Collapsed World [MxM, Non-Con, Mpreg]

Part 16 [Iris]

Iris let his body lay limp against the table, unable to control the tremors that rippled through his body. For the first time in his life, he felt empty and completely alone. He felt like a fish out of water, and Julez was the air that he needed to breath. How could he possibly continue on his own? Iris didn't believe in his own strength, he didn't even really think that he had any. Julez was the strong one, he was the one that fed Iris with all the courage that Iris had ever had. Without that connection, Iris felt weak and helpless. It would take time for the effects of having his mark removed to completely wipe the traces of Julez clean from Iris' mind, but the picture of him in Iris' mind was already starting to fade and he struggled to remember every detail of his mate, holding on to him as much as he possibly could.

Since Avaens were not a war raging race, the skills that they had for battle were learned the old fashion way, through steel and sweat. They didn't have many of the offensive abilities that the Corvine possessed. Their natural gifts were in healing and matters of the heart and mind. Those who could heal others were the most important to the resistance. Some could heal the physical wounds that were inflicted, while others could treat the mental distress of lost and broken slaves. Though these abilities had their limits, and there were always some that were broken beyond repair. Most Avaens were in tune with the emotions of those that they were directly related to, such as parents, mates, siblings, and children. Iris was one of the few that was considered a true empath, because his ability to detect the emotions in others wasn't confined to his family, or even to only Avaens. Iris was kind and sympathetic even beyond the norms of his people and it was his ability to sense the emotions in others that made him so sensitive to the needs of others. It was easy for Iris to cry with someone who was sad, to laugh with those who were joyous. However certain emotions, when experienced in abnormally high doses caused strange reactions in Iris that he didn't care for, such as rage, fear, envy, and cruelty. He was not exempt from having these emotions passed on through him, and it took a lot of meditation for him to not let those sorts of feelings absorb him.

It was hard for Iris to focus on his own feelings for very long when another person was in the room, and Lykaios was no exception. He had not expected such a reaction from the Corvine, and he was caught a little off-guard by his anger. Iris shuddered, trying to block the others emotions from his heart, lest he be negatively affected by them. With years of proper meditation and training, Iris could refocus some bad emotions into pity, because deep down it was still natural for him to feel pity for those that were haunted by fear and rage. He couldn't quite grasp the reason for the reaction though. Avaens were taught that death was apart of life and that for every light that went out, a new one took its place. It was the natural order of things. Under natural circumstances, Avaens enjoyed longevity like very few races throughout the galaxy,living upwards to five to six hundred years naturally. When the end came, they accepted death peacefully. However, the new threat that the Corvines posed changed this outlook for many of the weaker minded, who would beg and plead for their lives in the face of an early demise, but Iris held steady to the old ways, embracing the idea of death with welcome arms. In death, no one could violate him or own him, so Lykaios words meant very little to him. He gazed at the other thoughtfully for a moment, picking apart the pieces of emotions that he could read before he spoke suddenly, his voice taking on a somber tone.

"Are you afraid to die, Lykaios?" It might of been shocking to know that Iris had picked up on his new master's name so quickly, but he'd heard it spoken by one of the other Corvines, one that felt much anger and jealousy for Lykaios, and the name was confirmed by the unintentional whispers from the minds of the other Avaens that lived in the house.

Iris said nothing else after that, his mind in an absent state of despair as he was dumped into what was to be his playroom. Iris wouldn't be easy to break like the others, as his own pain and death were of little concern to him. He was more concerned about the Avaens around him, especially when he heard their painful cries, their pain resonating deeply in his own heart. He would have gladly offered himself to save them from the torture and the beatings. He wanted nothing more than to be able to wrap his arms and his wings around them and protect them from danger. He even took to singing old songs of love and comfort to through the the very vents in which he heard their cries of pain and misery, the only thing that he could think of to sooth their pain, though he doubted that it helped at all, still he tried. When Kit came to him with food, Iris didn't feel hungry, but when he saw the distress in the boy's eyes, Iris ate for his sake, if for no one else. Kit looked young, and Iris wondered if he even knew of a time before Corvine rule, which made him frown.

"The Twilight Spring brings sweet showers, and the horrors of today can be washed away for the bliss of tomorrow, nothing lasts forever."  Iris whispered mentally the soft poetry, though his head was turned to the side now, looking off into empty space. He did as Lykaios had instructed, bathing himself every day, combing his hair and flapping his wings to dry them out. He thought about how he used to dry his wings after swimming in the lake by taking to the skies. He forced himself to think of his memories with Julez, trying desperately to keep him from completely slipping from his thoughts. When Iris wasn't singing or thinking about Julez, he was sitting in the middle of the room meditating. Having worked closely with ex-slaves, Iris had heard many horrible things, but he also heard stories of survival and the techniques used by those that had been enslaved for the most time who learned how to leave their physical bodies and ascend to another astral plain while their bodies were being mutilated. Iris didn't know if he would ever be able to reach such achievements, but the least he could do was to prepare himself mentally for whatever was to befall him.