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Dapon's Alternate Storyline |
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This one is just a recap (in all its complete gloriness) .... ... I'm writng the next segment soon ^^ heart
His eyes had trouble adjusting to the lack of light in the dank and darkened village. His home town was covered in a dense mist, obscuring the little light that was given by the thin crecent moon that had risen low in the night sky.
"Blood has been spilled this night," he thought, shaking his dirty blonde hair out of his good eye as he smelt the heavy scent of blood in the air. He knelt slightly, putting his hand on the ground, feeling the thick liquid that laced the ground.
A wave of panic suddenly hit him. "Kuri..." he whispered, worry set in his voice as he stood and took off in the direction of her old home. "You'd better have hi--!" he slipped on a rather large patch and fell face first to the cold, bloody ground, several jutting rocks driving themselves against him, scraping his scarred arms. He pushed himself to his knees, sensing something horrible fast approaching. Drawing the knife from his belt, he lashed out, freezing inches from the attacker's throat.
"Dapon..." her soft voice whispered, her delicate blonde hair and features traced in the dim moonlight. Her vivid green eyes were dull, fearful, and sad, the first time he had ever seen such a thing before, not with her.
He drew back in surprise, scared that he had almost slit the girl's throat, murdering the last of the town. "Kuri? Wh-- what happened?"
She was trembling, he noticed, as he returned his blade to waist and reached out to touch her. She pulled away instinctively, her eyes wide with fear as she wrapped her arms around her waist. "The village.. from the east... they... everyone.. " her voice shook nearly as much as she did.
He frowned slightly and pulled her close to him, holding her blood soaked form. trying to console her. He half expected her to wrap her arms about him, and relish in his touch, just as she had done before he had left, but her form went slack in his touch, and she collapsed. He fell to his knees, shifting her so he could see her paling face. "Kuri?" he said, his voice panicked as he moved her. he stopped a moment, his hand grazing across the fresh blood that was dripping from her side. "Oh no... " he whispered, turning his gaze from his hand, to her paling face and closed eyes to her side, where the deep gash lay, driving her to death. Her body shuddered as she drew one breathe, but not before a whispered warning, "Behind--"
Something struck him hard in the back of his head, and he sank into darkness, clutching the cooling body of his love.
His dark eyes shot open as he jerked awake, sweat lining his features as the rain thudded outside the cavern entrance, a mini river flowing inches from his once asleep form.
~~
Dapon sat there for a moment, panting, trying to calm himself down before picking the dream apart. His dreams often held a warning of sorts, a type of premonition, especially the more vivid.
Rubbing the back of his neck, he sighed, drawing his knees to his chest trying to console himself. There was no trace of blood on his hands, he reassured himself, and Kuri was safe in the village a good few days walk away. Shuddering slightly, he forced the last reassurance out of his mind. He was too far to get there if something truly was happening, or had happened.
"Maybe it's time," he said with a sigh, looking around the small dank cave as the rain still pittered outside. Rising to his feet, he wandered to the mouth, brushing the dirt off his pants and bare skin that had accumlated there in the few hours of sleep. His scarlet eyes scanned the rain as he leaned against the wall, dancing about the the hints of red slipping through the clearing clouds off in the distance: the direction of Milan; of his long gone home. He closed his eyes, absentmindedly chewing on his knuckle, pondering his predicament. "Can't help but wonder what happened to her," he said to the slowly warming air.
He sighed and turned around, picking up his dark blue tank, and pulling it over his head. He raked his fingers across the scarlet tuft of hair, pulling it away from the deep scar across his eye. "Wonder what she'll think about this..." he laughed softly, knowing full well what she may think.
He wandered slowly back to his small camping area and gathered up his supplies, not looking forward returning to the town of oogling girls. He pictured them falling for his new scar, saying that it made him so much more manly than the men in town, simply because he had left and faced the dangers that most refused to return from. He imagined the men hissing whispers about him as he walked by, for the same reason. Despite it all, he had to return, for many reasons.
Something pale green in his bag caught his attention as he stuffed the last of his provisions in the bag. "Wha--?" he pulled it out, recognizing Kuri's letter for him. The only she had written. At least the only he had recieved in the two years. Of course, he had not had the time, nor the ability to write her back since he recieved it. It arrived in his hands the day before he was attacked, and he had not read it ... much ... since then.
He opened it and scanned through it, his good eye focusing on the final bit:
I really hope you aren't gone too long, Dapon. It's only been a few weeks, but I already miss you dearly. I never confessed to you before, but the day we met, and actually talked face to face, I fell in love. Been in love since too. No doubt you're having incredible adventures, but I still cannot wait until you return. I'll watch for you every day!
Love always
Kuri
P.S. First time I've ever written that name. Was it really strange to see it?
He kept himself from crumpling the letter by dropping it, cursing himself for not writing her before, telling her not wait, as he may never return. With a sigh, he picked it up, his eyes scanning her neat and unique handwriting once again before folding it and tucking on top of the rest of belongings. He looked back out at the rain with a softened look of determination in his eyes, almost a yearning not to. "It is time," he whispered again, hoisting his pack on one shoulder, his fingers grazing the remants of his mark. His dark eyes narrowed and he leapt into a run out into the pouring rain, heading deep into the rising sun.
~~
Not long after Dapon leapt out into the pouring rain, it subsided, and the sky filled with the rising sun, bringing with it the pale blue and white clouds along with it. The rain had blessed the small town not far from the cave by watering its dying crops, and now the brilliant sun had the chance to work its magic. Pools of clear water sparkled on the dirt path carved by the villagers' wagon, and children could be heard rolling around in the muddy thin grass that lay all around. Hope and laughter filled the place that just mere hours before had been shaken with fear, illness, and pain as the adults worried about the drought.
A small child ran up to Dapon as he slowed to a walk on the path. Her bright blue eyes danced as her blonde curls bounced as she skipped around him, calling the other children to come greet the mysterious stranger that was so kind to them. He gave her a lopsided grin and knelt for a moment, catching her in his arms and swinging her up onto his shoulders. She squeeled in delight and flung her arms out, crying "I'm a bird!! I'm a bird!!" as he broke into a soft bouncing run.
Some of the adults of the town were coming out to see what all the commotion was. A few narrowed their eyes, glaring at the man who had tried to help them, not trustworthy at all of a man with a scar like his. Most, however, looked overjoyed to see him.
As he lifted the young girl off his shoulders, an older gentleman approached him, carrying a small basket with him. "Mister Oscurarsi," he started with a wide and friendly grin, but that grin quickly fell as Dapon interjected.
"Please, sir. No need to be so formal. Just call me Dapon, okay?"
"Alright..." the older man said a little hesitant. After all, this was the young man that have saved his young daughter from the illness that she carried. He had gone to fetch medicine from a distant village without so much as a worry or a care. "Dapon... Uh.. The Missus wanted me to give this to you as a token of our gratitude." He pulled back the cover on it to reveal some freshly baked goods and fruits. "We will not take no for an answer."
"Mister Dapon, sir," said the little girl tugging on his pants leg. He glanced down and realized that she had picked up a little tricket and was trying to show him it. He knelt to her height and she opened her hands, offering him her small doll. "It's for you, Mister Dapon, so you'll come back and play with me again."
He smiled and ruffled her hair, gratefully accepting the gifts and tucking them into his pack for the long journey ahead. "Stay safe you guys!" he called, waving his thin, but muscular arm as he stepped back into his run, ready now to face the rest of the trip.
Little did he know what waited just beyond the riverbed....
~~
Without much remaining in his pack, Dapon was making incredible time, running from place to place, coming ever closer to the home he once had. His excitement was growing with every passing hour, coming almost to a state of absolute euphoria when he spied the extreme outskirts of the village just off the riverbend not far ahead. Just a little further and he could track her down, and never let her go. Never again.
As the moon rose to its height, Dapon slowed to a stop, thinking. One more night could not hurt. After all, he had not even told anyone he was on his way back, and as it stood now, he would not arrive until closer to dawn. Besides, those people living in the outskirts did not know him well, if at all, and might not let him pass in the night. He sighed, and dropped to the ground, drifting into an uneasy sleep almost immediately.
He awoke to the sounds of several whispering statements. He refrained from opeing his eyes for the moment, though he could feel the sun warm on his skin, evaporating the early morning dew that had collected there, simply listening to the villagers concerns, trying to figure out who this vaguely familiar stranger was.
One concern caught his attention. Not far off his left side was a woman whispering to her friend, or maybe it was a sister. "You don't think he's from the East too?"
His eyes snapped open at that, his entire features obviously frantic. Several villagers, including the two women and the man leaning over him jumped back out of surprise. His dark eyes focused on the women as he pulled himself fully up, leaving his pack in its resting place as he approached them. "What about the East?" he said in a hushed tone. Was he too late? "What has happened?"
The woman who had asked was the younger of the two, and she looked even more scared than the other. She opened her mouth to speak, though the man that was leaning over him cut across her. "Who are you, stranger? And why have you come here?--"
Dapon spun on his heel, looking almost angrily at the man behind him. He must have looked danderous, because the man stopped his interragation instantly. "I am from this village. I came back to find someone." He turned back to the two women. "Now what about the East?"
"Hey!" said the older of the women. "I know you now! You're Dapon, right? Number 11?"
He jumped, turning his focus entirely on her. "Yes," he said simply, his voice getting even more frustrated.
She laughed triumphantly, grinning at the scared woman. "It's Aliana. Remember me? 5?" Most of the other villagers were relaxing a bit, remembering this first of firsts. Never before had someone left the village on his own for such a long time. They were a pretty close nit community after all. And now here he was. Returned after all this time. "This is my little cousin Merideth. Don't know if you remember her at all, but she jsut got her name last year!..."
He rolled his eyes, turning around and returning to his pack, picking it up and throwing it over his shoulder, ignoring the villagers as they were all talking excitedly about him. "Look, Aliana, Merideth. I have NOT been here for two years. I want to know what's going on. What happened with the EAST!?" his voice raised in volume, though not quite to a yell as of yet.
Aliana stopped for a moment and thought. "It was nothing that bad, Dapon," she said, picking up on his concern immediately. "Just some guy from the East Village came a couple weeks ago and talked to some girl in central area into coming with him. We heard either he or someone else was coming back soon."
He breathed a soft sigh of relief and walked away from the group around him, picking up his speed into a trot once more. 'At least that dream has not come to pass... yet...' he thought. I should probably take Kuri away before anything does happen... especially if the East is invovled...'
~~~~
After about 30 minutes of trotting he slowed to a walk. Central was going to be a bit busier than normal on a day like today, and being recognized and having to explain his reasons and way through the crowds was the last thing he wanted to do now. He just wanted to get to her place. He ducked into a small alleyway and opened his bag. Rummaging around, his hands brushed her letter, and a smile crossed his face, his excitement creeping up on him once more. He shook it off, and pulled out a long cloak he had used this past winter. Taking care to wrap it around and distract the light from his face, he pulled it on before picking up his pack and walking back out into the village.
It was probably a pretty good idea to disguise himself, however slightly, for as he was tracing his way back into town, he saw several people that he knew, and several more that he was sure would recognize him. He pressed onward, looking for her familiar home.
Finally. There it was. He was far enough out of the main part of town that he was not as likely to have that many people fawning over him, so he pulled the cloak off and stuffed it back into his pack. He took a deep breathe and walked briskly up to the door, beaming positively ear to ear, raising his hand to pound on her never forgotten door. But it swung open before he got the chance to even start.
The young man there was yelling something back into the house, clutching a pretty heavy book in his hands, and did not even see him for a moment. "Amal?" he asked, recognizing the young man's mini-tail, posture, and papercutted fingers instaneously.
He jumped and turned around, his jaw dropping at the recogniztion of the voice. "Who the---?" he paused, seeing his best friend's goofy smile beneath this new exterior. "Dapon?" he asked.
Dapon nodded, his scarlet and blonde locks swaying over his forehead as he did so. "How have you been!?"
"Who is it, Amal?" a soft voice called from within. An old woman pulled the door open the rest of way, and her greying eyes fell upon him. "Oh my.." she said, stepping out onto the porch and closing the door behind her. She was still as tiny a woman as ever, but in these surroundings, between these two rather tall men, she seemed smaller than usual. "Hello Dapon," she said, her voice turning almost flirtateous, taking off her thick glasses and wiping them on her apron.
"Hey Shrinan," he said simply, ignoring the change in her tone as though he had been for nearly all his life. He looked down on he, smiling that goofy smile, grateful that they still lived here. That meant she did as well, unless she had gotten married or just stopped living with her guardian mother. "Is Kuri here?" he asked, trying to keep his tone casual.
Both Shrinan and Amal shook their heads simotaneously. "She's in the market," Shrinan said simply, her blue-grey eyes sparkling slightly. "Won't you come in?"
Dapon chuckled softly, thinking fast. He had not seen her there when he was walking through, but then again, he had been paying that much attention either. "I think I'm going to go find her first," he said simply, turning to start back down the walk. "I'll have to come back later though.I remember your treats were to die for!"
Without another word, he walked back down the path and back into the dirt street. Behind him though, he heard Shrinan try the door handle, and turn to her son, "Do you have the key?" Dapon laughed, pulling his cloak out once more, still just wanting to find her before anyone else saw him.
He pushed his way back through the marketplace, scanning the crowds slowly, not wanting to miss her again. After a few minutes, his eyes caught a glimpse of white-blonde hair sparkling in the rising sun not far from him. There! Sitting on one of the benches near the river, her back to the street. He got closer, and froze, seeing the devastated look on her paler than normal face. There was a young man standing across from her, looking almost angry.
"Well now," he man said, his voice low and quiet, almost hissing at her. "You made a promise, Kuri. And you will uphold it, one way or another."
"I won't do it!" she said, standing up, her devastation turning to anger in one swift movement. Her delicate hands clenched into fists of rage, she continued, "Even if it really does KILL me I won't!"
~~~~
Taking care not to attract any attention to himself, he approached the pair, acting as casually as he could, pullling the cloak around him tighter. Neither took any notice of him, or at least made no comment about him.
The man could not be much older than himself, yet he carried a aura of someone much older, and much more menacing. His black hair laced his face, his yellow eyes cold worth malice. And yet, his voice almost carried this gentle tone to it. "You really would rather die than do what I ask?"
Her determined air faltered to a moment, as though she was truly debating it. Her crystal green eyes swept his way for a second, though they took no obvious seal of recogniztion. Dapon suddenly noticed that they were nowhere near the same clear, brilliant colour they once were, but almost the shade they had been in his dream. "..Y-yes," she said, her voice breaking slightly over the word. "Even then."
The stranger's grin grew in both malice and width. "Well then, sweets," he said, extending his hand and gripping her arm. He wrenched it over and was bringing his other hand up to touch something there, but before his hand could even make contact, he was flat on his back, spoutting fresh blood from each nostril, Dapon now between the two.
~~~~
"What the hell!" the stranger yelled, glaring up at this cloaked newcomer. He pulled himself to a standing position, clutching his now broken nose as this adversary lowered his leg to the ground.
Even Kuri herself seemed completely shocked. Just moments before, this man had been too far from her to do much good with helping her. She held her arm close to her, backing away slowly. In every sense in her mind, the situation was telling her to leave before things got worse. Agaisnt her better judgement, she remained.
His scarlet eyes remained on the stranger, encased in what seemed to be pure and utter and hatred. "You will not lay one single finger on her," he hissed, his voice unrecognizable, even to Kuri, the girl who had known him for most of her life.
The stranger just stared at him, wishing nothing more than to get out of there. His eyes narrowed, looking over Dapon's shoulder at Kuri. "I won't lift it," he said quietly. "You will retrieve it for me, or you will die. Simple as that." With that he turned on his heel and walked off as calmly as he could.
Dapon rolled his eyes as he straightened up, turning to face her, alone at last. Before he could even turn most of way around, he felt the cloak begin to pull away, slowly at first, due to its tightness around himself, then swiftly as it dropped to the patched ground.
As she fell silent, he took a single step around his fallen cloak, and pulled her into a tight, but tender hug. How he had longed for this, since the day he had read that letter that first time. If he had not come when he did, who know what could have happened to her.. even to the extent of that dream. "I missed you Kuri.." he said, his voice free of that nasty hissing that was there when that stranger was there.
No embrace was returned though, but two delicate hands pressed firmly on his chest, and back from him. She looked up at him, still rather short compared to him, and of course, he had grown in these last years. She still looked taken aback, and her voice coould not find words to speak to him.
Dapon stepped back, dropping his arms to his side, feeling hurt, though he did well to mask it. His own scarlet eyes traced her face, wishing he knew what she was thinking.
Her face though, suddenly changed from its look of surprised sadness to one of misbelieving anger. "Where the hell have you been!?!" she demanded, playfully punching him hard as she could in his stomach.
~~~
He blinked stupidly, staring at her with shock, before cracking up laughing. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist out of relief. She nuzzled her head against his chest, smiling now, though she was still shaking slightly. "Sorry Kuri," he said quietly, wrapping his arms back around her as well. "I had to find myself.."
"So have you then?" she asked, pulling back slightly and looking up in his face, her dulled eyes looking up at him in wonder.
He shrugged, thinking about recent events. "Kuri," he began, pulling her away from him so he could look at her properly. "What did that guy mean by he wouldn't lift it? What won't he lift?"
Kuri pulled herself the rest of the way out of the embrace, turning her back on him, wrapping her arms about her waist. "It doesn't matter, Dapon," she said, and started off in a brisk walk, trying to put as much distance as she could.
Dapon blinked, grabbing his bag and his cloak and taking off after her. She was able to loose herself in the crowd rather quickly though, as he came to find out. He scowled, his eyes frantically searching the sea of faces around her. Obviously is was something big if she was not going to tell him, something she was scared of. She had always told him everything before, even things he did not want to know. And here she was leaving him in the dark now. "Kuri!" he called, still looking around, igoring the looks he was getting from many of the people that stared right back. Popularity in high school certainly had its drawbacks.
There. Walking into that store! Was that her? Ignoring the hands and voices that beckoned his attention, he ran in after her. Inside, his eyes scanned the store's endless aisles, looking for a glimpse of her white-blonde hair. It should not have been that hard. After all, how many people in the village had hair that colour!? Not watching where he was going, he walked right into her. "Kuri!" he said, grabbing her arm before she could get away again.
She flinched horribly at his touch, trying to wrench her arm away from his grasp. Not letting go, though moving his grasp down to her wrist, Dapon turned her arm over, looking at what that stranger had tried to touch himself earlier. He gasped, recognizing the engraved symbol. This was so rarely used, this engraving, but how; why did she get this? "Kuri," he said quietly, his voice higher than normal in his shock, his other hand dropping his bag, and now tracing the mark with his fingers, careful not to hurt her with his touch. "Where.. What's going on?"
She wretched his arm away finally, sighing and turning her face from him. "Not here, Dapon. I'll tell you back at the house. Come on." She left, leaving him with nothing to do but to follow her.
In a few minutes time, they had returned to her house, though it was not without Dapon's mind clouding with worry from the mark. Last time he had seen it engraved into the skin like that, it was on a small little boy, a small little boy who had died that evening in his mother's arm. The mark was one of an old magic, a dark magic that claimed its victim's life. Only two cures were known, though neither had ever been envoked. "Sit," came her voice, jerking her head towards the kitchen table and him out of his thoughts, before busying herself with some tea.
When she had finally settled herself across from him, she looked almost mournful. "I haven't told Mother or Amal," she said quietly, absentmindedly stirring a little bit of sugar into her tea. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention it to them, okay?"
He gave a curt nod, and repeated his question. He had to know what had happened, how she had gotten a mark like that, and why.
"His name's Soran, that man that you attacked earlier," she began, trying hard as she could to keep her voice casual. She never once looked at him, just kept her eyes on the swirling mass of her tea. "He came here a couple weeks ago, looking for something, or someone, I'll never know which I suppose. But he found me, and asked me if I could help him. No.. Ask is too light of a word I suppose.
"He told me that he needed help with getting something he had been looking for for quite some time. I agreed to help him even before he had told me what he had wanted. He seemed like such a gentle man... there couldn't have been anything too bad with what he had wanted, right? He told me the mark would help him keep track of me, so that if I got in trouble, he could come to my aid. I didn't even realize that it was going to engraved...
"He told me what he wanted. And I left. Not far along, I was attacked by some thugs, and turned back, intent on finding him and insisting he came with me. He was nowhere to be found. Today was the first time I had seen him since then..."
Dapon stopped her for a moment, cupping her face in his hand, and studying her eyes carefully. They were that same dull cast as he had seen earlier, something that had scared him entirely, and now that he knew why, it scared him even more. Though now, her eyes even carried more fear in them than they had earlier. "What was he looking for, Kuri? Maybe I can help.."
"A gem. A crystal or something. He called it the Shiney. Said it looked like a crystal lily coming out of the moon."
~~~~
After a rather long conversation discussing exactly what this Amal person had told, threatened rather, Kuri, Dapon stood and left the house, and the woman of his dreams behind. There was nothing to be said, but much to be done. He could not let her go and get herself killed, and yet, they could not just ignore the problem and she end up dead anyways. So he nominated himself, and was not going to be talked out of it, no matter her protests.
Wandering into the market, he kept his head low, his ears closed, his silence echoic. He bought a few parcels of food and drink, and left the town even before anyone could stop him, especially her. Where he was going, he had not a clue, as that was the only thing he could not force out of her. But no matter. That guy Soran had something coming to him anyways.
~~~~
Those wretched gates, painted black with traces of gold and silver in some of the finer elements of the piece. The molding in itself was both beautiful, and deadly, though its beauty was scarred somewhat by the large wooden sign painted in a bloody red. "Visitors Beware" it said in spiky letters dribbling through the paint.
Inside, a tall fortress stood, giving off an eerie, and chilling aura. There was a single light in the left hand room on the bottom floor, flickering as though someone who lacked the lung capacity to do so was trying to blow it out. The light itself, however, did nothing to warm the darkness eminating from it.
It was here, standing just before the gates to the dark building, that Dapon had come to rest, his scarlet eyes scrutinizing every inch of the place, hoping to get a feel of what he was to expect from this man, this Soran. From what he had been able to get out of Kuri, this man had many secrets, as his own personage would suggest. And with those secrets came a deadly power...
 Marion-san · Sun Nov 19, 2006 @ 05:13am · 0 Comments |
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