a week...\" he replies, fingering it almost fondly.\n\nThe bull-man snorts angrily at that, stomping his feet, \"You took my son from me, Cyclops! I demand retribution!\" he growls. Again, the tribe seems unfazed, Drusilla's father just shaking his head at the creature, \"Your son was on our lands, killing our sheep. We warned him before what we did to trespassers. Not my fault you never taught the boy to swim…\" he laughs, getting some laughter from the rest as well.\n\nNelen sighs, \"Hoo boy...\" he nods, popping his neck a bit as the two stare each other down, \"Hm... big and tough... but little if any magic...\" he scratches his chin, then glances at Drusilla, \"Am I right in assuming that nobody in your tribe would care if, say, something killed him?\" he asks.\n\nDrusilla shakes her head, standing up to her feet, \"Hey, wanna have some fun?\" she grins, swaying just a bit from her drinking but seeming mostly lucid still. \"Hey! Milky!\" she grins, whistling to the newcomer. \"You want revenge for your boy, getting stomped by dad won't help. How about me and my husband here take you on?\" she sneers, nodding to Nelen. \"I mean, it's still not a FAIR fight but unless you got more family to drag out for this I think we're good as we're gonna get...\"\n\nNelen smirks, \"Thanks for the offer hon, but I can handle Bessie here.\" he nods, flexing his arms as Dawn smirks, \"Well, this'll be over quick.\" she grins to the others as Nelen steps forward, only coming up to the minotaur's chest. \"Whatcha say cowboy? Wanna fight?\" he grins. He's been worrying about Merihim and the mysterious 'Al' for days, he could use a chance to blow off some steam.\n\nDrusilla chuckles, \"Aw come on, where's your sense of fun?\" she teases as the minotaur snorts angrily, \"Fine I accept, if I can't kill you I'll kill your daughter's mate!\" he snarls, the tribe cheering and laughing loudly as they form a ring around the pair, Drusilla in the front cheering as the minotaur raises his axe in the air in a taunting gesture, \"Come at me, human!\"\n\nNelen smirks, his hands pointed down, palms open. In the firelight there's a pair of just barely visible crimson threads coming out of his palms and into the dirt. \"I already did beefy.\" he grins as, around the minotaur's feet, a pair of blood red tendrils erupt out of the ground and wrap around the minotaur's wrists, yanking firmly on its arms and slamming it hard toward the ground.\n\nThe minotaur blinks as he's grabbed and pulled down, only to start laughing, \"A magician eh? Too bad for you! The power of magic has no sway over the Ironhorn Clan!\" he roars out, keeping his grip tight on his axe. He jams the pommel of the weapon into the dirt as a brace for himself, also sending a shockwave through the earth. Everyone not currently tall enough to shove a tree over found it hard to stand, but the real effect came when Nelen felt his blood tendrils losing solidity, the axe glowing with Greek runes as the minotaur is able to stand back up with a sneer on his face.\n\nNelen blinks and quickly stumbles out of the way as Merihim's tendrils retreat into his body before all the magic in them gets cancelled out, the mage looking at the runes, his lips moving, before he mutters, \"Ah fuck...\" he frowns. It wasn't a mundane blade, but it was pretty close in some ways, designed to cancel out magic spells and manipulate rock and earth. Maybe he shouldn't have turned down Drusilla's help. He takes a breath, focusing Merihim into his legs as he thinks quickly.\n\nDrusilla has to giggle just a bit, \"See what happens when you're cocky?\" she teases as the minotaur grins \"Coming at me directly, magician? At least you want to die brave!\" he sneers, thrusting his axe into the air, sending rocky growths into Nelen's path to try to trip him. The blade was indeed no mundane blade. It couldn't cancel magic out inherently, just dispel magic that was being cast. His blood would stay in his legs just fine regardless of the axe's enchantments.\n\nNelen grins, \"Think you're the worst I ever faced?\" he shoots back as he jumps forward, using the enhanced strength in his legs to propel him, kicking off the rocky outcroppings with ease as, within a couple seconds he's at the minotaur. Nelen refocuses, pushing all of Merihim that he can into his arm, which he brings down on the Minotaur's right arm like his own battleaxe. The minotaur's axe can cancel out spells, but this wasn't a spell of any sort. He was just pushing Merihim into different limbs.\n\nThe minotaur blinks in surprise as Nelen so easily powers through his magics, the tribe cheering him on as his blow is met with a low CRUNCH of snapping bones, his axe slipping from his hands and hitting the floor as he stares in horror, his arm broken at the elbow.\n\nNelen lands and quickly focuses Merihim back into his legs, kicking the axe over towards the cyclopti forming the ring around them as he tilts his head at the minotaur. \"That all ya got?\" he asks, \"Seriously, think I got all these from cutting myself or something?\" he smirks, tapping his scarred and torn up chest (he never put his shirt back on). \"No magic axe now moocow... so how do you wanna go out?\" he grins, conjuring one of his tendrils out from his palm as sharp fangs sprout all around it. \"Quick, or slow?\"\n\nThe minotaur just stares in horror at his broken arm, sputtering a bit as he tries to back away, \"I-I demand restitution...\" he repeats, Drusilla's father laughing loudly at him, \"Hey, Gorag. Your boy was an idiot, and you are too. I hope your wife has better taste in her next mate…\" he taunts, laughing again as he nods to Nelen, \"Finish it, might as well make it quick, he at least had the balls to come to the camp and demand a challenge himself.\"\n\nNelen shrugs, \"Well, far be it from me to refuse the request of my father in law.\" he replies, then nods to Dawn as she takes Simoni's hand and turns her so she's looking away before Nelen recoils his blood tendril... and then shoots it out in a sudden burst that pierces right through the minotaur's ribcage. There's a sound like a buzzsaw cutting through meat as it spins around rapidly for a moment, and then he pulls it back into his body as 'Gorag' slumps over onto the ground, a small bit of mashed up meat where his heart should be.\n\nThe tribe cheers loudly at that, Drusilla seeming to be the loudest voice as she runs over to hug Nelen (perhaps a bit too hard), \"That was great!\" she grins, leaning in to whisper, \"Really showed ‘em you’re dad material too.\" she giggles as Arja pats Simoni's shoulder, \"It's done now.\" she says with a smile, though she did have to admit that was pretty cool.\n\nSimoni nods, giggling a bit nervously, \"Well, I know he was gonna demand a fight to the death, but... still kinda disturbing to see my big brother doing that...\" she admits as Dawn grins, \"Ah c'mon. That wasn't even half as bad as some of the guys we used to tangle with.\" she smirks.\n\nNelen winces a bit as his ribs protest the sudden tight hug from Drusilla, but he puts an arm around her and pats her shoulder, \"Hey, gotta look good infront of the in-laws right?\" he grins, \"Besides, I don't care if you guys do carry your babies into battle. I'd be a pretty shit parent if I let you go up against something with an axe like that while my kid is still in there...\"\n\nDrusilla nods, grinning as her father chuckles approvingly, \"We're not complete brutes, Nelen…\" he smirks, \"I'll admit turning him into hamburger was worth style points, but yes, the fact that you stood up to challenge a man who came into camp and was a possible danger to your wife and child is what made you a good father. You're small, and I admit, at first I was not happy to hear my daughter chose a magician to mate with, but your heart is strong as any warrior's.\" he smirks softly, nodding, \"You'll make a good father, to the many children Drusilla will have...\"\n\nNelen actually blushes at that, \"Well, yeah, I mean I don't want anyone to hurt h...\" he pauses, blinks, and then his face pales a bit, \"Wait... many?\"\n","writing_bbcode_parsed":"Simoni blinks as the boat rocks gently under her, the girl yawning as she rolls over and snuggles up close to Arja. She'd slept better that night than she had since Castle Fullmoon's destruction. When Stephy got back and told her about the island he'd given over to the dragons she'd almost tackled the fae off his feet. She'd spent the whole time since their encounter with Alyzya and Kirzar stressed out, worried, and paranoid like she was waiting for the other shoe (or giant scaly claw) to drop and, well, now it wasn't an issue.
True the dragons probably were still angry at her, but Stephy had promised that once they got settled in he'd go to the island and explain what had happened and how she'd been manipulated by Morrigan. Dusk was curled up on the other side, the kitten nestled up against Arja's belly as he'd discovered on the trip that the girl, even in her human form, was nice and warm to curl up to (something about her fire magic made her body temperature slightly hotter overall).
Arja smiles softly as she rubs Dusk's cheek, "Glad you're feeling better Simoni…" she says happily. Arja always woke up early, usually right at sunrise, but she didn't want to disturb the kitten on her tummy, simply happy to lay snuggled in for a bit. "The dragons should calm down as they get settled in, hopefully that’ll be the end of it."
Simoni giggles, snuggling into the monkey as she wraps her arms around her, "Its just... I was so scared I'd just started a fae war or something and... now it's over." she sighs, then smirks, "I wonder how long it'll last this time. I mean, Nelen is okay now but, jeez... a baby? I'm a little panicky over it and all that I'll have to do is buy the kid the loudest and most obnoxious toys for their birthday." she smirks, "After all, it'd be my duty as a good aunt." she nods, grinning as she leans in and nibbles Arja's ear playfully.
In Drusilla and Nelen's cabin the blood mage was already awake, letting the cyclops sleep in, and he was staring out the window with that same troubled expression that men have had since some ancient human had first worked out why his mate was suddenly putting on so much weight. "I'm going to be someone's father..." he mutters under his breath, glancing back at Drusilla. She was (at least) three months pregnant and it was starting to show, her belly becoming rounder as his future child grew inside her. He glances back out the window, then down at his bandaged hands. He doesn't say it, but someone who'd be looking could almost hear him thinking 'I'm going to be someone's demon-possessed warlock father...'
Drusilla was still in bed, snoring softly. The Cyclops girl was taking her pregnancy well, in contrast to Nelen, mainly just eating a good deal more than usual. Cyclops pregnancy was celebrated, but expecting mothers weren't given special status. Warriors fought, priests did their work, workers worked. There are many statues and cave paintings of Cyclopian mothers wading into battle with their child still nursing from them.
In their own cabin, Nessa and Alice were awake already, their 'guest' was as much early riser as Arja. Patli was close to breaking the door down as she tugs on it, Nessa grabbing her and dragging her back. "Damn it, I haven’t told anyone you were coming along yet, you storming through the ship won't exactly be a good impression…" she huffs as Alice laughs softly, shaking her head "I'm looking forward to this, I've only read about Cyclopi before, I don't think a Roche has encountered one proper since the old days.”
Eventually the morning wears on and they can't stay in bed any longer. Between Simoni and Arja getting hungry, Dusk getting bored, and Patli getting loose there's soon too much going on.
Soon enough the whole boat is up, either naturally or summoned as Patli slips Nessa's hold and goes darting down the hall in search of breakfast. Drusilla yawns softly as she wakes, standing up and sliding a bathrobe on (most of her leathers were a bit snug to begin with, the girl quickly running out of 'maternity clothes' to pick from). "Did you do that staring and muttering thing all night again or did you at least get some sleep?
Nelen turns to her and that alone answers her question, the blood mage has dark rings under his eyes, which are looking a bit red themselves (though not the dangerous 'Merihim wants to say hi' red). "I slept a few hours..." he replies, though he doesn't meet her eye when he does as Dawn yawns from the top of the dresser, all curled up in her animal form, "He didn't. He's been in full on angst mode since at least two or so." she mrowls, her tail twitching.
Drusilla sighs, walking over to rub his back, "It worries me when you get like this. You're gonna be a great dad, I have faith in you." she nods with a little smile, "Come on, maybe spending some time with family will help you out, you can talk to the other parents."
Nelen smiles a bit at her, then sighs as he and Drusilla leave the cabin to go get some food, Dawn following behind on all fours. Drusilla is really the best he could ask for. Someone who's understanding, energetic, and strong as two oxen... but still, he couldn't tell her... especially with the baby on the way.
It wasn't himself Nelen was worried about.
Drusilla sighs a bit as she goes to follow the rest to the ship's meal area, a spread already laid out, though a good chunk was taken out thanks to Patli's breakfast. "We should almost be there, right?" asks the cyclops as she takes a seat, Arja nodding in response. "Yea, ‘bout an hour or so probably."
Simoni gets some of the remaining bacon and eggs on her plate, then giggles, "Funny isn't it? I mean this is the same way we went there the first time." she nods to Arja, "Boat and all, just this time Rajesh, Iravati, and Natasha aren't here." she nods. Originally they'd tried to go to Sicily using a boat to make it harder to track them down and avoid another assassin like Paale, only to wind up running into Edwood for the first time. Naturally, Edwood had outright refused to come when Nelen had offered him a chance to make amends for last time.
"Look man, I 'preciate th' offer 'n all... but these're fuggin cyclops yer talkin 'bout. Best way I can say 'm sorry is ta make sure they never see me again." he had said.
Natasha had stayed behind with Lupe, who had refused to leave Sandra's side after the siege was over. While Sandra wasn't dead, she had been hurt very badly by Franklin's men, all of whom had been using silver-edged weapons. She was Lupe's packmate and, while Lupe went to help rescue Iravati, she made sure she wouldn't be away from Sandra until her wounds healed... the long slow natural way that only silver-inflicted wounds can heal on a werewolf.
Arja nods, grinning at Simoni, "Hopefully a more pleasant meeting too." she replies as she eats, Drusilla taking nearly the rest of the breakfast for herself as she eagerly digs in, "Yeah, better reason to see them than last time too, this should be a lot more social and friendly."
Nelen shrugs, downing two cans of coke (he -hates- coffee) in quick succession and then twitching a bit as the caffeine kicks in. "I dunno, some of them seemed pretty happy once Dawn told them about how Clan Fullmoon's guys all had super-strength..." he replies, then scratches his beard, "Come to think of it... we never did find all of Franklin's followers..."
Dawn just grins up from a plate of fried fish she'd been eating with her brother, "Well... I miiiiiiiiight've mentioned some things like, say, good breeding stock and strong male sons..." she replies to which Nelen sighs and rubs at his eyeballs, "Great. My cat condemned some of my relatives to 'death by snu snu'."
Drusilla smirks, "Oh come on, some of them may make the cut and get to stay with the tribe." she teases as she finishes her meal, sliding the plate away, " 's how you got through."
Nelen rolls his eyes, "Yeah, I got through by almost having a fit when Dawn told everyone." he says, though he smirks a bit as he does. Eventually the boat docks at Sicily and the group disembarks. Nelen is wearing what he always does, teeshirt, long jacket to hide his scars, hat, and so on. Dawn decided to stay in animal form for now, padding along with the group as Dusk darts off into the tall grass yelling 'mouse! Mine! I saw it first! Mine!'. Simoni went with a green tank top and shorts, going barefoot for now, as Stephy wound up with a loose pale blue summery dress and sandals. "So, where are we heading then Drus?" asks Nelen, "I mean, we only ever met them in town..."
Drusilla just grins, watching the kitten dart off, "Careful, there’s snakes." she warns Dusk as she walks from the docks. She had changed from her white bathrobe to about the only thing she had still fitting her, a rather basic white toga with a shiny snakeskin belt and a brooch that seemed to be made from bone, relics from her Naga fights. "This looks like a good place…" she nods, looking around to be sure there was enough space before she rears back and unleashes a massive roar that echos around the group! There's a long pause before another, fainter, roar responds "They're thataway." she giggles, pointing in the direction it came from.
Dusk yelps and almost jumps right out of the grass at the sound of Drusilla's bellow, Nelen wincing a bit but clearly prepared for it as Stephy tilts his head, "Huh... I always thought that was something in the jungles when I'd hear that sound..." he says in a bemused tone, glancing between her and Nelen as the latter coughs and tries to ignore him, heading off in the direction Drusilla had indicated. Simoni seems to make the connection too, the girl grimacing and trying to banish the image of what could prompt a roar like that from her when she's back in India and in bed from her mind, whimpering "Ew ew ew ew..." the entire time.
Drusilla just giggles as she walks. Luckily it wasn't that long of a hike into a nearby woods where her tribe had made camp. By camp, of course, they mean they knocked a bunch of trees down, used those trees for makeshift hide covered shelters, and currently had a bonfire burning for cooking. Sammi just grins as he sees the 'camp', the fae boy actually dressed fairly low key (for him) a sparkly pale blue shirt and snug jeans were his only covering besides shoes. "I always appreciated the giantkin's directness." he smirks, Arja nodding happily as well. The girl was wearing a pair of black shorts and a green and white striped shirt, no shoes on either, considering they had gone into a forest where she could climb and such.
Simoni giggles. It was a pretty good distance from the mundanes too. No need to worry about cameras or anything this far out. Nelen takes a breath as Dawn teleports onto his shoulder, the cat whispering to him as he replies in the same soft muttering. Someone really close might catch a few words like 'afraid' or 'him', but nothing else. Dawn can whisper right into his ear and Nelen can be as quiet as he likes thanks to how sensitive her ears are. Though Dawn's fur stands on end as she almost talks loud enough to be heard for a moment, "Al?!" she hisses before Nelen puts his hand over her muzzle and shakes his head, the cat sighing and nodding, going quiet.
Drusilla raises her brow at the pair, "Everything ok?" she asks as the group gets to the border of the camp. It seemed the tribe was gathered already, laughing and talking loudly as they drank from large kegs scattered around the fire.
Nelen nods at her, "Yeah, everything is fine Drus. C'mon, lets go say hi to your mother." he smiles tiredly at her, though Dawn still looks troubled, her fur just starting to settle back down as the group walks into the camp.
Drusilla shrugs, grinning as she waves to the clan gathered around, "We're home!" she announces, her mother laughing loudly as she waves them over. "Took you long enough, thought you got lost." she grins, "How's my girl doing, and my new son?" she laughs, looking over to Nelen with a wide smile, showing her mouth of pointy teeth. They’re obviously not natural, filed as some kind of status symbol...
Nelen shrugs, "Tired, had a bit of trouble sleeping on the boat." he replies. No reason not to be honest, he looked like he hadn't slept anyways. "Guess I'm just getting nervous about... well... y'know." he shrugs, putting an arm around Drusilla and patting her belly.
The rest of the group makes themselves at home as Nelen nods to the woman. "How about you guys Kurega? Anyone get hurt during the siege? I mean, we never really got a chance to take stock after the castle got destroyed."
Kurega nods, "Yea, a few injuries but nothing bad, we got out with the same that went in... actually a few extra!" she laughs loudly, slapping Nelen's back, "Hope your clan doesn't mind us poaching a few war trophies, you Fullmoon boys are some of the last proper warrior clans left around.”
Nelen winces at the slap, the force of the playful smack almost knocking him off his feet. He straightens up and adjusts his glasses, nodding, "We were wondering where a few of my uncles went..." he nods, glancing at Dawn who just grins right back at him and whispers, 'snu snu' as the mage sighs, "I don't think Jeanne will complain too loudly about it, if she even notices. I mean we're a pretty big clan and she's already got her hands full just trying to rebuild and get all the others in line." he nods.
She just laughs again, nodding, "Well can't have Dru takin the responsibility for growing the tribe alone can we?" she teases. "Speaking of..." she grins as another roar comes from the forest, the sounds of heavy footsteps getting closer, "Rest of the clan should been here soon, then we can really celebrate!"
Nelen raises an eyebrow, looking around, "Huh, kind of surprised that there's this many of you guys left..." he nods, "I mean, giant-kin are pretty rare and all..." he nods as Simoni and Arja show off for some of Drusilla's tribemates, Arja riding on Simoni's back as the girls work together to conjure rings of fire to fly through. Simoni seems to be having a much easier time of it than she has been for a while too, thoughts of the dragons must have really been weighing on her.
Kurega nods, "Yeah, we're about the biggest tribe left. Our guys stay in the main camp to hold the fort, but hey, why not celebrate as full as we can?" she teases. The men soon enough break through the trees as the tribe cheers Simoni and Arja on. The men are about the same size as the woman, but much wider, a blend of fat and muscle forming massive frames with shoulders as wide as a full grown adult human laying down. Their other unique atribute, the men all had horns, either a long one sprouting from their forehead over their eye, or a pair like ram horns on the sides of their skulls.
Nelen raises an eyebrow at that, making a note to make a few changes to something as the ground shakes from all the cyclopti marching into the camp. He idly wonders if one of them might actually be Drusilla's father, they never did meet him after all.
At the sight of the giants Simoni angles downwards, landing in the clearing and letting Arja climb off her back as she gazes around, "Geez... feeling a bit dwarfed here." she giggles to her, shaking her feathers off as she changes back into her human form.
Arja smirks, "Yea if these are the kin I'd hate to see a real giant..." she teases, one of the males laughing loudly at that, "Never seen a real giant huh little monkey?" he grins, taking his place next to Kurega and putting an arm around her shoulder. He was massive, with ruddy toned skin that was a patchwork of old scars and burns all across his body, and a single long, sharp, horn coming from his forehead over his massive dark purple eye. "Not surprisin’, if we're rare they're near myths at this point. The ancient ones, first of our kind, they were proper giants. Could reach into the sky and pluck a flock of birds out for dinner, or drag a hand through the sea and have a feast of fish. Ages passed, though, the biggest were hunted down... sad part of bein’ the biggest, you're the biggest target too. We bred with the humans and other races, and while we never grew to our old numbers, we survived. That's the thing about us, we always survive..."
He then lets out a loud laugh, almost knocking a few trees over with the force of it before looking at the rest of the group, "Now which of you is the magician that got with my girl?" he grins, eye falling on the fae, "No offense boys but I hope it ain't you... we respect the fair folk but... well... ogres and such are about the only kind most respectable cyclops gals would bed…" he grins, the cyclops man trying not to sound insulting.
Stephy giggles, "Nah, my girlfriend would kill me." he replies, leaning into Trixie as Nelen raises one of his bandaged hands, "That'd be me." he says, looking up at the cyclops. "Seen a few fights huh?" he asks, knowing exactly how to break the ice with someone like this. "Where'd ya get that one?" he asks, pointing to a huge gash on the man's upper arm.
The man grins wide, the question obvious working on him as he holds his arm up, admiring the gash. "Minotaur, back around the time Kurega was knocked up actually, he was a big bastard, got me with his axe before I tossed him into the sea.
Nelen smirks, this might be easier than he thought. "Well, thats not bad... but how about these?" he asks, shrugging off his jacket, then taking off his hat long enough to remove his shirt, showing the mish mash of scar tissue he called an 'upper body'. Several huge claw marks across his stomach like something had tried to disembowel him at one point, a huge puckered white mess where one of his nipples should be, fang, claw, and bullet wounds all up and down his arms and shoulders, and even more on his back as well. "See this one here?" he asks, pointing to a large gash on his side, "Wendigo, eight years ago. My magic doesn't work on the undead and I didn't realize it was one until the thing had its claws in me."
He laughs, nodding "The starvers, right? Come back feral and people hungry?" he asks as he turns, showing what looks like a web of jagged claw marks all down his right shoulder blade, "Nest of ghouls up in Rome, damn things were in the ruins, got the jump on me, literally." he laughs. "I like you, you're small, but you're tough!" he grins.
Nelen smirks, "You're not bad yourself." he replies, turning around and whistling for Dawn. "Show him the one from Prague." he says as Dawn points to two large scrapes down his back, going across his backbone. "Some giant spider thing got me from behind, would've severed my spine if I hadn't dove forward right as it tried to put the fangs in me."
As the men continue to compare scars Kurega just grins, grabbing kegs from the ground, "Any of you want a drink?" she offers as Drusilla grabs one, Trixie trying her best to hold one as well, "They'll be at this a while I think." she chuckles.
Simoni giggles, though she looks warily at Drusilla, "Is it okay for her to do that if she's pregnant?" she asks, not wanting her future niece or nephew to wind up with fetal alcohol syndrome or something... but then, Drusilla wasn't human as Nelen seems to be enjoying himself. It’s rare to find someone who looks more impressed than disturbed when they see him shirtless. He points to a huge burn mark on his side and says, "Rogue pyromancer trying to set London Bridge on fire because of the voices in his head."
Kurega nods as Drusilla bashes the lid open of her keg, reaching to do the same for Trixie's, "Oh yeah, don't worry, our kids can handle it, we're tough even in the womb." she smirks "Though for all we know maybe this whole time we're meant to have two eyes and we just haven't had a generation where the mothers stopped drinking long enough to test that." she smirks, tapping her keg against Drusilla’s in a sort of toast before knocking the whole thing back.
Dawn smirks, glancing over at Nelen as he keeps trying to outdo Drusilla's dad on the 'who's got the best battle damage' contest ('Chupacabra bite, Texas 2009!') as Simoni gently but firmly pushes her back from the alcohol, "Yeah, you and Dusk can have water and nothing else to drink... We don't need a bunch of guys strong enough to uproot trees to get 'the crazies'." she nods firmly as Dawn frowns and curls up on the ground, "Spoilsport..."
Kurega nods faintly as she looks to Simoni and the rest, "So, glad to see all of you in one piece after that. I assume your clan is doing better now that things have settled?"
Simoni winces, "Well... we don't have to worry about Clan Fullmoon anymore but... things have gotten a bit weird. See this little guy?" she asks, holding up Dusk by the scruff of the neck, "He was trapped inside the Mundane Blade before it broke... and... well... turns out so were a lot of other things." she nods, telling Kurega about Abel and the dragons, "... and those were just two. The Mundane Blade was, well, ancient, like pre-Roman Empire ancient, and we found out from Jeanne that after it was used on Kirzar and Alyzya that it got stolen from Clan Fullmoon and stayed missing until Franklin got his hands on it... so there's no telling what might've escaped." she nods.
She nods at that, frowning, "Hrm, interesting... Well, should make for more fun around here hopefully." she grins. The Cyclopi, it seemed were very hard to faze with news like that.
Simoni shrugs, "Well, I dunno. I mean historically the blades were used against stuff that couldn't be dealt with any other way... It wouldn't be such a big deal if it was, I dunno..." she thinks, trying to remember any greek myths that the cyclopti might enjoy fighting, "Maybe like the Nemian Lion or something... but what if something really bad got out?" she asks.
She shrugs, "Then we'll deal with it." she replies matter-of-factly, downing another keg and tossing it away. "That's how we've done for ages, not about to change and start getting scared because a sword got broke."
Simoni glances at Arja, then nods, "Well, alright... don't say I didn't warn you." she nods, leaning against the monkey girl as she sighs. Well, with any luck it wouldn't be a dragon. She's pretty sure she can't remember hearing about any dragons in Greece...
Drusilla smirks faintly, "When you spend most of your history hunted and enslaved you tend to focus on the now more than the future." she teases, patting Simoni's back.
The party continues for a good few more hours, the cyclopi drinking and laughing and sharing stories (Nelen is a big hit with the men it seems), before eventually the drinks run out, the wildness starting to die down to normality.
Nelen eventually heads over to where the girls are sitting by the fire, flopping down with a slightly red face as Simoni raises her eyebrow at him, "Yeah yeah, I had a couple..." he smirks, then adds, "A couple drinks, not kegs. I'm not a cyclops y'know, I can't down that much... and live." he nods as Simoni smirks at him, "Well, at least you get along well with them." she giggles as he leans back, gazing up at the sky as the sun begins to set.
"Still weird... I mean, after I made my pact and went on the run I never thought I'd be doing anything this normal..." he glances over at Drusilla downing another keg of homebrewed beer, "... well, close to normal again. Hell, I figured I'd be dead by now... and it’s not for lack of trying." he nods, gesturing to his chest and arms.
Arja nods, "Well, maybe it's a sign or something? I mean, maybe it's less a 'vessel' thing and more symbiosis at this point? Can't deny you live a life that 'feeds' your demon well. Maybe the two of you have reached some kinda balance?"
Nelen sighs, "I doubt it. I really doubt it." he frowns, glancing down at one of his hands. "Girls, you have to remember. Merihim may have been a god before, but he's a demon now. I'm not the first person he made that pact with, and it never ends well for any of them." he sighs, "I can keep him bound, I can control him to a degree... but it's like putting a leash on a rabid dog. Sooner or later someone is going to get bitten."
Arja just chuckles softly, "Yeah but still, maybe you're the rabid dog whisperer" she teases, having had a few drinks herself it seemed. "I dunno, wasn't the deal that he was gonna stick around until you carved your bloody path through Franklin's guys? If he's still around maybe you're a more 'worthy host' than he's had before?"
Nelen frowns, "Not exactly... the deal was that I'd make a pact with him 'until my death'. Maybe he expected me to die at Castle Fullmoon, but that didn't happen." he nods, "Hes been... unusually quiet too. Like he doesn't get as agitated as he used to. He got a bit worked up when Nessa's mom showed up, but that's all lately." he frowns, "He's up to something... but I don't know what..."
Arja chuckles, "Maybe he likes vessels that are harder to kill, maybe you're paranoid." she teases as Drusilla giggles, making her way over, "That why you've been so freaked out lately?" she asks, plopping down next to him.
Nelen winces at that, "Thats... part of it yeah." he nods as Dawn pads up, still in her animal form as she frowns up at him, "Would you just TELL them already?" she hisses, "If they're not suspicious by now..." she grumbles as Nelen frowns at her. Drusilla nods at the cat’s words, "I'm drunk, not dumb, what's goin’ on?"
Nelen sighs, "Alright alright, I was hoping he wouldn't come up again..." he nods, holding up his bandaged hand, "I suppose I should start at the beginning. See, I didn't start out knowing how to make these and use them to bind Merihim." he explains, "Back when I first learned my blood magic every single day was me struggling to keep him from forcing his way into control again... and, well... finally I got desperate enough to try the Nightside." he continues.
"It took the better part of a month to get to London, and along the way I had more than a few close calls and..." he sighs, "... about a dozen deaths where I lost control and Merihim killed someone... but I got there and I got some information and... well..." he pauses as Dawn sighs, "He met his teacher. That's the 'Al' I was freaking out about earlier." she nods as Nelen grunts, "Yeah, Al. He showed me how to bind Merihim and, later, taught Dawn how to transform herself, though she still isn't doing it right..." he smirks at her as Dawn hisses and nips at his arm, "But... yeah. The thing is, he's always aware of what I've been up to and I've been waiting for him to do something ever since the Mundane Blade got destroyed..." he sighs.
Drusilla nods at that, furrowing her brow a bit as Arja speaks up, "And that's a bad thing, if he 'does something' it sounds like?"
Nelen nods, "Yeah. I can't tell you his full name, I mean I literally can't by the way, even if I try my throat will just stop working until I give up." he replies, "But... he's a demon too, a powerful one." he nods, "Lot worse than Merihim... it’s how he knew how to bind him." he adds. "Mind you, I didn't know he was at first, but once I found out I got the hell out of there." he frowns as Dawn adds, "He's one of the ones we were gonna ask about Inishmor before we ran into Merlin. Nelen was gonna drop you guys off somewhere else first though."
Drusilla nods, rubbing Nelen's back, "Well, fuck that!" she says simply, "We'll handle this with you. If this 'Al' comes calling, we'll fuck him up. We fucked plenty of bad things up before." she grins as Arja nods at the cyclops’s words.
Nelen winces a bit as Dawn folds her ears, "Um... guys?" she mewls, "Al is... like... really bad bad. Like, half step below Mammon bad." she nods as Nelen adds, "Yeah... see, the reason we didn't know he was a demon at first is, well, he doesn't have to possess anyone to be outside of Hell. He's an extremely powerful sorcerer... I'm not his only student so he might not show up yet... but..." he frowns, "He will eventually. I know him."
Drusilla just waves her hand, "Fine, he's powerful, but so are we. We've proven that, fuck him" she repeats, Trixie raising a brow, "Wait... is this... THE 'Al'? As the one we don't use the full name of just in case he's listening but that one that wrote the books and shit?" she asks, frowning.
Nelen sighs, "Yeah, I have a couple books in my library back in India that are hand written and signed 'Al' or 'Gally'. He's the one who wrote them." he nods, the books in question were also at least eight or nine hundred years old and required translation from Latin just to read. "But it’s a moot point. Only his students know his full name and we're spelled so we can't tell anyone who doesn't know it."
Trixie nods, but smirks softly, "Cool, always wanted to shoot an immortal sorcerer in the face". Arja laughs at that, shaking her head, "Nelen, we all have chains that connect us to the darkness, that's what my grandfather tells me. Weights of sins in past lives, or mistakes in the current, only the enlightened are free of their chains. The only way TO be enlightened is to break your chains. So, yea, what your drunk babymama said. Fuck him. He's just another chain to break."
Nelen frowns, "Yeah, and this chain is made out of titanium and covered in red-hot barbed wire." he replies, grumbling as he reaches back, dunks a mug in a large wooden keg, and then takes a long pull from it. Drusilla just chuckles lightly, shaking her head, "Chains were made to be broken, thats Cyclops wisdom. The gods forged chains no mortal could break, and we broke them. Your little pointy hot chain doesn't scare me" she grins.
Nelen takes off his glasses and rubs his eyes, "Point is, sooner or later we're going to run into him, and I'd rather it be much much later." he nods, laying back on the grass, "Well, at least it's peaceful tonight..."
After a moment of silence there's a low rumble from the forest, stomping coming through... as well as snorting... before a massive figure comes crashing through. Well, massive compared to the visitors at least. He was around six and a half feet tall, wearing black leather pants and boots, and no shirt over his muscled, slightly scarred, chest. In his hands he gripped a giant axe, the double bladed head shining lightly in the fading light. He also had the head of a massive brown bull, white horns shining in the light, bright red eyes glaring at the group, "CYCLOPTI!" he roars, "We have business to attend to!"
Nelen sighs, sitting back up, "Why do you let me say shit like that Dawn?" he asks as the cat grins, shapeshifting into her humanoid form, "Keeps life interesting." she replies. Simoni has already jumped to her feet as Stephy eeps and peeks out of the bushes where he and Trixie were probably just whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears. They stand ready (except for Stephy who seems to be fussing with his dress) as they wait to see exactly what this thing is going to do.
A minotaur is dangerous, yes, but at the same time they're cyclops and 'business' could mean a lot of things for them. It'd be rude to interfere until he's certain that it'd cause that kind of trouble.
The cyclopti don't seem to care much, Drusilla's father simply laughing at him despite his menacing appearance, "Gorag, was wondering when you'd lumber in here." he grins, standing to tower over the minotaur, Drusilla just sighs softly, "Dad...how fresh is that axe wound in your arm?" she asks, the man grinning faintly, " ‘bout a week..." he replies, fingering it almost fondly.
The bull-man snorts angrily at that, stomping his feet, "You took my son from me, Cyclops! I demand retribution!" he growls. Again, the tribe seems unfazed, Drusilla's father just shaking his head at the creature, "Your son was on our lands, killing our sheep. We warned him before what we did to trespassers. Not my fault you never taught the boy to swim…" he laughs, getting some laughter from the rest as well.
Nelen sighs, "Hoo boy..." he nods, popping his neck a bit as the two stare each other down, "Hm... big and tough... but little if any magic..." he scratches his chin, then glances at Drusilla, "Am I right in assuming that nobody in your tribe would care if, say, something killed him?" he asks.
Drusilla shakes her head, standing up to her feet, "Hey, wanna have some fun?" she grins, swaying just a bit from her drinking but seeming mostly lucid still. "Hey! Milky!" she grins, whistling to the newcomer. "You want revenge for your boy, getting stomped by dad won't help. How about me and my husband here take you on?" she sneers, nodding to Nelen. "I mean, it's still not a FAIR fight but unless you got more family to drag out for this I think we're good as we're gonna get..."
Nelen smirks, "Thanks for the offer hon, but I can handle Bessie here." he nods, flexing his arms as Dawn smirks, "Well, this'll be over quick." she grins to the others as Nelen steps forward, only coming up to the minotaur's chest. "Whatcha say cowboy? Wanna fight?" he grins. He's been worrying about Merihim and the mysterious 'Al' for days, he could use a chance to blow off some steam.
Drusilla chuckles, "Aw come on, where's your sense of fun?" she teases as the minotaur snorts angrily, "Fine I accept, if I can't kill you I'll kill your daughter's mate!" he snarls, the tribe cheering and laughing loudly as they form a ring around the pair, Drusilla in the front cheering as the minotaur raises his axe in the air in a taunting gesture, "Come at me, human!"
Nelen smirks, his hands pointed down, palms open. In the firelight there's a pair of just barely visible crimson threads coming out of his palms and into the dirt. "I already did beefy." he grins as, around the minotaur's feet, a pair of blood red tendrils erupt out of the ground and wrap around the minotaur's wrists, yanking firmly on its arms and slamming it hard toward the ground.
The minotaur blinks as he's grabbed and pulled down, only to start laughing, "A magician eh? Too bad for you! The power of magic has no sway over the Ironhorn Clan!" he roars out, keeping his grip tight on his axe. He jams the pommel of the weapon into the dirt as a brace for himself, also sending a shockwave through the earth. Everyone not currently tall enough to shove a tree over found it hard to stand, but the real effect came when Nelen felt his blood tendrils losing solidity, the axe glowing with Greek runes as the minotaur is able to stand back up with a sneer on his face.
Nelen blinks and quickly stumbles out of the way as Merihim's tendrils retreat into his body before all the magic in them gets cancelled out, the mage looking at the runes, his lips moving, before he mutters, "Ah fuck..." he frowns. It wasn't a mundane blade, but it was pretty close in some ways, designed to cancel out magic spells and manipulate rock and earth. Maybe he shouldn't have turned down Drusilla's help. He takes a breath, focusing Merihim into his legs as he thinks quickly.
Drusilla has to giggle just a bit, "See what happens when you're cocky?" she teases as the minotaur grins "Coming at me directly, magician? At least you want to die brave!" he sneers, thrusting his axe into the air, sending rocky growths into Nelen's path to try to trip him. The blade was indeed no mundane blade. It couldn't cancel magic out inherently, just dispel magic that was being cast. His blood would stay in his legs just fine regardless of the axe's enchantments.
Nelen grins, "Think you're the worst I ever faced?" he shoots back as he jumps forward, using the enhanced strength in his legs to propel him, kicking off the rocky outcroppings with ease as, within a couple seconds he's at the minotaur. Nelen refocuses, pushing all of Merihim that he can into his arm, which he brings down on the Minotaur's right arm like his own battleaxe. The minotaur's axe can cancel out spells, but this wasn't a spell of any sort. He was just pushing Merihim into different limbs.
The minotaur blinks in surprise as Nelen so easily powers through his magics, the tribe cheering him on as his blow is met with a low CRUNCH of snapping bones, his axe slipping from his hands and hitting the floor as he stares in horror, his arm broken at the elbow.
Nelen lands and quickly focuses Merihim back into his legs, kicking the axe over towards the cyclopti forming the ring around them as he tilts his head at the minotaur. "That all ya got?" he asks, "Seriously, think I got all these from cutting myself or something?" he smirks, tapping his scarred and torn up chest (he never put his shirt back on). "No magic axe now moocow... so how do you wanna go out?" he grins, conjuring one of his tendrils out from his palm as sharp fangs sprout all around it. "Quick, or slow?"
The minotaur just stares in horror at his broken arm, sputtering a bit as he tries to back away, "I-I demand restitution..." he repeats, Drusilla's father laughing loudly at him, "Hey, Gorag. Your boy was an idiot, and you are too. I hope your wife has better taste in her next mate…" he taunts, laughing again as he nods to Nelen, "Finish it, might as well make it quick, he at least had the balls to come to the camp and demand a challenge himself."
Nelen shrugs, "Well, far be it from me to refuse the request of my father in law." he replies, then nods to Dawn as she takes Simoni's hand and turns her so she's looking away before Nelen recoils his blood tendril... and then shoots it out in a sudden burst that pierces right through the minotaur's ribcage. There's a sound like a buzzsaw cutting through meat as it spins around rapidly for a moment, and then he pulls it back into his body as 'Gorag' slumps over onto the ground, a small bit of mashed up meat where his heart should be.
The tribe cheers loudly at that, Drusilla seeming to be the loudest voice as she runs over to hug Nelen (perhaps a bit too hard), "That was great!" she grins, leaning in to whisper, "Really showed ‘em you’re dad material too." she giggles as Arja pats Simoni's shoulder, "It's done now." she says with a smile, though she did have to admit that was pretty cool.
Simoni nods, giggling a bit nervously, "Well, I know he was gonna demand a fight to the death, but... still kinda disturbing to see my big brother doing that..." she admits as Dawn grins, "Ah c'mon. That wasn't even half as bad as some of the guys we used to tangle with." she smirks.
Nelen winces a bit as his ribs protest the sudden tight hug from Drusilla, but he puts an arm around her and pats her shoulder, "Hey, gotta look good infront of the in-laws right?" he grins, "Besides, I don't care if you guys do carry your babies into battle. I'd be a pretty shit parent if I let you go up against something with an axe like that while my kid is still in there..."
Drusilla nods, grinning as her father chuckles approvingly, "We're not complete brutes, Nelen…" he smirks, "I'll admit turning him into hamburger was worth style points, but yes, the fact that you stood up to challenge a man who came into camp and was a possible danger to your wife and child is what made you a good father. You're small, and I admit, at first I was not happy to hear my daughter chose a magician to mate with, but your heart is strong as any warrior's." he smirks softly, nodding, "You'll make a good father, to the many children Drusilla will have..."
Nelen actually blushes at that, "Well, yeah, I mean I don't want anyone to hurt h..." he pauses, blinks, and then his face pales a bit, "Wait... many?"
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