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+--- Thread: Missing Piece (Finding Peace) (/showthread.php?tid=11493)
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Missing Piece (Finding Peace) - Alek - Sep 08 2023
backdated to late august
Alek was in a bit of a state of panic. He had woken up in Cetus as was the norm now. But he had waken up alone, which was far from ordinary. Usually Erasmus could not be found apart from him.
Even more out of the ordinary, the Raspite was laid beside him. It had not been callously abandoned, more carefully placed, but Erasmus was usually always holding the gemstone.
The dragon could not remember ever seeing the other without the gemstone, actually. This was a situation that was both bizarre and concerning.
He looked around, antlered head swinging in all direction, frantic, but not wanting to leave the gemstone because if Erasmus had left of their own accord then they would inevitably return to it and him.
Maybe... Erasmus did have good ears, they knew. So Alek called out:
"Erasmus?"
His musical tones were distressed in a way he could not recall ever being. He kept imagining a worst case scenario.
@Erasmus
RE: Missing Piece (Finding Peace) - Erasmus - Sep 08 2023
Erasmus was trudging along with a Marsh Strider swung over their shoulder when they heard Alek. It was their name he was saying, but more than that, the tone registered with Erasmus.
The tone was that of audible distress. Alek, beyond their original meeting, had always kept relatively calm. Erasmus did not know that Alek could sound like that.
It was unnerving. Alek was their safe spot in a harsh reality. What if Alek was in danger? Erasmus dropped the prey, running toward Alek's voice.
They were quick, and it did not take them too long. When they arrived, they immediately scanned for danger. But... there was none?
"Alek, where is danger?" Erasmus demanded, raspy voice not willing to dismiss this just because they could not see anything wrong.
@Alek
RE: Missing Piece (Finding Peace) - Alek - Sep 08 2023
It felt like forever, but truly was not long at all until Erasmus reappeared. The lithe predator scanned for something, and then asked a question, and Alek felt a bit ridiculous now. Of course Erasmus could go somewhere without him. "There's not any danger I know of," Alek stated.
It was embarrassing, but it was better to clear up confusion than to let it linger. "I woke up without you here and I was worried," Alek explained. "You can go off if you want, of course! But I just... I didn't know you'd be gone."
"Where'd you go?" Alek inquired, now that he was relaxing.
@Erasmus
RE: Missing Piece (Finding Peace) - Erasmus - Sep 08 2023
Tension bled out of the vampire, though they became confused. "Alek worried me," Erasmus retorted, but in a relieved way that there was no reason to be worried after all, not aggressive in the least.
It felt strange that Alek would be worried just because they were gone. But then again, Erasmus had worried about Alek, so maybe it wasn't so strange? Yet too, Alek was important to Erasmus. Erasmus was still not sure why Alek worried about them.
Erasmus perked up at the question. "Follow me, Alek!" The vampire stated, pausing only to grab the Raspite gemstone, then darted off back towards their caught prey. Occasionally, they would glance behind to make sure they weren't going too fast.
Eventually, they arrived at the dropped body of the prey, then turned to Alek with their viper's gaze, now bright with excitement. "For Alek!"
@Alek
RE: Missing Piece (Finding Peace) - Alek - Sep 08 2023
Alek chuckled, relieved by the retort in a way. He was glad the other gembound had such spirit still. The way Erasmus perked up piqued the dragon's curiosity. So, glad to have Erasmus near once again, Alek wing-walked behind Erasmus, following along as fast as he could to satisfy the other.
He was surprised to find himself led to a lesser deer's corpse. Surprised, but not unhappy. "You hunted this yourself?" Alek inquired, curious. So far, the blood-drinking lesser had been too skittish about the idea of hunting for their own. Then the words registered.
Of course Erasmus would finally hunt, but not for themself. Still, Alek had not been raised to turn down well-meaning gifts. "Thanks, Erasmus," He told the other.
Then he bit down. And... he tasted something slightly off. It was familiar, an aftertaste they had dismissed as being related to Cetus, but now... He had eaten Cetus prey before meeting Erasmus. The taste was definitely off. It didn't feel bad, but...
Well, he finished eating. It hadn't harmed him before in smaller quantities. It was probably fine.
"Erasmus, are you venomous?" Alek asked after finishing, straight to the point.
@Erasmus
RE: Missing Piece (Finding Peace) - Erasmus - Sep 08 2023
"Yes," Erasmus informed Alek at the dragon's curiosity about their hunted prey. They were not sure why the other was being grateful, it was only natural that Erasmus gave back to Alek.
It pleased an instinctual part of Erasmus to see Alek devour the prey that they had hunted for him. The vampire patiently waited for the dragon to finish.
And then he did and...
"Venomous?" Erasmus repeated the word, searching hard for the definition. Then they found it and startled badly, jumping up from where they had sat on the ground. "I hurt Alek?!"
The very idea was horrific beyond words.
@Alek
RE: Missing Piece (Finding Peace) - Alek - Sep 09 2023
"I'm not hurt," Alek rushed to reassure the suddenly frantic gembound. "It tasted a little different, but I'm perfectly fine, I promise."
Tempting as it was to drop the topic there to avoid causing Erasmus distress, this was important to know. "We need to know what your venom does. Your children could inherit that venom, and we'll need to teach them about it."
"Erasmus, can you scratch me? I think your venom comes from your claws and your teeth, so if you scratch me we can test it. I'm fairly certain its not a lethal venom, but even if it is I'd just return to chrysalis for a bit. I won't die no matter what." It was a guess from observation for the first part, but he anticipated that getting the other to bite him would be far harder, so hopefully it was right.
"I'll be okay, and we need to know this. Can you scratch me?" Alek continued, somewhat regretful that this was necessary. This was the best option to know what the effects actually were.
RE: Missing Piece (Finding Peace) - Erasmus - Sep 09 2023
Erasmus was not reassured in the least. Hurting Alek was not a thing they ever wanted to do. But even if they had not been reassured, the logic was unfortunately convincing. They missed the plural usage of child into children, distracted as they were, but it made sense the rest of it. And Alek was asking them to.
One arm held the Raspite close, as Erasmus slunk reluctantly towards Alek, hoping the other might change his mind while they were on their way.
Hesitantly, they scratched the unresisting Alek's side, just enough to bleed. Then they resisted the urge to flee in the opposite direction in shame for having hurt Alek, even on his request.
@Alek
RE: Missing Piece (Finding Peace) - Alek - Sep 09 2023
Erasmus was quiet, but Alek wasn't blind. The other was clearly distressed, even if they were listening to him. When the other got close enough to scratch, Alek stayed relaxed deliberately, not wanting to show any signs that could be taken negatively by the other.
And then the other scratched him, but it didn't hurt. Quite the contrary, it felt vaguely pleasant. If he was not relaxed, he would be now. It was only a small amount of the venom, and he was a larger being so maybe it was less effective, too.
It took a moment to figure out the right words, but this was important to tell Erasmus. "...Erasmus, your venom... It doesn't hurt. It makes one feel good, actually. Whatever you kill doesn't die in pain, I don't think. And... You could probably feed off small amounts of blood of greater gembounds, too, with a venom like this."
@Erasmus
RE: Missing Piece (Finding Peace) - Erasmus - Sep 09 2023
A thought occurred to Erasmus. They held up the gemstone. "He... Not hurt? No pain?" Their voice held a hint of hope.
It did not stop the fact that he was dead, the owner of the Raspite, but if he had not felt pain... It was something.
Still, they were trembling from stress. The vampire held the Raspite close again.
@Alek