“It’s raining its pouring, the old man is snoring so I slapped him in the face, but awake he did not. La la la la…” Completely caught up in her little song which would only shortly after the start break into a slight off key hum. Idly she kicked her feet back and forth as they dangled off the side of the stairway that she sat upon; just at the front of Cordelia’s house. How long was it going to take for her to return home? Certainly she couldn’t be that held up with ordeals after the short time ago that she had left there. Issuing a slight shrug, she would shift all of her attention back upon her little oddities, “Fuzzy wuzzy wuz a bear, fuzzy wuzzy had no hair, so fuzzy wuzzy wasn’t very fuzzy…If that’s the case; then how the hell is he fuzzy?” Frowning in apparent annoyance, it would only deepen at the sound of a man’s voice.

“Little girls shouldn’t play alone when no one’s home, hehehe…”

“Ah…And little boys shouldn’t play with things that are beyond their comprehension…” A malicious grin slid across her elegant countenance as she simply pushed off from the stairs and onto her feet with a soft thud of each boot. Twisting around in her position, she would whirl around to face the man, the once grinning visage turning into that of a near insane one, “Tick tock tick tock…Time drips away with the passing of seconds, minutes, and hours, but for whom the bell will finally toll for is only a mystery for the essence of time to erode.” All the while she spoke clock noises, she would step forward and closer to the man in unison with the ticks and tocks, before faltering. And once at the draw of her sentence she would cock her head off to the side before issuing a wide spanning smile to the confused looking man.

“Er…Has anyone told you that you’re incredibly creepy?” The man lifted a brow to amplify his confused countenance as he simply watch the little girl, his hand instinctively moving down to the blade at his waist, “How about we forget this and you can go back to your little…Well…Whatever the hell you want to call it.”

“Awww…” The girl chimed in with an outstretching neck and a slightly cocked head, “But don’t you want to play with me? I mean we can play so many wonderful games. Tut…You’re disappointing me. But I must ask….” Rearing back her head, she would straighten out her stance before frowning, “What chided your interest in me…? It can’t be money, since I don’t carry any on me…But it could be the items I’m watching.” When the words were ushered from her lips, she would simply twist her torso around before gesturing a hand out towards the countless items that Manic had held within his possession. “Or perhaps…Something much more than that, which could lead me to believe that…You intended me some kind of harm and we can’t have that can we?”

Suspicious by the girl’s mannerisms and in the way she spoke, he tried his best to keep his attention focused on her as a whole, only to humor the slight distraction she caused with the movement of her arm before turning his gaze fully back to her again. The hell was this girl planning…The way she acted would seem nothing less of a highly skilled warrior, but from the sheer appearance he doubted that she could even handle a blade accurately. Deciding not to press the confrontation further, he would proceed to take a couple steps backwards, making sure to keep his eyes focused on her so there wasn’t any chance she could try something funny.

“Oh…so you’re going to run off now? What a shame…” The girl frowned in disappointment until a tinge of realization sparked in her eyes and a smile erupted across her features, “I know! Let’s play a game of cards! I’ll start.” Slowly and elegantly the girl would slide her slender hand into her shirt only to soon withdraw a card. In one smooth and delicate movement of the hand, she would bring it up into view, holding it just betwixt her index and middle finger to present it out to the man.

In shades only akin to Manic she would grin maliciously as her eyes peered ominously over the edge on the top of the card that shrouded a portion of her features from sight, “It seems I drew a sword card…Such a wild card it can be…” And with those words the card would burst apart in a brilliance of glittering fragments of light, only to shortly collect itself into the essence of a sword. Carefully she would study the man, her grin ever widening with the startled look that appeared with the sword, “Aww don’t tell me you don’t want to play now.” A broad smile broke over her features as the venomous words seeped from her lips, “But then again...You don’t have a choice.”

Almost at the blink of an eye her entire visage would darken with narrowed eyes and she would be gone in the moments following. Only to appear nearly ten feet behind and a bit off to the man’s flank. Wasting little time she would bring her sword arm over her mid-section only to bring it out sharply in an arc where she would release the blade causing it to lurch out from her hand and out into the back of the man only a fraction of a second later.

Consumed by the display she would watch as the blade sunk in the man’s back, his body writhing and contorting in pain as he in vain tried to grasp at the intruding object at his back. But with given failure it would only take a few seconds to put the man down to his knees and inevitably to his face. “You made the wrong choice, may the abyss tear your flesh from your bones, “ sucking in a deep breath she would glare down at the body, “Now…What do I do with you…? I can’t exactly leave you here.” Shrugging slightly to herself, she would snap her fingers and the blade would shatter into several pieces that would eventually alter and reformulate back into her hand as a card. Tucking it away, Alaina would proceed to move over to the body and peer down at it in a mock like interest, until a voice startled her and caused her to look up in a glaring manner. At first glance it seemed like some sort of do-gooder who was passing through, but the words that would follow only confirmed it.

“Did you do this…?”

Blinking a couple of times, she would look between the body and man before shaking her head innocently, “I’m not sure who did, I just found him like this.” Silently she would pray the man was incredibly dense and partly blind so he wouldn’t notice the weapons strewn across the stairs of the house nearby, but even if he had there wasn’t a weapon there that would even making the puncture like would like what had been inflicted to the man. Which was the impressiveness of the sword card, it could come and leave at a whim and it was something that added to her arsenal, not duplicated. Grinning inwardly, she would look at the man with concerned eyes, “What should I do, I wanted to tell someone but I didn’t know who to tell, should we just leave him here?”

“Hmmm…Well, why do you go on home, I’ll take care of this.” And with that the man simply waited for the girl to move aside before bending down to pick up the body, where he would then move off into a direction where he would more than likely find someone who could assist him.

Alaina sighed in relief as the man moved off and aware from her, only to then take notice of another person approaching on her location, one that wasn’t alone this time. Deciding not to chance another confrontation with anyone else, she would dart off to towards Cordelia’s house, only to reach the top of the stairs and plop down next to Manic’s items with her back against the door. Glancing up and towards the street, she would grin at the appearance of the woman and child, “Cordie Cord, how are you..?” The tone that held the words were almost foreign to the demeanor of the girl, but the words themselves were almost right on with how the girl really was, which would probably lead Cordelia to question her, especially if she seen the blade stains on the roadway or the man carrying the body, but it mattered little.

The trek from the ruins back to Balefire wasn’t an exceedingly long one, but Cordelia had taken her time nonetheless. After what had happened she didn’t feel the inclination to rush; Manic and Alaina had left and Gharik had been taken care of for the evening. She was relieved to be out of that place now, but also glad that Kaiden was safe and that she would be fine. Even with that though there was a lingering worry for Alaina. Perhaps it was silly, since she knew that the child could handle herself, but running off the way she had and what Manic had told her he said to the girl only made Cordelia more concerned. Alaina probably wouldn’t have gone back to the ruins anyway, but what if something bad happened…? It didn’t matter if she had Manic’s demon inside of her now or if she was over a hundred years old, on the outside she was still a little girl and the world was a very dangerous place.

But, luckily enough, she had been able to pass through the city gates without any more danger. Rotating her shoulders once to release tension, Cordelia glanced to Kaiden and offered a smile, remaining silent but lightly squeezing his hand a single time. She had said everything she had needed to say to him before at the ruins and she didn’t want him to start apologizing again, partly because it was no longer necessary and partly because a piece of her simply didn’t want to hear it.

Soon enough the scent of blood hit her, causing her eyebrows to furrow and her pace to slow somewhat. Although it was carried on the wind she could tell that it was near. Had she not been with Kaiden she probably would have gone to investigate, but it seemed to be coming from the direction of her home anyway, so it seemed that perhaps she would have no other choice than to do so. Despite the fact that it was so close to where they lived, it helped to calm her a little bit though, easing her initial concern and anxiety. Besides, this was Balefire… it wasn’t a city known for a spotless reputation but rather for something quite the opposite. Cordelia dismissed it, not going to bother wasting time worrying over something so trivial.

As her home came into view however she forgot about the blood and finally became a bit wary, noticing a figure on her doorstep surrounded by multiple items. Again Cordelia’s pace slowed and she stepped protectively in front of Kaiden, an action based on instinct more than anything else. Upon drawing closer she was able to make the figure out as Alaina, and just the sight of the girl caused a smile to wash over her face. Her pace returned to that of an average gait until she reached the steps, where she stopped and folded her arms over her chest, allowing her shoulders to slump somewhat so she was in more of a relaxed position.

“Sweet of you to care, but don’t worry about me, it’s irrelevant,” she said, offering a smile. “Knowing you’re somewhere safe matters more. Things could have ended a lot worse tonight and they didn’t.” Cordelia cringed somewhat, pushing different outcomes out of her head before they could even formulate entirely. “And that’s because of you… had you not intervened when you did, well – thank you.” At that point her eyes drifted to look at the multiple possessions surrounding her, causing her head to cock off to the side. “What’d you do, steal your father’s stuff or something…? When did you even meet up with him? I thought you went back to Norwood. Then… that means he’s around, he wouldn’t leave this just laying here I’m sure, even with you guarding it.” Again Cordelia paused, her eyebrows furrowing as she looked about. Those had been the belongings Kaiden had returned to Manic, and if Alaina had them, then he had to have been around here somewhere. She didn’t see him, though, which only served to confuse her further for the time being. The fact that Alaina had presumably gone to Norwood after leaving the ruins and arrived at Balefire before they did was even more puzzling, but Cordelia wasn’t to even bother asking for an explanation on that one and simply decided to accept it. With a sigh and a shrug of her shoulders Cordelia returned her attention to the small girl sitting upon her steps. “Eh, not like it matters, I guess… what’s important here is that this time you didn’t break into my house this time unannounced and actually waited for me for once.” A low chuckle rose from her throat and she smirked at her words. After how serious the rest of the night had been she thought a bit of teasing might help to lighten the mood.

That smirk was wiped clear from her face though at the sudden remembrance of the scent of fresh blood and the fact that it had been so close to this house. “Oh my god… did something happen before I got here? How long have you been out here, are you okay?” Cordelia’s eyes swept across Alaina’s countenance, not seeing any noticeable damage but still worried nonetheless. She moved closer, scrutinizing the child closer this time only again to see that nothing appeared out of sorts. “No one hurt you, right?” She felt like they were playing twenty questions with how many inquiries she had just thrown, but Alaina deserved to be fussed over if someone had tried to hurt her.

At the first approach of Cordelia, a light smile traced itself faintly across the corner of her lips. How naïve…Even with the time frames and everything lay out in front of her, she still couldn’t see past a disguise. Maybe his hope in her was all for naught, because a fighter she was not and it was beginning to show more and more with the passage of time. There were no smooth reactions, no intelligible combat strategies, and certainly no outside the box thinking present within the woman. Which left her completely and utterly vulnerable, but atop of all that she had spirit and that’s what drew him to her. Without that type of spirit she would have never survived as long as she had thus far. It was truly a marvel it was. Retuning her attention, it would fall back upon Cordelia in a perked interest as the woman spoke and leaned in towards her again.

It was a given that the scent of blood would rise concern, but the scent to him was no more powerful than when he had been a demon; however, there still was a difference. There was the lust…The burning and without control he would give up and forfeit his disguise. So he would simply distract himself on her question, only to respond with a coy remark, “On the contrary, I hurt someone else, but its fine he didn’t touch me, nor hurt me. But you look worse for wear if I should say so. But then…” She would rise, her eyes instantly moving down across Cordelia’s body in a slow inspective manner, “So do I…” Offering the woman a wry grin upon her darkened visage, both of her hands would lift up to her face to shield it from view; the palms facing herself. In one foul swoop of the hands, they would turn and trail down her body, giving forth a change that erupted across her entire entity in the wake of the hand movement.

Though what revealed itself behind the path of the hands was a visage and body that matched Cordelia straight to a T, starting with the trademark hat, to the somewhat messy dark hair and to the trademark jacket. Each wound was caught in mock replica on the false Cordelia just as they were on the actual one. The wry grin would however fade into a simple placid and emotionless appearance, as she moved a hand up to cup Cordelia’s face, before lining in to plant a light kiss to her lips. Pulling back there would be a prominent smirk upon her face, as she studied Cordelia to gauge her reaction, “But you really don’t need to worry about me.” Slowly her hand would slip away from Cordelia’s face only to drop it off to her side, “It tis a sweet gesture though.” The smirk only expanded, “But I must say, you would look a little better if you dressed in something a little less drab.” And with that said, she would lift her arms off to her sides, arms bent at the elbows where she would then snap her fingers and her torso would alter slightly.

A long black dress would take up the original place of the jacket and pants, slinking down her slender frame where it would fan out at her feet, pooling on the ground bellow where it would stir in the light breeze that swept past. On top of that, the hat that once adorned her head would alter and change into waves of long black hair that flowed slightly past her shoulders, draping along both her front and back in simple cascadence. Lowering her arms slightly, they would extend off towards the ground, but would remain slightly up in position from her sides, “Well…? I think it would look lovely on you, but you…In a dress is a sight unseen I suppose. Perhaps someday, but not one too soon I’m certain of.” Shrugging in apparent disappointment, her arms would drop lifelessly to her sides, “But I suppose I should end this charade…”

And just like that a faint light would engulf her body, causing it to alter into one that came to familiarity to that of Cordelia. That being none other than the man known as Manic with his loose jacket draped around his naked torso, but the only difference that would come visible to the naked eye was the hat that adorned his head and the new styled haircut. Instead of the long tendrils of raven black hair and the single white portion that adorned the front portion of his bangs was clean cut hair; short in the front portions and lightly longer in the back, just enough where it would lightly scrap his shoulder blades with the tips, “Now…I can predict exactly what you’re going to say, so why don’t we go on and get it over with, hm?” Shifting his gaze momentarily to Kaiden, a light sigh would issue forth from his lips, “Though, I suppose you’d rather not address this all with him in our presence, now would you? Ahhh…” In a rush of movement, both of his hands would lift up to slam against each other, before interlacing all of his digits with the exception of his index fingers that would simply press against the other.

Tilting his hands forward enough to bring the tips of his index fingers to point in the general direction of Kaiden, “SO! How about I make a deal with you, Kiddo? If you promise to be a good lad and stay inside the house until we return, I will personally take you out and teach you how to use a sword AND on top of that, perhaps pick you up some new and slick threads free of charge. How about it, sound like a deal? All you need to do is nod.” Parting his hands in slow methodical movement, they would meander off to their original positions at his flanks while he would await the kid’s decision.

From the very instant that Cordelia stepped in front of him to both halt and shield him, he would remain stationary in his positioning all the while up until Manic addressed him forthright. The charades were a spectacle that the man performed, but what really caught his attention was the offer that had been presented to him. Violence wasn’t his forte’, but perhaps if he could get this man to show him the basics then perhaps he could change, alter, and adapt that to his own purpose. And who knew…maybe Manic would be able to teach him in the way that would best serve his purpose for learning right off the bat. Aside from that offer, there was the fact that he could probably get some new clothes…And from the quick glance he exchanged down to the rest of his body he would certainly need it. The clothes he picked up weren’t the best, but with the recent change there wasn’t a need to be picky. Besides, there wasn’t a point in making Cordelia waste her money on him. Deciding to take him up on the offer he would simply nod his head before wrapping his arms tightly around Cordelia’s waste before moving off and into the house.

“See?” He said as he watched Kaiden enter the house and close the door behind him, “No harm done and now you have nothing to worry about. So we should get going, shouldn’t we? I should probably get this taken care of quickly…” There was no need to elaborate on what he meant, considering he knew damned well she would be able to pick up on what he was hinting at. So instead he would simply move over to his items upon the stairs where he would again take up the methodical task of binding each item to their respective places. As for the armor, he would simply sling it over his shoulder with a hand still gripping at the shoulder plate to keep it held in spot. Shooting a quick glance over to Cordelia, he would simply gesture with his head before pushing off in a slow walk in a random direction hoping she would follow, “Are you happy with this…? I’m getting the sense that you would rather something else.” The question poised itself with a curious glance of the eyes and raise of the brow as he looked off to his side at her while they walked, “If that’s true, let me know and I’ll be gone.”

Cordelia’s eyes immediately widened at the fact that Alaina had hurt someone else. While she didn’t really care that she had done such a thing, the fact still shocked her and seemed completely uncharacteristic for the girl. What would drive her to do it in the first place? Alaina had said once that she wasn’t an angel, but that didn’t make it any less difficult for Cordelia to imagine her hurting a fly. Alaina just didn’t seem like the type to hurt someone without being provoked… Cordelia was about to dig deeper when Alaina stood, mentioning something about worse for wear which caused her eyebrows to furrow. Did she expect anything else after what she had been through that night…?

Alaina’s next movements were odd, but the fact that she came out looking as a mirror image of herself was by far the most… was there even a word for it? Not bothering to think of one; Cordelia scowled, scrutinizing her mock-self with her nose wrinkled in distaste. What the hell was she thinking and when had she even learned this sort of magic? From what she knew about Alaina she didn’t know any sort of magic at all. It was silly, not to mention annoying considering she simply wasn’t in the mood for games right now. “Alaina –” Her words faltered as her false-self cupped her face and lips came to rest against her own, raising a squeal of protest from the woman and causing her to wriggle back a few steps, putting a decent amount of space back between them. Cordelia’s eyes narrowed toward her duplicate for a second and she growled before lifting her arm, wiping at her lips furiously with the sleeve of her coat. In that moment she had realized it wasn’t Alaina – Alaina wasn’t that stupid, rude, or invasive. There was only one man alive in all of Imythess to do something this crazy and find it funny, but even if it was him there was still the gap in where he had learned how to do that.

“You’re a jerk, you know that?” she spat, lowering her arm and wrinkling her nose again. “Really! That was weird, kissing me while looking like me… I may be a little vain, a little conceited, but I’m not that narcissistic! Not to mention that’s extremely violating and somewhat dirty, even! And tricking me on top of it?! Do you find that funny?! What the hell is wrong with you, are you insane?! Oh forget it, don’t answer either of those questions, I already know the answer! You’re so predictable!” Cordelia huffed in frustration, knowing that going off on her little rants didn’t make him do anything differently, but she just couldn’t stop herself. “My poor coat, having to go through all this crap because of you…” She gently rubbed the fabric where she had frantically wiped at her mouth, a pout residing on her face before she looked up at the sound of his next words. Another growl lifted from her throat at the sight of the dress on her figure. “God dammit, stop looking like me already! That’s my body, not yours!” Cordelia sighed in exasperation and ran a hand through her hair. Though she would never admit it, it did look… nice, she supposed, but just looking at it made her uncomfortable and the much longer black hair did nothing to soothe that awkward feeling. It wasn’t even the dress as much as it was the fact that Manic – Manic, of all people! – was in her skin, telling her what he thought would look good on her. It made her slightly self-conscious and that vulnerability was not something she wanted to continue to experience.

“But I suppose I should end this charade…”

“Finally! Thank you!” Perhaps she had overreacted just a little bit, but there had really been nothing else for her to do. “Don’t do it again. And don’t expect to see me in a dress or expect me to grow my hair out either; I’m glad you seem to know it’s most certainly not going to happen.” Cordelia allowed herself to relax then, feeling relieved after yelling at him like that. Pretending to be Alaina… it really was a silly game. Now she had to go back to worrying about whether the girl was all right or not, and to top it all off she had looked like an absolute fool. As much as she tried not to let his mischief bother her it still did; really only because she believed it had been his intention to catch her like that. He was a sick, twisted, sadistic man and he hadn’t even said he was sorry for what he had done. Cordelia realized then that she really was making a bigger deal out of this than what was necessary, but being manipulated like that wasn’t something she enjoyed.

Cordelia turned once he addressed Kaiden, listening to what he said and shocked at his words. Cordelia’s attention snapped back to Manic and she stared at him for a good while, surprised that he would make such a generous offer to her son. Surely he had to realize that she would make sure that promise didn’t become an empty one… but she believed that he was being genuine and that he would hold up his side of the bargain without her having to nag him, although whether that was because she wanted to believe it or because she really did know that he would she wasn’t sure of. With just those words he had made up for what he had done to her, making her hardened features now soften and bringing a warm smile to her face. She didn’t know why he was suddenly being good to her son, but she was glad for it. She returned Kaiden’s hug quickly, planting a soft kiss on his forehead before releasing him. Her eyes watched his retreating form, making sure he got into the house all right. Kaiden would be fine there for a while without her; before he had been a vampire she had been forced to leave him home and nothing bad had happened before that one night.

With all that done she turned to Manic, that soft smile still lingering on her lips. She nodded once to affirm his question, watching in silence as he began to take up his things. Once he began to walk followed after him, quickly at first to catch up to him but slowing down as soon as she reached his side. His next question caused her eyebrows to lift in confusion before she shook her head, looking away for a moment. “I’m not quite sure what you mean by ‘this’ or what would give you the idea I somehow want something different… but…” Cordelia lifted her arm to rest her hand against his free shoulder before trailing her hand down his arm, finally taking his hand within hers and pushing her fingers into the spaces between his own. Again she shook her head, this time a bit more vehemently and once finished she turned back to him, a look of certainty to her eyes. “I don’t want you to go and I’m honestly content with things right now. Not jumping for joy because hell, that just wouldn’t appropriate right now, but I’m content. So don’t act like there’s anything wrong here or start thinking that you need to leave, because there isn’t and you don’t.”

Cordelia gave his hand a light, reassuring squeeze, believing it was needed. “But I’d rather talk about something else right now, like how incredibly kind you just were to my son and how much I appreciate that,” she said. “You didn’t have to do that and yet you did… you realize you could have just told him to go right inside without making any sort of promises or deals, right? And for some reason you decided to go the extra mile, not only offering to teach him how to use a sword, but to buy him clothes too? The extra step wasn’t necessary; I have money of my own I could spend on him… so why did you do it, hmm?” Her grin widened into a teasing smirk. “Trying to get him to like you so that when I eventually tell him he’ll approve, hmmm? Or do you have some ulterior motive I don’t know about?” Cordelia’s head tilted to the side as she looked at him, her smirk remaining as she waited for an answer.

Year by year of his past flooded endlessly in clutter to the caverns of his mind, replaying like a broken record to his mind’s eye. After everything, after all he had gone through. The solitude, the bondage, and the loss of everything he held dear, could this really all be happening? Could he be standing next to such a woman, could he really have his child again, and again be returned to his seat of power? It just didn’t seem possible, but here he was holding hands with a woman that not long ago hated his guts and he hers. Almost like a comic book fairytale, everything had seemed to work out and now the two of them were working together, not just as partners, but as equals…

Prying his attention from his thoughts at the sudden squeeze of his hand, his eyes would drift down to their intertwined hands before glancing up to her features, absorbing them for a moment as she spoke her question. Chuckling softly his eyes would slide languidly back in front of him, studying the surroundings in front of him, “I do nothing with rhyme or reason, Cordelia. You know that better than anyone…” Mulling over his thoughts, a certain silence would envelope him as his features took up a slightly perplexed appearance, “Money isn’t an issue…Never was and never will be, as for the sword training. It was a matter of time before he confronted me about teaching him, I could see it in him. The kid wants knowledge as a weapon, not as a tool. Allow me to elaborate a bit…”

But before he would continue, Manic would lightly squeeze her hand while his other would dip itself into his jacket pocket, “Remember when he did that with the bow, knowing exactly where to strike to disable my arms? Albeit he kind of muffed up his aim a bit and I was still able to use them to some extent. It was something that he didn’t pick up from simply sitting there watching someone, but instead something he learned on his own accord. Perhaps reading books over the human body and the make up of them, or maybe he might have learned it from someone. The point is…He wants to learn about the various weapons, not to use for destruction, but as a tool to assist in reaching a non-violent ending. Whether it’s through disabling the person, or disarming them entirely; so given that knowledge and assumptions…I’ve decided to offer him the lessons without forcing him into asking me. Notice how he didn’t argue or dismiss the offer? It’s because he wants to learn.”

Grinning faintly at his own wittiness, his eyes would slide their way back over to Cordelia, “Kids don’t like violence…At least the majority don’t. Alaina is a bit of an exception to that, but even with that…I’d rather her leave me take care of things.” Giving a slight shrug, “But if you want to know my real reason for offering…It’s because I owe you.” Sucking in a deep breath, he would blow it out in a burst through his nostrils when his feet would come to a sudden stop, “Truth is I would have been dead if it weren’t for you, it was a road I was bound to make my way down even without your help. But more important than simply owing you, I fell in love with you. Your spirit is something I couldn’t shatter and whether you stood a chance against me or not, you still stood your ground and gave no inch. I admire it, I truly do mi amore.”

With that he stepped towards her, his hand moving to her neck where he would proceed to bring the tips of his digits against her collar bone. Dragging them in a slow methodical manner, they would barely touch the skin, faint in their presence as they trailed their way up the structure of her neck until they reached the nape. From there his hand would upturn its palm where he would lightly caress her cheek before leaning in to kiss her, his teeth catching and pulling at her lower lip as he drew back, “Perhaps I’m rushing this. You don’t really even know me and how can you really trust me after all I’ve done?” Frowning he would turn to have his side to her, as his head moved off to the side, casting his gaze frivolously over the droll surroundings of the building to his flank, “I hate this…It’s almost like a disease and a weakness. I should have severed these needs when I became what I was, perhaps that was really what made me weak. Caring…It wasn’t the demon; it was the fact that I let my emotions run wild.” Growling, he would gnash his teeth together as his eyes continued their focus on a random object, “I have my goals to attend to, I’m just being foolish by believing I can start my life over. And even if I could, I couldn’t handle carrying the weight of the two, unless I knew—Never mind, lets just forget it.” Releasing a breath of frustration, a light scowl would set itself upon his face.

((OoC: meh... I hope it's okay.))

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An eyebrow lifted just somewhat as she waited for him to get to the point. Unlike other times however she was patient during the short silence, nodding once he spoke and not interrupting. This was something she really wanted to know, after all, and now that they were supposedly treating each other as equals she could at least do her part. Even so, no matter how much she wanted to know she was shocked that he could read into her son better than she could. She was disappointed not only in that fact, but that she couldn’t teach him herself. Cordelia wasn’t as opposed to the idea as she thought she would have been, but there was still a part of her that was uncertain and worried.

Squeezing her hand brought a small smile to her face. Lightly Cordelia stroked his knuckles with her thumb, a small gesture of affection to return his. “I should have known,” she said softly. “But… the sooner he starts playing with weapons, the sooner he’ll be able to take of himself, and the sooner he just won’t need me anymore. You realize that, right? Yes it sounds selfish, and no I don’t care that it does.” Her voice was quiet, becoming somewhat harsher with the last sentence. She didn’t even want to pay attention when he said kids didn’t like violence. She knew that, dammit, she knew that, and she still felt guilty that she had forced him into a life of it. Looking away, a pout came onto her face, momentarily brooding until she heard that he had to tell her the real reason. Great. So he had lied to her too. That was just peachy!

But what he said was enough to keep her from getting angry that he hadn’t been straight with her from the beginning. Owed her… the words she thought she would never hear made a smile tug at her lips. Finally what she had done was appreciated; finally he understood. Although she could have lived her life without having that made up to her, it was good to know he was offering it and she wasn’t going to tell him not to. What he was doing for her son more than repaid the debt.

She remained still as his hand lifted to her neck, ceasing to breathe. The tiny hairs on the back of her neck lifted at how light his touch was and her eyes locked on his before fluttering shut as he finally pressed his lips to hers. A single hand lifted to the back of his neck, her fingers reaching up and entangling themselves with the longer locks of his hair to keep him close to her. However in but a few moments he parted their lips, her attempt seeming to have failed. Disappointed she swayed forward for a moment, contemplating reigniting the kiss before deciding not to. Cordelia moved away from him, her hand sliding from behind his neck to rest on his shoulder.

“I shouldn’t trust you,” she said solemnly, “you’re right about that. But foolish as it is, I am anyway. I could say the very same thing to you, you know, after everything I’ve done to you… but you don’t seem to have thought about the fact that our past hatred went both ways. And I know everything I need and want to know… unless you’re really so interested in playing the game of ‘getting to know you’ and asking silly, pointless questions. But hey, if you want to waste time with it…” She shrugged her shoulders and lifted her other arm into the air to emphasize that she didn’t care one way or the other. Even when he turned so they were just side by side she kept her hand there, but she bit her lip lightly, unsure how to read what he was saying. A disease… a weakness? Was that what he thought this was? A frown of distaste came to reside upon her face and she shifted uncomfortably for a moment, moving her hand down and away from him and pushing it into her pocket. Although the desire to interrupt him was becoming fierce Cordelia held herself together, waiting until he was finished and once he was, not hesitating for a moment before the rant slipped out.

“You aren’t the only one you tried to sever these needs, as you put it,” she grumbled. “There’s no need to be as frustrated as you’re acting or complaining like you are, unless you’re intent on ruining a perfectly lovely evening and making me angry. You should be glad you didn’t cut off your emotions, otherwise, oh you know, you never would have found me! What, am I suddenly not good enough for you?” Cordelia paused for a moment, grunting indignantly. She knew that was a little overboard, but it wasn’t like she had any control over her mouth once she got started. Sighing, Cordelia continued, “See what you did? Your grouchiness just infected me. So how about you stop being a Mister Grouchypants, that sound good? There’s no use being all upset because you can’t start your life over… the rest of us can’t either. The closest you can get to starting over is pulling the pieces back together and taking control… and Manic, you know you’re strong enough to do that, you don’t need me to tell you that. Oh… and you should know by now that cutting off with me just doesn’t work. It isn’t fair, really – you can’t just start saying something and then stop it! It’s secretive and I’m not going to spend hours guessing at whatever the hell it was you were going to say. You should know I never ‘never mind’ and we’re most certainly not going to forget it… it’s never that easy darling. Please, just make this easy on us both and tell me – you know I’ll pull it out of you somehow and if I pester you you’re just going to get more and more annoyed. You know it’s true.” She gave him a knowing look. “We already fought once tonight. Let’s not make it twice. It’s all in your hands now… so don’t blame me if you decide not to tell me, because I thoroughly warned you.” With that Cordelia nodded to affirm that everything she had said was true, hoping that he wouldn’t keep it locked up inside. Really, the suspense was just killing her.

Annnnd here came the rant, it was always a rant. Why? No one knew and no one could figure it out, at least no better than Manic. The best he figured was that she enjoyed hearing her voice, or maybe she loved the assumption that people cared enough to listen. Whatever the case, it was a weapon all on its own, that of course was if she wanted to annoy her enemies to death. Whatever the case was it, it seemed to hold the desired effect on him and the slight irritation was apparent in the sudden twitch of his brow. Glaring at her from the corner of his eyes, he would make no motions to turn his face fully towards her. Instead he would simply bide his time while she spoke, at least until she mentioned telling her what he refrained from saying earlier in his own little speech. In repeated small jerking like movements his head would cock itself off to the side as a long slender grin slid across his twisted features, “You want to know hmmmmmmm?”

Adding extra emphasis to the ‘mmm’ portion of his speech, the grin would only appear to widen before fading completely from his face. At the exact point that all expression left his face his head would re-right itself and his body would swivel around to face her. Dropping his upper body low, he would bring his shoulder down into her mid-section in a gentle like fashion, but hard enough to force her upper body forward, where he would then proceed to push forward and up to re-erect his body. This in turn would sling her over his shoulder and force his hand to move to the back of her knees to keep her at her position at his shoulder instead of simply flipping over onto the ground behind him. Chuckling softly, Manic would furrow his brows, “If I really wanted to listen to a nag, I would have married someone like Fehade. You really do talk too much sometimes, but it’s a good thing I love that about you. Now...I got something to show you so sit still, alright?” Not bothering to wait for her approval or submission, he would kick up into action, first by starting with the spell Draconic Might.

Once everything seemed set, he would brace his arm tighter against her legs before breaking off into a slow slinking run, trying his best to time his strides enough to keep her from flopping on his back. After finally finding an erythematic pace, he would pick up speed only to then leap up from the ground and onto a pile of crates and from there onto a nearby roof where he would continue his pace from rooftop to rooftop. Fine tuning all of his sense while he moved, his ears picked up a voice and knew instantly that was where he should head. Proceeding off into that direction, a wry grin would turn up the corner of his lips. This was something that Cordelia would need to see, something she would need to witness in order to grasp the full magnitude of the whole thing. Suddenly slowing in his pace to a brisk walk, his eyes would dive off each edge of the building when the sounds of a child’s voice lofted through the night air, only to be followed by the scent of blood. Narrowing his eyes he would stop and drop to a knee to assist Cordelia from his shoulder and back to her feet before rising. Hooking an arm around her waist as he rose, his other hand would point off towards the huddled mass over against a nearby building not too far off from them.

“Tarrence Malacai…A child blinded by the cruelty of the world and suffers daily for it. A child much like your own, a young boy who had nothing to defend himself and no one to take care of him and the same cruelty that blinded him punishes him daily for his existence. Now tell me, is that fair…? It’s because of selfish people that the child suffers. Now, you wouldn’t pray tell deny Kaiden a chance to be able to defend himself and perhaps you, now would you…?” Running his hand up along the spin of her back, he would bring it to rest at her shoulder opposite to him with a light grip, “You saved that child, you really did. But sometimes you have to let them handle themselves, no matter how much it bugs you. That’s why I’m like that with Alaina, she’s got to learn to take care of herself when I’m not there, to not be afraid and to stand up for herself. If I could just instill her with an ounce of the power I hold in my hands, then I wouldn’t ever have to worry about her. She could have taken care of everything on her own without me. But since I can’t I have to keep track of her, right now she’s in the Cathedral in the ruins, I passed her on the way here. I also left one of my items back there for her to use.”

Gripping his hand tighter around her shoulder, he would pull her into a half hug, “Where I don’t have that ability to teach her to handle herself, you do. My whole point to this is to open your mind a little bit and point out what you’ve done and what I could prevent in teaching him. He’ll always love you regardless; you did a big thing for him. Don’t ever think he’s going to leave you because he knows how to take care of himself.” And with that said he would swivel his frame to face her only to lift a single digit up to her face where it would tap lightly against the tip of her nose, “You’re bothered that I’m teaching him, more so that he’s going to learn my style of fighting, but I assure you I’m only showing him the basics. He’ll have to expand on that to get the results he wishes.” Faltering in his words at the sudden sound that issued from the child’s direction a malignant grin would seep over his slender and elegant lips, “I do believe it’s time…To feast.” Issuing a slight motion towards the two guys approaching the child, Manic would simply proceed down the slope of the rooftop and towards the edge where he would simply drop off to land with a soft patter to the ground. Once at the ground Manic would proceed to issue another spell, altering his frame into that of a hunched over old man with a staff that would hold him from falling over. Guiding himself over to the men by the use of his cane, he would clear his throat to gain their attention.

Once he had their attention, he would move past them as he spoke, “Ahhhh, I seem to have lost my way, could you men help me?” Their reply would be snive as the told him to beat it, which only caused him to darken his visage as he stared at them. Glancing from the two men for a moment, his eyes would fall upon Cordelia, which would cause a grin to cross his countenance briefly. In a couple smooth movements he would lift the staff in hand, only to bring it down three times to issue out a loud planking sound as it struck the cobblestone. It would surely be enough to deafen any movements Cordelia would make behind the two men, no less signal for her to move at the same time. And from there he would simply bide his time and wait for Cordelia to take one of the men from the ranks of two, before sparking up in his own action.

Too absorbed in her ranting and raving to notice his glare and irritation, Cordelia just kept right on going, although it was doubtful that she would even care had she noticed in the first place. If he was upset then too bad, because he was just going to have to get over it. He turned to look at her, causing her to grunt indignantly at the sight of his grin. Did he truly think this was funny, that this was some sort of a game? He never took anything seriously it seemed… well all right, that wasn’t true, but still! The least he could have done was try and respect her. Ha, that was funny, Manic respect her. Since when had he started doing that?

She jerked her head away from him, only to feel his shoulder collide with her midsection moments later. Cordelia shrieked, not expecting the sudden contact and immediately began to struggle, squirming in his grasp and trying to break free while at the same time grabbing at his jacket so that she wouldn’t fall. It hadn’t hurt her at all, just knocked the wind out of her and caught her off guard but that alone was enough to add to her earlier huffiness. A deep growl rose from her throat and she kicked her legs, albeit not too well since he was holding them. Even when he began to speak she continued to writhe, not wanting to allow him to win but knowing already that she had lost yet another battle against him. It was doubtful that he would put her down, since he was just a cruel, sadistic man that enjoyed seeing her powerless, but she could at least try for the sake of her sanity.

“Oh, for the love of god Manic –” Her voice faltered once she felt draconic might and she froze, clinging to his jacket stronger now and leaving her legs hanging. She buried her face into his back, whimpering on the inside because of how out of control she felt. It was impossible for her to feel secure when she wasn’t on the ground, and she wanted the ground beneath her feet again as soon as possible. Heights were not among her favorite things, especially when she was thrown over someone’s shoulder as she was now. Once he began to run she clenched her eyes shut, afraid only of the idea that he would drop her.

“Manic! Manic, put me down this instant! I demand it! Stop running, I can walk, I am more than capable of moving myself and don’t need you to do it for me! Manic – Manic, Manic, you’d better listen to me! This isn’t funny! You’re going to drop me and I’ll never forgive you if you do, look at you, you’re running and – oh, oh no, don’t jump anymore, please! Manic!” Cordelia whined, trying to retain some of her dignity but he was just intent on taking it away, it seemed. Oh, the second he put her down she was going to have a lot to say to him. She would have said it all now, had it not been for the fact that she was currently concentrating on not falling over. Even with draconic might initiated on his part, there was a part of her that thought he very well could have dropped her if he wanted to or didn’t pay attention. What was she supposed to do if he dropped her from a roof?!

After what seemed like a lifetime of the running with her precariously balanced on his shoulder, Manic bent over and freed her, causing relief to spread through her all at once. Cordelia placed a hand over her heart and took a deep breath, feeling whole again now that she could feel something solid beneath her. Cordelia would have fallen to the ground and just stayed there had Manic not taken her by the waist and brought her up with him. Immediately her facial features hardened and she folded her arms over her chest, glaring at him. “Don’t you ever do that again!” she hissed. “I should slap you right now! Do you know how stupid that was, how heartless that just was?! Do you have to do this all the time? Do you like seeing me upset?! And by the way, I’ll nag you all I want, and don’t ever compare me to Fehade! And considering we’re not married, I’ll nag until I go blue in the face if I damn well want to and you can’t stop me!” Maybe it was childish to act that way and to say that sort of thing, but that was how Cordelia felt. She huffed and rotated her shoulders, pouting somewhat and looking away from him. She was half tempted to push his arm away from her but she was too upset to even care about that right now.

Once he began talking about the child her attention was removed from herself and her gaze flicked over to the huddled mass below them. As he continued to speak her hand clenched into a fist and the muscles in her jaw began to work, clearly because she was grinding her teeth together. It wasn’t fair – was he so stupid, was he so blind of her beliefs that he didn’t know how she would answer that? Cordelia turned her attention away from Terrance and to Manic, her eyes going wide when he snuck that bit about Kaiden in there. Her heart knew before her brain could process it that he was right, completely and utterly right and once it fully hit her she had to look down. It really was selfish to want to keep him under her wing forever… but that maternal instinct just never let up, not after losing one child. It was within her power to keep him safe and she wanted to do so no matter what the cause… which meant, in the end… she was going to have to let him do that.

Deciding to change the subject, if only for a few moments, she cleared her throat and recalled what he said about Alaina. “Why is she still in the ruins, in a broken down Cathedral no less…? Shouldn’t she be somewhere else, somewhere a lot more… safe?” Cordelia wrinkled her nose at the idea, but that was as far into it as she would go. “That wasn’t very wise of you to leave her there by herself, you know.”

A soft smile came to her face when she was brought into a hug and Cordelia unfolded her arms, wrapping a single one around him to return the half-hug. She still listened as he spoke; releasing him once he spun in front of her, wrinkling her nose once again at that fact that he had tapped it. “Fine,” she said finally with a sigh, lifting her eyes just enough to meet his. “Fine, you’re right, I know you’re right, happy now? I’ll allow it, for his own good, because I won’t always be there… and he has to be able to protect himself. Yes, right.” She nodded once, as if she still needed to convince herself that this was right. She knew it, really, but she just hadn’t fully accepted it. She was supposed to know everything and it killed her inside that she didn’t, especially when it came to the upbringing of her son.

“I do believe it’s time…To feast.”

Without hesitation Cordelia’s neck snapped back in the direction of the child, her eyes narrowed at the approaching figures. It didn’t matter that Terrance wasn’t her own child… he was a child and she wouldn’t let him get hurt. She knew what was going on and what she had to do. Once Manic began his descent, Cordelia stayed where she was, planning on using her magic to do what she had to do. She waited, her muscles tensed as she watched and waited, knowing he would give her some sort of a cue for when to spring into action. Manic always had some sort of a plan… he wasn’t as reckless as she was. The moment he turned to face her and gave her the grin, she returned it, initiating her invisibility spell. Her body flickered once or twice before completely disappearing, and it was at that point that she would also use the spell blink to land herself a few yards behind the two men.

As Manic began to tap his little cane, Cordelia moved forward swiftly, taking one of the men by the back of his shirt and pulling him backward as the third tap sounded. It was no use staying invisible anymore, since her presence was clear now and even if she remained unseen, the blood that would drip from the man’s neck would not, and so with that in mind she flickered back into sight. Hissing, she wrapped an arm around his abdomen to keep him still and keep his arms bound to his sides, laughing as he struggled. With the other she yanked his head to the side to expose his neck and sank her fangs into the flesh, not worrying about the other male as she knew Manic would take care of him soon enough.

Just like planned Cordelia took up one of the two men in what could be considered the embrace of death. So without a hindrance of delay, Manic’s appearance would flicker back it’s original state and he would quickly step towards the man who had turned to witness his friends untimely fate. As he stepped forward Manic would hook an arm around the man’s neck where he would then pull him back against his chest to take him off his balance. Resituating his arms he would bring the man’s head off to the side before barring his teeth to seconds later sink them into the flesh of his neck.

Just as his fangs would pierce the flesh the sudden taste of copper would erupt throughout the cavity of his mouth like a wave of velvet. Blood ebbed from the corners of his mouth as he proceeded to drink like a man dehydrated from a days stay out in the intense desert heat. It didn’t take long for him to finish draining the man of blood and once he had he would simply drop the man to a lifeless heap upon the ground. Waving a slight dismissive hand to the fallen corpse his attention would slide with curious eyes over towards the child that spoke up a few words of concern.

Grinning faintly to himself he would respond in a slightly flakey tone, “Ah, you have nothing to worry about, Terrence. We won’t hurt you at all and neither will anyone else for tonight and hopefully longer. But my suggestion is that you find yourself a new home.” With that said he would nod his head and swing around to face Cordelia in a smooth and fluid motion. “My…Don’t you look frightful mi amore.” Chuckling to himself, Manic would begin to move towards her only to bring his hand up to lightly brush across the flesh of her cheek before leaning in towards her face. In a slow methodical manner he would bring his lips brushing across her own before snaking a tongue out to attack the droplets of blood that escaped from the corners of her lips and then place a kiss to them only seconds after.

Pulling back with a prominent grin he would study her a moment curiously, “We make a pretty good team; I think this world is in a lot of trouble the longer we stay together, which leads me back to your little thing about knowing what I was going to say before I stopped.” Sucking in a deep breath of air, he would lift a hand up to the brim of his hat to give it a slight tug downwards, “Unless I knew I had the full support and strength of my partner at my side, then and only then could I weigh the responsibilities I aim to bear freely and without consequence.” Slipping his hand down from his hat and back to his side, he would continue, “What I mean is. Everything I do, every person I meet, and any challenge I face. I want you at my side. Not just as someone who’s going to help, but as my mistress, my lover, and my woman. In order to bring that vision into sight, I think you need a little fine tuning. After all, I have accepted you as an equal; it’s only fair you play the part.”

Casting a simple grin in her direction, a wayward hand would lift in elegant fashion bringing its digits up and along the underside of her chin. Dragging the tips of his digits across the soft flesh, Manic would start to move in a slow succession around her, all the while keeping his eyes glued to her in a focused stare. Continuing to drag the digits along her flesh, they would soon trail down from her chin with his movements and proceed their way along the side of her neck, before finally reaching the nape, “First you need magicks…” His voice hissed like a snake with the utterance of the words, but he would continue in his movements around her until reaching her other side where he would start rounding around to her front side, “Then you need help with your blade….” Lightly his digits would trail across her lips, following the crease of them as they moved, “I can help you…Just like your son, I will help you. Because I love you.” Faltering further movements of his fingers at the corner of her lips, they would slowly start to trail downwards to her chin as he turned to face her fully, “Just like Fehade, we will destroy our enemies without remorse. And I must pay that man a visit soon, very soon…For that, I have a plan, if you’re interested of course.” Like velvet his voice would trail from his lips, enveloping his listeners with its smooth and seductive tone.

((OoC: Ew, I really don't like this, but I have to go soon and wanted to post it before tomorrow. DX))

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She could feel the body began to weaken beneath her, causing her to growl somewhat into the ripped flesh of the neck. The struggling ended, the pulse weakened, the knees buckled and the body began to go limp. Cordelia followed the body down to the ground, finally letting go of him and letting him fall the rest of the way while she rose back to her feet. At first the fresh, warm blood that ran throughout her now made her somewhat dizzy, but Cordelia was able to regain her senses in a few moments. She sucked in a deep breath and lifted the back of her hand to her lips, wiping away some of the blood but not managing to get all of it.

Cordelia looked up and to Manic once he addressed her finally. Having been too absorbed in her feeding she hadn’t taken the time to make sure he had succeeded, but it seemed that he had. A wide smirk spread over her face; she had taken the frightful comment as a compliment. “Well now aren’t you just all too sweet,” she said with a laugh. “You did well. Didn’t expect any less of you… you seem to have a little talent for succeeding at everything you do.” Her smirk only widened at the caress of his hand before finally it disappeared as his lips brushed against hers. Feeling his tongue licking away the blood from the corners of her mouth, Cordelia poked her tongue out to meet his for a few moments before pulling her tongue back into her mouth as he pulled away from her.

The world would be in a lot more than just trouble if they stayed together. The idea of the world being in trouble because of them caused her to hum in amusement. It was true… From her experience there were fewer people as ruthless and vindictive as they were, separate or combined – and combined they would create a hell of a lot more damage than anyone could have ever imagined. She was plenty excited that he would finally be typing up the lose ends he hadn’t gotten to before, though. At his words her face became stern, the corners of her lips pulled down slightly.

“Do you doubt me?” she asked once he stopped, her voice somewhat low in tone. “I’m offended that you even need the reassurance… here I thought I’d already secured my loyalty to you. I fully intend to stand right here, right by your side, and I accept any and all responsibilities that may bring on and any troubles that I may face because of it. Nothing will make me step down from this little spot next to you; I’ve waited too long to stand here I’ll be damned if anyone thinks they can do anything to remove me. You should know that I’m yours now, just as you are mine and I want it to stay that way for a long while. I don’t take this sort of thing lightly. As for fine tuning… what the hell are you talking about? I am perfectly fine the way I am!”

He lifted a hand to her chin as he always seemed to do and her eyes locked on his, noticing how focused he seemed on this. Once he began to turn around her, Cordelia twisted her neck to continue watch him, stopping only once he had gotten behind her and she could no longer see him. A distasteful frown brought her lips downward again when he mentioned she would need more magic, that he would teach her how to properly wield a blade. Despite the fact that she didn’t want his help and the thought angered her somewhat, the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood straight and a slight chill ran up her spine from his touch. He had a point, she knew that he did, but Cordelia was used to doing things on her own.

Once he finished speaking Cordelia grinned, lifting a hand to take the one that cupped her chin. Gently she pried his hand away from her and moved closer to him, lifting both of her arms to wrap around his neck, her hands locking together at the back. Cordelia brought herself closer to him and rested her forehead against his, the tip of her nose brushing his in a sweet Eskimo kiss. Her lips barely touched his before she tilted her head back a few inches away from him so that she could talk with ease.

“You know I don’t take well to being offered help,” she reminded him, just in case he had somehow forgotten that along the way. “But… for you, and for you alone, I’ll accept, and only because I return the sentiment. But you’d better be patient with me, unless of course you enjoy my hissy fits, which by this point I almost think you do, since you seem to send me into them on a daily – or perhaps make that hourly – basis.” Cordelia sighed in feigned exasperation, but chuckled after a moment. “Now… I think, mon cher, you’d best tell me what this little plan is you have for Fehade. I don’t know what the hell would possess you to think I wouldn’t want to hear this! If you’ve come up with a way to completely wipe that man from the face of Imythess then I want to be there and laugh with you, to mutilate him and hear him scream with you! You did ask me to stay by your side, now didn’t you? It wouldn’t be fair to exclude me, darling.”

Patiently he waited for her to finish her speech, only to blink a couple of times when she brought her forehead into contact with his. Quite an uncharacteristic thing it was, but then again this relationship wasn’t all too normal on its own. The sheer thought was enough to bring a sly grin to his lips. The last thing he wanted to be was normal, and no less predictable. Shifting his attention a bit from the thoughts of his own, it would soon settle upon her words about Fehade. Getting rid of him wasn’t the interest right now, but the simple fact of simply breaking him into a shell of his former self. The man would fall to his knees and beg for salvation at their feet. The grin continued to pull its spread over his features, tugging up one corner of his lips to expose the jagged fangs that would poke out and reveal their appearance.

“If I wanted him wiped from all of Imythess, I would have taken care of him myself while you kept him occupied. No…I have something much better than wiping him away. I want to BREAK him…!” The grin soon turned into a jagged smile at the finish of his words, but the most notable was the fact that his head cocked itself to the side, “I want to bring him to his knees, I want him to call me his Master, I want him to know where he stands in this world and that he’s nothing should I so choose it. THAT is what I intend to do to Fehade.” Slowly his head returned to its original position and the smile would once again fade back into a simple grin that laid prominent upon his lips, “And don’t fret one bit, you’re ever part of this little plan of mine. You’ll be apart of everything.”

Lifting a hand again to her face, it would lightly cup her cheek and he would rest his thumb against her lips in the process as if to silence her for a moment should she wish to talk, “We shall be actors in a starring role, my lovely little woman.” Shooting a brief flash of a smile he would elaborate further his plan, “Cordelia Brooks will play the part of Manic Deathstorm, draped in mask and cloak just like shades of our last meeting against Fehade. But instead of the simple porcelain mask, I shall lend you my current one. Now, as for Manic Deathstorm, he will play the part of the beautiful Cordelia Brooks. A role reversal to throw him through a loop, something he wouldn’t expect in the least. After all he still doesn’t respect your abilities, so what if you suddenly had every ability of Manic Deathstorm? I would say it wouldn’t make him happy in the least.” Lightly running his thumb across her lips and off to the corner, he would keep it there in its positioning for the time being, “What do you think about that, my sweet?”

Of course the way he had explained the entire thing had left out a lot of answers, but if she really wanted to know she’d let him know exactly what she would like to know. So there wasn’t really a high need to tell her every bit of detail on the thing, if she wanted to know something she would ask. Lightly thumbing his finger over the corner of her lips, a light smile would trace his own, “Oh…And by the way, I think I will have you take your lessons from me with Kaiden. I won’t say a word, I’ll just pretend you’re helping teach him, it’ll make him more comfortable and on top of that it’ll help widen your arraignment of skills as well. Ah and of course, you’ll be able to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn’t get too carried away. Think of it as your way of strengthening your bond with him. Buuutt…”

Shifting his attention from her eyes, it would trail upwards in a slow movement until it reached the blue streaked sky with the moon and stars that hung freely, hindered by no form of clouds or anything of the sort, “For now I believe I have a matter I must take care of. Join me if you wish, but it’s a matter I must deal with otherwise it will appear as though it was only an empty threat. And I can’t have that not when I find that they clearly disobeyed my warning to stay clear of my daughter. If you didn’t notice the blood earlier when I was in the form of Alaina, I was simply baiting out to see if those little gang men would listen to my warning. They clearly disobeyed it when one of them even made conversation with me.” Sucking in a breath of air from betwixt his teeth in blatant irritation, his head would shake and drop back down so his gaze would fall back to hers, “I care about her Cordelia and I will go all my lengths to make sure she’s safe. It drove me nuts when you said I didn’t care, that you let that bastard say I didn’t deserve to be a Father, but I bet you’re feeling pretty silly now…Aren’t you?”

Releasing a breath of air, his hand would push lightly against her face to show his irritation with her first hand, before turning and moving away from her. With his back still to her he would whisper a few words just loud enough for her to hear, “You may choose to follow or you may wait at your home. Just be warned that my punishment will be brutal and sadistic, should they be unfortunate enough that I find them on this night.” Darkening his eyes he would push forward in a slow walk to ensure that Cordelia could follow easily enough, but would pick up the pace once she had.

Cordelia’s eyes narrowed at his words. Breaking him didn’t sound nearly as fun as mutilating his dead body did. There were other people that she hated that she wanted to break – but Fehade she just wanted dead. She allowed him to continue on, though. The grin he gave her was only returned by a stoic, perhaps somewhat impatient expression, her brows furrowed somewhat and her lips scrunched to the side of her face. What he had said certainly hadn’t been what she had wanted no less expected to hear, but if what he had in store for them was interesting enough then perhaps she would be willing to go along with what he wanted, as unsatisfying as just breaking might be. Once he finished she hummed lightly to herself and her face shifted to a more contemplative look, and her eyes averted from Manic. It would be fun, she supposed, to watch him grovel – to watch him fall from grace, to grovel before them and be powerless. Oh, yes, now this was getting exciting. A toothless smile creased her face and before she could even speak the look in her dark blue eyes showed that she had agreed.

“Well I would hope I’d be a part of it,” she said in a slightly huffy tone, although unlike other times this was a feigned annoyance. Before she could say anything more his thumb rested against her lips, keeping her from voicing any comments she might have had as he proceeded. Again her eyebrows furrowed, displeased with his action. She wasn’t a child that needed to be reminded to be polite while others were speaking… all right, so maybe she was, just a little bit – but that was a subject for another day.

An eyebrow shot up at the mention of acting. The more he spoke the more she wasn’t entirely sure how to react. It certainly would throw Fehade a loop, as he had put it, especially since they knew each other as well as they did, but she still wasn’t sure how much she liked the idea. His thumb trailed away from her lips at long last, giving her the opportunity to speak. “I think we’d better write Fehade a little letter telling him his days are numbered,” she said, her sadistic laughter finally breaking through to the surface, a matching malevolent look rising in her eyes and a smirk twisting onto her face. “Although I will say, I wish this plan was to kill him. You don’t know how I can’t stand knowing he’s even alive…” Her voice turned into more of a growl with the last few words. “I will do this… but is it really necessary for us to trade places? Really? I have my own body and you have yours and I would sort of like to keep it that way. I know it would confuse him and that it wouldn’t be too difficult for us to act like the other, but really now. He’s stupid, but I just have the tinniest hint of a feeling he might be smart enough to figure it out.” She sighed. “But as I said, I’ll do it, because I want nothing more than to see that bastard writhe in pain and not be able to do a single damn thing about it. And besides… perhaps we can shatter his will to live after a while and then kill him, right?” She batted her eyelashes and offered an innocent grin, hoping she could get him to do what she wanted.

With the mention of her taking lessons with him in front of Kaiden, she again became somewhat uneasy. The flaws that she had seen in the plan for Fehade didn’t seem to matter anymore compared to this. “But…” she began, trying to gather her words. “Wouldn’t it seem odd to him that we’re suddenly getting along? You know, after everything, we’re suddenly being nice to each other? How are we supposed to explain that?” Cordelia sighed, biting the inside of her lower lip in thought. Her thinking was cut short however at the sound of his voice, saying that he had business to take care of. The last time she had tagged along when he had something to take care of had been a long, long time ago on the night of their first meeting, but she remembered that it had been incredibly fun, and even if it hadn’t been there was no way she was cutting this evening short. However… at the mention of Alaina she didn’t think this was going to be very fun. What interest would anyone have even had in her? She was a little girl and had never done anything to anyone! Anger began to boil within her core, causing her features to darken. Kaiden, Alaina, and Manic were her family, and she refused to allow anyone to hurt them and get away with it.

She grunted in annoyance when he pushed against her face, making her uncomfortable rather than causing any sort of pain. “It wasn’t like I even knew you that well back then,” she grumbled. “You can’t honestly still hold that against me now that I know better! I know you care… I’ve seen it firsthand.” She knew that saying that probably didn’t matter. She still hated him for blinding her and for making her life hell for quite some time and would probably never forgive him for that, but she was wise enough to realize that them tormenting each other was behind them now.

“I’m coming with you,” she said, following him as he began to walk off. “Don’t ever think that I’ll let you handle this stuff on your own. I wouldn’t pass up the chance to kill anyone that tries to hurt or even thinks about hurting your daughter.” Just the idea caused her fists to clench, her breath escaping through her nostrils roughly. “They deserve nothing less than what I’m sure you have in store for them.”

Countless thoughts flooded through the ravenous binds of his mind, causing him to grow quieter and darker in his appearance. No one would ever touch his child, especially if he had anything to do about it. If it involved getting someone to watch over her it would be his task, but that would be a feat for another day. But who could he trust to really watch her other than himself, which would mean he may have to abandon his wishes and that wasn’t about to happen, not just yet. Heaving an annoyed sigh in a huff through his nostrils, all of his attention would drift up from the ground and off to the direction a faint collection of noises had been coming from. It was the bar…

The exact place he had wanted to get to before the night was through, but not to drink…This was to settle something he didn’t have time to finish earlier or should have rather. Faltering dead in his tracks, Manic’s eyes would slide their way up the rooftop closest in the direction of the bar and with a blink of the eye he would be gone and appear against on its slanted roof. Adjusting his stance he would pay no mind to whether or not Cordelia could follow, because there was still the street if the need arose for her to continue along with him. Placing one foot in front of the other, he would shift his weight to the toes of his boots on his ascent upwards to maintain balance along the steeped nature of the rooftop. Once at the top he would pause, keeping one foot down to support while the other perched on the rounded tip. Leaning forward in a sudden interest, his eyes would proceed to search and hunt like a hawk looking for its supper.

After a short time of looking another sigh would escape his lips, apparently neither of these men were here, at least no tonight, but he could have swore he had taken note of at least of them lingering in such a place. Issuing a slight shrug to himself, Manic would push up with the other foot only to then place it alongside the other and balance upon the rounded tip of the roof. Crossing his arms over his chest, his eyes would continue to study the building until someone finally hobbled their way out and into the street. “Bingo…” He muttered breathless before turning and moving along the seam of the roof until he reached the next building in distinct mocking fashion of the person’s direction of movement. Leaping soundlessly over the gap separating the two buildings, he would land gracefully upon the next buildings seam only to continue on like this for a couple of blocks until the man disappeared into an alleyway just beyond the current building he was perched upon.

A slow grin slid across his features as he would proceed to stock in a slow methodical manner after the man. Once he reached the end of the building his stance would lower to a crouch and his body would pick up in Gaseous Form. From there he would reach the edge of the building where he would perch and simply peer down at the drunken man leaning against a nearby building for support. Speaking up in a slow dialect of tone, “Like a thousand blades I will pierce the flesh, blood letting the wrongs that were wrought against the child. Soulless and empty your will fall, shattered and broken to the ground and I will dance, the dance of death as your life ebbs away from your fingertips, lingering just beyond your grasp. And now I say the clock it tolls…” Pausing in his speech as the man began to look around in fright for the source of the voice, “Tick tock tick tock, the clock strikes twelve, the time of your final hour, now fold…Fold your hand because I am the one with the full house here.”

And with the issuance of words, Manic would will his body into material appearance and his hand would dib down into his jacket pocket where it would pull out the card with a sword on it. Holding it in his akinned fashion, it would present itself just between his index and middle finger as he turned his hand enough to show the man the face of the card. Wasting further time the card would explode in a brilliance of glimmering metal as it fell towards the ground like a group of rose petals. Suddenly they would spark up into movement where they would begin to assemble themselves into his hand to fabricate a long glimmering blade that gleamed and glinted as the moon fragmented off its slanted surfaces. Gnashing his teeth together in slight irritation at the man when he tried to stumble off and flee from him, it would be cut short however as he would blink and appear just in front of the man.

Carefully watching the approaching man, his eyes would catch the fear and sudden surprise in the man’s eyes as he tried to stop before reaching Manic, but failed as he fell down to his face. Issuing a slight movement of the blade, it would move up and right to his left shoulder where it would poise itself at the ready, blade pointed upwards with the hilt resting against his shoulder. The man scrambled to his feet and offered a plea only to see no response from the Stoic visage of Manic. Deciding to try and flee again he would turn on his heels and begin running out of the alleyway only to be stopped against as Manic’s form appeared just in front of him, this time with his back turned. Slowly turning, Manic would face the man with a slight glower in his eyes, “When I go out of my way and offer you a chance at life, you take it and run like hell. Never go back against me and make me regret my words. I spared you so my child would not have to see what I would do to you for what you guys had in mind for her. And to find one of your men trying something with her again…Pushed me past this fine line. Now I say to you…Vae Victus, enjoy your hell, because you will burn…”

Not bothering to give the man a chance to respond, Manic would issue one last blink only to appear behind the man once again. Pushing himself into a sudden clockwise spin, Manic would tilt the blade forward with its point as his left hand would rise up to greet his other at the hilt, but instead placed its palm flat against the bottom of the hilt. In one smooth motion he would force the blade out in a stabbing fashion for the throat of the man, only to pierce the tender flesh there as the blade glided through and alongside of the spinal column where it would keep from severing anything of grave need, except for a couple of veins. Giving a sudden jerk of the blade, he would rip it out through the side of the man’s neck, which would be enough force to send him to the ground in the wake of the blade that would leave his neck. Bringing the blade off and sharply down to his side, he would simply release it there, before moving over to where there was a stack of crates and wooden planks. Taking the planks he would toss them down across the body of the man, before moving to take up a couple of the crates and place them atop the planks. Finally stepping out from the alleyway, he would turn back to where the man laid just beneath the wooden heap and would extend a hand out towards him. Poising his hand with the tip of his middle finger against his thumb, a spell would pick up in his mind and at the usher of his snapping fingers a red flame would ignite in bursting fashion upon one of the crates, only to spread its flames to the planks and the rest of the wood that lingered around it just as quickly. Gurgled screams and cries were the only things to be heard from the burning mass, which was enough to make him grin to himself, “Vae Victus…Suffering to the Conquered…” Peeling his gaze from the burning pile, his eyes would flitter across his surroundings in search for Cordelia, knowing she was around here somewhere, “Come Cordelia, and let us go. I have nothing more to gain from remaining here and you can choose what we should do for the rest of the night, if you so wish.”

((OoC: DX I feel terrible that this took so long. And I really hope this post is okay... it looks like a piece of crap to me but I don't know... -sigh- Here it is anyway.))

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At first Cordelia was offended by his silence, but upon noticing how much darker he seemed to become she let it go. Had it been Kaiden that was in danger she wouldn’t have been too concerned with other people either. Time and time again he proved her initial ideas about him being nothing more than a monster wrong… The fact that he cared about Alaina like that was really all the proof she needed, and she had already been shown and convinced not too long ago that he did, in fact, care.

Cordelia stumbled to a stop once he had ceased walking, a few lines forming in her forehead as her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What the hell was he stopping for? They were supposed to be finding these men that threatened Alaina, not wasting time! No sooner did she open her mouth to say something did Manic disappear from view, leaving her jaw hanging open with the words on the tip of her tongue and her blinking in the direction he had once been standing. Cordelia forced her mouth shut and growled in frustration, kicking at the ground and folding her arms over her chest. Was there even a point in going along with him? He never listened to her or made her a part of anything; he always did his own thing without requesting her help, unless previous arrangements for her to aid him were made. She was utterly useless to him, so why did he even bother giving her a choice?

“Manic…” she grumbled, unsure if he could hear her from her place on the ground. A piercing glare was sent his way before she looked away. “‘Choose to follow or go home’, blah blah blah! Do this, do that, your choice, blah blah. Act like it somehow makes a difference!” Cordelia huffed and ran a hand through her hair, lifting her head again to look at him. “Stupidhead…” It wasn’t the best insult she had ever made, but that was the strongest word she dared use when she wasn’t even seriously angry with him. Frustrated, yes, but not infuriated as she often became in their previous meetings.

He began to move at that point, causing Cordelia’s eyes to shoot away from him and to the surrounding area. There was a man that had walked out of the building; it didn’t take her much effort to figure out that he was Manic’s target. Nodding to herself, Cordelia decided to follow on foot. Using the rooftops would take a bit too much time and she didn’t need to follow Manic to wind up at the same destination. Besides, however doubtful it was that he would need help from the ground, she could try to do that. Cordelia walked at a slow, somewhat disinterested pace, not worried at all about keeping either of them in sight – if she did end up losing sight of them, she had a nose and she was so accustomed to Manic’s smell that she would be able to find him easily.

Once again Cordelia ran a hand through her hair, breathing in deeply through her nose and closing her eyes to relax. Before she had much of a chance to calm herself down she heard Manic’s voice, causing her eyelids to fly open and a smirk to form its way onto her face. He didn’t sound very happy and with what he had already told her she knew this would be gory. Oh, she loved how terrible he could be! That poor unfortunate soul didn’t even understand what he was about to endure… Cordelia could have laughed, but for the time being she refrained.

Her eyes widened when the blade ripped through the man’s neck and at that point her left hand lifted to cover her mouth to keep herself silent. She looked away and simply listened then, hearing the wood being thrown and piled up. The joy this torture caused her was put to a sudden end when she felt a familiar uneasiness that the presence of only one thing put in her stomach and Cordelia’s face went blank as she returned her gaze to the scene. Her hand lowered away from her mouth and her arm hung lifelessly at her side, her mouth suddenly dry. They were going to have to have a little chat about his incessant use of fire.

Manic addressed her then and Cordelia momentarily forgot the flames. She walked toward him, avoiding the burning mass to the best of her ability and not enjoying the heat it pressed into her. Her hands lifted once she had passed it to clap together a few times in slow applause; that smirk spreading over her face again.

“I’m surprised you went so easy on him, dear,” she said, placing her hand to rest against his shoulder. “If I were you I would have done things much, much slower and then stuck his head up on a stick in the center of town so everyone could see what happens when they mess with my kid. Probably spread his limbs around too… but, hey, to each their own – you just like to get things done faster than I do, and I guess you like to burn away the evidence you did it too.” With that Cordelia shrugged, as if his methods didn’t bother her as much as they did. “Though I must critique your use of fire. Really mon cher… I once called you a pyromaniac and I stick to that opinion, because it isn’t even an opinion anymore, it’s a hardcore fact. Is it really so necessary to use it so much? There are other ways to kill people.” Cordelia snorted softly and offered a teasing smile. “But that’s done and over with, so I suppose I should really be concentrating on what you just said…”

Cordelia removed her hand from his shoulder and rested her index finger against her chin, clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “I appreciate you allowing me to choose for once,” she said to start it off. “Now let’s see… well, that was only one of those bastards, right? We could go handle the others, if you have any idea where they would be; I don’t think I’d be able to sleep if Alaina was in danger. Or, since you said yourself I don’t really know you, you can go ahead and explain what you don’t think I know and we can see if I already knew it or not. Orrrrr…” she paused for a moment, laughing, “aw, hell, I don’t know. We could dance…? But then again you just don’t seem like the type and I haven’t danced in a very long time so it may not work. I haven’t done this whole romance thing in so long… and until you showed up I never even wanted to think about it.” Cordelia grimaced slightly and then sighed. “Feel free to share if you have any better ideas. Anything is fine with me as long as it isn’t boring.” She laughed softly again and then sighed, looking away from him and to the crates, just to make sure that was the only thing on fire.

When she placed a hand to his shoulder, the soft metallic hues of his eyes would slide up to meet her own in a slightly curious manner. As she spoke of how she would have handled the entire thing and then critiqued his methods using the flames a slight huff of air would escape his slightly parted lips, “To die by fire is to die in agony. The flames lick the flesh, charring, shredding, and melting it from the very muscles and bones that anchor it. After mere moments of exposure the nerve endings are severed and singed to leave the skin dead to the touch, but at the same time the body processes the highest peak of pain throughout the ordeal. And once that peak is reached, the body begins to shut down slowly in hopes to drown out the pain of the victim. By far it’s one of the most excruciating ways to die, because you remain conscious throughout the majority of the time and witness the removal of the flesh and realize that there is absolutely no hope to escape. Despair becomes your owner and then soon…Death takes you.”

After the course of his explanation, Manic would shift his attention from that of Cordelia and off to his surroundings before taking note of the building that the man had left a short distance down the street. It had been the Dancer’s Nest, a place he oft not visited, save for the short meeting with Aether Draka. A slight twitch of the lips was all the expression his visage would belie at the sheer thought of the woman. While she was quite the dancer, she was also quite the…Bothersome woman, due to how long it has taken her to even make contact with him again, especially over such a delicious subject as killing a former god. It was no matter though; she was of no concern, at least not as long as Cordelia was within his presence. Shifting his attention back to Cordelia in a simple movement of the head, his hand would absentmindedly move out to take up her own as he stepped towards her.

“Personally, I have no idea where the rest are, but there are only two of them. Two of them aren’t enough to hurt Alaina, while she is a kid she’s got the demon inside of her. I have no worry that she can’t more than well handle herself, but if I run across them I won’t hesitate to send them along side their other friends. Just keep in mind Cordelia, Alaina is the daughter of Manic Deathstorm, while she may not have my abilities, she has the spirit. Although, I do admit I worry about her, but I suppose now is not the time. I have no information on the other two, the only reason I knew about this one was that I had seen him at the Dancer’s Nest over there quite some time ago. I never forget a face.” A sly grin slid across his slender lips at the sheer statement of that, before leaning in to kiss her lightly on the forehead, only to part them from her by a mere matter of centimeters, “And you’re right mi’ amore, you don’t know me. Perhaps I should show you one of the many things you don’t know about me…”

Drawing in a sudden deep breath of air, he would lightly exhale it against her forehead in a smooth steady stream before pulling away slowly and taking a couple steps back from her. Holding his arms up and off to a parallel position to the ground at his sides, a sudden flicker of light would dance across his entire torso, changing and altering it with every inch that it glided across. And once it finished a whole different man stood in front of her, no longer did he adorn a hat, nor did his hair retain the same raven black and white mix that it had once, but instead a sheet of short snow white hair with red stained tips. Other than just the hair, his body had altered too. His body picked up a much more muscular tone to it, as the entire mid-drift of his torso presented its exposed nature to her. Upon his shoulder resided a grouping of fabric that lifted to his neck in a high collared fashion, while the rest reached stretched downwards in slanted fashion to a point at his mid-bicep. From the same grouping of fabric, two long thin strap like pieces would stretch down from the center of it at his chest and down across his body and to his forearms, where they held yet more triangular like fabric that would drape over them.

Lastly, there was a layering of three pieces of fabric that coined their way in curving fashion around his legs, only to be finally bound together in their place with a green gem that rested just at his waist. Each strip of fabric that coated his body was presented in intricate design, leaving most to wonder if he was some sort of piece in a royal family, whether it were a simple knight or an actual prince in a sense.

Slowly each of his arms drifted down in a gentle fashion to his sides where they would reside for the time being. The silence that swarmed between the two of them after the change was enough to annoy him into speak up in a smooth dialect of the tongue, “This is what I actually used to look like, quite some time ago. Things certainly have changed and I thought I would never see the old me again. Not that I can really see myself, but you get the idea. But I suppose if we’re going to dance, then we better get going, hmm?” Lifting a hand up in offerance for her to take, a slight smile would slip across his visage, “Come my princess, mi’ armore…My woman.” Soon as she would take up his hand, he would turn on the balls of his feet and would slowly make his way off in the direction of the Dancer’s Nest. Once they arrived, a hand would move down to the knob of the door, before giving it a quick turn and easing it open in a gentle swing and stepping through the threshold. Music flooded his ears, and the intoxicating urge to dance would begin to sweep across his body…

Bah! So predictable! Cordelia expected nothing more than an argument from him. All right, so it wasn’t really an argument, rather a disagreement, and it wasn’t half as bad as their previous quarrels had been. She halfway smirked, only because she had, for the most part, anticipated this. Defending his reasons, why he did it… it was of little interest to her. With a sigh she averted her eyes, only to roll them to try and rid herself of the memories he had just brought to the surface and coming up with an appropriate response. “Surely you realize the whole explanation about what happens when you’re on fire wasn’t necessary,” she said, her words somewhat cold. “Because, well you know, I’ve kinda been there before. On multiple occasions. Perhaps if I hadn’t had so many terrible run-ins with fire I wouldn’t be so against your use of it.” Cordelia wouldn’t specify why, or how, or any of the other question words, as he already knew about what happened whenever she came into contact with fire.

Again she sighed at the mention that there were but two people remaining alive of their group. Two might not have been as many as there had been before… but it was still more than she preferred. “But she’s still a kid, Manic,” she said softly. He just didn’t seem to understand. “She may have your spirit and your demon and she may even be older than me… but that doesn’t change the fact she isn’t as strong as you are and that those people are still out there!” Cordelia huffed and decided to get over it. If Manic wouldn’t find them, then she would just be forced to take matters into her own hands, and unlike him she wouldn’t hesitate about finding about information. By the time she got information it could have very well been too late…

But as he had said, right now was not the time for that, no matter how much she wanted to think that it was. Her eyelids closed as he laid his lips to her forehead, relaxing somewhat as his breath flowed over her skin. Within moments however her eyes reopened, curious to see what he would be showing her. Her eyebrows would come to furrow and a frown caused only by confusion came to cross her lips. The man she knew and loved no longer stood before her, but instead an entirely different person. Cordelia’s eyes swept across his countenance, scrutinizing each and every changed feature from his hair to his more muscle-toned stature. Besides that there was, of course, the extravagant fashion in which he was dressed which was far different from what she was accustomed to seeing him in. Her lips scrunched up into her cheek and she slid her hands to rest on her hips, her left foot propping up on its toes and twisting into the ground somewhat. It was more difficult than she had thought it would be to come up with a conclusion on this new version of him… or rather ‘old’ or ‘real’ version of him as his words seemed to express. Her eyes trailed away from the rest of his body and lifted to meet his eyes, and without hesitation she took his offered hand, a smile creeping onto her face.

“Princess? Oh, goodness, and here I thought I was the Ice Queen!” Cordelia laughed softly. “What, have you changed your mind after so long? I’ve solidified my title as Ice Queen… but certainly not princess. I hardly even look like a princess, mon cher, especially next to you, what with your current get up. This may have been what you used to look like, but last time I checked we weren’t here to impress anybody and… well, look at yourself, show-off. You could have warned me you would do that so I could have matched and actually looked halfway decent.” Cordelia gestured with her free hand to his adornments, shrugging her shoulders somewhat speaking. It wasn’t like it truly mattered in the end – there was only one pair of eyes she wanted on her and she already knew that he loved her for more than something as trivial as what she looked like.

As the door was pushed open and they stood in the threshold, Cordelia pivoted on her toes so that she was around in front of him. There she stood, her eyes staring into his, before a hand lifted to caress his cheek. Her thumb trailed over his cheekbone while the rest of her fingers turned under his jawbone, with her entire hand cupping his chin after a good few moments. With purposefully elongated words she began, “You know… I could get used to this version of you, if you intend to keep this appearance. Would take a little bit of work since I’m so used to the dark and crazy Manic, not the elegant princely one… but I would do it for you. Both appearances are quite handsome if you’re asking for my opinion.” Cordelia paused to chuckle and offer a wink. “But I must ask… do you intend on using your original name as well, do you plan on becoming who you once were? Or are you still going to be my Manic Deathstorm? How did your appearance change so drastically anyway, if this is what you truly looked like so long ago?” She tapped her index finger against his flesh before shaking her head. “Irrelevant, I suppose. Probably shouldn’t have asked you all that, especially at once, but I’ll leave it all out there for you to answer if you please.”

One last time she tapped the flesh of the underside of his chin before giving a mischievous smile and releasing him, turning away as she shrugged off her coat and hung it on the backside of a chair at a table. “I must admit I’m surprised you took up my little challenge,” she said, turning back to him and running a hand through her hair to fluff it up slightly. “I honestly thought you would be too scared and was kind of hoping that you’d get all flustered and whatnot. But no matter… come along, mon cher.” Cordelia took up his hand and led him through the crowd of people, and once she was satisfied with where they were she stopped, turning to face him once more and wrapping her arms around his shoulders, interlacing her fingers behind his neck. “So who’s leading, hmmm? You up to it?” Cordelia grinned to show she was merely teasing him. “I do hope you won’t leave it up to me, but I can if you’re just too scared.”

Flinching slightly at the presence of her hand presenting itself to his flesh in a soft subtle touch that would lightly caress his chin.. Following her movements with his metallic hues, a faint smile would cross his lips but would soon fade at the mention of his appearance varying. It was one of the last questions he expected to be presented with, but to ignore it would prove frivolous to their relationship. Drawing in a deep breath of air, it would release in a smooth and long drawn out fashion through his nostrils, “Andros Kiety died with her…Manic Deathstorm is the embodiment of the man that stands before you right now and will forever remain the same man. As for the change in appearance…” Slowly his eyes would drift downwards at the break in his speech to gaze down at his right forearm as it would rise up at his side.

Studying every portion of its appearance carefully, the muscles would begin to work themselves in his arm, flexing and loosening to bring his hand into a tightly woven fist and then allowing the digits to span out slightly. Issuing a brief sigh his voice would pick up in a low dark tone, “To be truthful, this isn’t exactly my real appearance either…” The words came in a delayed fashion, signaling the mental drain they held over him, but he would continue nonetheless, “What you saw back in the ruins, the mutilated flesh, the burns, and the overall appearance I bore when I lost the demonic part of my being….That was the true me.” Releasing a growl of irritation at the sheer thought of how he used to appear, his head would jerk to the side and his eyes would shoot off towards one of the distant tables, “The demon healed me…Saved me…Spared my life and brought me to where I am today. Without him, I would have died when I was only a child. I used to curse him, I hated him so much for damning me to this life, especially with the way things have turned out this past century. But with that damnation, I found my real power, I found my hate, and I found my goals and wishes. And the rest is history, this conversation is over.”

At the draw of his speech he would blow a breath of air through his clenched teeth, before settling himself back down. The images, the countless images that were dredged up from that recollection was enough to drive him over the ledge, but he held steadfast in his nature and kept his calm, only for tonight, only for her. Sucking in another deep breath of air, he would release it against through his nostrils in a sudden rush, before lifting his head and tilting it slightly as his gaze came to center back upon her once she returned to him. The question she would poise upon her return brought a faint smirk to his lips as he responded in his boisterous and sly tone, completely forgetting about his previous recollections, “Those who think me a coward are in for a rude awakening. And unless you wish to be dropped on your head, I’d suggest you retract your little jaunts, my love.”

Deciding not to waste anymore time on their frivolous little bouts of words, both of his hands would lift up to place themselves upon her hips in a firm, yet gentle grip. Leaning his head in towards hers until a mere couple of inches separated them, he would furrow his brows at her before motioning with his head to just beyond her shoulder as if to announce his next action without word. Not bothering to wait to see if she got his hint, he would proceed to move towards her, his hands forcing against her hips to drive her back at the same pace that he advanced until they were further out towards the center of the room and no longer cluttered by the cluster of tables that littered their previous little area. Once at the desired location, he would proceed to take a series of elegant steps, guiding her along with him in the sway of movements that he preceded her with.

The melody quavered in its dark haunting tones to a more upbeat tempo, before sawing back to its brooding and dark nature. It was enough to send a shiver of enjoyment down his spine at the sheer sound of it, but the woman in his arms absorbed the vast majority of his focus. Leaning his head in further towards her own, his head would tilt and his lips would place themselves to hers. Throughout the entire course of the action his eyes would slide shut, allowing the closeness of Cordelia and the music itself to lull him and guide him into a self contained inner blissfulness. It was an odd feeling to witness, but it was one that wasn’t completely foreign to him.
And for that moment it seemed the stone cold hardened persona of Manic would melt away leaving behind the subtle and caring man that he had once been long before his “rebirth” into the being he was at this current day.

Drawing away from her lips in a near breathless fashion, a smile would cross his lips, before leaning in again, this time moving his head off just to the side of hers to rest itself cheek to cheek with her. In a soft and almost hushed voice he would speak, hoping that he would be loud enough to drift just above the sound of the music, but quiet enough to keep it between themselves, “Would you spend forever with me…? An eternity with no end, forever in my company? Because if you do, nothing will ever come to harm you, ever…I will destroy anyone who dares lay a hand to you…” There wasn’t really an expected answer to what he said, but more so a simple statement so she would know that he cared for her.

“… And the rest is history, this conversation is over.”

Well now those had been some interesting tidbits of information. Throughout his speech her eyebrows had furrowed in concentration, rather than anger or annoyance for once. She may not have understood everything he said, but she accepted the information and wouldn’t question him. Despite the fact that she was his woman and had the right to question him about whatever she pleased, she loved him and respected that there was a boundary that she was no longer to cross, so when he told her that the conversation was over she merely nodded her head. Neither of them truly enjoyed talking about their pasts, and she supposed for that reason perhaps these discussions needed to be saved for when it was actually important.

By the time she had returned it seemed that he had forgotten, or at least suppressed, his previous anger and frustration. A brow lifted at his words and a snort passed through her nostrils. “What a shame, because I refuse to take back any of the statements I just made,” she told him matter-of-factly. “So feel free to go ahead and drop me on my head, although I sincerely hope you won’t. I mean really, that would hurt… and why would you drop me on my pretty little head anyway, huh? What are we now, five years old trying to come up with something big and bad to say?” Cordelia paused briefly and laughed. “I know you’re not a coward, darling. Don’t worry.”

Manic’s hands went to her hips and he motioned with his head off behind her shoulder. Cordelia caught what he meant and with every step he took toward her she moved back, finding it easier than she had initially thought it would be. Every step he took was matched by her own, moving along with him, mostly oblivious to the music. She heard it, of course, but it wasn’t as important to her as the man she was currently dancing with. Dancing… the thought was foreign, let alone the fact that this was actually real. It wasn’t even something she thought would happen when she suggested it. Time and time again he turned out to be more than what she expected him to be, both on the battle field and off. To put it simply, he amazed her; what they had become to each other amazed her. When had she last danced, when had she last felt the want to dance, whether alone or with someone? Cordelia couldn’t remember and truthfully didn’t want to remember, it didn’t matter to her… not now, not now that she had Manic. She never thought she would have found a reason to dance again or find a reason for joy, or even find the room in her heart to love another person like this…

Knowing very well what he was doing when he leaned forward, her eyelids closed and she smiled inwardly at the feel of his lips against hers. No matter how many times he did this it still made something inside of her feel whole and she wasn’t quite sure she would ever be used to that. All too soon he drew away, causing Cordelia’s eyes to open and a smile that returned his to cross her face despite the emptiness that pulled at her chest when he parted. She didn’t have to wait long though for his skin to be against hers again and her eyelids lowered halfway. Out of the corner of her eye she looked at him, smiling at the sight of him although she couldn’t see his face. He was near her, and that was what was most important to her. Manic Deathstorm was near her; she could smell him, breathe him in, feel him against her, and that was more than she could have ever anticipated or asked for in her lifetime.

The next words that fell from his lips came as such a surprise that her eyes opened entirely and her eyebrows lifted, not only in shock but in alarm and wonderment as well. Her breath left her in sporadic wisps, trying to fully absorb what he had just said. She felt numb… her whole body was left without the ability to feel and her mind slowed down. Forever. With Manic. He… had asked her… did he even realize what he had just said…? Stunned silence was his only answer for quite a while until she finally found her center again and had the strength to take a deep breath and respond in words.

“Do you even know what you have just asked of me…?” she began in a quiet tone. “Do you understand the weight of it? Forever isn’t a year, or two years, or two hundred years… it’s a much longer time than either of us could probably comprehend. What you just asked isn’t some sort of game, not some sort of silly idea; it’s a serious question – at least that’s what I hope – and my son doesn’t even know about us yet. How can you possibly be sure this soon that you want that, anyway, that you want it to be me you spend that time with, not someone else? After everything, after how much you hated me… who’s to say that won’t happen again? I know I don’t hate you anymore, I gave up on that – but I can’t speak for you, and I refuse to get trapped in a relationship doomed for failure and heartbreak again, I couldn’t bear it again!” Cordelia paused, exhaling through her nostrils in an attempt to release the building up paranoia and frustration. “I’m not saying that would happen, or that I don’t trust you… so don’t take it the wrong way and don’t get angry with me. I’m just saying that if you truly want me for that long then you’d better be damned sure that’s what you want and that you’ll never leave me, forsake me, find some other woman behind my back or ever want anyone besides me…”

Cordelia took another deep breath and gently nuzzled her head against his. “You haven’t given me a reason to leave you so far, and I wouldn’t unless you did any of my aforementioned reasons. Quite frankly though I trust you and don’t think that you would. But that still doesn’t give you an answer, now does it?” She smiled somewhat and chuckled. “If you truly want that and you’re sure of it, and won’t go back on it… then by all means, my darling Manic, I’ll stay right here by your side for forever and a day. I don’t plan on going anywhere else anytime soon.”

All actions ceased on the coming of her words, causing him to fall deathly still in his stance. Every ounce of his attention focused squarely upon her and her alone as he absorbed all of her words. Irritation arose within him throughout parts of her little speech, but it was quickly subdued when his mind slipped into the thick blanket of thoughts that would swath its way throughout. Concentration struck across his countenance while he debated his words carefully in his head, while his hands would slowly drop and part from her body to return back to their respective places. Why did she constantly challenge his words, challenge his strength, and challenge him in general? Such a lucky woman she was to have him love her, because if he didn’t then she probably would have been dead by now, because whether she believed it or not. It was him that saved her, stopped what was deemed to be committed against her…A death hideous in its darkened shades.

Once she brought his head against his in a nuzzling like fashion, all of his attention would snap back to the reality that lay before him. Glancing from Cordelia and around the room briefly, a slight sigh would issue at the absence of a further distraction. Sucking in a slow breath of air, his eyes would shift back to her, “Look, I’m well aware of what an endless lifetime is like, I’ve lived it thus far and it’s a torment without someone there with me. Someone who can distract me, someone who can pick me up when I’m down, someone who can keep my mind distracted when things get rough, and someone who loves me and doesn’t want me dead. Right now, I’m aware I have a lot of enemies, I’m aware I’ve been alone and that I may be forcing myself into something before I know its right. But…” Lifting his head slightly he would plant a kiss to her forehead, as his right hand lifted to lightly stroke her cheek and tuck a couple strands of hair behind her ear, “Through everything I’ve been through, through everything we’ve been through, I’ve come to the decision that if I don’t do this I may lose someone I care about dearly. I will never let you out of my sight again, I won’t chance someone hurting you, and I won’t ever forfeit my love to another woman. I am another man, another being who got a second chance at life. I am Manic Deathstorm and you will by my woman till the end of our unnatural lives. Which…”

There was a slight pause in his speech as he grazed his lips lightly across her flesh on their way down towards her left ear where he would pick up again, “could very well be forever…” Releasing a gentle breath of air, his head would rest itself against hers, “Quell your worries, they’re fruitless. Enjoy what we’ve become, Mistress of the Night.” A faint smile traced his slender lips at the sheer thought of the title, before shrugging slightly to himself. With one smooth motion he would pull back from Cordelia, taking a mere step to distance them a bit, “As for your child, I will tell him myself when I take him out on my promise. If he hates me for it, then it will only add to our little training bout. Rage trains the brain, learning to focus it is the key to a great fighter. And who knows, maybe it’ll be fine.” Giving a half hearted shrug in response to his words, the same coy grin would cross his features, “And I suppose you’ll give me that line of crap about how you want to do it, how you should, it’s your child, blah blah blah, yadda yadda yadda. There I said it for you, there’s no point in reiterating something I already know that’s coming.”

Stepping forward again, a hand would lift to extend his index finger out to touch her nose lightly, “But, I don’t care what you believe. For once I’m not going to give a damn about what you say. So, go cry a river, build a raft, and float your way down it if you don’t like it. Because if we’re going to be together, Kaiden will be my child as well, understand?” Cocking his head off to the side, the same sly grin would soon cross his features, “If you’re going to deny me, then you’re jeopardizing this relationship before it even begins. Alaina was apart of your life before we ever reached this point, the least you can grant me is this little ti—“ All words faltered on a sheer instance as a voice echoed through his eyes in a hushed whisper, causing his eyes to jolt to his surroundings in a slightly startled fashion. Lifting a slight brow at the absence of the sound, his eyes would drift slowly back to Cordelia, until the voice ushered louder in his ears, ‘Andros…’

Just then a sudden chill ran the length of his back, causing his body to twitch slightly in response. Narrowing his eyes in concentration on the sound, the realization would soon hit him that it wasn’t something that was audible per say, but something that was more so projected upon him and him alone. Snapping his attention quickly away from the whole situation, it would return itself back to that of Cordelia, but just as he was going to open his mouth to speak again, the voice would issue forth again in his head. ‘Forsake me, damn me, my sentence…to death, come find me.’ It was that last bit of words that brought realization to whom they belonged by the sound of the voice. But it was that same realization that brought disbelief and denial. There was no way, no way possible that it could be. It must have been something that his head thought up to distract him from Cordelia. Wait…If that was true, then was this a sign that they weren’t meant to be? Was he afraid to commit to her? No…He just swore he’d remain with her without hinderance…

Throughout the entire mesh of thoughts that weaved throughout the caverns of his mind, he would absentmindedly chew at his bottom lip, before finally biting down on it out of frustration. Blood trickled forth from the open wounds that his fangs produced, trickling down the contours of his lips and chin before dropping down upon his exposed chest in a steady flow of droplets. The scent of blood was what snapped him out of his thought induced coma. Shaking his head slowly, his eyes would slide shut momentarily, “This isn’t the time or place for this…Perhaps we should get some air, I’m feeling a bit off…” There was no worry or attention drawn to the blood letting of his lip, but instead it was simply ignored, with the mere exception of the coppery scent that lingered in his nostrils, but he did his best to distract himself. Turning slightly from Cordelia, he would begin to make his way towards the door, swinging out a shot distance off his path to pick up her jacket from the chair, only to sling it over his shoulder haphazardly. And from there he would press his way outside and down the steps where he would falter in his stance, awaiting her exit, before starting with a couple words, “Animal, beast, and a deranged madman. Are you sure that’s what you want to devote yourself to, till the ends of time?”

Not bothering to look back at her, his eyes would distract themselves when they lifted up to the moon, “My ideals are to light this world aflame, to make a name for myself before I die in this cruel twisted world. I want to cast asunder my worldly bonds and set myself apart from the rest of humanity as a God. I have a complex…A complex for power. My mental state isn’t the strongest, you’ve witnessed that. On top of that, I can’t be trusted, I no longer hold feelings, and I’m a shell devoid of a whole. How can I love anyone but myself…You said it well yourself. I’m someone who’s steadily losing control of his life and his sanity…Alaina gave me hope, but I can’t be there every second, every waking minute. There’s a reason I distance myself from her, because if anyone. ANYONE ever found out she was my child, then she would become a target, that’s why she’s safer out there by herself!” By now his voice escalated in his tone, becoming more boisterous and rampant, “I love her dearly, but if she stays with me, then she’s in danger. Worse, far worse than she would ever be alone. Do you even realize how many people despise me now; do you realize how many would like nothing more than to see me die? They would go to any lengths, including hurting Alaina, it’s happened before. Twice I’ve put her life in danger now and now to have you added to this mix? So now I put both of your lives in danger? Even Kaidens? I’m better off alone…” Suddenly his voice died off to a sudden croak of noise in the last futile attempts to finish his speech, “This…This is the life of Manic Deathstorm, do you want apart of it now?”

((OoC: I hope it's good dear. I finished it in one day for once and was like "yes!" and wanted to put it up, lol.))

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