formmusebox | shattered - for makingmyway

[Orym can barely think straight. His mind is an utter mess, caught somewhere between rage and guilt and relief and then more guilt for that feeling. They've lost so much already in all of this, in chasing Predathos' threats. Fuck, he'd lost so much before he even knew what Predathos was.

That moment when they'd discovered sending spells were working once again, and he'd immediately tried to reach Dorian only to be met with silence, it had torn at something in him. The fear of what could have happened, of why the genasi wouldn't have answered him. He knew Dorian would have if he'd been able, so something must be wrong. Something had to be wrong. And it was. Gods he should have known better. He should have known better and done something, to keep the other man better protected.

But he couldn't protect him. He couldn't protect any of them. The latest loss was fresh and bitter and raw, and the halfling was ready to come apart from how completely he had failed. What was the point of him, what was the good of him, if he couldn't even keep the people he loved safe?

His come apart had to be postponed when they learned that Dorian had been captured though, because there was nothing else he could think about except the fact that they had to save the bard. He was already a shattered thing, and Orym didn't think he'd survive losing Dorian too. The genasi had been the only bright point left in his univeirse in many ways, and if he lost him without ever even telling him how much he meant to him. Well.

No, he couldn't live with himself.

He couldn't live.

The rescue had been, well, a bit desperate. The halfling had fought without hesitation or thought, a frenzy that left him blood-stained and only half aware of what he was even doing. But they'd gotten Dorian back. Alive.

He's been repeating that to himself over and over in his mind, and only that. Dorian is alive. Dorian is here.

They've retreated from Ruidus, taken shelter somewhere that, for the moment at least, seems safe. Everyone is their own brand of mess, and they're all barely hanging on. But they are hanging on.

Orym has been left with Dorian, to keep watch over the bard. The halfling hasn't spoken since the battle, and blood still stains his face and hands and clothes, and he doesn't seem to notice.]

Threaded | Flat

From:

makingmyway

[ Honestly, Dorian isn’t really sure how long it’s been anymore. Since the Solstice he’d been worried about Orym, about the Bells Hells, especially when he could no longer reach them on the Sending Stone. And while Orym had said to stay where they were until he contacted them, it became too dangerous to stay in the same place. With no way to reach the others, Dorian had made the decision to try and head out.

And it certainly hadn’t been safe. The things the Spider Queen had told them through Opal was more than a little worrying, and the Nameless Ones were still pursuing them. But soon enough they had others chasing after them; Dorian hadn’t thought much of it, at first, it somehow didn’t surprise him. What did surprise him was when they claimed to be after him and Cyrus.

It wasn’t about Cyrus’ bounty, they’d learned that much. But what it was actually about, they didn’t know. And Dorian had done his best to protect his brother, protect the Crown Keepers. But at some point in making sure they got to safety he had been captured himself.

Things were a bit fuzzy after that. He remembers a little about someone coming to see him, someone who could pry into his mind and was searching for…something. He didn’t seem to have the answers they necessarily wanted, but he was deemed still useful enough that they kept him imprisoned for who knows how long.

It wasn’t even until the Bells Hells found him that he even learned that he was on Ruidus - on the fucking moon. There hadn’t been time to really ask any questions as they made their escape, and found a way to leave the moon and back to Exandria in order to recover a little.

And that was when the others were able to try and catch him up on everything he missed since he’d left them. The Solstice, Predathos, Titans (and him learning that his own family were descended from a Titan, which is why he and Cyrus had been targeted and his own capture)…Ludinus, Imogen’s mother (the one who had informed them of his capture, he later discovers), Otahan…the others temporarily dying…Fresh Cut Grass…

It was…so much, and he was still trying to process everything. All he knows is that all was weighing on the group so heavily, and he regrets not being there for them through it all.

At the moment they were taking time to rest and figure out what to do from here. There’s some discussion about what to do with him, whether to find a safe place for him to hide or if he should stay with them. But he had adamantly refused to leave them again: even knowing that he would likely continue to be hunted, since apparently the plan was to sacrifice Titan blood or power in order to awaken Predathos, he had pointed out that if that is the case, Fearne and Ashton were in equal danger. And if the Ruby Vanguard were focused on capturing him, then maybe they wouldn’t spend too many resources trying to find Cyrus again, or his parents. It just made more sense for him to stay.

And selfishly, he wanted to stay and assist…to help them since he couldn’t before.

Starting with a certain someone, as he slowly and carefully sits beside Orym, looking over the exhausted form of his friend. It hurt to see him, so haggard from how he remembered the halfling. ]

Orym?