Post by Nathalia on Oct 20, 2008 20:12:22 GMT -5
Let me start off by saying that this picture made my entire evening. They looked so amazing that I had to do this, I haven't had the time needed lately so...this'll do perfectly. <3 I'll have your new babies up within a few days X3 Here we go.
Satra, Xenon, and Sera: I hope I was able to play out your characters correctly, if you feel something needs to be changed, just tell me and I'll fix it ,3
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”She’s gone, she’s gone and I let it happen...” Bernard slumped against a column outside of the garden grounds, the scent of roses wafting gently past his face as he sobbed. He knew no one would come. Midnight, after the burial of a Hearts Queen? No, no they would all be inside, explaining to the younger ones what death meant or down in the kitchens getting a slipshod dinner. ”Fino..I let her take his place; she was always there, fiery and wild like my nephew... Like my son, he practically was and I never said. I never told either of them! Why do I keep letting them die?”
His shoulders shook as he finally stopped the sounds from escaping, leaning back against the smooth marble, he slowly slid into a crouch, face buried in his arms as he throat constricted. He would have given anything to have her back, he should have seen, should have guessed that she wasn’t built for it. ”I’m so sorry, Lani...If I could have made it me, I would have. I’m so sorry, Lanikins, I’m so sorry. Serafino...I’m so sorry.”[/color]
Heilyn found him the next morning, still curled up in a ball and unable to look up at her properly, he was so tired... The King couldn’t vocalize it, but he appreciated her tirade, it gave him a sense of reality. Kept him grounded. He allowed himself to be helped up, to be led back to his chambers and forcibly stripped down, chucked into bed like a poorly behaved child.
”Heilyn?”
”What?”
”Why do they all die? Why does everyone I love die...?” He said it in a whisper, staring up at the ceiling and unable to meet her gaze. He expected her sarcasm, craved it, anything to have been able to voice the question and not receive an answer. She stared at him coolly, one eyebrow raised and her mouth half open. He hadn’t expected the hug, had thought she would distance herself, from the death from his misery.
”Do you care about us? You always said you loved your Hills-be-damned friends.” Her breath on his shoulder and her strong, thin fingers tightening around his shoulders forced the tears to begin escaping again; he did his best to hold them back. His voice came out as an ugly croak because of it.
”Yes?”
”Then we’re not all dead, and hell if I’m going anywhere, ok?”
He tightened his grip on her back beneath the shoulder blades. Pressing his face against her neck. ”Ok...ok. Oh, Hills, why?”
She did avoid him, though he knew that at times she didn’t mean to, the children did keep her busy. How could they not, so many of them and all so needy. He wandered forlornly about the palace in a daze, unable to concentrate on anything. Queen Rai was kind enough to give him some time off, but he almost wished he hadn’t...now he was stuck alone with his thoughts.
"If you need someone to talk to about.. anything, I'm... You know."
Seth...Seth had time.
Bernard couldn’t get away from himself, he hadn’t wanted to talk but, he needed to. Other wise he was afraid he would...
The other man had spoken the truth, even shifting to his Biped form when Bernard went to him so that he could just press his face into fur. ”Oh Hills, Seth. They keep leaving me, and I’ll never get them back. What did I do wrong?”
He kept going back to Seth over the next few weeks. He said less and less each time, and never discussed the horror of the embarrassing morning just three weeks before Lani’s death. The morning where he had awoken with a monster of a hang-over in a pile of strewn clothing and his two best friends. If he just pushed the thought from his mind, easy enough to do now, then he didn’t even have to consider the fact that he’d slept with the pair of them...something he’d promised himself he wouldn’t allow to happen again...damn it all.
The Bat was good about it, jus sitting with him and, on occasion, reminiscing about a few things he’d seen Lani do that had either amused him, or stuck out...good and bad. It helped, whether the Bat thought it did or not. Bernard couldn’t shake the haze of awful thought and misery, it annoyed him to no end but...the thoughts and feelings wouldn’t stop. After a month, he simply stopped coming out of his room. Granted, that only lasted for about five days before Heilyn burst in with a tray of food and a few choice words. She continued coming back and forcing him to eat at least once a day, he appreciated it but...couldn’t force himself to say much more than the occasional “thank you” or to give her a pathetic hug in return. He felt as though something in him had caved somehow, and wasn’t certain how to fix it.
After two months, he tried getting back to his job, he managed to get halfway through an interview with a potential guard before passing out in front of them. Queen Rai had put his hoof down after that, insisting that Bernard rest and see to his own health first. The look in his Queen’s eyes made him stop and take a look at himself as he passed a mirror later, moving slowly down the hall, his limp worse than ever. Temmin had forced him to start using a cane, telling him that if he didn’t his muscle would probably snap again...with less hope of getting it fixed this time. He had taken it grudgingly, snarling a few muttered curses and whacking random objects with it as he left the Heron’s office space. His face looked drawn, paler than usual and his eye looked rimmed with soot. Damn...he did look bad, the hell...
Seth and Heilyn continued to visit and seek him out in his lab and his room, though they did rib him a little abut his new “no alcohol” stance, they accepted it easily enough.
He appreciated it.
He started to notice the odd feelings about a month after he had been forced to use the cane, choosing to ignore them in favor of burying himself in his research. Odd, twanging pains in his gut and neck that lanced on and off and caused him to stop and curl up sometimes, panting slightly from the pain and dizziness.
He awoke once, lying on his side in his lab, he had no idea what time it was, or when he had gotten there, that was when he finally told Temmin...and the Heron confined him to his bed until he could figure out what was wrong.
Two days passed fitfully, and then he remembered nothing.
Temmin had informed Seth and Heilyn of the issue, not knowing who else to inform and due to the...circumstances. It hadn’t been hard to figure out who the father was. The Heron had informed them that if they didn’t abort, they would lose their King, his body couldn’t handle the drain. He had been almost as shocked as Seth himself at the Bat’s suggestion to an alternative...
Bernard awoke slowly, his head in a fog and stared up at Temmin. When he had been told he’d been in a mild coma for the past two months, he simply stared at the wall in shock, what the hell? Temmin had shaken his head and walked off when the King refused to talk anymore, opening the door and nodding to someone outside. Bernard looked up at Heilyn, his eye poorly focused and blank. ”Heilyn? What happened?”
He didn’t like the way that her arms crossed over her chest, or the look she threw at the far wall.
”Think you can get up?”
”I suppose..might need some help but...” Admitting that tore him in two, he wanted to make a joke out of it, but couldn’t pull anything to mind. He was surprised at how hard it actually was to get down the hall to Seth and Heilyn’s room. He was led in and nodded to Seth, giving him a quick smile. He was a little surprised at how weak the grin he got in return was...what had happened?
”I don’t know how to really say it, s I guess I’ll just show you.” Heilyn muttered, rubbing her hand across the back of her neck and rolling her eyes around the room in slight embarrassment. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she rotated him so that he was looking directly at Seth, the pushed his head down. The King’s eyes widened in surprise.
Four eggs, brightly colored and marked, lay in a pile of blankets next to Seth’s crossed legs. Bernard looked back at Heilyn in confusion.
”Oh, yeah. They’re yours.”
He hadn’t wanted to just leave them hanging like that, but fainting was the best option next to screaming at that point.
---------------------------------------------------------------
~Nathalia
Satra, Xenon, and Sera: I hope I was able to play out your characters correctly, if you feel something needs to be changed, just tell me and I'll fix it ,3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
”She’s gone, she’s gone and I let it happen...” Bernard slumped against a column outside of the garden grounds, the scent of roses wafting gently past his face as he sobbed. He knew no one would come. Midnight, after the burial of a Hearts Queen? No, no they would all be inside, explaining to the younger ones what death meant or down in the kitchens getting a slipshod dinner. ”Fino..I let her take his place; she was always there, fiery and wild like my nephew... Like my son, he practically was and I never said. I never told either of them! Why do I keep letting them die?”
His shoulders shook as he finally stopped the sounds from escaping, leaning back against the smooth marble, he slowly slid into a crouch, face buried in his arms as he throat constricted. He would have given anything to have her back, he should have seen, should have guessed that she wasn’t built for it. ”I’m so sorry, Lani...If I could have made it me, I would have. I’m so sorry, Lanikins, I’m so sorry. Serafino...I’m so sorry.”[/color]
Heilyn found him the next morning, still curled up in a ball and unable to look up at her properly, he was so tired... The King couldn’t vocalize it, but he appreciated her tirade, it gave him a sense of reality. Kept him grounded. He allowed himself to be helped up, to be led back to his chambers and forcibly stripped down, chucked into bed like a poorly behaved child.
”Heilyn?”
”What?”
”Why do they all die? Why does everyone I love die...?” He said it in a whisper, staring up at the ceiling and unable to meet her gaze. He expected her sarcasm, craved it, anything to have been able to voice the question and not receive an answer. She stared at him coolly, one eyebrow raised and her mouth half open. He hadn’t expected the hug, had thought she would distance herself, from the death from his misery.
”Do you care about us? You always said you loved your Hills-be-damned friends.” Her breath on his shoulder and her strong, thin fingers tightening around his shoulders forced the tears to begin escaping again; he did his best to hold them back. His voice came out as an ugly croak because of it.
”Yes?”
”Then we’re not all dead, and hell if I’m going anywhere, ok?”
He tightened his grip on her back beneath the shoulder blades. Pressing his face against her neck. ”Ok...ok. Oh, Hills, why?”
She did avoid him, though he knew that at times she didn’t mean to, the children did keep her busy. How could they not, so many of them and all so needy. He wandered forlornly about the palace in a daze, unable to concentrate on anything. Queen Rai was kind enough to give him some time off, but he almost wished he hadn’t...now he was stuck alone with his thoughts.
"If you need someone to talk to about.. anything, I'm... You know."
Seth...Seth had time.
Bernard couldn’t get away from himself, he hadn’t wanted to talk but, he needed to. Other wise he was afraid he would...
The other man had spoken the truth, even shifting to his Biped form when Bernard went to him so that he could just press his face into fur. ”Oh Hills, Seth. They keep leaving me, and I’ll never get them back. What did I do wrong?”
He kept going back to Seth over the next few weeks. He said less and less each time, and never discussed the horror of the embarrassing morning just three weeks before Lani’s death. The morning where he had awoken with a monster of a hang-over in a pile of strewn clothing and his two best friends. If he just pushed the thought from his mind, easy enough to do now, then he didn’t even have to consider the fact that he’d slept with the pair of them...something he’d promised himself he wouldn’t allow to happen again...damn it all.
The Bat was good about it, jus sitting with him and, on occasion, reminiscing about a few things he’d seen Lani do that had either amused him, or stuck out...good and bad. It helped, whether the Bat thought it did or not. Bernard couldn’t shake the haze of awful thought and misery, it annoyed him to no end but...the thoughts and feelings wouldn’t stop. After a month, he simply stopped coming out of his room. Granted, that only lasted for about five days before Heilyn burst in with a tray of food and a few choice words. She continued coming back and forcing him to eat at least once a day, he appreciated it but...couldn’t force himself to say much more than the occasional “thank you” or to give her a pathetic hug in return. He felt as though something in him had caved somehow, and wasn’t certain how to fix it.
After two months, he tried getting back to his job, he managed to get halfway through an interview with a potential guard before passing out in front of them. Queen Rai had put his hoof down after that, insisting that Bernard rest and see to his own health first. The look in his Queen’s eyes made him stop and take a look at himself as he passed a mirror later, moving slowly down the hall, his limp worse than ever. Temmin had forced him to start using a cane, telling him that if he didn’t his muscle would probably snap again...with less hope of getting it fixed this time. He had taken it grudgingly, snarling a few muttered curses and whacking random objects with it as he left the Heron’s office space. His face looked drawn, paler than usual and his eye looked rimmed with soot. Damn...he did look bad, the hell...
Seth and Heilyn continued to visit and seek him out in his lab and his room, though they did rib him a little abut his new “no alcohol” stance, they accepted it easily enough.
He appreciated it.
He started to notice the odd feelings about a month after he had been forced to use the cane, choosing to ignore them in favor of burying himself in his research. Odd, twanging pains in his gut and neck that lanced on and off and caused him to stop and curl up sometimes, panting slightly from the pain and dizziness.
He awoke once, lying on his side in his lab, he had no idea what time it was, or when he had gotten there, that was when he finally told Temmin...and the Heron confined him to his bed until he could figure out what was wrong.
Two days passed fitfully, and then he remembered nothing.
Temmin had informed Seth and Heilyn of the issue, not knowing who else to inform and due to the...circumstances. It hadn’t been hard to figure out who the father was. The Heron had informed them that if they didn’t abort, they would lose their King, his body couldn’t handle the drain. He had been almost as shocked as Seth himself at the Bat’s suggestion to an alternative...
Bernard awoke slowly, his head in a fog and stared up at Temmin. When he had been told he’d been in a mild coma for the past two months, he simply stared at the wall in shock, what the hell? Temmin had shaken his head and walked off when the King refused to talk anymore, opening the door and nodding to someone outside. Bernard looked up at Heilyn, his eye poorly focused and blank. ”Heilyn? What happened?”
He didn’t like the way that her arms crossed over her chest, or the look she threw at the far wall.
”Think you can get up?”
”I suppose..might need some help but...” Admitting that tore him in two, he wanted to make a joke out of it, but couldn’t pull anything to mind. He was surprised at how hard it actually was to get down the hall to Seth and Heilyn’s room. He was led in and nodded to Seth, giving him a quick smile. He was a little surprised at how weak the grin he got in return was...what had happened?
”I don’t know how to really say it, s I guess I’ll just show you.” Heilyn muttered, rubbing her hand across the back of her neck and rolling her eyes around the room in slight embarrassment. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she rotated him so that he was looking directly at Seth, the pushed his head down. The King’s eyes widened in surprise.
Four eggs, brightly colored and marked, lay in a pile of blankets next to Seth’s crossed legs. Bernard looked back at Heilyn in confusion.
”Oh, yeah. They’re yours.”
He hadn’t wanted to just leave them hanging like that, but fainting was the best option next to screaming at that point.
---------------------------------------------------------------
~Nathalia
