don't let me drag you down here to my level

Gabriel de le Poer · 02-11-2010, 03:52 PM

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Word Count: 710. Backdated to the night of 1/5.

Gabriel had not waited for Halo. As soon as his sister had lost consciousness, he had responded. The shift to optime form had been quicker then expected, rushed along by the desperation that fueled his body. His hands had been gentle, as if he was moving a delicate piece of glass, and found that Rikka’s dead weight was not half what he expected. If this was due to the adrenaline coursing through his blood, he welcomed it. By all accounts, Gabriel was strong—but his shoulder was weak and he was uncomfortable behaving on two legs. Still he did not think about this, only the wounded girl in his arms and what he was going to do when he hunted down the bastard that had done such a thing to her.

He made it, somehow, through the snow and the cold night, back to Inferni. While his den was not as welcoming as it had once been, it was enough to make his sister comfortable. Rikka was laid into his own bed, and the coy-wolf took the time to first light a fire, worried that the chilly air might do more harm to her then anything else. Besides that, he needed light to see the extent of her wounds. His jaw clenched, threatening to snap, when he saw the gashes along her hip line. Thankful she was unconscious, he examined them and was horrified by how deep they really were. It was as if Haku had been trying to tear her apart, which no doubt he was. What concerned him more then this though, was her arm. Something had obviously been done to it, given the fact it was torn asunder, and as his fingers lifted this to examine the room, Gabriel soon realized the extent was much more then a bite. It had been broken.

The break was high, and while he was unsure of how it happened, the Aquila knew that it needed tended to immediately. It was lucky she was asleep, because the militaristic medicine Gabriel knew was not merciful. He placed a section of his weight on her chest, then in one swift motion, reset the bone. Had she been awake, that might have driven her to unconsciousness. Satisfied that it would now heal properly, he left her to gather the medical supplies he needed—finding that his supplies had run low, he frowned. Still, the heavy gauze and singular first aid kit he had would be enough for Rikka now.

Gabriel cleaned her arm first, using disinfectant to wash the blood and dirt out of the wound. Though it looked nasty, he was unwilling to do anything more then apply a thick amount of medical gel and wrap it up. Given that her arm needed set, he did not wish to have to clean stitches and constantly move a healing bone. He used two branches to reinforce the area, tying this with cloth before wrapping the arm with the heavier, stronger material. Once her arm was covered, he used this same material to circle over her opposite shoulder, forming a would-be, backwards sling. This done, he moved to her hip.

Cleaning these wounds was much worse, given their depth, and it took all of his willpower to not think about hunting down Haku Soul and tearing him limb from limb. Of all the people to attack, he had gone after Rikka—Rikka who had never hurt anyone, and who would rather befriend a wolf then attack one. His hands were still, obeying the ancient training, and he threaded the needle quickly. The stitching itself did not take long, closing the deep gashes and leaving in their place the blackened material to form ugly lines. Once finished, he took the extra time to wash the blood from her golden coat. His own was less than pristine and a trip into the cold air outside, and the snow, took care of this.

Once finished, the Aquila returned to his den, grabbed one of the bottles that were stored in the back of his room, and settled down near the fire. He did not drink much, but a few mouthfuls of the whiskey was enough to settle his nerves, chasing the fury away and dulling it with warmth.

Rikka de le Poer · 02-11-2010, 08:12 PM

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For a long time everything was pitch black. She felt nothing aside from a dull ache. Vaguely she was aware she was moving, but how she didn't know. Her mind had retreated into itself, blocking everything off in attempt to protect herself from further harm and from the pain she already felt. There was comfort in the nothingness, but of course that comfort could not, and did not last. Soon images filtered through the darkness. At first they were mere shadows of light but with time they materialized and with them came distinct sensations. The first thing she saw were those hard, cold, evil eyes staring out at her. A shiver ran through her, though whether or not her physical body was also shivering she couldn't say. Those eyes bored into her, stripping her of every sense of security and protection. They never blinked, or turned away, always staring. There was no reprieve from that gaze no matter how she tried to escape it. In her mind she ran, but running didn't help. It was as futile to run now as it had been before. She could not escape him, not even in her mind.

The next thing she felt was his sickly hot breath on her neck and his tongue on her ear again. The words he had said repeated on an infinite loop. Mmm, you taste just like your mother. It filled her skull like the incessant buzzing of bees and made her nauseous. What had he done to Kaena? Was that why he had picked her, gone after her? Perhaps, but deep down she knew that someone like him didn't need a reason to torture and maim. He did it for no reason, and that was the most horrifying thing of all. Rikka felt the pressure of him holding her down again and she thought she might suffocate. It felt like her ribs would shatter and her lungs collapse and she would die gasping for air. Then the pain of her breaking arm seared through her again and she screamed as she had then, her pained cries taking over and drowning out his haunting words. He hadn't only broken into her flesh but into her psyche. The suffering from today's events were far from over.

The hybrid felt him pushing her down, further and further as she cried for it to end. All he did was laugh, his horrible fangs stained red with her blood. The terrible image of him grew larger and larger and seemed would overtake her entire being when her eyes flashed open and her lips parted, gasping for air. Her chest rose and fell rapidly. Her head told her to sit up but her body knew that it did not have the energy. Golden orbs darted around to take in her surroundings. Rikka felt the heat of the fire and saw the ragged walls of the cave. Where was she? Confusion crossed her distressed features and she turned her head, gaze finally settling on the form of her brother. Recognition came to her. Yes, that was right, Gabriel had been there before she had lost consciousness.

As she saw him though the pain from her battered form erupted into clarity and tears sprang to her eyes. The tears were not just from the pain though, but from the dizzying amount of emotions that flooded her. Sorrow, shame, guilt, fear. Rikka knew she needed to thank him. If not for him she probably would be dead by now or at the very least her wounds infected, however she could not find the words. She closed her eyes and her face turned back to the ceiling of the cave, tears streaming down the sides of her face. A soft sob shook her form as one question resounded through her mind. Why?

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Gabriel de le Poer · 02-15-2010, 11:51 PM

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A subtle motion caught his eye, and Gabriel watched her. He did not move—not yet. He recalled his daughter, and his son, when they had been so wounded. Both had flinched from his touch, and he was hesitant to see this happen again. His dark hair, hair that had darkened so much since last summer, fell around his face and shadowed it from the firelight. Rikka’s eyes turned glassy, and her pupils dilated to where they were nearly the same size of the iris. Then, and only then, did she begin to cry. Every fiber in Gabriel’s being was torn in two; one side demanded blood, and the other demanded he comfort his sister. Even with the years and distance put between them, their bond was strong; stronger then he expected, given how quickly Gabriel could (and certainly had) turn on his own family.

But he shifted, quietly, and lowered the bottle to her side. He sat next to her, but did not touch her yet. Instead, he made a low, soft whine in his throat, as if to reassure her of his presence. Then, and only then, did he speak. “I need you to sit up,” he said quietly, shifting his own weight. “This,” he said, touching the bottle at his side. “, will help with the pain.” Not all of it, and not what went beyond the surface, but it would dull the ache and settle the thoughts that he had no doubt were racing through her head.

Rikka de le Poer · 02-19-2010, 03:51 PM

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She felt weak, so weak, and she hated it. He hadn't only dominated and broken her body but he had broken her psyche as well. The images that had just plagued her unconscious mind would return, she knew that. She would be reliving the attack more than once. So eager she had been, to spend time away from the clan to get acclimated, and now look where it had gotten her. In that moment she felt that everyone had been right and she had been wrong. She had paid for her hope of a better world with her blood and gained nothing. The logical part of her brain knew that this wasn't true, that the male that had attacked her had just been one of the bad ones, but that part of her was smothered underneath the trauma and the wildly flying emotions. Her world had been upturned the moment his claws had ripped her flesh.

Gabriel's presence both comforted and disturbed her. Rikka was thankful, moreso than she could express, and yet with the weakness she felt she was certain he must find her some disgusting creature. He hated weakness. Inferni hated weakness, and at the moment she felt nothing but weak. His soft whine was unexpected, and she carefully opened her bleary ears to look at him. There was only concern in his eyes, not disgust. In that moment she loved her brother more than she had loved any member of her family. Her gaze moved to the bottle he indicated and she nodded her head. Using her good arm, she slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position, a grimace on her face. Taking the bottle she tipped it to her lips and let the scorching liquid run down her throat. The burn felt good, and distracted her from the burning in her muscles and bones.

After taking a couple more long swigs she set the bottle down and slumped against the wall of the den, breathing now deep and regular. Silence reigned for a moment or two more before she finally was able to find her voice to speak, however hoarsely. "I...I didn't do anything. He just...came after me..." Rikka had only been taking a walk in the woods. That was all.

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Gabriel de le Poer · 03-01-2010, 11:27 AM

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Each movement she took he observed, as he might a dying animal. Rikka was not dying, but her body spoke of the injuries. They were severe, but not as dire as he initially thought. More then anything else she would hurt, and she would hurt long after the physical pain left her. She drank the whiskey and he saw it calm her, and he knew that she would not be awake for long. As long as he was certain she was alive, as long as he got water in her and numbed the pain as best he could, she would heal. It was not going to be a gentle path, but Gabriel believed she would be capable of facing it. She might not have suffered anything more traumatic then a thunderstorm before this moment, but now she had—and she had survived with more then their mother had.

“Try not to talk much,” he said. Gabriel reached over to the half empty container of water, which was itself a reclaimed metal cooking bowl, and held it out for her. “Haku Soul is a demon, Rikka,” his voice dropped an octave, turning vicious. “He kills without reason and he tortures those he hunts. Last summer he tore apart a mother and a child. He won’t rest until he sees Inferni fall.” This Gabriel believed in his heart. He had seen it last summer, and he had seen it each time he had faced the man and looked into his eyes. Except something had begun to change…something he did not understand as of yet.

Rikka de le Poer · 03-07-2010, 05:53 PM

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The whiskey did much to help numb the pain that seared through her body. She had never felt such pain before. Had she screamed at all, while he had been tending to her? Rikka hoped not. Never before had she screamed as she had when the wolf had been assaulting her, tearing her flesh and breaking her bones. The de le Poer had tried to be strong, to hold such reactions in. She hadn't wanted to give him the satisfaction. However she hadn't been able to hold it in. At least she could comfort herself with the knowledge that she hadn't once begged the beast to spare her. It was a feeble comfort, but it was comfort nonetheless. Hopefully they could be proud of her for that if nothing else.

She nodded her head at Gabriel's words, knowing that she needed to preserve what little strength she had left. Her hand took the bowl of water that was offered to her, though she nearly dropped it at the next sentence to leave her brother's lips. Haku Soul. She had heard that name before. Kaena had warned her against him. Anselm as well. Her cousin had told her of the awful deeds that he had committed. That had been him? A shudder ran through her aching body, eyes clamping shut again. Carefully and slowly Rikka took a drink of the water and let the silence envelope them once more. It was hard to repeat the words the devil had said. "What did he do to her?" she asked in a whisper. Pained gold eyes met Gabriel's own. "He said...he said I...tasted like mother." Her stomach twisted itself into uncomfortable knots, remembering his voice as the way his tongue had rasped against her ear.

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Gabriel de le Poer · 03-07-2010, 11:08 PM

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She recognized the name. Good. It would mean to her what it meant to him. If she had truly believed in mercy and in peace, he hoped that the beast had erased all ignorance of that from her. No one would be merciful here, least of all the blue eyed devil from the south. Then, as her sunflower eyes met his own (they were nearly the same shade, though somewhere, something had changed between them) she said something that made his stomach fill with lead and his face darken dramatically.

A deep and terrible roar threatened to rise from his chest, but it was caught between his teeth and instead vibrated throughout the entirety of his body. Fury rose through his fur and made it rise to a point, black-tipped flames that now desired nothing more then to reach out and burn anything they could. The anger coming from his body was white-hot, though his face had darkened so dramatically it was as if no part of it was not black by birth.

The coy-wolf forced the anger down, wrestling it into his chest. It would return, but he could not let it rise here. No part of him doubted that this might destroy his sister completely. “He attacked her,” the Aquila began slowly, his vision narrowing to two pin-pricks in the darkness. “He raped her.” Just like his daughter had been violated, so too had his mother. And Gabriel, powerful, mighty Gabriel, had been unable to lift a hand to defend them.

In a very real way, he hated himself for such a thing. This war was not simply for Kaena, but it was for Gabriel. He would reclaim his honor one way or another.

Rikka de le Poer · 03-17-2010, 03:57 PM

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Right now, all thoughts of peace were far from her mind, gone like a warm wind in the frigid winter. How could she think about peace and its possibility with what had just happened to her? Never had she personally been subjected to such violence, and for no reason at all. Maybe it had been because she belonged to Inferni. Maybe it was because Lykoi and de le Poer blood flowed through her veins, but now that she knew who her attacker was she knew that it didn't matter. The wolf was a demon and attacked without reason and without prejudice. If neither of those facts about her were true, if she had just been some hapless nobody walking in the woods, he still would have attacked her. This she knew, and this frightened her to her very core. Violence was horrible, but unjustified and undirected violence was the scariest thing of all.

As soon as she asked her question she saw the change in Gabriel and could feel the limitless anger that threatened to break forth from him. Even as he so valiantly contained it she quailed in the face of the great and terrible retribution that clawed to be released. Rikka had feared what it was that had been done to her mother before, but now she knew for certain that it was something unforgivable, something unspeakable. Never before had she seen such a rage overtake her brother and she had seen him righteously angry on many occasions. Her heart flitted nervously in her breast like a frightened bird, staring unwillingly into the shadow that was her littermate's face.

After his first words her heart froze and the breathe stalled in her lungs. And then the hammer of that inescapable truth fell down upon her and she cried out, hiding her face in her one able hand. It was what she had expected and what she had dreaded, but even that hadn't prepared her for it actually being the truth. Her shoulders shook with sobs as her eyes poured tears anew. He truly was the devil, a monster beyond all reason and logic. Imagining the woman who had given her life under him, under the mercy of that horrible thing tore at her heart with ice cold talons. No matter what issues lay between the mother and daughter, Rikka loved her mother and to know that she had been so violated hurt more than she could say.

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Gabriel de le Poer · 03-20-2010, 11:47 AM

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Even if she was not her mother’s daughter, even if no part of her was Lykoi, she would have been chosen. Simply because, above all other things, she was a member of Inferni. She had chosen her coyote blood over the wolves, though she very well could have belonged there more then here. Perhaps in time, she too would realize this. Inferni would destroy everything she had tried to become. Rikka was not a fighter, and was not hardy enough to survive such violence. She was as fragile to him as a songbird, and just as likely to be crushed by barbaric hands. Her brother, the eagle of the Waste, could only be gentle with her for so long. He sensed, as his Hydra did, that she was not supposed to be here.

Her body tensed and the cry that broke from her throat was enough to swallow Gabriel’s field of vision completely. The air felt heavy, and while every part of him demanded retribution, he was unable to act on it. His traitor hands would have carried him to Dahlia in an instant, but without numbers, he would fall. This had been proven to him once all ready. In a blackened-red world, it was only his willpower that kept the Aquila where he was. “Don’t,” he warned her quietly, gently. If she did not quiet herself, he didn’t know what might happen. Even his words felt heavy, stumbling out of his mouth because he could no longer see the world before him. “Please don’t,” he demanded, black hair falling into his face, hands trembling at his side. Gabriel could not stand that noise. He could not stand to hear something so pathetic, so heartbroken, because it would crawl deep into his ears and burrow into his skull until it drove him mad.

Rikka de le Poer · 03-25-2010, 06:10 PM

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She had known that coming back wouldn't be easy, that she would have challenges to face, but never had she expected this. To be attacked so brutally for no other reason than where she lived. The thought struck fear into her core, but she knew for a certainty that if the clan had not come he would have tortured her until she died. The process would have doubtlessly lasted hours. Eternities of pain so great that she would have most likely lost consciousness before it was over. Never before had Rikka wished for death, but in those moments she had wanted it. To cease to exist would have been better than what she had faced. Had she been overly naive in returning here? Her stubborn side didn't want to admit defeat, but she knew she couldn't go on like this.

So overtaken by her grief she hadn't felt the waves of Gabriel's unlimited anger lapping once again against the walls of the cave. She had become numb to everything but the horrible truth that had been revealed to her. But as he spoke with such a struggle her bleary eyes looked back over to him and her body curled even tighter into itself. Rikka choked the whimpering noises seeking to escape from her in her throat, knowing very well how important it was that she did as her brother asked. The fur of her face was wet and slicked down as she looked at him hollowly, her body shivering. Why did things have to be this way? She didn't understand.

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Gabriel de le Poer · 03-25-2010, 06:23 PM

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He felt uncomfortable with her there, a bird crushed by a brutes paw. It was unfair and horrible for her to have suffered like this. Gabriel felt responsible as he always had. Kaena’s assault was his fault. This too, was his fault. Further more, the woman and her child from last summer, they were his fault. He had waited and he had not sprung when he should have. Haku had been given time and time made the monster twice as deadly. Now he was left standing in these ashes, wearing his families blood and knowing that he, Gabriel, was responsible.

And he hated it. Gabriel made his way to her side and curled up next to her, a warm body, and licked the tears away from her face. He had nothing more to say, and only now wanted to calm his sister and have her quiet, have her sleep so he could remove himself from the scent permeating his home. Blood, whiskey, and that bastard wolf from the south. It stunk, and it stunk to high heaven. He’d follow the smoky smell that clung to Rikka back to her den and take some of her incense before the night was out.

Rikka de le Poer · 03-25-2010, 06:56 PM

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There wasn't a single millisecond that she blame him, or anyone else for what had happened to her. The only person to blame was the beast that had done it, and probably herself as well. She hadn't spent enough time in Inferni lands to know of the conflict that had erupted. If she had, she never would have walked in that area. She wouldn't have run into that horrible man and none of this would have happened. She wouldn't have gotten hurt and become a burden and a liability to her clan and family. Rikka felt stupid and weak and she hated it. The contrast between her and her brother made her feel even more inadequate. Gabriel was so strong, so brave, so smart. The woman felt certain, even if he didn't show it, that he was ashamed of her. She was ashamed of herself.

Rikka hadn't expected Gabriel to come lay by her, but she welcomed the contact and her body surprisingly didn't even flinch. Perhaps it was too drained to even react in that small way, but she thought it was because she knew that if she weren't safe anywhere else in the world, she was safe here with him. She let him attend to her, to wipe her tears away and her eyes closed and her breathing normalized again. The steady in and out motion of her breathing along with the warmth from her brother soothed her and she could feel an easy drowsiness descend upon her tattered body and mind. Before she drifted away though she needed to tell him what she had needed to tell him from the start. "Thank you Gabriel," she whispered to him. Rikka wanted to tell him she loved him, but couldn't find the words to convey the complexities of their sibling bond. She hoped that he knew how much she treasured him and admired him.

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Gabriel de le Poer · 03-25-2010, 07:21 PM

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Slowly, gradually, her breathing began to steady. His warmth and the whiskey could do so much to ease her into sleep, which was what he had intended from the start. She would need sleep above all things. Ezekiel had slept more then anything else, which told Gabriel, who was merely a combat medic, what bodies craved was sleep. They would repair themselves in time, though the deeper scars, the ones not visible, would linger on. She would never be all right as long as that blue eyed monster haunted her, and she would never escape him until he was long dead and gone.

She would never escape her heritage here. “Get some sleep,” he said quietly, and remained by her side until she fell asleep. After a few long, agonizing moments, he left her and made his way outside. There he sucked in the cold air, washing away the scent of all the horrible things behind him, and made his way towards his sister’s den. He did not linger there long; he took a few sticks of the incense, and following his nose, found a small stash of her marijuana. This he brought for her, believing it would help ease her suffering. Gabriel took these things inside and lit one of the sticks of incense before moving closer to the entrance of his den. He sat there, with that smoke wafting out behind him, and stared into the dark night silently.

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