Sickness and Health

[Jack]

The main Destiny versus Damnation RP has been grinding to a halt due to the missing-in-action-ness of several main character posters. Still wanting to RP something, me and some of the remaining members started up some side-stories, namely a birthday celebration and three tournament matches.

This tournament match is between me and fellow administrator Kyi, it started last night and I posted this first post for it just today. More to follow! Kyi's a fast poster.

[Jack]

(Cynric)
Match Host: Uh, me, I guess.
Opponents: Asher vs. Kyi Moonfeather
Matchtype: Kiss match
Location: Frozen Planetside, EXL5, Black Moon Haven
Post limit: 6
Terms: Asher posts first. Stirring from death on the frozen planetside, the wandering Asher is discovered by Kyi, who mistakes him for one of the planetside survivors..

[Jack]

(Jack)
A foul wind fluttered restlessly among a labryinthe of frozen tree limbs, stirring pale frost to drift down across the snow-buried wasteland in small bursts of powder. Deep here in this ice-laden forest, the trees had grown high and their roots, twisting insidiously, were frozen in their final attempts to purchase soil, exposing catacombs of small recesses beneath the trees. Icicles crusted the bark everywhere dew-drops had once crested, turning every gap into a toothy maw, every high bramble of intertwined branches a thorny white thicket. Here, beneath a vast old tree of alarming yet horrific beauty, a small cavern was wreathed in shadow.

Nearly tall enough for a man to stand upright, the cave had but one feature - a hastily made cross, constructed of wood cut to the shape, planted firmly in a pile of frosted stone. The stone blocks were set evenly, not to be mistaken for a natural outcropping of the wilderness, but laid carefully - fearfully - by human hands. The words 'Toujours morte' had been carved into the cross, in a vain hope. Here lay Asher, sleeping blissfully in his imprisoning tomb. His eye, a pale shade of cloudless skies, was open and it stared, unseeing, into the darkness of his grave. Still in the form he'd fallen in and unmoving in death, Asher was as still as the frozen planet he dwelled within, barren and unchanging, just as it had been for the past dozen years.

And then he began to move. Inexplicably, impossibly, with no more life flowing through his veins then had a moment ago, but still moving now, shifting. Twitching. His lovely blue eye irised and focused, an old and twisted intelligence settling behind it once again. His rotten hand did not burst through the tomb to freedom, his grave did not errupt and send him forth. The tomb dug for him had been a deep one, and the stone laid above him heavy. There were other ways to circumvent the barrier, of course, and if an eternity of death and rebirth had taught him anything, it was patience.

Slowly - weakly, for he had just woken, he clawed at the side of his prison, scratching his dead hand raw against the frozen earth. The twisted system of deep roots the tree above had was at times a blessing and at times a curse, sometimes Asher breached pockets of air, and sometimes cold bars of deadwood roots barred his passage completely. He was patient, however, and had nothing to fear of course from enclosed spaces. Slowly, dreamily, he inched his way to the surface, stopping when he'd broken through the ground to view the muted light. Did you miss me? he sleepily asked the world. The branches above unleashed falls of snow as an unseen wind pushed out in all directions. How I've longed for your touch, the world seemed to reply.

For a time Asher lay, his blue eye half-lidded contentedly, watching the branches stir and the snow cascade down. At last he stood, shakily, and tried to walk. His spine had been broken just near his upper back, along with his left arm. The left side of his ribcage was crushed, several of his ribs sticking out prominently from his sickly thin form, and his flesh was dead and flaking off as he moved. He spun on his foot, turning to face his own crude tombstone. As he did so, his spine tilted back on it's break slightly and he staggered slowly, nearly falling over with laughter. "Toujours morte," he rasped, "How well they understand me."

Asher crouched at the opening of the small cave, regarding his empty tomb somberly, for some time. The barren forest held no life, least of all perhaps in him. As hours passed, however, and the already dim sky grew darker, he felt life blossom behind him, a spark of mortal energy burning brightly into the dark forest. Closer and closer it came over the next hour, until he could feel the presence directly behind him. He didn't turn his head.

"Oh. Hey. I uh, didn't think I'd find anyone way out here.." a voice said behind him, undeniably female.

Asher rose and turned in feigned surprise, taking in the young woman who stood before him. She wore unusual garments, at least to Asher, a jacket drawn snugly about her slim shoulders, an unusual make of many-pocketed pants starting from her waist and dissappearing into the deep snow where her feet were buried. She held a carefully wrapped bouquet of roses of a deep wine-red hue. Her exquisitely shaped eyes were nearly hidden by her hair, and her lips exhaled a small cloud of vapor on every breath - probably the warmest air around for miles.

"A surprise to be sure, ma petite, though a most pleasant one." Asher said , his dead throat struggling around the words. He flipped his old and decaying cape over his shoulder so that it obscured his exposed bones and stepped closer, the soft snow crunching beneath his feet. Marvelling at his good fortune, he intended to drain her of life immediately for his journey out of the forest to find the nearest town or village, but curiousity of the bouquet she held stayed his feet. She stepped past him gingerly through the snowbank to his tomb, shivering slightly in the cold.

He wondered for an instant why she wasn't perturbed by his long-dead appearance, before he realized the frozen earth he'd dug through on his exodus of the grave obscured the rot of his flesh beneath a layer of grime. He could be mistaken for a filthy vagabond, perhaps. The burial plot as well looked undisturbed, he having been forced to dig around and force his way through the ground several meters away from where the cross was planted amid the stone. Kyi respectfully laid the bouquet of roses down before the cross and knelt, much as Asher had only moments ago.

"Is there someone you know buried here, ma petite?" He asked with interest, stepping under the grasping reach of the roots and behind her.

"Everyone," she replied cryptically, "No one." She closed her eyes in remembrance, frowning. "I've lost many loved ones, but never had a chance to give any of them a proper burial. When I found this place..this beautiful place, it symbolized all of them, somehow. I come here now and then, to pay my respects." She stood and faced him, looking at him curiously.

"No one's buried here," she said. "At least, no one that I know. What about you? Why've you come here?"

"My reasons are as your own, then. No one I know lies there," Asher rasped truthfully.

Kyi stepped past him, out from under the enormous dead tree, rubbing her hands together and shivering again. "Is your ship nearby? I didn't see any around when I came in."

Ship? He wondered, Is this forest set on an island? Asher took a moment in thought, measuring his knowledge of how to operate a vessel against his want to consume the girl's life immediately. Practicality won, and Asher said sadly, "I have no ship, I've been abandoned here."

"That's horrible!" Kyi said, looking with pity at his ancient garments and bedraggled appearance. "I can give you a lift as far as the Black Moon Haven, if you'd like. You look like you could use a meal, too."

"I would be honored," he gasped graciously, bowing low. Something in his back shifted, and he feared for a moment his upper torso would fall free of his body.

"It's along this way," She said, starting off through the woods. "Let's hurry, you must be freezing." He followed her, trudging through the snow in the dark woods, keeping his lone eye locked on her warm body. Slowly, gently, he opened himself up and began drawing life from her in a fine, invisible tendril. Kyi's pace faltered and she coughed lightly, her head swimming dizzingly. Asher stepped in and steadied her with his cold hands.

"Are you alright, ma petite?"

"Yeah. Just got really tired all of the sudden." she shrugged and continued on, though at a slower pace. Asher narrowed the tendril so as not to overbear his already gracious host, letting life slowly pour into him, synapses beginning to fire and blood seeping up and down his dry veins and choked arteries.

[ozran]

It was a little confusing at first, but once you got to the dialog, things pulled together. I like how it used a lot of descriptive words, especially with the dead/skeleton/thingy guy.

- Ozran

[Jack]

(Kyi)
Kyi took notice that the deadish man was now walking as fast as her, if not faster. She suddenly wondered if she had caught some sort of bug, as she stumbled onward, muffling coughs. At one point, when she was about to fall over, Asher took a few quick steps next to her and caught her arm to prevent her from toppling over. "Heh, thank you." His touch was utterly cold, considering Kyi was so sensitive to temperatures. Her breathing almost paused when he first placed his hand on her arm, surprised not by his action but by the freezing, and somehow painful, feel of his fingers. Curiousity sparked, and Kyi deeply wanted to know his secrets, and why he was this cold--why he had been on this frozen wasteland; why their was a lingering pain in his one eye, and entire body. Is his arm.. broken? She stole glances occasionally, looking over him. She wanted to ask how he lost his eye as well, but figured she'd keep it to herself unless the two became slightly good friends. It was a shame she was such a bad cook, since it was clear that this man could use a strong, full, delicious lunch.

"I'm.. I'm sorry, is your arm broken?" She paused in her walking, turning slightly back to look at him.

"I believe it is, ma petite," he said softly, his eye not focused on her, but the invisible tendril of life he was still drawing from her. His arm, despite it still being broken, was slowly being filled with life as they spoke, just as the rest of his body. "It seems to be getting better, though. Do not worry." His voice was as chilling as his touch.

Kyi stared at him awkwardly, fascinated by everything about him, then nodded. "I see it up ahead." Her voice sounded frail to her, and coughed again, hoping her throat would be cleared if need be.

"Your ship?" Asher was walking by her side now, and scanned the area in front of them with his blue jewel of an eye. "I see no waters.." He whispered.

"Water?" Kyi chuckled, "Of course not. It's a space ship." This certainly confused Asher all the more, but Kyi was unsure of how to explain. "I'll, uh, show you when we get there."

The two crunched through the snow, Kyi coughing every now and again, although Asher had ceased to drain more life from her. He figured he'd take more later on, if he needed it. For now, he was fine.

Kyi sighed happily when they stood in front of the EXL5. She didn't bother to point out that this was her ship. Asher watched her open what must have been the front door to the thing, and she welcomed him in easily. "You want a quick tour?" They walked down the main hallway of the ship, and Kyi stopped to lean against one of the walls.

"That would be nice, ma petite." He said, again softly.

"This," Kyi tapped the wall she was leaning against, "is the main power." She stood up and kept walking, Asher quickly following. "Those are the holding cells, then that's the engine room." Kyi pointed each time she named something, not giving Asher a chance to ask exactly what they were. "That's the medical room, and those are two bunk rooms for any crew I hope to pick up.. That's the right hangar behind you, which doesn't hold anything right now. Then this is the left hangar next to me, which holds my fighter pod." Asher's eye blinked slowly, realizing he might as well let her continue and ask what a fighter pod was later. "These two rooms are for guests, you can stay in one tonight if you'd like. Then there's storage, secondary power," she laughed a little, "the bathroom. Then there's the lounge, my room and then the cockpit. I'll try to make you some food," she led him into the lounge, where he took a seat on the rather large, black, couch. "I'm not a very good cook, though.. Sorry."

"I'm sure you cook fine, ma petite." He said, glancing around the nicely decorated ship. The walls in this room were white, with flourescent blue lights on the ceiling. They gave off a nice, dim lighting that was quite similar to that of a romantic restuarant's. The hall had had regular white lighting, with blue floor lights every five feet. The kitchen part of the lounge was completely chrome, and unlike the rest of the room had the regular white lights above the counters.

Kyi was peeking inside the fridge, leaning against the door, making it support most of her weight. "I've got cream. Lots of cream.. Cream soda! Um.. chocolate--"

"Chocolate is delictable," Asher said, grinning lightly.

"Teehee, it is. But you need something healthy.. You're so skinny!" She paused, "Not that that's a bad thing.." She muttered quietly to herself, rambling on about how she simply loved the way Asher looked, if he just took a shower. Asher only heard bits of this, but decided not to comment for the time being. "Oh! Ramen! Do you like Ramen? I can actually make that without burning anything.. Orrrr... carrots. Carrots would be good for you. Umm. I don't have a lot, since I can't actually make half of the things I like." She shut the fridge door and turned to Asher. "Heh, I'm sorry. You wanna take a look for yourself?"

"That's fine, ma petite. Ramen.." He pondered the word for a moment then continued, "sounds fine. With some carrots, s'il vous plaît."

Kyi smiled weakly, realizing her body longed to sit down. "Okay. Then some chocolate? 'Cause I want some chocolate too.. and cream. Cream and a smoke." She nodded to herself and walked back over to the counters, using them to keep herself standing. She set a sauce pan, after filling it with water, on the stove and turned on the fire underneath it. Asher's eye watched the fire for a moment, then followed Kyi's body, debating whether or not to take some more life for himself. She already seemed blind, and afterward she'd have no one to blame but herself..

A loud crunch with a mix of a thud sounded when Kyi smacked the Ramen packet onto the counter. "Hehe, sorry.. It makes the noodles smaller, that way you can eat it easier." Her cheeks flushed when she glanced back at Asher, which he took note of. While Kyi waited for the water to boil, she poured a glass of cream soda for herself, with a dash of regular cream, then some water for Asher, in a much taller glass. She placed the glasses on the round table in front of the couch, "I hope you're fine with water. If you want some cream soda.. Well, just take a sip of mine if you want to try. Then I'll get you some." She smiled softly, then turned back to the counters and started opening the packet of Ramen. She sprinkled the chicken-flavored powder over the noodles after pouring them into the water. Asher kept watching her, then reached forward and took a small chug of her drink. Kyi turned around again, "You like?"

He placed the glass back down, "I do, ma petite." He did like the soda, although the taste and bubbles were completely foreign to him, but he was also referring to something else.

"I'll get you some, then." In a few short movements, the glass of water was sitting by the sink and another tall glass of cream soda, with the same dash of extra cream, had taken its place at the table. Kyi then took a relaxing sit, somewhat close to Asher, but far away enough to be unable to hear his shallow breathing. She sighed quietly, "God, I don't know why I'm so damn tired." She rubbed her eyes and yawned, muffling yet another cough. "It's going to take a little while longer for it to be done.. I hope you're not starving."

Asher eyed Kyi's neck, then looked into the hazel jewels of her own. "I can wait, ma petite, do not fret."

[Jack]

(Jack)
Just as Kyi was begninning to lose herself in Asher's hypnotic blue gaze, the color left her cheeks and she slowly exhaled, her eyes unfocusing and fluttering shut. In one swift movement Asher tipped her back and scooped the unconcious girl off her feet, holding her in his arms. While before he'd been sipping at her essence gently, just now he'd taken quite a bit in one quick surge, enough to make her lose conciousness. He carried her limp form lightly over to the couch and laid her across it. As he'd held her he felt a strange lump on her back near her shoulder blades. Perhaps ma petite has a concealed weapon? He wondered in amusement.

Noting that his new friend had grown paler and now looked very ill, he strode over to the small stovetop. A row of knobs had sets of small circles painted near them, some empty and some full. He didn't bother taking time to decipher their meaning, instead simply switching the pot onto one of the cold burners so that it wouldn't boil over as he had a look around. Whatever he was in now, this collection of steel surfaces, it was certainly a ship. A 'Space' ship, she'd said, though he wasn't sure as to what that meant. He'd followed some of what she said as they toured the ship, though much was lost on him. He was nearly sure now that 'power' was some force that drove the ship, and the bathroom's facilities he understood. As he entered the cockpit, which she'd practically skimmed over in the tour, he was taken aback by the innumerable dials, gauges, and switches. All devices for guiding the ship, He surmised, though somewhat staggered as to their complexity and number. These devices don't appear to be mechanical, though..

Intelligent as he was, the concept of electrically-powered devices was beyond him, and he was forced to concede that he would need the girl alive to operate the ship. He wistfully skimmed his fingertips along the edge of the console before turning and heading back to the lounge, practically adjacent to the cockpit. The rise and fall of her chest told him that she was still breathing - though weakly, but he was careful to put the pot back on the hot burner before returning to her. With tender care Asher put his hand to her forehead and returned to her a fraction of her energy.

"Awaken, chérie. You've fainted, you're not well." Her eyelashes fluttered as she stirred, blinking up at him weakly. He gazed down at her, running his fingers from her forehead through her soft hair.

"I..what..?" Kyi squeezed her eyes shut as a splitting headache scattered her thoughts.

When she reopened them, Asher was ready with a glass of cream for her, which she tilted back and gulped down, immediately after coughing and sputtering. She pushed up onto her elbows on the couch, dimly aware of how close Asher was to her, and struggling not to think about it. Her eyes widened as she remembered the cooking ramen and she got up and crossed the room to check it. The noodles weren't quite done yet. "Could you watch that real quick?" She asked, stepping out of the lounge and nearly losing her balance. She kept a hand on the wall to steady herself as she walked to the back of the ship where the medlab was. Normally she wouldn't have left a person alone on her ship like that, but her headache was getting worse by several degrees and she was sure she had a fever. Kyi let the complex medcomputer take her temperature, taking a pair of aspirin as she checked the readout. Fever of some sort, she thought with annoyance.

By the time she made her way back to the lounge, Asher had made actual meals of the ramen she cooked and laid them out on table with napkins and sthingys. Kyi felt awkward as Asher insisted on pulling her chair out for her to sit, accustomed to more informal dining. They ate in relative silence, Asher's table manners exquisite and simply making Kyi self- concious about how she ate. She had been holding her sthingy above her head, pulling dangling ramen from her sthingy, and on occasion spilling broth on her chin, but by the end of the meal was trying to hold her sthingy gracefully like Asher, who watched her in amusement. She'd been unused to having people eat with her and wasn't really sure what to say. A short distance across the table from her, he could feel the life swelling within her again. He could sense her heartbeat, the pulse of blood flowing through her. Asher couldn't resist reestablishing a tendril to drain her life, sapping her of some of her energy again. After the meal Kyi's headache had subsided, but the tired ache didn't go away. She couldn't pilot a ship feeling like this.

"You're weary, ma petite. You should rest," he suggested.

"I'm fine," She said, moments before nearly succumbing to a wave of unheralded exhaustion, as Asher's cobalt eye widened. With a sigh she slumped slightly in her chair. "Maybe you're right."

Moving around the table carefully, he extended his arm to Kyi, helping her up and escorting her across the hallway to her quarters. She collapsed onto her bed, not even thinking to turn the covers or undress. She was completely unconcious by the time Asher kissed her on the forehead and stepped back, watching her for a few moments from the darkness with one pure blue eye. As Kyi drifted into a fitful sleep, he ran his fingers gently across her neck, feeling her pulse, not strong, but steady. A thing of beauty, Asher thought to himself.

He turned and stepped back out into the hallway, closing her door. Steady draws of this poor girl's life force had done much to sustain Asher, mending his flesh and giving him a more human appearance. He quietly folded his ancient garments and stepped into the bathroom, using the rudimentary shower to bathe the last vestiges of rot from his flesh. His broken bones had mended, and the only difference one would see from another human would be the sickly tones of his skin. His lost eye, of course, was the one wound which would never heal, under any circumstances. He retired to the guest room nearest the lounge and bathrooms, closing the door and sitting, waiting for his ever so giving host to overcome her weariness. For she has ever so much more to give..