Castle Hydra: Next Generation

[frostmourne]

Aza blinked once or twice, and took a deep breath. "I didn't have to say anything. He knew me well enough to know that I would say no. He just told me to go on and he would support whatever my decision was." she said, closing her eyes and taking a few more deep breaths. She opened them again and sighed. "I suppose its selfish of me. The only person who could rip out his heart and he knew for almost all her life had done so. Isn't that enough proof for him to think that there is no one left in the world whom he can trust?" She tipped her head to one side and studied him. "Stop blaming yourself. I don't think I've ever seen anyone so repentant and embarrassed by something that isn't there fault." she chirped, doing her best to lighten the mood.

Adrian's frown eventually turned into a scowl. It seemed like everyone was in a habit of deserting him today.

[lycrawaterz14]

"I would do the same if I wasn't so weak..." He sniffled. "Let you go and support your decision whichever you choose." he made himself stop crying.

 

"Where's Adrian...?"

[frostmourne]

"You had the nerve to tell me in thirty years. He hasn't mentioned it in over three hundred twenty years. And as for your other question, he's flinching every once in a while back at the maze. He's gotten lost again. Someone's really upset at the moment if they can make him this uneasy." Aza said, blinking away the last of the tears. She would let it out later and definitely not in front of Kenan. He had enough on his plate already. She looked up and searched for constellations. It had gotten dark after the last bits of light had faded away. She let her hand fall from Kenan's cheek and cupped her hands together. A small black orb formed and drifted away into the air. It split into two and then four and so on. Every small bubble would form the shape of an animal or a plant before bursting and releasing a scent of honeysuckle. Once she was done, she took one of Kenan's hands and squeezed lightly.

Adrian finally gave up and passed through the walls of the maze. Once he arrived outside, he immediately began fo wince as waves of overpowering emotions swept over him. He blocked it all out and detached himself from everyone else's feelings. He debated finding Jared and attempting to cheer him up, but deciding it wasn't the best idea, he stayed where he was. He didn't know exactly what he was suppose to do and just stood there for a long time.

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan felt a small jolt as her hand was slightly cold, but lightly squeezed her hand back and brought her hand to his lips, kissing the back of her hand. "Are the stars out?" He asked, a bit timidly. "Would you mind telling me what they look like?"

 

(RECEIVED WORD FROM MENDEZ!!!)

[sairi123]

(OMG! he's alive??? O.O i was begining to worry)

[frostmourne]

"Yes. Distant, sharp points of light piercing a smooth black background. They would outshine every jewel. Silver dew on midnight blue, candles of the silver queen...a poet could spend eternity attempting to find words of capture their beauty and never succeed. They're like the ocean in that sense. They are detached from the world, silently watching but never intervening." Aza said quietly, twisting her head to get a better view. She had always been jealous of the stars when she was little. They had nothing to fear or worry about and weren't concerned with earthly matters. They just watched as people scurried around loving, hating, laughing, crying, dying and going on with their lives. She had never really liked the stars either. The sunlight and any unnatural light burned her if it was too intense, but the moonlight and stars seemed to freeze her even if they weren't very strong at all. She shivered slightly and created a thick black fog around herself.

[lycrawaterz14]

"Sounds amazing... Do they hurt you like the sun does?" He asked quietly. "I'm just wondering, you don't have to answer..." He murmured silently, trying to imagine them.

[frostmourne]

"In a different way. Starlight feels like liquid nitrogen." she said, blinking rapidly. She hadn't felt safe enough to keep her eyes closed for more than a handful of minutes. "It makes me feel sleepy after a long time." She blinked again, much slower than before and her hold on Kenan's hand gradually began to loosen. It had been a far too eventful day for her and that along with the starlight added to the odd numbness. She shook herself back to alertness and smiled as she remembered the last time this had happened. She was about six when she had sat up at the observatory looking for constellations until she had nodded off. A maid had found her and screamed until every piece of glass within a half mile fractured. Unfortunately, this sent the clear glass dome crashing down on her and she didn't wake up for a few days. She had never found out what happened to the maid.

Edited October 29, 2011 by frostmourne

[lycrawaterz14]

"You alright?" Kenan asked, tapping her shoulder. "C'mon... let's get you home."

[frostmourne]

Aza started stiffening at the thought of going back to the mansion. Her father wasn't going to be there, but there was still a sense of dread. Adrian was sure to start questioning her, or worse, not say a thing. He would just give her a understanding look while secretly hating Kenan. She would start crying again if Jared was there and she had already resolved not to cry in front of Kenan. She sighed and nodded, too numbed by the starlight to care as much as she normally would have. "I"ll murder Adrian if he dares to so much as snicker." she murmured, sounding half asleep. She dozed off after a few attempts to keep herself awake.

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan held her gently, and picked her up like a child, and without jarring her. He shadow-stepped off into his father's palace. She could spend as long as she wanted and not age, but time passed six times as slowly. She could sleep for half tthe day and return to normal time within two hours of her arrival. Kenan laid her on his own bed, and drew a symbol on the door so his father would know he had guests. He took a leather couch next to the door and slept, waiting for her to wake up.

[frostmourne]

When Kenan put her down, tendrils of shadow crept over her like odd pulsating veins. They formed a fleshy web that looked generally unhealthy. Once they were sure there was no one watching her, the snakes on her silver brooch untangled themselves and effectively broke the brooch. Her cloak covered her like a blanket while the two snakes curled around her wrist. As soon as she was out of the influence of the stars, sleep loosened its grip on her. Even so, it took a while for her completely wake up. Once she did, the protective mesh melted away. At first a wave of panic washed over her as she looked around at the unfamiliar environment. The two snakes quickly slid back into place and she wrapped her cloak tightly around herself before cautiously getting up and peeking out of the door. She smiled when she saw Kenan sleeping and relaxed slightly, although she was still unnerved by her environment.

[lycrawaterz14]

As soon as Aza's hand touched the door Kenan woke up. He laid there for a few moments before sitting up. "...Aza?" he asked sleepily. "You up?"

[frostmourne]

"Yes. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. Where are we?" Aza said, looking around. A little voice in the back of her head screamed that she shouldn't be here and should run out as fast as she could. She ignored the voice, trusting Kenan wouldn't have intentionally taken her somewhere dangerous. She walked over and sat down on the couch beside him, looking a bit unsure. Her curiosity grew the more she gazed at her surroundings. Her lips twitched as she imagined how the maids would have insisted redecorating it. They would have found it dreary and dark, but then, they would find anything that wasn't bright pink with sunshine yellow spots dreary and dark.

Adrian kept himself busy to keep his mind off worrying about Aza and Jared. Those two could stir up trouble faster than he could ruin a dish. He had snuck into the kitchen to attempt to make French toast, but had ended up treating first degree burns on several of the kitchen staff and himself.

[lycrawaterz14]

"We're at my father's palace. You have let me stay in your home many times, I assumed I ought to return the favor." he murmured. "Father is asleep. Don't worry..." he chuckled, smiling at her. "Do you want to go to your mansion?" Kenan looked timidly at her. "We can if you'd like."

[frostmourne]

"And get torn apart by a barrage of questions? No thanks. I'd like to explore a bit more if you don't mind." Aza laughed. "It's relatively hard to not at least worry a little bit in this kind of situation even though I trust you not to let me do something stupid. Perhaps it's just instinct." She noticed there seemed to be a lack of living things. I suppose I really shouldn't be surprised, considering where I am. she thought dryly. "Do I get to meet anyone else? You've met most of my family already. We're all lunatics obviously." She formed something that looked like a feather duster with a beak. The strange bird just sat there on her hand, giving no signs of life.

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan smiled. "Your family isn't all lunatics." he grinned. "The only person you can meet is my little sister. She's probably asleep..." he looked down the hallway. I'll write father a note saying we're roaming about... one moment." He went inside his room and got paper and a pen, more comfortable in his room and he manuvered it like he could see, picking a pen up accurately from his desk. He wrote in an odd language, before standing up and sliding it under one of the doors.

 

"C'mon, she's this way~" he said, sounding happier than he had ever been in his life.

[frostmourne]

Aza let the bird down and followed him, half enthusiastic and half nervous. The puffy bird trotted after her mechanically, squeaking like a mouse with every step. It seemed like it couldn't fly or was simply too lazy to. Aza's mind buzzed with questions that she planned to ask. She still hadn't quite decided how to behave. With a stranger she would usually act like she had about as much emotion as a marble statue, but with Kenan's sister she might make an exception. It depended on how she behaved towards her. She looked around as she followed him, absorbing in every detail. The electric green feather duster behind her gave a cross between and cough and a sneeze. With a miraculously powerful leap, it hopped on to Kenan's shoulder. It gave an odd croak and fell off its perch.

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan was thrown off by the bird's presence and yelped in surprise as it landed on him. "What the hell was..." He forced Aza to bend down as a knife flew right where she had been standing. "Mara! It's me!" Kenan hissed. A young girl, maybe thirteen at the most stepped out of a nearby room. "Kenan?" she asked, staring Aza down. "Yeah. This is Aza. I wrote to you in my letters about her." Kenan grinned and sat up. Mara had shoulder length curly black hair and black eyes, and seemed short for her age. She studied Aza blankly.

 

"The one who replaced me?" she said happily, like a joke, but glared at Aza like she might harm her. Kenan chuckled. "This is she." He said cluelessly.

[frostmourne]

Aza held the girl's gaze evenly, neither flinching or looking away. She studied the girl expressionlessly for a minute or so. She suddenly smiled and relaxed. "Pleased to meet you!" she said brightly, sincerity in every word. She wasn't sure how the girl would react, but so far it didn't look to good. The bird hopped up to the girl and did a weird little dance before twirling off and running into a wall. Aza knelt down and scooped it up, looking some where between embarrassed and amused. For the first time she wished Adrian was here. He would now exactly what to say and how to act.

Jared turned away from the door and jumped back when he realized there was someone else in the room. The figure was wrapped in a rough brown shawl and had a face so twisted that he couldn't tell if the person was smiling or frowning. "Poor dear made the wrong choice." the figure mumbled before shuffling to the other end of the room. "Might I ask who are you?" Jared said politely, although the tree creaked uneasily. " No. Poor dear." the figure chanted.

Edited October 31, 2011 by frostmourne

[lycrawaterz14]

Mara studied all of these events and scrutinized them. "I thought she'd be uglier. You're blind, and you still manage to get a pretty girlfriend?" She asked, seeming less hostile. "Of course she's pretty. She's Aza. She's everything." Kenan said simply.

[frostmourne]

Aza smiled sheepishly and refused to make eye contact. "Not as half as pretty as his sister." She was prevented from saying more when the black snake reappeared. Count on Adrian to have someone following me. The snake reared up and examined Aza closely. It feinted a strike towards her before sedately curling up and fading out of sight. He was clearly getting more impatient. "Sorry about that." she murmured.

Jared inched towards the door, determined to get away from the old crone. The old woman seemed to notice and thick metal bar soundlessly fell into place. "Now, help her. Don't you dare leave." she said in a raspy voice.

[lycrawaterz14]

Mara seemed appeased by her comment, and stared at the snake. Kenan swiped at it, missing just because it disappeared. "Oh. That was Adrian..." he murmured. "Sorry..."

[frostmourne]

The snake reappeared a few moments later and stared at Kenan flatly. It coiled around Aza tightly and hissed at anything that came to close. It reminded her of a child being over-possessive of a doll or similar toy. Aza first looked impatient and then annoyed. She formed her own snake, a darker shade of black if possible and much larger. It towered over the smaller the snake and let out on long drawn out hiss. The smaller snake stuck out its forked tongue before disappearing again. The large snake shrunk and wrapped itself around Aza's wrist like a bracelet. It hardened and stiffen until it was pure obsidian with flickering rubies set for eyes. She noticed a scrap of paper on the ground beside a small package where the snake disappeared. "Keep me updated. Or else." she read, rolling her eyes. She tugged off the string and looked inside the box. She flinched and closed the box. It was the shards of a broken mirror on a bed of pine needles and ivy leaves.

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan was confused. "Wh-..." there was a knocking noise, and Kenan shoved Aza back into his room and closed the door. Mara's door did the same.