09 - Knight Catcher - 10th of the Human Category

[radiantwingedone]

Who: Duke Pantarei and Anyone o/
When: After This
Where: Forest quadrant
Style: Either is good o/
Status: OPEN

[ After someone else came to be with Zelos, Duke moves back out into the woods, to where he'd set up his house... and sort of sits there.

He needs to think about this. ]

Comments

[fortheempire]

Ioder stared back, though his was much less dispassionate and more quietly breaking inside. At least he was finally getting answers that weren't barely sentences, but it wasn't doing anything to assuage his upset after all.

"... but the connection is there... what would you have done if you hadn't wounded him the way you did, and he still wouldn't leave you alone? I want to believe this wasn't intentional, Duke! I do! I just..."

He trailed off quietly, shaking his head. A hand to his temple and a wince, with a groan of pain bit back. Everything hurt and the longer he stood there, the worse it was getting. He was not well and doing everything he could to hide it.

"You... are both my friends... and I don't know what to do now... if-- ... when he comes back..."

[radiantwingedone]

"..... If I had nicked his shoulder, or drew a line across his chest, and he still attempted to follow, peacefully? Shoved with formula. If he had attempted to follow, more of action with action, defended self, beat him to a standstill. Second course of action far more likely to kill him than first; I was angry and wished to be away from the cause of that feeling. Remaining near and in a combat situation would likely shift away from tire or injure to kill."

A blink. Why do you consider him a friend, Ioder. Why. His actions in the dream?

"Seek to avoid. If impossible for full, hear his half of events through SFC. Should not have attempted this conversation in person, a mistake."

[fortheempire]

He just does, Duke. Questioning it is only going to confuse him further.

"... it was... why... ? What was he after that he'd risk fighting... ?"

His voice came out weak, shaky, giving in to how weary and ill he felt and letting his coherency fail. Odd, considering just moments before he'd been fighting with Duke to give answers that were little more than a few words at a time.

His stance shifted in to something awkward, trying to stay on his feet even as a sweat broke out on his brow.

"Estellise... she was screaming when--... why wouldn't he leave?"

[radiantwingedone]

"......" Actually.. studying Ioder now. He doesn't look ill because he's confronting a man who had caused another to commit suicide, he looks ill because he is ill.

... He doesn't know if he should bother doing- well, perhaps... No, he hadn't tested that spell of Mithos out himself, yet, he won't do that to someone else.

"Why are you in the woods rather than at the coral."

[fortheempire]

Damn. He knew he looked awful but he had continued to hold on to the hope that maybe Duke wouldn't notice. Another foolish thing for the day. He let out a groan and dropped to the ground rather ungracefully, sitting where he landed with his face in his hands.

"I had to... know..." he managed to ground out, his voice sounding worse by the second, "I'm sorry... for yelling... I just had to know..."

[radiantwingedone]

"... You would have no reason to apologize to me, even if you had struck." A pause. What does he do in this situation. Keeping him is a bad idea, if someone had known Ioder had gone out to confront him and the young emperor didn't return....

Duke sighs, crouching next to the blond young man and studies him for a moment longer. Couldn't stand, weakness to voice....

Don't mind him picking you up. He wants out out of his woods if you're going to be sick.

[fortheempire]

Well, at least he hadn't thrown up. Yet.

He didn't protest being lifted off the ground, save for a slightly pained noise that escaped, his eyes squeezing closed tightly as he curled against Duke.

"I couldn't... hit you... I wanted to, though..."

[radiantwingedone]

"Could not? I am not invulnerable, nor constantly cloaked in magic that lessens injury. Did you expect me to move?" Ioder have fun, you might be able to feel Duke's voice rumble about as he moves quickly through the woods - well, a little faster than his normal walk.

"Or speaking of illness and aim."

[fortheempire]

"No..." Ioder moaned, trying desperately to ignore how any movement is making his stomach churn something awful. "Not... what I meant..."

[radiantwingedone]

Ioder, you don't get to get sick on him. If the movement of just walking is making him ill...

Does stillness-but-moving work? Duke steps and then stops stepping, floating forward.

"Meaning unclear."

[fortheempire]

That helps, though he stays in the same position he was, just keeping himself as still as possible. He doesn't want to get sick on Duke.

"Just... couldn't. Couldn't make myself do it..."

[radiantwingedone]

"..... ah." He has no idea what to say to that. Just... continuing to float out of the forest.

Hopefully no one will stop him from settling the young emperor next to the coral.

[fortheempire]

Ioder draws quiet as well, very close to nodding off right then and there. Sleep would be better than throwing up at least.

Just before they reach the coral, though, muffled mumble escapes from him, barely loud enough to be heard.

[radiantwingedone]

Duke blinks, pausing to blink at the emperor.

... what.

... did he fall asleep.

... now what does he do.

[fortheempire]

He did.

Sorry, Duke. He's out like a light.

[radiantwingedone]

Duke will. Just carefully put Ioder down next to the coral now. Awkward.

And... going back to his forest now. He hadn't been planning on leaving it but.. silly sick emperors.