bloodbound. (earinor & akira)

    • "I know. You're as stubborn as Rain.", he sighed, and he meant it. Nayantai could try and discuss plenty of things with Rain, but sometimes, he set his mind on things and despite not having the body, the physical strength, to pull through, he somehow managed to get others to do his bidding; and Nayantai wasn't any better than that, he just accepted it for a fact and now, he was back at square one again. Maybe Rain would've had a better, foolproof plan where they'd have accounted for Ares, but no, Rain was long dead and didn't need to bother himself with this world and its shenanigans any longer, that oversight was his and Richards fault alone, because they both weren't exactly the brains of this mission. "Yes. Anything digging into your lungs or liver? Or anything else, really." The pain would be distinct enough to pinpoint, and that would mean they had one other problem on their hands, too. Before he could comment on the next thing, Nayantai was already busy looking for an escape from his cage, touching and feeling any corner of this iron hell, as if there would be a gap, just a tad bit too big, that would allow him to force it all the way open. However, he stopped in his tracks when he head a distinct noise.

      "Did you just ... fix your arm? Do I even want to know who taught you that?", he questioned, flabberghasted. If anyone, it ought to be Dayan, but right now, he was glad that no Dayan was here, five feet under since half a year, and living a blissful life in death, away from what Nayantai and possibly Richard were about to experience. "Fine. Shifting the blame won't get anyone anywhere and that aside, we were both stupid enough to not think about fucking Ares.", he grumbled, not finding anything that he was looking for. If any of these damn stones were loose, he could have tried to bash open the lock, but alas, none of them were, and as tepid and disgusting as it was down here, the place probably held up very well. There wasn't much time to think however, there wasn't anywhere else to hide, either, but something creaked, it wasn't his old bones, but rather a door or a hatched, before someones shoes hit the stairs, or at least Nayantai thought those would have to be stairs. "Yes, we're getting a visitor.", he answered, and that meant that, whoever was coming down here had the keys to this forsaken basement, as well as what could be described as their cells. This could go one of two ways, none of them were pretty, but the person made their descend down toward them, a torch in tow to illuminate the complete darkness. There was silence for a bit, as if the stranger took in his surroundings - but he wasn't so strange anymore, not when the red hair gave him away anyway, despite Nayantai having to squint, blinded by the light that the torch brought with itself. "You are nothing but a waste of air.", he suddenly spouted. "You can't even fight on your own.", Nayantai hissed instead. This wouldn't be fun, oh no, but he'd rather go down fighting.
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • Richard was fine, he still was able to put up a fight or run if he had to, Nayantai didn't need to worry that much and yes he did fix his arm. "Dayan.", he commented shorty. How often had either of those two idiots fallen down a tree or ledge? Way too often, they got pretty good at fixing themselves up and even hiding injuries from their parents from time to time. Thinking about better day actually helped, becaus the longer Richard was down here the worse he felt. He couldn't shake off the feeling that something bad was going to transpire and in actuality, he'd like to see his dad, make sure he was truly okay. At least they agreed that no one would be blamd by either of them anymore, fighting was just stupid in this kind of situation. Instead however they both grew silent fairly fast as they heard the rattling of keys that opened up another door before descending down some stairs by the sound of it. Richard stood up again and looked at the direction the steps were coming from. Soon enough some orange light was casted on the walls and eventually some read hair appeared in what seemed to be a doorway.

      Nayantai was the one saying something while Richard kept quiet for now. He watched Aramis every move however. He slowly stepped closer, seemingly not bothered by Nayantais words. Richard only now saw that Aramis carried something besides the torch, it looked like two cups and some bread Richard wouldn't have given to some rats. The blondes brows furrowed and he gritted his teeth by the sight of the smug grin on his face. "Are you proud you finally can kill the rest of our family too?", Richard growle into the dukes direction, which let his face lighten up. "Me? Don't you remember?", Aramis asked seemingly amused. "What? Remember what?", Richard answered still growling as he gripped the bars of his cage. "We'll talk another time, once you've cooled down. First, I brought you both some water and food - don't waste it, there won't be more." Aramis sat down a cup and some bread in front of Richards cell first, then he walked over to Nayantais doing the same, though he kept his distance, grabbing him like that proved difficult. "We'll talk later.", Aramis disregarded any more attempts of talking to him and with that, he just left again, leaving them in the dark once more.

    • Aramis had the worst of timings, all the goddamn time, and Nayantai was aware of that - not only did he despise olettians for all they were and all they handed him, or took for him, he also hated that Aramis was the one that had them growling at their feet, like a bunch of dogs that couldn't do much else because their collars had been tied a tad bit too tight, keeping them unecessarily close and restrained. Hopefully, something would come of it, whatever it happened now or sometime later didn't matter - what was important, however, seemed to be that he did his best at all that he was, and just proved this old bag of bones wrong. His words would've been threatening if Nayantai had the slightest of hunches what he talked about, but when it came to food and water, he was about as lovely as his father before him - starve one of all available necessities, and then see how long it would take to break them apart. But even then, Aramis didn't dare come too close, but lucky for him, Nayantai only had a stern look he could offer him, grimacing at what they'd been given - it could've been worse, but they didn't need to eat it now, anyway.

      After that, darkness followed, and Nayantai was grumbling about something, taking the food and water he'd been handed and putting it aside, in case he'd need to eat it at some point because he truly was hungry, or because Richard was - he'd much rather starve. "I hate his guts.", he chirped, after Aramis descended back up the stairs. But there was something else that worried him. The way he'd talked, it almost seemed as if all that he had to say meant, that he wasn't the one that was responsible for what they blamed him - and it worried Nayantai, who wasn't sure what to do about it. "Calm down? More like go insane.", he huffed, before examining his own cage some more. It was closed off by walls below, next to and beneath them, there were no bars on top that he could have gotten ahold off, and there were ... chains? Something was rattling when Nayantai moved his hands to the back of his own ... enclosure, for the lack of a better word, but he just huffed again. "What the fuck is this guy even going on about ...", he grumbled, but then he remembered something else. "I'd recommend you don't eat or drink any of that unless you need to. I don't know if these things are spiked and I don't believe in Aramis' goodwill towards us. It won't kill us, but it might knock you out cold. Or do ... worse." The chains weren't coming loose either, and they were way too long to take the easy way out. Nayantai thought about it, but ... no, nothing would work. This was, if anything, frustrating beyond belief.
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • Aramis was gone as quickly as he came. It was odd, especially the way he talked to Richard. Remember what? Was he just playing with him or was there some truth to it? For some reason he felt like there was something he missed, something Aramis said, or the way he said it hit something, something at the back of Richards head and also his heart. Damn, was it though? Maybe he just got played already, maybe he was hit on the head too hard or was falling into that snakes trap. Richard didn't know what to think and all of a sudden his head hurt more than before. He had to sit down. Had he been alone he probably would have started to go insane already. How weak he was... but luckily he wasn't alone and luckily Aramis didn't put them in two completely different parts of this damn dungeon, they were still able to talk to each other and Richard even got a glimpse at his father. He had looked fine in tose circumstances. The only question Richard had right now however was, how long had they been unconscious anyway?

      "We shouldn't lose our heads just yet.", Richard reassured Nayantai, shaking this weird feeling from before off. "Maybe he just tries to confuse us." That might very well be, other than thinking about some cryptic words, maybe they were better off devising a plan, though their last one ended horribly. Despite Nayantai telling Richard not to drink or eat any of what they got he grabbed that stuff, or at least tried to find it with his hands to then put it in a corner in his cell he would find again, it wasn't that big anyhow. Richard doubted Nayantais was able to stretch his body in here. "Worse...?", Richard was asking, not sure if he wanted to know what that meant. He was thirsty, but he also rather stayed away from that stuff. He sniffed on the liquid in the cup however, it wasn't smelling like much, or maybe the other stenches in this dungeon made it hard to distinguish. "You don't suppose we can drink whatever is dripping down those walls, do you?", he asked his father, who sadly had more experience in a place like this. "We have to drink something at some point, right? Should one of us try a sip?"

    • Nayantai couldn't say that he remembered this place too well, but he could at least claim that he knew how to interact with it and pinpoint where it might be, if he ever saw the light of day again, but that would also mean, he knew the way to the castle from here on out - if the location hadn't changed and his head wasn't wronging him right about now. Something felt off, his throat was dry and the more he thought about Aramis and the words he had said before his quick departure, the more he wanted to ask himself if something was off about all of this. Albeit his attempts to recall what happened during the night of the attack, Nayantai had to admit that his memories seemed rather muddled and his cognition of what really took place could partially just be his imagination - it wouldn't be the first time he deluded himself into thinking of something that had never transpired and committing those facts to memory, to mend his own pain, for better or worse. "I don't plan on being a headless chicken in here, I can go do that once I'm out of here and safely tucked away somewhere.", he admitted, and he meant it. Nayantai wasn't going to like any of this much more than he should, but he also knew that none of this made the slightest tidbit of sense.

      What was it that pissed Aramis off? And why were the puzzle pieces not falling into place like they should be? "I think ... he has a reason, but it could just be to confuse us, or you. Give, you can still be king, even if you don't want to, but he could make you.", he grumbled, audibly disappointed in his own lack of foresight. Nayantai knew that whatever he did, he did because he wanted it to happen, or to please somebody else - only now was he questioning whatever or not their decisions for their travel all the way to Olette was any good, or if he was just subtly losing his mind already. "Poison you and make you die a long, painful death. Or hallucinations. I don't know how Aramis operates, but with Antoine, that dirtbag, anything went - as long as it would break you sufficiently so you'd listen to their orders.", Nayantai scoffed, pulling on the chains, dragging them from one wall to the other, back to the bars he found himself behind of; if he'd tie them around that, and then use force, maybe he could get this to open or get the chains out of their attachment on the wall - he should do whatever he could, as long as he could muster the energy for it. "Thirsty yet?", he question, but upon Richards request went up to one of the walls, searched for a stop that had water trickling from it, and wiped it off with his finger, smelling it. "Smells murky, a bit like old moss and rain. I can't tell you if it tastes good, but it should be fine ... I assume." He'd stomached worse anyway, but he went back to his little chain plan anyway, stretching the chains as tight as he could, as he fixated them on the door. "Maybe he's just going insane himself, not that he wasn't that before."
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • "Be honest. Are you holding up well...?", Richard suddenly asked. He knew that this place must have woken some bad, very bad memories for Nayantai and living though them again was very likely very hard. Richard couldn't imagine any of it, he probably didn't want to know what happened and he certainly didn't want to experience it in here, yet he had no clue what to do to get out of here. Nayantai was the one making all kinds of noises in his cell, seemingly trying to find a way out. All Richard could do was take the necklace Nayantai gave it to hold it as if it spent some comfort. He was useless, wasn't he? And why couldn't he let the words Aramis said go? What was it that bothered him so very much? What was it that made his head spin and his stomach upset, even more so when he tried to grasp it. It was right there, he felt it, he just needed to grasp it, but it slipped away and his head spun even more. Richard should stop, if he had to throw up, that wouldn't help with their water situation.

      "What... do you mean? He plays with me, wants to break me to sit me back on the throne?", Richard asked. That didn't sound like something he wanted to happen, there was still the option to bite off his tongue in the end right? But as long as Nayantai was still here, that was hardly something he could do. Maybe that was why they both were still alive, neither of them wanted to leave the other alone in this mess and neither of the wanted the other to die. How stupid of them, yet right now the time hadn't come anyway. "Orders? They... let wolves kill their kind, their friends, right?" It was a dark spot in Adrestias history and a lot of it got hidden away and obscured. No on ever could tell what went on in peoples heads anyway, it was just speculation those came from here. "No, I'm just thinking ahead.", Richard replied, he wasn't so desperate for some water yet, Nayanai still inspected their other source. "So we'll try to live from that for now. Got it." Not now though, he didn't want to try that stuff either. How the fuck would Nayantai even tell? He didn't taste anything. "What are you doing anyway?", Richard finally asked because the rattling didn't stop.

    • Questions was the last thing he needed or wanted, but Nayantai did hold up remarkably well so far - he wasn't going on a frenzied tirade or tangent, wasn't fed up with all that happened just yet, but even then, he knew well enough that Richard had every right to ask, every right to know. "I'm ... okay, for now. It's been years, and the only thing I'm trying to do is get us out of here - if I waste my time sitting idly by now, we'll be fucked later.", he sighed, and he meant it. Spending more time in here wasn't going to help, and Aramis had to lose his ugly head - before he could coin a plan that would force both of them into roles that neither of them wanted to assume on their own. As it stood, at least Richard would be useful to him, make him one step closer to having ultimate power, or whatever it was that Aramis sought, but in the end, it mattered very little. "Playing? That's a nice way of putting it. But, yes, that's the gist of it. And if he has to break however many of your bones in the process, rip off your skin or cut you open until you go numb, that'll do it. At least that's what might happen, I have little hopes that Aramis is much different than his father.

      Antoine was a headache, and just imagining the man pissed him off - there was more rattling, and then he ran out of chains. As soon as Nayantai had secured them, he wondered if it would help to fling himself at the door, and it was very much his only option. Once. Then twice. Thrice, for good measurement, but nothing happened, and he was stuck grimacing at his own work, pacing back and forth between the cell door and the wall, feeling the stones and the bars up, just to see if one had made a dent in the other or pulled something out. "That too. Or use them to get rid of someone they want gone, then shift the blame on them. To olettians, we're nothing more than scum, ready to be used and reshaped by them. We aren't worth anything." And Nayantai wouldn't carry that ideology to his grave, he didn't want or need to, but he had to get out of here, or else he'd grow restless, and insane, and his ugly side would rear its head again - at worst, he'd be much more susceptible to everything that Aramis had to say, and he'd rather spare Richard that. "Good, we should keep our calm." No dents, no anything - they were stuck in here for the time being, until they got their hands on a key or on the keyholder himself. What an asshole. "It's the best option we have.", he finally sighed, before sitting down in the least damp corner he could find. "Tried to pry the door open or get one of the stones, or maybe the chains out of the wall ... though luck, I'll try later. For now, I think I'll just think of something and keep my cool." Aramis would pay them a visit eventually, though.
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • "If that changes, tell me.", Richard asked of Nayantai. He should do something himself though, so he got up again, touching the walls and found some chains of his own, but they were too short to go anywhere. None of the stones came loose and he refrained from throwing himself at the bars, with one or two broken rips that would just hurt him more than anything. Nayantai didn't leave room for much hope, but since when was Richard such a whiny child? Aramis should do whatever he wanted, Richard would take it, whatever it was. He wouldn't let himself be broken, it would simply not happen. He'd endure as long as he had to and he'd keep calm for now. Couldn't he have inherited some of his fathers wits? Maybe then he would be able to find a way out of here! They'd probably not be in this mess in the first place though. "Don't worry, we'll think of something...", Richard mumbled and while Nayantai took some rest, Richard searched for a way to break out of his cell, with no avail however. His head still hurt and after a while he had to sit down again. He didn't even notice when he fell asleep on the damp cell floor.

      Richard woke up when he heard steps again. It was still as dark as ever, he had no idea how long he slept or how long they had been in here. His stomach audibly complained about the lack of food and by the feelings he guessed they were here about one or two days, counting the time they were unconscious and brought here. Richard mouth felt incredibly dry and the headache wouldn't subside, but none of that was important when the light emanated the room again. Richard got up. Aramis came here again, alone as before, but this time he grabbed a chair from the corner of the room that connected all the cells and he sat places it right in the middle. He put the torch in a cavity on the wall and then sat down. "Let us go!", Richard grumbled, even though he knew that that was useless. Why would Aramis do that? He ignored him and instead started conversation himself. "So have you figured out what happened?", he asked, leaving behind a confused blonde. "What?", he barked and Aramis sighed seemingly disappointed. "Nayantai, what about you?", Aramis turned his head towards his cell, waiting for an answer. "Or do we need a little demonstration of what you are capable of?"

    • "I will, don't worry.", he mumbled. Nayantai was tired, it was dark and damp in here and Richard was right; he was making the best of attempts, but in reality, all of this took at least a mental toll on him and no matter how much he'd try, he might as well be dooming himself by even slipping in this situation. There was no way out, and the fact that he'd slipped out of here last time was only because they needed him to ... dispose of the king, wasn't that it? His thoughts were muddled, and he never confronted his trauma, because instead of ridding himself of it, the layers only got more and more, grew thicker and thicker because every single adrestian he encountered added more and more layers atop of it, but it all came to a halt when he first met Rain, who knew well enough what he was or wasn't doing. "We have nothing much to do anyway.", the old wolf admitted. The cells were tiny, almost like they were cages for real, and they couldn't go anywhere when they were locked behind bars. Frustration rose up within him, but he couldn't do much more and close his eyes, hope that Shuren would at least be enough of a slippery snake to figure out this was going to go south ... but even then, what would he do?

      There were footsteps, but before that, someone was holding a few keys on a chain again, and Nayantai was trying to decipher how many it was, where the chain went and what key it might be, just from listening to the climpering - but that was it, there was nothing much he could do, and the chance to actually grab those keys seemed slim, if not near impossible. Someone descended down the stairs soon after, and Nayantai wanted nothing more than to turn over already, to wake up back in Thria, or maybe even Myriad, and find that all of this had been a godforsaken dream. But it wasn't. Things slipped his mind, just like this one, and Aramis mere presence hurt his head. Figuring out what happened seemed easy, but ... no, he was way too far back, at things Richard wouldn't and wouldn't know, and he was fairly aware that that wasn't what Aramis was asking for, no. Nayantai was trying his best to keep his cool, and he was trying his utmost to figure out what was happening, but it didn't matter much - he'd already failed thus far. "Oh, so now I'm good enough for a name?", he grumbled. Antoine hadn't even made an effort, the king never had, either, but Aramis problem was, that they shared a language, though, Nayantais problem was, that he was furious regardless and every little thing in here could tick him off "So you don't remember either?", Aramis questioned, sounding about as disappointed. There was silence, however - that wasn't what he'd been asked about. "We don't need a demonstration of anything.", Nayantai audibly hissed, seemingly irritated at the insinuation that something as stupid as that would work, but there was only what seemed to be a disappointed click of Aramis' tongue. "I beg to differ." It felt like a slap across Nayantais face, who'd wanted nothing more than to hide in his corner. "Then try me."
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • Richard had no idea what was happening. He looked at Aramis and what he saw of Nayantai and he noticed that while he himself was glued to the bars as if he tried to grab the duke as soon as he came close, Nayantai surprisingly wasn't. There was some more distance and Richard wondered if he was alright, maybe only tired, he seemed to have slept too. "I will then.", Aramis answered seemingly understanding what Nayantai just said in Thrian. He looked at Richards confused face next and smiled. "Don't think I can't understand you. I studied your language, makes my life much more easy." So much for talking in Thrian to tick him off. If Richard would understand that damn dialect Nayantai and the rest of Silesse sported, maybe they could talk to each other without someone listening in, but no, he never learned it and the view sentences he heard in Silesse weren't enough to decipher anything. Maybe he should have asked Nayantai or Shuren to teach him, but all he could ever think of was leaving - now he wished himself back.

      "It is incredible how the brains of your family work and that even though you are not even related!", Aramis pointed out and for Richard none of that made any sense. If his brain actually wouldn't do what Aramis insinuated he may have understood what he meant by thinking about it a little bit, but he didn't want to know the answer deep down. He only could stare into that ugly smiling face. "Why don't you get to the point?", Richard growled annoyed by this little game Aramis was playing. "You both forgot what happened on that day, didn't you?", he further elaborated, standing up eventually to come closer to Richard who only waited to grab and rip his head off, broken arm or not. Richard probably looked like a caged wolf right now, baring his teeth. "You saw who attacked you right?", he asked and Richard just barked. "So what?!" "Try to recall that face for me, will you?" "Just some assassin you sent after us!" "Was it...?", Aramis gaze grew more stinging, it drilled itself into Richard, but he didn't back down. Aramis turned away eventually, walking over to Nayantai. "What about you then? Will you tell me exactly what happened? Where were you? Why didn't you protect your children?"

    • Olettians were scum, nothing more, nothing less - they all had their fair share of tricks up their sleeves and Nayantai was lucky to have evaded them for so long, to have run away as far as he could and that he had Rain and everyone else to hide behind, but now, he had nobody, he was supposed to protect someone - his own son - from a lunatic like Aramis, and he wasn't exactly excelling at it. He wasn't the best at remembering, his only defense mechanism was to cast all of his thoughts aside, to not think about it too much, and to pace around for what seemed like hours on end, trying to make himself forget the worst of things. Nayantai was horrible at all of the tasks that were handed to him, and he didn't know what to do - he was inching away from the cage, as if Aramis couldn't hurt him when he leaned against a stone corner, and for a moment, he forgot that words couldn't hurt him, that he had already soared above what had once transpired, but his brain failed him. "Can't have anything nice with your kind around anyway.", he wrangled out of his dry throat. His head was hurting now, probably not because of the untreated wound, though, but because all of this was too much for him and a possible sensory overload was going to fail him.

      All the snickering pissed him off, the haughty attitude gave him the chills and the fact that he was defenseless against all of this only made it so much worse. Nayantai wanted out, should have tried harder, flung his body at that door until he had hurt himself, but no, he was only suffering - old and useless, the sole person to blame for all of this. Richard was young, had no idea of the horrors that warfare entailed, and yet, he was already trying to throw himself down a spiral of deceit and murder, forced into it because he couldn't find any rest if he didn't - and his old man did nothing to stop him, he even encouraged his asinine behavior and now, it was going to be so much worse. If Nayantai wanted to spend the rest of his life being haunted by the past, he wouldn't have made any efforts to move forward, but as fate willed it, he got fucked over once again. Richard and Aramis shared their banter, but as he cound himself unwilling to chime in, pulling on strands of his hair instead, as if the new pain would soothe him and blur out the old, he was spoken to again. "Why would that be your business anyway?", he snarled, another question he couldn't get an answer for. Aramis wasn't scary, he was just another obstacle in his path, one he had to overcome, and for that, he had to calm down, though, a mix of emotions was coursing through him right now and he felt pained. "I asked you something.", the voice resounded, and Nayantai was going to lose his train of thought at any moment - but, no. He was above that, above Aramis. "I don't know. What does it matter? Why do you care?" Because ... because ... Nayantai looked up from where he sat, up to Aramis who was the only one he could see, and it dawned upon him, his facial expression slowly shifting into the horror of realization. Oh. Oh ... oh no ... oh no no no no. No.
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • Richard growled at that old man, at his smug face and the words that didn't make sense. As long as he was here Richard didn't care about the stinging pain at the back of his head, he instead channelled all his anger and disgust towards this man. That was all he needed to concentrate on to not think about what Aramis said, he didn't even really listen. Before when he left and Richard was alone with his thoughts it ate away on him, but now he didn't care. Nayantai was different. Richard looked over to his cell, saw him not even standing, but sitting on the floor, no fight in his body as it seemed. The light didn't quite reach him, Richard couldn't see his expression, but he noticed him shy away when Aramis came closer. Maybe an act? No, when Aramis touched the bars of Nayantais cells he was close enough to grab, but Nayantai didn't, he just sat there. "Get away from him!", Richard yelled, the anger swelling up even more, the grip around the bars grew tighter, but there was no use ripping on them, they wouldn't budge.

      "Why don't you just answer me?", Aramis asked with a disgustingly calm voice. "Richard can't remember where you suddenly went, you were with them, weren't you? And when the attack happened...?", he went on practically staring Nayantai to the ground. Richard could just stand there and he got increasingly nervous and confused. Where had Nayantai gone to? Where was he back then? No! What did it matter anyway?! Aramis was just playing some weird mind tricks to not admit what he'd done. Why would he not, though? Fuck! He was slowly creeping his way into Richards head and he couldn't get him out again. His head started hurting from all of that, but also from the fact that he gritted his teeth harder and harder. "Dad!", he tried to call upon his father to wake him up - wait... didn't he yell the same thing back then? Not to call him in, he was in the room and... and what? Richard shut his eyes, he wanted those thoughts to go away, he didn't want this. "You already know Nayantai... will you tell him, or should I...?"

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    • Aramis was just like his father, he was good at worming himself into his head, good at installinjg fear into his very being, but they still were vastly different. For one, Nayantai thought he didn't fear this man, and for two, he thought he knew all that he could, but alas, he knew nothing and was surprised by his own damn self, time and time again. Normally, it wouldn't matter how many times he found himself betrayed, over and over again, by himself no less, but this hit home - it hit worse than whatever Ares had thrown against his head, and the sensation of realization was disgusting. He was cold, goosebumps all over, and he was sure that he knew what Aramis was insinuating, but that meant he ... Nayantai still starred at Aramis, but now, he was nothing more than pissed, not afraid, and Richards yelling didn't make him better. Gods, whenever had he become such a pathetic mess? He wasn't, and he wanted to prove it to himself, but no, he sat there, as if his body had turned to stone and his ears were the only thing working, because his eyes were seeing something else entirely. His own life was a wasted one; if he'd died years ago, when he should have, none of this would have mattered, but he had to swallow the bitter pill now.

      "I don't owe you any answers.", he spouted, shaking his head, and that he knew, but he tried to pry his own eyes away, to give Richard an apologetic stare, but he couldn't, he was disgusted at himself, at all that he'd ever done. He was useless, not worth anyones times, and he should have killed himself when he had the time to do so. "But Richard deserves to know, don't you agree?", Aramis questioned, and he was right - Nayantai didn't have to swallow his pride, he was done fighting, he'd lost his spark years ago, and all of this had only led him downward, through the spiral of hell, toward a point where he found himself not only blinded but also intoxicated by the sick reality that seemed to be his life. Death was something he wanted, after being unable to protect Richard, or any of his children, from himself - and only running away from a responsibility that he shoved so far at the back of his mind, he wasn't even sure if he did it because he was aware of it, but because that little, annoying olettian voice had coerced him to do all of that. "If you're not going to tell h-", Aramis said, but Nayantai already barked back. "Shut up. I can talk for myself.", he spoke, finally able to calm himself, only for a bit, before wondering how long he'd deserve to sit down here for all he'd done - was this why they were here? Because of him? "I ... Richard ... listen. I ... I did it. I killed them, it's all my fault ... Aramis is right. It ... I ... I'm sorry ...", he was a mess now, he had spoken aloud what he'd realized not too long ago, and he'd never get any of that back. "Did you hear that, Richard? And that means you both killed a bunch of innocent people, just because your father led you on and deluded you into thinking it was someone else.", Aramis laid bare for the three of them, and Nayantai didn't even bother fighting back. He was tired of it, he didn't feel like making any more attempts - his heart had sunken into his stomach, a bottomless pit. From here on out, he didn't even deserve death.
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • Maybe this situation was too overwhelming for Nayantai, maybe being back here broke him before anything else even happened. Richard could just stand there and watch, he couldn't reach him, nor could he stop Aramis from whatever he was doing. Nayantai sat there giving subdued answers and being very much more bark than bite. Richard grew restless, angry and frustrated, his emotions became so overwhelming that the aching in his body just dissipated and he probably even would have used his broken arm to bash Aramis head in if he would have had the chance. Aramis didn't stop spouting nonsense Richard refused to understand deep down. He kept on, trying to take the ball out of Nayantais court, but he refused. What was it that the two of them figured out by now? Only Richard was left in the dark, standing in his cell unable to see either of their expressions and unable to help his father that crawled away into a corner of his cell. Richard never saw him like this before, sure sometimes he backed down when Richard yelled at him, but he never let himself be dominated by someone like this.

      Once Nayantai calmed himself Richard listened. Every word that hit him came painfully slow as if the world had stopped turning. He didn't want to believe any of it, but pictures, or more like memories flooded his mind with every other word. It hurt and he had to lean against the bars, rather then trying to force them open. Closing his eyes didn't help, there it was, it made too much sense to be a fabrication of Aramis twisted mind. The reason Richard was so slow drawing his sword, the reason why he could do nothing but watch... he couldn't believe what he saw back then and what he saw in Nayantais face when he came for him. He still couldn't. "Bullshit!", he cried out and punched his hand against the iron bars. He looked at his father and Aramis with still gritted teeth. "The only reason he knows about that is because he made you do it! It's his fault and his alone and he still deserves to die for it!" Richard wasn't sure if he believed his own words but right now his anger kept him from thinking too hard about what happened. Whether Nayantai should have been capable of stopping himself didn't matter to Richard right now. Aramis was his enemy, not Nayantai. "I won't deny I had my hands in this.", Aramis suddenly admitted and turned to Richard again. "But don't you wonder if he could have stopped himself sooner? When attacking Atwick? Or Flora? Or Dayan? His very own flesh and blood?", he asked. Richard didn't want him to get into his head, but he had nothing to yell back at him. "Is it because you look so much like your father? He always was a mystery to me..." Aramis came closer to Richards cell, but not close enough to be able to grab him, he knew Richard hadn't backed down yet, but he probably saw in Richards eyes that he was getting to him. The blondes chest felt heavy and a creeping feeling spread from there into his limbs. "No answer?", Aramis asked. "Shut up!", Richard barked back. "Are you scared of him now?" "No!" "Shall we test that?" Aramis turned on his heel and walked back to the stairs, clapping twice. The door opened and two heavy armed soldiers came down. Together with them Aramis opened Nayantais cell. Richard could only cry out for his father, but even if he'd remember to do something, unarmed, hungry and hurt he probably didn't have a chance. Aramis made a step into the cell, kneeled down before Nayantai and whispered something no one else could hear. What was he doing?

    • South - this was going south and nowhere else, and while that was the case, Nayantai should’ve done the same ages ago, when he had time. He should have ran, abandoned all that was Adrestia and Thria, and let himself be whisked away by the warm breezes of the south that he couldn’t stand; it didn’t matter anyway. Right now, there was a plethora at problems that took over, that made it awfully clear that all of which was happening was his very own fault, and that Richard was going to hate him - had every right to loathe his own father, someone who didn’t deserve that title anymore anyway. Richard had been right all along, and Nayantai wanted nothing more than to crawl away and hide from all that was happening - but he was twenty anymore, he’d survived so much more than a lunatic that thought that scaring and scarring random strangers would make them obedient. For fucks sake, when was anything in his favor? All that surrounded him, that shared his blood-ties, all of them were nothing more than puppets in whatever cruel play this world had put him in, and all that resounded within him was the fact that he’d done it, that it was his damn fault. He was a monster, always had been, always would be - all that he touched turned to dust, disintegrated on impact.

      There was yelling - lots of it, but … Richard said things that confused his old man and seemingly was blaming Aramis for all of this, not the one who did it. Asking for forgiveness wasn’t what he do, he never would obtain any anyway, and running away seemed like it wouldn’t work in a million years - it never had, he’d never been able to get out of here, wherever here was; and all that did was driving him mad, making him go insane and forcing him out of a shell that he was stuck in for years. “It’s my fault, damnit!”, he grumbled, audibly irritated. The wolf didn’t say anything after that and Aramis seemed to acknowledge it for what it was, but once he heard the doors unlock, their cell door anyway, he wondered what on earth was happening - but he should’ve known better. There were idiots, wrapped in what probably was the finest of armor Olette could afford, and then there was him, cowering and making himself small, all thoughts of revenge long abandoned. No, that … that shouldn’t be what was happening. Wasn’t he supposed to help? He was supposed to keep his children save, even if that meant he’d have to commit atrocities for them - and yet, he’d only committed them against them. His mind was a mess, his thoughts were jumbled, and the closer Aramis came, the more painful all of this was - his heart wanted to flee his chest, hammering so hard against his ribcage, he felt like it resounded in his ears. But there was nowhere to go, nowhere to back off to, and Aramis felt save enough to approach someone that could end his life, even with bare hands - but he apparently knew that Nayantai wouldn’t. To his demise, the thing that he could only describe as absolutely awful fell from the redheads lips and from then on out, he should feel familiar numbness - his mind was clouded in fog and his intentions clear, but … god, he hated nothing more than having someone so close by, and it didn’t help that he’d cowered in fear just before that. “Piss off.”, he hissed. “Unless you want your face bashed in.” His body didn’t listen to him, for the most part at least, but he could still think somewhat clear - and the expression on Aramis face was a puzzled one. He wanted nothing more than that, but … no, it was the right thing to do, wasn’t it? Nayantai didn’t think twice about it, but all he could manage was to form a fist with his hand - and the punch connected, hard at that, at least getting that guy away from him. “Shut the hell up, that won’t work again.”, he hissed, but the kick that he felt next, from one of Aramis lackeys, only pissed him off more.
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • Richard pretty much shut up when his father yelled at him, telling him it was his fault after all. Richard didn't want to believe it, he couldn't, he needed his father who was the only person left. Why did he admit it like that? Why didn't he tell Aramis that he should shut his fucking trap and admit that he was the one responsible. It wasn't shifting blame, it was the truth, or at least Richard wanted to believe it. Richard could only watch as Aramis came closer and whispered something. But whatever he was trying it didn't seem to work. Maybe Richards word did help after all, because his father yelled at him and finally made a fist to punch the duke right in his face. Richard pressed himself against the bars as if that would help him get out. He could do nothing when the two soldiers took Aramis place and kicked Nayantai so he stayed down. First it was only one but Nayantai didn't seem to give in so there were more kicks following. Once they were sure he wouldn't try and run out, they walked out of the cell and let Aramis close it again. He was holding his face, rubbing it where the hit connected and then he looked at Richard. "Take him.", he ordered and as the guards came to open up his cell now he tried to fight, but there was no use. His arm was grabbed as he tried to punch one of them, the other guard grabbed the broken one. Richard yelped as he was pressing down harder and he struggled to get those hands off of him. They pretty much dragged him out and while they did that Richard tried to take a look at the state of his father. "Dad?!", he yelled, not sure if he was conscious or not, it wasn't a cry for help though. "Dad! It isn't your fault! None of it is! I-" Richard was shut up with a hard kick to his stomach by one of the guards. Then there was a punch to his face as he was sent unconscious and carried off.

      When Richard came to he found himself in complete darkness again. Everything hurt, his whole body, first and foremost his head. Again he didn't know how long he'd been out or how long he was in this dungeon for. "D-dad...?", he asked into the darkness, his throat felt incredibly dry, but there was no answer, none at all. The fallen prince tried to move, but when he tried there was metallic rattling, restricting him. He wasn't sure if this was the same cell or not and he wasn't sure if Nayantai was here, if he was unconscious or dead. He tried to touch his neck, or what was around it, it must have been one of the chains but it made it possible for him to sit leaned against the wall, he didn't get much further though. His hands could reach nothing much all around him and when he tried to find something with his feet, there was only nothingness in this endless darkness too. The wall he leaned on wasn't wet either, but Richard was so incredibly thirsty. He yelled out for his father again, but there was no answer. Not sure if time even moved out here, he sat there all alone, only with his thoughts, but he refused to believe in Nayantais fault. Instead of thinkin about that day he fantasized about what he'd do with Aramis once he got him and so he sat there hours, days maybe even, he completely lost track of time. Every now and then he fell asleep and everytime he opened his eyes again it was just as dark, until suddenly a door was opened, letting some light into Richards small room that he didn't recognize now that he could see.

      It was Aramis walking in, his face looked fine or better at least, which gave some indication of how much time had passed. He carried something to drink and some food again, bread once more, but it looked okay. He sat it down next to Richard. "It's not poisoned.", was the first thing he said. "As if I... believe you...", Richard replied with a crooked voice, but Aramis seemed to have expected that answer. He grabbed the cup and drank from it, then a piece of the bread to take a bite. "See?", he asked. Richard didn't trust this at all. "Why...?", he let out and Aramis smiled. "You need some strength for what's to come. I want to see how far we've got your dad.", he answered surprisingly honest, but before Richard could ask any more questions he stood up again and left, leaving the torch he brought inside though. At least Richard knew Nayantai was alive... He looked at the food and the water. He was so thirsty... and hungry too an eventually his body won and he drank and ate, to strengthen himself... apparently.

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    • Nayantai would have had to expect a reaction like that, from Aramis and his useless knights alike, and yet, he didn’t want to realize that - instead, he’d toiled and tried to get back up, to fight, but to no avail. They dragged Richard away instead, all the while he lay there, unable to move, to help his own son and free either of them from the binds that they found themselves in - this was all his fault, even if Richard yelled at him, it didn’t matter. Darkness followed him soon after, and with that, silence was all that Nayantai heard; he was by his lonesome, left alone until god knows when, and all of that because he didn’t listen to a prick with a stick up his ass, pretending he knew what he was doing and not just wildly guessing and gesturing at things that, by all accounts, weren’t even part of some grand scheme that he concocted. Whatever was he doing here? Rain would know a way out of here, he always knew what to do, he would have helped the two of them and they wouldn’t be in this situation either. Nayantai felt tired, his limbs and eyes heavy and hurting alike, but he still fished that damn talisman out of his pocket, as if it carried Rains wisdom or at least the solace he brought to him with it - he couldn’t do anything but hold onto this damn thing, and he was glad that he still had something. Right here, now, when no one could see or here, he could try - and so he did, even if he didn’t know what for; did he even deserve to grieve?

      Days or weeks of silence followed, Nayantai didn’t know, it was damp and dark down here and he wondered whenever someone would come to put him out of his misery. But there wasn’t anything in particular that happened - Aramis came and went, and all he tried was to get his little puppy to obey him, and if he didn’t do it, he was going to have to, whatever that took. As long as he had the talisman, Nayantai thought he was fine, the cuts and bruises were nothing out of the ordinary - nothing he wasn’t used to sporting, but the hunger and the thirst grew more incessant. He didn’t want to eat from the hand that offered him food at one occasion, snarling at it instead, but that was all he was capable of - and that meant, he’d long lost his mind. “Why won’t you listen to me, hm?”, Aramis questioned, but he hardly listened, and instead was trying to defy him even more. All he received was pain instead, not inflicted by Aramis himself, but his lackeys - the ones that did all the work because their lord barked into his direction. Nayantai didn’t care about himself. Was Richard fine? He ought to be, Aramis never mentioned him, but that would have to he a ploy - he left him alone with the pain, the realization that he was a monster, but instead of losing his mind, he had to stay calm, had to gather his thoughts, jumbled and all over the place; he couldn’t even do that, for fucks sake. Instead, he eventually indulged in the food he’d told Richard not to eat, and as he should have guessed, the whispers around him grew louder, blamed him for all he did, reassured him that he was worth nothing but death - and not even Rain graced him during his hallucinations, not one damn time. He was despicable, wasn’t he? At some point, the door creaked, invited in lights in and there were steps, which hardly seemed to be anything out of the ordinary at this point - but there was a different sound this time; one more pair of legs. What was going on? Would they finally kill him?
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • After eating the bread and drinking all of the water he got Richard felt fine. It didn't seem to be poisoned at least he felt nothing right away. He was still hungry and thirsty, his body still ached but he felt a little bit better. Much to his dismay however that also meant that his mind was more clear an active again, leaving him with thoughts about what happened. At least he knew Nayantai was alive, but memories about that day flooded into his head. The restored memory played over and over again and he also had dreamt about it. There wasn't a nameless man that looked into Richards eyes anymore, a man he couldn't forget but entirely made up. In his stead there was his father, his eyes dull, his mouth formed to a thin line as he expressionless slayed down the last of his children before Richard could even think of drawing his sword. He had stood there in shock, unable to move or even think, he wasn't sure if he had been able to raise his sword against his father in the first place.

      Richard looked up when the door opened again and two guards came in. No sign of Aramis. They stepped forward, the difference between this room and the one he had been in before was that it didn't consist of many small little cells, it itself was a cell and the chains held Richard in place, instead of having him barred away. The men came closer without saying a word, one of them grabbed Richards hand before he could start struggling, he even put his knee down on Richards legs to make him hold still, while the other opened up the metal collar around Richards neck. They ignored everything he said and instead pulled him up and grabbed him by his arms, one of them on each side. Richard was forced to go with them and he was led out his new cell to walk down a dark hallway. Questions about where they went or where Nayantai was were left unanswered, but eventually they arrived at another wooden door, reinforced with iron. They unlocked it, opened it up and walked down the steep stairs with Richard in tow afterwards, only to lead him back into the room he woke up in the first time. "Dad!", he yelled out upon seeing him, anticipating to be led into the other cell again, hoping they could talk a little, but instead he was brought to the middle of the room. One of the guards kicked against Richards legs to force him on his knees, then they pulled his arms back. Metal chains were attached around his wrists. One of the guards still held him, while the other walked back to the stairs to some kind of mechanism. Following the chains with his eyes Richard saw that they led up and there was some sort of pulley. Once one of the guards started to turn a wheel attached to all of this the chains tightened. The other guard let go as Richards wrists were pulled up. The guard stopped when Richard adjusted his position to kneel straight, so his arms didn't have to hold his weight. He tested pulling on them, but that led to nothing but bruises on his wrists. "Dad are you alright?", Richard asked, since the guards wouldn't answer any of his questions anyway. Richard didn't even care why they were pacing around now, he just wanted to know Nayantai was okay. Maybe he should have payed attention, maybe then he wouldn't have been as surprised to hear a whipping noise followed by a sharp pain in his back as the lash cut through fabric, skin and flesh alike.

    • How long would they keep the two of them apart? Nayantai didn't want to think about it, he was fairly aware that the moment he was allowed to see Richard again, he'd lose his mind, but noth because he wanted to - Aramis had made clear that he was a thorn in his side and that he'd do whatever he wanted to torture him, to drag out the worst in him, so that he'd obey his master that he didn't even want. Nayantai was in pain, not as much physically as he was mentally, but the dull footsteps that trailed down the staircase gave him a good idea of how many people were coming and what they were wearing. There was nothing he could do, but he wasn't even sure if his brain worked, or if he wasn't still hallucinating things. But as soon as he set his eyes on the three of them, for a treacherous moment, he thought he saw Rain, before he was fairly certain that no, the voice that offered that word up to him could never be his husband, who'd long since left the mortal world behin. The old wolf felt ashamed for wishin his deceased husband here intstead, for somehow admitting to himself that he wasn't think about Richard in that very moment, but upon realizing who it was, he couldn't do anything but avert his gaze - and even if it was Rain, in flesh and blood, he'd not be able to face him, either. Nayantai was a failure, a terrible excuse for a father.

      That was, what he forced himself to live with, and it also was, what he had to realize as his very own fate - there was no way of knowing or telling how long any of this would go on, but it also showed him that, despite his best efforts, he was hardly holding up, unlike his son, who was in somewhat elevated spirits regardless, despite finding himself in a situation that made no sense to either of them. Did all of this only fail because Ares wasn't part of their initial plan, or was it because they had a shit plan in the first place? It hardly mattered now, he didn't want to think about it - he'd have to face the consequences head-on from here on out, but he didn't want to hear the chains rattling, the ones that send shivers down his spine, despite not being used on him this time around, at least not presently. Instead, he forced himself to look up - and much to his dismay, could only wince. Richard didn't deserve any of this, never had, never would - he should be in Myriad, not forced to worry about anyone but his subjects, not himself, or his idiot, good-for-nothing father. Nayantai grimaced. "I ... Stop. Just ... It doesn't matter.", he said, gulping down and watching on, before he very much saw and heard the first hit connect - his heart was bleeding, and his own facial expression just showed how shocked he was, even if it was an expected course of action. "Why are you doing this!?", he hissed, now that he was the one that was almost glued to the bars of his cell, trying his utmost to get out of it, even if that didn't seem like it was possible - even when he rattled on them. "Leave him out of this! He didn't do anything! What do you want from me!?", Nayantai asked - but he doubted he'd get an answer. "Richard ... I ...", he couldn't even say he was sorry anymore, was that it? The only thing that transpired as a second hit connecting, and it drove Nayantai mad - he wanted to get out of here, for fucks sake. Why weren't these damn bars budging?
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • Nayantai looked worse than when Richard had been brought away. He hardly looked at his son and Richard couldn't care less about the chains around his wrists. What did they do to Nayantai? If Richard had been able to talk to him, maybe he'd not be like this! "It matters to me...!", Richard answered when Nayantai just disregarded his question. He wasn't at fault, he'd never be at fault for what happened, Aramis was and he admitted it! He wanted to grab Nayantai and shake him, he wanted him to wake up, to fight against all of this and not let himself be subdued like this. He was giving up, but there was still hope, wasn't there? Richard didn't want to lose his father, but seeing him like this scared him and if this situation was anyones fault than it was his own. Richard was the one that wanted to rush into that damn castle, he was the one that couldn't wait more days, weeks, or month, for a better opportunity, or a better plan they could ahve come up with. He was the one that brought both of them in danger, that was too weak to take even one hit of Ares and that failed his father.

      Richard yelped when the whip hit him the first time, because he was surprised no less, but he took the second one with gritted teeth. He never had been a particularly angry person, but since his siblings died he had hatred swelling up inside him, hatred he held onto to not lose his mind or give in. At least Nayantai was rushing at the bars of his cell now, at least he yelled, but he seemed more despaired than angry. Richard looked up firmly. "I'm fine.", he huffed, earning another hit for that, but again, he didn't make a sound. If he'd been alone maybe he would have, but Nayantai was someone he had to look after after all, even though it should be the other way around. He was strong and holding together for him, even if he was struck again and again. His back burned like fire and there was something warm dripping down. The clothing they didn't bother removing was probably shred to pieces by now. Richard was bracing himself for the next strike, but it didn't come, instead one of the guards opened his mouth for the very first time. "Five hits from you and we'll stop.", he offered Nayantai, prompting Richard to voice a firm "No!", even though he hadn't been asked.