forum At War // OxO // Closed

Started September 19, 2021 by @ElderGod-Icefire

tune

Kaylum had been very tempted to just stay out of his body for the time being, but the soldiers had started to think he was dead, and had decided to sink a blade into his chest for good measure. So, he was forced back into his body to prove that he was, in fact, alive.
His muscles still burned, and every step took effort. He couldn’t have run away if he tried. His vision only came back into focus after walking for some minutes. His locs hung freely down his back, over his shoulders, brushing against his calves and shins, still dripping with water. Soon enough, they dried as they reached the camp, still somewhat damp.
The soldiers shoved him inside, and he stumbled a little. Exhausted, he fell to his knees. He was still thirsty, and it was so hot. Hearing Nikolas in pain, though, he shuffled over and sat beside him.
“Well,” he croaked. “That happened.”

Nik let out a dry, pained laugh. "It happened." he agreed faintly, looking up at Kayulm with exhaustion in his eyes. "And we'll both pay for it now." he didn't move much, just shifted to a slightly more comfortable position on the ground. He didn't move beyond that, not wanting to waste the energy and not sure he would be able to anyway, even if he could have.

Kaylum didn’t know why, but he placed his hand on Nikolas’s head. Maybe it was a way to comfort him. He didn’t know. “Don’t worry about that. Just rest,” he ordered, mustering up a princely voice. He took his hand away, and he stared a it. His hand shook a little, and when he saw this he curled it into a fist to steady it. “I’m sorry, Prince Nikolas. I have made things harder for us.” He coughed slightly.

He shook his head a little bit. "It's…you did what you thought was right. If it had worked, we would be celebrating." he replied in a soft tone. "You did not mean for us to be captured." he looked up at Kaylum, mustering up a faint smile for the dragon shifter.

“Heh.” He didn’t smile back. “The heat really got to me, didn’t it?” He coughed again. “Mm, I think I’ll lie down too.” Carefully, he positioned himself on the floor next to Nik. He coughed some more, more forcefully this time. “Maybe the river got to me too.”

He looked over at Kaylum, concerned. "Do you have water in your lungs still?" he asked, watching the dragon prince cautiously. He hoped Kaylum didn't have water stuck in his lungs still. That wouldn't end well. It could end up with Kaylum dry drowning, his lungs filling up with fluid, and…and that was unlikely. There was no reason to stress himself out with possibilities that would not happen.

“I don’t… I don’t think so,” he said slowly. “I think I just had to cough.” Meeting the other man’s gaze, he sighed shakily. “Actually, I think I’m really dehydrated,” he chuckled a little. No, he wasn’t going to dry drown, but his time in the river didn’t do much to keep him hydrated. It only briefly shocked him out of a potential heat stroke. “And I’m not used to the heat in Kevra, so…” he almost laughed. “Maybe trying to escape was stupid in the first place.”

He nodded a little bit. "I…I can see if there's some way to get Seren to give us water." they were both dehydrated, and while Nik was a bit more used to the heat, it didn't mean he wasn't susceptible to it. It was warm, and they both needed food and water. Water most of all. He was just concerned that whatever price Seren would make them pay for water would be too high.

“Hm, I would too, but I think I’ve ruined my chances of ever properly negotiating with him again,” Kaylum shrugged, smirking a little and remembering his little interrogation session with the human. “Unless, perhaps, astral projecting would prove useful.”

He shook his head a little bit, closing his eyes. "He's not going to want to speak with you again. He'll jsut dig into your country in other ways, and find out if he can get away with killing you. Or marrying you off. 's already talked about that. Said he could prob'ly find a human with…ah." he hesitated for a moment, unsure if he should really say this. Then realized Kaylum would want to know, and finally spoke again. "A human with tastes in the exotic." he finally said slowly. "Who would want a shifter. For…you know." he shifted faintly, cleairng his throat.

He gave Nikolas a look, even though his eyes were closed for it. “Disgusting.” He opened his mouth, wanting to immediately move on, but something made him pause. “He… already talked about it? When?”

(aah sorry for the wait!!)

"Yes." he agreed quietly. "And he did. With…me. When he figured out the whole…soulmate thing. He wanted to see how I reacted, but he was also serious. He…his plans for the two of us are rather different from each other." he cleared his throat quietly. "Once I've given up my crown to him, he plans to kill me. Probably slowly. You, he will either kill or…marry off, I suppose."

“Damn.” He played with one of his locs. “Well, I would prefer if that didn’t happen. It would be most inconvenient.”
Though he was playing it cool, inside, Kaylum was scared. He wished they could’ve gotten away. He wished he had his powers. He wished he could fly. If being married off to some sick human was his fate, he would bite and kick and scream his way out of it if he had to. Dying, he wouldn’t mind so much if he didn’t have Tesh to worry about.
“Okay, enough of this. You should rest,” he told Nik.

Nik exhaled, nodding faintly. "Alright." he replied, swallowing and closing his eyes, knowing quite well that he needed to rest. He didn't know what Seren had planned next, but it wouldn't be anything good. It wouldn't be anything easy to take. It would be painful, and Seren would draw it out as long as possible.

(Xhdxmkmds ;;)

After a moment of hesitation, Kaylum put a hand on Nik’s head and slowly started running a hand through his hair, trying to get him to go to sleep. He felt some regret that they ended the conversation on a less than positive note, but maybe the soft touch could help. After being tortured and hauled around so violently, Nik deserved it.

Nik stiffened faintly at the touch, caught by surprise, then relaxed a bit, arms drawing close to his body as he lay still on the floor. He needed to rest. The question was only how long he would be able to. How long would he be able to sleep, before either the pain or Seren awoke him again.

Kaylum waited until Nik’s breathing shifted, an indication that he had fallen asleep. He took his hand away, but paused. He wanted to astral project and find out what Seren was doing, but maybe he should listen to himself. He probably needed rest too, and astral projecting would only sap his energy. He sighed, and relented to the exhaustion deep in his bones.

Nik's sleep was not the most restful, but it was sleep nonetheless, and he was grateful for it. He had needed to rest, and this was good enough for him. Luckily for him, he did not really dream. If he had, his dreams would likely have been strange and distorted, nightmarish and garbled from pain.

Unlike Nik, Kaylum unfortunately did dream. Nothing clear, just flashes of memory and distorted, unreal images and voices, but made him restless and whimpering all the same. Blood and dust and chains… and it was so hot. The heat beat down on him relentlessly. He sweated dust, he sweated blood. The pain that had once been dulled has now renewed. His back was on fire, slashed by the whip, his wings made useless. He could not fly. He wished he could fly. Xiomara. He could hear her voice. She was calling to him. But he could not fly. He could not reach her.

(okay we gotta figure out how they're actually gonna get out lol)
(tbh I'm leaning towards a larger time-skip bc I'm bad at writing torture scenes and having a lot of mini skips would just get really old really fast?)

Nik stayed curled up on the floor, shifting faintly as he slept. He was so tired, and his back was throbbing with pain even as he continued to sleep. Yet, this misery that the two shared was only the beginning, for them. This pain, this misery, was a precursor to whatever Seren had planned for them next.