second rune; death; video

[deadelfwalking]

 [When the feed starts, the netbook's camera shows you a view of the forest floor.  A deer carcass lies among the grass and twigs, and it's obvious that the poor thing did not have a clean death.  It's in the advanced stages of decomposition, even though the blood around its body is red and fresh.  The camera does not linger on this image for more than a few seconds; it pans upward, to show Koltira's face.

 He's standing over the deer, holding the device in one hand, holding Byfrost with the other.  Agony creases his expression: his jaw is clenched, his eyes narrowed, every muscle in his pale, sallow face is taut with pain.  The guttural growl of his voice occasionally rises in octave as he talks, as though something is beating the shit out of him from the inside.]

Were we brought here to fight for something, or to waste time reliving the past?  Send.  Us.  On.  A mission.

[He stabs the tree next to him with Byfrost, and the sword glows sickly green; the tree bark begins to decay rapidly, as though it's practically melting.  Diseased fumes pour out of the bark, forming a nasty miasma around Koltira's body.]

I need a battle. [he hisses, and blood trickles from the corner of his mouth as he bites down on the inside of his cheek.]  Now.

Comments

[stonefaith]

Then what will you do? [ Bariyan reaches out for Koltira's opposite shoulder, in order to keep the other from backing away, should he try to. ] How long can you go like this? Before you....

[ He leaves it at that. Koltira knows the implications better than Bariyan does, after all. ]

[deadelfwalking]

[scowls at that hand.] That is why I'm out here. For everyone's safety.

[stonefaith]

[ TOO BAD, it's staying. Bariyan squeezes slightly, even. ] And will you be able to keep yourself out here?

[deadelfwalking]

[He looks away, miserably.] I will run as far as I can. I will let their border dogs shoot me, if I must.

[stonefaith]

Somehow, I doubt that'll do much to stop you.

[ a sigh. the hardness to his words, to his voice, it starts to drop off. he's being unnecessarily hard on koltira, he thinks. ]

And you're suffering badly, friend.

[deadelfwalking]

[yeah, that's probably true. Maybe if they all shot at once ... Koltira laughs, and it's a thin, brittle sound.]

Always, Bariyan. Always. I don't ... [hhnnghh. He chokes, swallows; his eyes flick to the hand again, why it is still touching him, why is skin still touching him--] I don't want to pass it on.

[stonefaith]

[ You won't be, Bariyan wants to say, but that defeats the purpose, doesn't it? So he keeps silent, as if maybe he can trick the laws of Koltira's curse by refusing to say it aloud.

He narrows his eyes. ]

This is for your sake. For others'.

[ Darkov, he thinks, again. He knows he shouldn't, but he can't help but be suspicious. Why else would Koltira hurt him, but for.... ]

[deadelfwalking]

[He tries to pull away.]

You want me to take my sword to you, the only person who has shown me any kindness here?

[granted you were being weirdly unkind just THEN, and he's feeling mighty suspicious too, but still ...]

[stonefaith]

[ that just gets bariyan to swing his second hand up, shifting his grip: a hand to both shoulders, now. he pulls even closer to glare up at koltira. ]

Yes. Consider it another kindness, if you will. I can't die, try as others might to prove otherwise. How much of a reprieve do you think you can get out of me?

[deadelfwalking]

[That's not good, very much not good at all. He's far too close now, and Koltira looks away, exhaling sharply as his nerves start to scream. He squeezes his eyes shut, repulsed at the thought of using Bariyan like a tool. His grip tightens on Byfrost, nevertheless.]

Don't do this. Please--if I start--if I start, I don't know if I can stop--

[stonefaith]

[ bariyan glances down at the runeblade, then back up at koltira. he tries to imagine what it must be like but he cannot. he can see the effects of it well enough, though, in the lines of koltira's stance, drawn tense, drawn to the point of snapping.

then he looks down at himself. how much of a beating can this body bear? once he'd managed to keep himself up and running after someone had blown a hole straight through him, but that runeblade of koltira's looked like it could cleave bariyan straight through.

could he die again?

no. he'd already gone through that. what other death was even left to him?

he makes a fist with his right hand, thumps it gently against koltira's chest. a gesture he has not made in a long time. and he finally answers. ]

Then don't.

[deadelfwalking]

[he doesn't know the significance of Bariyan's gesture, but it surprises him nevertheless. The moment is fleeting, though, overwhelmed by another crippling spasm of agony. He sucks in air, listing forward against Bariyan, and it's too much--Bariyan's nearness, the insistent, howling demands of Koltira's own veins, and the pain they inflict at his continued failure to obey.

He's blinded for a moment, the world going completely dark. He has no awareness outside of the pain and of the man standing so horribly close to him, his skin cool but soft, pliant, ripe for shredding. He wonders if Bariyan bleeds, wonders about the color and the taste, and suddenly he's back in the forest. He murmurs raggedly.]

Bariyan. Forgive me.

[and then he lifts the sword.]

[stonefaith]

[ Forgiveness was something that they would have to see about later, for different matters. For now Bariyan swallows, dry-mouthed, somehow slightly fearful even though he knew he had no reason to be. But standing here, anticipating damage, bracing himself for it -- that was different from acting in the heat of battle.

He stands back, feet planted slightly apart, his one arm still half-raised in front of him. He forces himself to watch Koltira, instead of the blade.

He waits. ]

[deadelfwalking]

[He doesn't want to do this. He really, really doesn't. But it just hurts so much.

In a swift, fluid motion, Koltira lunges forward and drives Byfrost straight through Bariyan's stomach. All of the runes inscribed on the blade activate, but no spells seep from them, yet. Koltira's expression contorts, as though he's struggling to stop himself and failing. Energy, as yet without direction, rolls off of the runeblade in waves, kicking up the dirt and stones around their feet. Koltira grinds his teeth, his canines scraping against his lower lip, but he does not pull away.]

[stonefaith]

[ Bariyan grimaces, more out of habit than anything. He tries not to look. He fails. His eyes flick down -- nothing yet. The sword's still in him, and the cut is clean. Bariyan hasn't bled in centuries. The only thing that runs through his veins nowadays is whatever magic it is that keeps him alive.

Something that is cousin to Koltira's own curse, he imagines.

His hands wrap around the edge of the runeblade, instinctively, edges biting into his palms. He fixes his eyes on Koltira again. Gods, he is not looking forwards to seeing this thing ripped out of him. ]

[deadelfwalking]

[Koltira keeps the sword in place, gripping the hilt with one hand. He pushes forward, meaning to drive Byfrost's point into the earth, with Bariyan kept in place upon it. His expression as he does this is terrible; a wretched conflict of horror and something like joy, his smile wide but lopsided. He grabs Bariyan about the lower neck with his free hand, digging the gauntlet's claws into the bone.]

[stonefaith]

[ Bariyan gives, collapsing back, letting Byfrost pin him down. He's supported only by his own grip on the blade and Koltira's hold on his throat -- which suddenly becomes the focus of Bariyan's attention. The contact... troubles him. Koltira's missed the stitches, but he's dangerously close, and that makes Bariyan wince.

The next time he looks at Koltira, another name comes to mind.

Bariyan tries to swear, but it comes out as nothing more than a rough, strangled noise. He grabs Koltira's wrist with one hand. ]

[deadelfwalking]

[There it was. Fear, or something like it. Koltira shuddered at the sound of Bariyan's choked, gasping voice, an involuntary thrill of pleasure running through his muscles. The spells used to create death knights were unique, designed to ensure that even the most gentle of souls would find relief only in cruel, torturous battle. The more an opponent suffered, the greater the death knight's reward. Ordinarily, Koltira feels equally soothed and repulsed by the predilections of his curse, but in this moment he is lost to the pain, desperate to stem it, unable to let go of the man who had so insistently presented himself as an outlet.

Koltira does not appreciate the hand on his wrist. He scowls, but instead of breaking away, his gauntlet--and Byfrost--both glow blue. Ice seeps out from his armor and the weapon's blade, stealing into Bariyan's body, coating his skin. The spell is a disease, a frost fever, meant to slow physical and mental reactions. Let go. I haven't heard enough out of you yet.]

[stonefaith]

[ Bariyan's eyes flicker down towards the blue glow and he grimaces. The spell hits him hard, but for a while he tries to fight its effects. Watches Koltira, concentrates, tries to retain full control of whatever freedom is left to him. He does not want to slow; but already he can feel himself giving in. Too much. Too late.

He finally lets go of both Koltira's gauntlet and his blade. He can almost feel the strain on his neck, Koltira's grip around it... and something cold and dreadful starts to settle in.

Bariyan is not afraid of physical trauma. But that was all he had been expecting. ]

[deadelfwalking]

[As soon as Bariyan stops fighting the spell and his body begins to go slack, Koltira kicks him in stomach with enough force to knock Bariyan back and onto the ground. Byfrost rips free in tandem with Koltira's kick, shredding whatever its blade touches as it exits.

Kneeling down beside Bariyan, Koltira grabs him by the throat and yanks him up roughly, the sharp points of his gauntlets biting deep into Bariyan's neck. He examines what he's done, his gaze bright, cold, feral.

He notices the stitches.]

[stonefaith]

[ Sky. Branches far above. Bariyan's staring up from the ground before he even realizes what's happened. He's momentarily dazed, almost detached -- the frost is still doing its work -- and it takes him a little more to piece together how he arrived here.

There. Now he has it. Oh, that's unpleasant.

The pull on his neck saves him the trouble of having to push himself up to survey the damage. Bariyan looks now, looking down along his own body. Byfrost has all but ripped the lower half of his torso inside-out. An impressive mess, but nothing that he hasn't seen before. Disgust flashes through him, causes him to look away. Disgust at the fact that he remains alive through all of this.

Now he takes notice of the steel in his throat. An experimental twist tells him that the claws of Koltira's gauntlet are dug in deep. Bariyan looks at Koltira, his head tilted back, momentarily calm. Throat exposed.

Now what? he tries to ask, but it comes out as an unintelligible groan. ]

[deadelfwalking]

[Koltira smiles at the groan, holding Bariyan in a way that would seem tender at a distance: one hand on his lower back, the other cupping his chin. When Bariyan looks away, Koltira tightens his grip on the man's jaw, forcing him to look back, to see what's become of him. The bloodless entrails glisten in the unearthly twilight cast by the runeblade, which Koltira has placed nearby on the grass. The broken bone, the soft, exposed viscera, and the expression on Bariyan's face--these are not disgusting to Koltira, not in his present state. On the contrary, the scene is exquisite.

He runs a claw over Bariyan's chin, raking his jawline until he settles just below the left ear. Carefully, to test the reaction, Koltira plucks at one of the red stitches sewn in a bit further down, slipping a claw beneath the string and slowly pulling it away from the skin.]

[stonefaith]

[ At first, the hand that Bariyan places against Koltira's chest is for support -- a wince as Koltira forces him to look again, yes, thank you, by now he's seen enough of his own insides to last him several lifetimes -- but that hand tightens into a slow fist once he realizes what Koltira is doing.

The stitches are something that Bariyan never toys with, never tests. He thinks they're more symbolic than anything, but even so, it's still a symbolism that Bariyan respects. So Koltira's intentions are worrying him.

Bariyan raises his other hand, groping until he finds Koltira's gauntlet again. No. He pulls, with some urgency in the motion. Eyes cast downwards, expression becoming more and more uneasy. Leave it. ]

[deadelfwalking]

[He scowls at Bariyan's resistance, at this man's strange notion that he has a single say in what's happening right now. At the tugging, he presses his palm flat against the side of Bariyan's neck. On the one hand, the struggle was good; the clear anxiety was good. These were emotions that Koltira could taste, that he could lick off of his lips.

But the man was interrupting.]

Be still.

[Koltira's voice is darker than before; there's more of the otherwordly, gravelly echo, as though he's speaking from the bottom of a ravine. More icy fever flows from his hand, seeping beneath Bariyan's skin. Be still and suffer for me.]

[stonefaith]

[ More. Bariyan fights it again, harder than last time. Forcing his grip to tighten, using the hand still against Koltira's chest to brace himself, trying to shove away. But the spell is nothing that Bariyan's able to fight against. He stills, eventually.

The change in Koltira is startling. Bariyan hadn't been expecting that, either. He reflects back just briefly on the conversations they'd had prior to this; he'd liked Koltira, trusted him. Did he still? He considers, with some detachment, what is happening now. All the little twists that he hadn't anticipated.

It isn't Koltira's bloodlust that concerns him -- he knows the reasons behind that, knows Koltira doesn't have a choice in it. It's the slow, methodical way Koltira is going about fulfilling that lust....

Bariyan's eyes flicker shut. ]