Doomed and Determined Snippets

Fire and Death

   He has no idea what would happen when they go to find Rarsiel. They'd been hunting the red dragon for a while now, and he always seemed to be gone by the time any of their scouts had made their way to the area. Even his own aunt seemed to have trouble following the larger than a normal dragon, and that was saying something or anything. He'd talk to Zephyr about it, but neither of them seemed to know what to expect.

    Speaking of, they'd been making their way towards some desolate place where they'd last been told about any dragons. The Mountain of graves was nor his favorite place to be, but it'd be fine. What better place to fight something that used fire than in a place where the fire couldn't catch. Of course, the three adults that had been with them, his aunt and Uncles had told him well that it did help, it almost meant little to no cover.

    Wouldn't be much different from some of the scars he already had.

    Which is probably why they had situated so far away from everything, watching what was going down below with sharp eyes. Zerxes isn't too sure what to feel when he sees Zephyr's parents down in the middle of what looks like an altar with her aunt. He glances around the spots that everyone had chosen so that they weren't all bundled together, searching for which point she might be at. Probably with Daevaris somewhere to his left.

    He's not too sure what it was. Maybe he was searching for too long, or the kick from Murvenvu against his thigh. But he brings his eyes back just in time to see Solasta receive a knife to the gut from Annasach. There's a moment where everything seems to slow down and go quiet.

    Its the loud - and Zerxes can hear the pain it - "No!" he hears from his left, followed but what he knows to be a large flaming ball of fire scattering everyone down below. He's unsure as to what to feel. Like a part of him can almost feel the pain Zephyr must be feeling at the moment, but another part of him is impressed by the fireball he just saw. There's a sigh from beside him.

    "Damn it," His Uncle is vaulting over the edge of the cliff, landing on his feet just underneath. Zerxes looks over the edge, catching Murvenvu's eyes, then he's sighing too, following after him and already and into the battle. It was probably going to end in them fighting something anyway. At least this way he gets the alright to punch both her parents in the face.

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    He has never been one to question himself when it comes to split-second decisions. When you don't have much of an option, either act fast or lose both choices, you tend to just jump in and deal with what comes later on. More so when you have fire at your back and magic raining down on you from the front. Zerxes would be please if he never saw another dragon. Any battle makes it easy to lose where you are, where yours and the other sides people are. Worse yet, was the larger one they were in now. He had yet to see Lark anywhere, and he hoped that the half-elf stayed further back as they'd ask. He'd seen his uncle a few times, his aunt and Valen as well, but it was quick moments, and then they were gone away.

    The first time he fines Zephyr again, after losing each other amidst Rarsiel's fire before the dragon decided they weren't worth the trouble and flew away, He finds that his heart almost stops beating. What does one do when they see their beloved's turned away from their father, with said father's hand raised some spell sparking? He can see the moment Zephyr catches sight of the more than likely lightning spell beginning. He can almost make out the anger on Verendus' face. He wonders just when everything went wrong, not just with her parents.

    He doesn't stop and think, his hand finding his venom dagger almost too naturally. It's gone a second later with a flick of his wrist, sailing true and he almost feels a pinch of regret as it finds its place nestled between Verendus' ribs. Zerxes can see the moment Verendus' silvery grey eyes turn towards him, but then he can see the other attacks that have been made on him as well. Zephyr's eyes are on him as well, but he's not focusing on that. There's an arrow that finds a place in the spine, a second after his dagger had. Daevaris, the bright blue fletching standing out amongst the grey. A second arrow, Valen's judging by the golden yellow fletching, finds its place to the right of his Aunt's. He wonders where they all were to have been able to get suck a good shoot, but it's when he starts to see the shock fade and what he is sure is tears on Zephyr's face. When he's sure he can see the almost shaking to her shoulders.

    He's catching her as she falling, arms around her middle and guiding her down. At that same moment, he can see the gleam of the second dagger that has found a place beside his. Both nestled against the heart as if they had been there all along. He knows it to be from his Uncle. One last "Fuck you". Zerxes is just surprised his uncle waited this long to kill the bastard.

    The fighting is still going on around them, even as Verendus falls to the ground, the spell he was attempting to cast fizzling out. It's quiet for Zerxes, who tuned out the noises of the battle around him. He catches Valen's eyes, the bright blue a spot of color that's hard to miss. The elf nods once at him and then is gone.

    "He's..he's dead." Zerxes does not like the quietness of her voice, he decides as he's turning to look down at her. She doesn't meet his eyes, to focus on the still form of her father.

    "He was trying to hurt you," Zerxes gets out, and he's unsure of himself. Should he have attempted to subdue him instead? No, he knows that would have amounted to nothing. He may have been holding Zephyr's lifeless body again if he hadn't done what he had. He was not allowing that to happen again while he breaths.

    "I..I know." She's leaning into him, something weighing her shoulders down. Zerxes can dimly hear the fighting calming down around their little bubble. Honestly, he's surprised he hasn't been attacked yet. He lets out a breath.

    "I had too," He's unsure of the way she seems to flinch. "I couldn't go through that again," they both know what he means. "I couldn't let you go through that again." And he wouldn't. Not even if she pushed him away again. He's grown attached when he doesn't know, but he has.

    "Hey!" There's a slight sting to the side of his face and then he's meeting her eyes. "Look at me. I know. He was going to kill me, as they did-" She cuts off, and Zerxes makes sure to keep himself planted firmly in front of the ... altar. He was big enough to block most of that scene, or so he hoped. "You saved me. I'm just.." Zerxes waits for a second, and then another.

    "Shocked?" He supplies, and she's nodding, hands finding their place on his shoulders.

    "Shocked? Yea, that." She agrees lamely, but neither care.

    "But not scared? Or angry?" He could deal with anger. Anger is what he knew best. Not the quiet acceptance that seemed to be around him.

    "Of you?" There's a thunk nearby, and he can see the form of someone falling to the ground with an arrow to the throat. Ah, so that's why they haven't died yet. "Never. Never of you."