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InactivePermalink Reply by ✓ Gideon Ashworth ~Admin~ on April 25, 2019 at 2:01

Gideon watched Ophelia as he imparted the particulars of the ritual, knowing full well what sort of thoughts must be racing through her mind. It was understandable, most beings balked at the sight of blood and some even at the mere mention of it. The idea of ingesting the life fluid must seem downright repulsive and yet she took it in stride. Her facial expression conveyed some trepidation and the usual amount of disgust he would expect and yet she was resolute once her mind was made up. Nodding his head at her comments the male couldn't help the wry grin that turned up the corners of his lips, “Blood is sacred across many religions and cultures, to the Valkyr it is life and vitality. It serves to reason it would take a mixing of blood to bring two opposite species together as one.”

Her admission and acceptance of the bond surprised him, though the more he stared at her honest undertaking the more he chided himself for the reaction. It was well within the Wayfinder's personality and convictions to leap into such an important and monumental binding. From the moment they had met the brunette had proved as graceful and beautiful as she was protective and dedicated. Finally, the Valkyrie sighed heavily, once more nodding his head in the face of her conviction, “Very well. I believe the affection between us is deep enough to constitute a very strong Volakiri bond.” They had known one another a couple of years, been allies as long, and had grown as friends quickly. There were few people he trusted as implicitly as he did Ophelia and it made sense to fortify the link between their two people.

Reaching up he scrubbed at the nape of his neck, meeting her eyes with a reluctant smile. “I will admit I never thought I would trust a Celestial enough to allow that individual to see inside my mind. To be connected to me so intimately.” He searched her face, looking deep into her eyes as his expression sobered, “This cultured exterior hides a great darkness, an animal instinct that is inherent to my species. My thought may sometimes be jarring and my memories violent, whatever I am….I am of the dark.” His voice was solemn with the gravity of the words he was imparting, willing her to understand before she took this leap.

Giving her time to think over his final warning the Valkyr rose, pouring a glass of fresh ice water in preparation for the ritual. Crossing back to the couch he sat, setting the glass on the coffee table in front of her before meeting her eyes once more. Gideon held out his hand, an offering as well as a final seal on the deal. “If you walk away we will remain allies and my respect for you and your people shall remain untarnished. Of that, you have my word and oath and a warrior.” His honor demanded he ensure she knew she had a safe way out, that nothing would change if she ultimately decided the bond was too much. He had chosen and so too must she choose.

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CelestialPermalink Reply by ✓ Ophelia Dreyvalian ~Admin~ on April 25, 2019 at 22:38

Ophelia would probably have had a worse reaction to the whole thing if it wasn’t for the fact she had already done some limited research on the Volakiri bond in order to prepare her for what she might be walking into today. She had thought long and hard about what she would be giving and what she got in return, about what it would mean for the permanency of her residence in Evermore, even what it might have meant to Mikael despite the fact the two of them were no longer together because somehow she couldn’t stop her mind from going to him in every big decision she made “And to Diviners it’s how you massacre an entire island of people” she responded to explain her hesitation at the idea, though she realized how twisted that statement could sound and gave an apologetic smile, blood and celestial energy were two of the most powerful substances there was and she had to handle both of them, it could be tough at times.

But regardless of her hesitation or worries, Gideon had been her ally for two years now and he’d never given her a single reason to doubt him or his sincerity, the two of them were close, both in the sense of wanting the best for both of their people but also as friends who could talk about the world and it’s injustices for hours on end. Plus this had been her idea, not his, so it wasn’t like there was any intentions to doubt but her own. Hers came from a want to finally secure her people protection and peace and perhaps a selfish part of her wanted protection for herself, wanted to feel just a little more secure when she went to sleep at night “I believe so too” she admitted as she met his gaze with her own dark one, his hesitance seemed to have faded away now which put her at ease about the whole thing. When Gideon was comfortable on a topic, she knew she could be too, she trusted him like that.

But then it seemed to come back as he was thinking about the person he was, she understood that well, not wanting to let anyone in like that, it was the reason it had taken so long to bring this topic up, she still held a lot of guilt and anger inside her, things she managed to keep hidden well on the outside, but someone with a direct line to her mind might see her quite differently “My mind is nowhere near as calm as my presence might suggest either” she admitted as she nodded her softly, she understood what he was trying to tell her. That there were going to be hard times to get through for both of them and that she wouldn’t have a choice but to stand by him. “But we’ve both been through a lot and made it to today right, hopefully with our morals just about intact” she ran her tongue over her bottom lip as she nodded slightly.

She focused on one of the paintings on the wall as she mulled over the thought of what they were about to do and what it would mean, in a way she would be leading the way for her people, showing them that it was okay to trust again and that they could be stronger for it but then she also had to think about what it meant for her personally, she would always have someone to look out for her now and someone she would look out for in return and that wasn’t a small thing at all, but it didn’t scare her like she thought it might. It was a sort of comforting feeling that she had always felt around the valkyr, which told her all she needed to know. She waited for him to take a seat next to her and when he offered out his hand she reached out her own but instead of shaking his hand she reached out to take hold of his forearm just before the elbow and she met his hues with her own, she dismissed his warning with a proposal of her own “All in?” she spoke softly searching one last time for any doubt from him.

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InactivePermalink Reply by ✓ Gideon Ashworth ~Admin~ on May 6, 2019 at 17:01

The Valkyrie couldn’t help the wry smile that came to his lips at her comment, the irony and truth of her words dropped between them like a weight. His species wasn’t the only one who used blood in many ways, and neither were the Valkyr the only danger to the world at large. They perhaps presented one of the biggest threats but any of the species, even humans, could devastate the world if they had a mind to. The Dragonkin had caused enough havoc and mayhem to last several lifetimes and the Phoenix ravaged populations many times over in an attempt to simply exist. Each species that had ever and were existing had left some black mark upon history, the very nature of living a struggle between the darkness and the light. “We all have our lows and high in the memory of history. I suppose the true test of time is how we proceed forward.”

It seemed they were both on the same page, both felt as if the bond they had created over the last 2 years was sufficiently strong enough for what they were about to embark on. Gideon would be lying if he were to admit he wasn’t nervous or apprehensive about this strategic move, forging an even more solid alliance through a blood bonding that was for all intents and purposes unbreakable. It was always a daunting thought, to share one’s mind and memories, essentially give them access to everything you were as a person. No one would ever know him as well, understand him as completely, nor have as unfettered access to the darkness that lurked in his heart. Truth be told though, there was no one else that he could ever imagine becoming bonded to, which in itself made up his mind for him.

Nodding his head he grinned at her, the truth of her words hitting home. “I would say everything we have done has led us to today, to this pivotal moment that will forever change the course of our lives. From here on out it will not be just about you or just about me, we will be joined.” The impact upon the future would be great, any relationships they get into from this day forward would have to include the other. Even their children, if it came to that, would have a connection that many others would not understand. Thus far there had been no children produced from any such Volakiri bonded pair, so the results would be impossible to predict but it stood to reason some sort of residual bond might be passed on. It was all conjecture on his part but the logic was there.

Surprise and pleasure lit within his dark hazel hues, looking down at their clasped forearms. Instead of shaking his hand she had grasped his arm in a warrior’s embrace, which for someone like him was even more heartfelt than a simple meeting of palms. Nodding he released her leaning over to pull a blade from the holster he kept at his ankle, taking a deep breath as he brandished the dagger in one hand and held out his wrist in the other. “I freely offer you my blood, that we may be bonded from this day forward. I will protect your heart, your secrets, and your life with my own; always by your side, forever entwined.” The moment he finished the words he slid the blade across his wrist, watching her with an unwavering gaze. His blood welled as if giddy to escape the break in his skin the red liquid gushed and dripped down his arm, ignored as he focused on Ophelia.

“Drink and slowly count to 10. When you reach 10 you may stop and take a drink. That should be enough for a true exchange.” His voice was low, instructing her softly as he held his wrist still and in front of her. The offer had been made and now it was up to her to close the distance and accept him.

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CelestialPermalink Reply by ✓ Ophelia Dreyvalian ~Admin~ on May 7, 2019 at 22:39

He was right, every immortal had high points and low points in their lives, they all made mistakes and did things they regretted and they also had moments of bliss they would remember for their entire lives. Ophelia had a mix of them but for the most part, hers were negative, life on the run would do that to you. She thought perhaps things were finally getting better when she came to Evermore but then everything had happened with Mikael to remind her that the scales were constantly balanced. “If we were all perfect then we’d be gods” she commented with a shrug, everyone seemed to be doing their best with what they had to work with, but it was a flawed system and there would always be greed and envy to remind them all of it.

Ophelia had thought about this moment for weeks now, she wasn’t sure she was prepared fully, how could you ever be fully prepared to make a lifelong commitment. Especially when said commitment could quite literally go on forever. But the Wayfinder felt in her chest like this was the right thing to do, she felt a sense of strength that hadn’t been there before she walked into this room. Considering the valkyr actually physically weakened her normally, she took that as a sign her intuition was telling her she was doing the right thing. “Poetic” she commented on the way he phrased what they were about to do. She could handle this. She wanted this, she wanted to lead by example. She wanted to make her people strong and help his in the process.

She smiled softly into the warrior’s grasp against one another’s arms, it was a silent promise between them that they would be there for one another through this, that they would protect one another until death. The words he spoke caused her to part her lips for a moment, realizing just how deep this ran and what she was truly choosing to do. It was comforting to her, knowing there would be someone she could rely on without a doubt, someone who would know her darkest and most personal thoughts and she would know theirs in return. It was scary, to say the least, but also thrilling she supposed. She met his gaze, noting the way it never left his as he spoke and then her eyes dropped down to the scarlet liquid running over his arm.

Her stomach felt a little uneasy as she looked at it but she wrapped her hands around his arm bringing it closer to her lips and was thankful for the way he talked her through it, she closed her eyes and began to take the blood into her mouth. It tasted like old pennies and a little salty but it wasn’t so repulsive that she felt the need to spit it out. She took a long breath and then tilted her head back a little to drink, counting to 10 in her head until she had a mouthful and then she swallowed it. She opened her eyes as she let go of his arm and she let out a shaky breath as she reached up to wipe the stray blood from around her mouth.

She reached out, placing her hand over the dagger he was still holding and taking the handle in her palm, her voice managed to steady itself as she spoke “I give you my blood of my own free will, with it I offer a promise to always look out for you and protect your interests, your feelings and your whole self” she paused “All in, for all of time” she nodded and grimaced as she moved the blade across her wrist in the same place he cut his. The pain was sharp but nothing she hadn’t been through before. She took a long breath and held hers out to him, she was putting a lot of trust in him right now and she hoped he knew that.

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InactivePermalink Reply by ✓ Gideon Ashworth ~Admin~ on May 25, 2019 at 19:25

Grinning the Valkyr shook his head with a wry chuckle, “And what boring world it would be.” He had never purported to be perfect and never would, his flaws were well known to himself and those he was close to. Experience had taught him the hard lesson concerning keeping things hidden or trying to be something that fate had not intended. That very lesson had made him what he was, an immortal blood addict with a superhero complex. Gideon knew he couldn't save everyone, would always face failure in some form or fashion, and yet that didn't stop him from trying. Perhaps that made him a glutton for punishment, or masochistic in some ways, but he had made peace with that reality long ago.

Characterizing his words as poetic was perhaps true but the implications were still there. Idly he wondered if fate had carefully maneuvered them to this very eventuality, pushing and pulling just so in order to bring he and Ophelia right here. He had always believed that there had been a reason he had been created, chosen among all the dead to walk this path. Gideon was a man of faith, though he often kept that to himself. Many heard faith and cringed, or sneered at the idea of a higher power and yet he saw it wherever he looked. Every choice he had ever made had put him in this room with a woman with enough courage for 20 warriors and a willingness to be tied to him. The thought was humbling.

The Valkyr had learned patience the hard way, across the many many years he had been in existence. His arm never tired as he held it put to her and the blood that fell to the carpet could be cleaned. Watching her with a serene sort of acceptance he had been prepared to wait a longer period before the Celestial worked up the nerve to do what needed to be done. Surprising him yet again it was only in the span of a few heartbeats that she reached out and took his arm. Bringing the wound to her lips she listened to his gentle coaching, using his words as an anchor as she took his blood within herself and completed the first step of the bonding process. Nodding as she drew back he smiled, proud and awed by her, and brought the wound up to his own mouth to close the leaking gash.

His hazel eyes focused on her, her movements and her words as she took the knife and brought it down across her wrist. Opehlia's voice drifted through his mind, her words affecting him deeply as he reached out and gently took her arm. Bringing her wrist up to his mouth he sealed his lips over the wound and drank. Her life force flowed into him, a fine wine of power with delicate notes of female strength and endurance. The Valkyrie had never tasted something so refreshing in another and though her taste fascinated him instinct told him he had taken enough for a single exchange.

Even as the male licked at the wound to seal it closed he could already feel the threads of their blood weaving together, building an irrevocable door between their minds and hearts. Gideon gasped, suddenly assaulted with dozens of thoughts and feelings that were not his own and the realization that his own thoughts were no longer his own. Reaching out he took Phe's hand, “Breathe Kira,” his voice was pit head low and his tone soothing, “Imagine a pool of serenity deep within you and sink yourself beneath its waters.” Even as he spoke he was doing just that within his own mind, working to calm them both in the turbulence of their binding. “It will be uncomfortable for us both for a while and may feel intrusive. Eventually, we will settle and grow accustomed to it, for neither of us will never be alone again.”

In time they would both learn to block out certain things if they wanted to or they would become comfortable with the openness and fall into a rhythm. Either way, they would find how best to cope as Volakiri.

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CelestialPermalink Reply by ✓ Ophelia Dreyvalian ~Admin~ on May 26, 2019 at 14:32

The idea of having someone tied to her thoughts was pretty daunting, they had no idea what a Wayfinder and Valkyrie partnership might be like, would he be able to see her visions of the future or the little pangs of intuition she got from the stars above? Would she be able to sense the pain he’d told her he’d been through? What parts of one another would they share and inherit? In a way, she was glad they were already quite similar, devout leaders trying to do their best to lead by example and act in the best interests of their people. But without experiencing this bond for themselves, the truth was, neither of them fully knew what it would be like. Still, she was ready to find out.

Taking his blood, it was much easier than she had imagined it to be, a lot of people saw blood and felt squeamish or lightheaded but to her, it was just that, blood. She had seen it a lot in her long life, same as she had seen much of death and tears. That’s why she didn’t hesitate when she leaned in, instead, relying on his instructions to get her through the process. It didn’t taste good to her, which was expected, she wasn’t the valkyr of the two of them after all. But it also didn’t repulse her either, in fact, the feeling in her chest generally felt like one of certainty that this was right. His encouraging smile as she pulled back made her return with a soft nod, she was braving this, now it was his turn.

Her eyes remained open as she held her arm out to him and she watched as he moved up against the skin, she could feel his lips graze against the skin but it wasn’t uncomfortable, she kept herself as steady as she could despite the stinging feeling that was taking over her. She could see the way he responded to the taste of her blood was very different from the way she reacted to his but just as he promised, after about 10 or so seconds he also pulled away. The moment that he did, she felt the strong sensation in her mind.

It was a little hard for her to describe, almost nauseating as all of these foreign memories and thoughts bombarded her, they all came at once so she wasn’t able to really focus on them or feel them one by one, it just felt like an overwhelming kaleidoscope of thoughts and feelings. She was struggling to process everything but feeling his hand in hers helped to ground her and remind her that he was going through the same process too. They were sharing the deepest parts of their minds, of course that was going to feel intrusive and they both had a lot of memories over the years to share. She could feel her body trembling as she tried to process it all but his soothing voice was helping to calm her. She did as he said and took long deep breaths and brought the picture he described into her mind and focused solely on that “There is so much to see” she commented in a soft tone of realization and squeezed his hand a little.

She kept her eyes closed, seeing flashing of faces she didn’t recognize in her mind but this disappeared as fast as they came, before she could really memorize their facial features “You have known so many people” she spoke softly, he was right, this was going to feel strange for a whole but it didn’t feel wrong to her, sharing themselves like this, in fact, it could be described as pretty freeing.

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InactivePermalink Reply by ✓ Gideon Ashworth ~Admin~ on July 11, 2019 at 2:05

Gideon found it daunting, to suddenly see so many faces both ones he recognized and many that he did not. His own memories were mixing with Ophelia's in an amalgam of thought that was meshing together into a cohesive picture of what the two of them would come to know as simply them. Given time and many, many conversations they would each learn who and where and when and why giving each other rare incite but until that happened it was all a confusing mesh of the known and the unknown. People from his past he had thought long buried and forgotten resurfaced and surprisingly he found some people they both knew came swimming up like colorful fish out of a murky pond.
The whole experience was somewhat unnerving and didn't seem to be halting or losing steam anytime soon, try as he might despite immerse himself in his mental pool the images pulled at their minds.

The physical touch of holding her hand kept him anchored, the squeeze reminding him to take a deep breath. It was so odd, being the Valkyrie and bring hundreds of years old and yet he was still experiencing something brand new. Her comment made the male chuckle, nodding his head slowly he met her wondrous eyes with his own dark hazel optics. "I have. Many I had pushed to the back of my memory until now sentenced to an eternity in obscurity before a few moments ago." One particularly sassy redhead came swimming into his mind, the sharp mental reminder of a slap to the face followed by a hiss and a huff as she stormed away into the night. Gideon winced knowing that his Volakiri had been able to feel his lack of sympathy for the woman's plight as she flounced into the darkness in an indignant fashion.

Now older and a bit wiser he had the good grace to look a bit embarrassed by that particular memory. "I apologize Kira. Fiona was always emotional and prone to bouts of rage." He sighed managing to keep from having the pair of them experience anymore backlash from his past though he did feel he at least owed her an explanation now that he had gotten the Wayfinder slapped. "Fiona's mate Tabitha had just been sentenced to death for murdering several teenage boys. Humans. I carried out the sentence myself as distasteful and difficult as the death sentence was to follow through with." Flash of her struggle with him tried to break through, the ensuing fight between him and Tabitha had been fierce and bloody. "The teenage boys had been terrorizing a few villages but they were not ours to bring to justice. They were human and thus outside of our boundaries of influence. As hard as it was to do I had passed an edict that the Valkyr was to leave human affairs to the humans and we were moving on to track down other rogue Valkyr. Tabitha was unsatisfied with that edict and ripped the young boys apart."

Managing to get some kind of control of the flow of memories and faces that flowed between them Gideon showed his Volakiri the grisly scene he had discovered. The aftermath Tabitha had left in her wake, ripped and torn bodies of young men who had been misguided but hadn't been theirs to deal with or handle. "Fiona, of course, did not agree with my sentence and never forgave me. She eventually tried to assassinate me and Celia met her on the field on combat some 100 years ago." His voice was infinitely sad and for the first time in a very long time, incredibly tired. "I put a great burden on Phe. Being my Volakiri will not be easy, my memories are long and bloody." He nearly whispered the words scrubbing a hand over his face in an effort to try and scrub away the weariness.

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CelestialPermalink Reply by ✓ Ophelia Dreyvalian ~Admin~ on July 12, 2019 at 10:43

It was kind of scary for her, seeing her own innermost thoughts painting the room around her, from all different periods of life and different emotions and states of mind, all mingled into one blur of colors and faces. When you added him to that, the picture became pretty expansive and sometimes it was hard to differentiate what belonged to her and what to him but then she supposed that was the point. They shared a little bit of one another now, the image they were seeing was the conjoined representation that the Volakiri bond had formed, in a way it kinda felt like sharing burdens a little, for her, perhaps it could be described somewhat as a weight off her chest and she felt herself taking a deep and long breath in response to it all.

When she glanced over to him she noticed the way he seemed more troubled than she did, which she supposed was down to the fact that he had lived far longer than her and therefore there was more for him to share and the process didn’t leave any stone unturned. A lot of her memories showing seemed to be centered around her time alone while she searched desperately for a way to make it onto the Isle. In fact, most of her memories seemed to be of her alone in some sense. She supposed that was her reality, she had been alone for a very long time now “That can’t be an easy thing to do” she commented as she bit gently on her lip realizing the insane amount of trust he was putting in her right now and the scale of the decision they had made and yet she didn’t feel any regret for it either.

This particular memory of the redheaded woman was especially prominent, the woman looking firey and almost consumed with rage was a little frightening but Ophelia reminded herself that all of the things she was seeing, while real, were unable to personally touch her as they were not her own to keep. “We have all made decisions we know we have to, even though we are aware of the pain they will cause, the right thing to do, is the right thing to do” she nodded taking in his story, he had done the right thing in the end, you couldn’t just sit back and allow people to murder one another, no matter how revenge-fuelled or justice seeking that it was, killing everyone wasn’t the answer to the world’s problems and she could see Gideon believed that. It was clear to her that he ran very strict laws within his faction and she hoped she would never need to go to such lengths with hers because watching the conflict on his face in this particular memory was almost impossible to bear.

He was right though, there was a lot to process but what he probably failed to realize was that her own life was also pretty grim too, the number of her own people she had buried because of the greed of others, a life spent on the run never knowing true comfort. And then there was the biggest memory she would share with him, something she hadn’t told anyone but the more she tried to suppress it the more Mikael’s face appeared. The way he had saved her that night on Skye, the time they had spent together since, the only hint of true love that was buried in her memories but also the heartbreak she was currently suffering after seeing his death in a vision. She felt her hand shaking a little in his as tears welled in her eyes, she’d never shared any of this with anyone “Heartbreak isn’t a stranger of mine” she echoed as she glanced up at him, it seemed they were both tortured souls but maybe sharing this would take a little weight off the both of them.

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InactivePermalink Reply by ✓ Gideon Ashworth ~Admin~ on August 21, 2019 at 1:51

The horrific scenario that he had shown her didn't seem to daunt the Celestial in the least, he had known she was strong but he hadn't realized the full breadth of that strength until this moment. He was truly humbled by her, by the faith she had in him and by the decision, she had made to be his Volakiri. Few people would have been able to even think about taking on such a daunting undertaking, let alone committing to it with such zeal. He gave her a sad smile, nodding his head slowly in response, "Perhaps. Looking back I might have handled the situation differently and if faced with that same situation today would yield very different results." He heaved a long and slow sigh as he looked at her with an expression of infinite fatigue. "My species was created from violence and I fear violence will always be within our blood. Within our very nature."

It was the first time he had revealed that particular fear to anyone, the first time he had given voice to his one true aversion to his own nature. No matter how hard he tried to steer his people away from it there would always be those that strayed, that went towards those tendencies. It was nice to share these thoughts at long last, however, to finally have another that he could bear his soul to that might understand the weight he carried upon his shoulders. Celia tried to, but he had stopped divulging too much to her. He found his long-time friend could be very judgemental when push came to shove.

As revelations went he hadn't been expecting one of love from Ophelia, seeing her memories and feeling her heartbreak made him want to run out and find this male. Once he located the idiot they would have a stern word right before Gideon punched him square in the jaw. What dolt would treat such a woman so poorly? "What a pair we make Kira, the evil Valkyr and the enigmatic star." With that he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close, placing a kiss upon the tip of her head. "We shall bear all things from here on out together. Side by side and as one. This I swear to you Kira."

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CelestialPermalink Reply by ✓ Ophelia Dreyvalian ~Admin~ on August 22, 2019 at 22:05

It was a sad thought that she could sit back and see what could be seen as a pretty horrific set of events and feel okay about it, none of it was okay, she knew that but she also felt like at this point in her life she had become desensitized to the misery the world inflicted upon people, especially those who were supernatural and had lived to see history repeat itself over and over again. “Hindsight” she commented as he spoke about handling the situation differently now that he knew what he did “It’s a killer” she commented thinking about all the decisions she had made which she would change now if she’d known the outcome of them. “But I don’t have the luxury of even considering it because it’s those very people who want to change the past that are a threat to my kind” a double-edged sword if ever there was one. Ophelia refused to dwell on what she would have done differently because that created a loop you never got out of. Didn’t mean she didn’t have regrets though.

“I’ve never been one to buy into people fitting into a box” she spoke thoughtfully as she watched the shapes of the memories flow around her “No one is damned in my eyes” she assured him with a nod of her head, if she believed that for even a second then she wouldn’t be here right now but she saw someone good in Gideon, someone who wanted to be a good leader for people who had been through a lot of pain, she could relate. Hell, she was even trying to find a way to co-exist with the people who had locked up hers. She could understand why he felt such a burden though, especially because she had heard the horror stories about valkyr going off the deep end and becoming the monsters you saw in movies.

She had a lot of pain in her life, most of it linked to loss of some kind, whether that be celestials being killed, having to leave people behind while on the running knowing she could never return, betrayal or even simple heartbreak. It always ended, everyone always left eventually and that haunted her to this day, a constant nagging feeling in her head which stopped her from latching onto anyone too tightly for fear they would slip through her fingers one day. She laughed at the way he described the pair of them “Enigmatic is definitely a word for it” she commented with a solemn nod of her head, leaning into his side. It didn’t feel uncomfortable, in fact, it felt right, two people finally unloading burdens they had been holding onto so tightly and feeling the chance to breathe again, she didn’t know how much she needed it until now “I have the feeling that’s going to feel a little intrusive for the both of us at first” she commented as she glanced over at him, holding his gaze sternly “I get the sense we tend on taking on the world alone” but she wasn’t the type to pry too deep and she could navigate this bond better than she thought she would.

It was like a catalog of memories, if she pushed she could probably reach out and access them, but for the most part, they were just floating around her. If one was particularly prominent in Gideon’s mind, that one would stand out to her, it felt like the horizons had expanded but she wasn’t forced to explore the unknown unless she wanted to “Was it hard for you? Being the first?” she was curious, she wasn’t the first Wayfinder so she had reference to go back to, people to idolize, which had its benefits and drawbacks but she was curious to know what it felt like to become the first example for a species.

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InactivePermalink Reply by ✓ Gideon Ashworth ~Admin~ on October 19, 2019 at 18:47

"Hindsight indeed," Gideon concurred with an amused grin. As the saying went hindsight was 20/20 when looking back upon events one could see how action had turned out complete with all of the effects and conclusions. Thus allowing a person to see the result and drawing a conclusion as to whether that decision had truly been the best one and if there might have been one better, but the thing about hindsight: you couldn't change the past. It was a useless practice. The only thing one could possibly gain from hindsight was a bit of wisdom to draw upon for the future if by chance one was confronted with a similar situation. That was how a person grew after all, by trial and error and learning by his or her mistakes. The Valkyrie chuckled with very little humor since he knew and understood just what was at stake if someone decided they wanted to try and change the past using Celestials powers. The repercussions were long and widespread if a person managed to take out one of Ophelia's people, an event that both of them would try very hard to prevent.

“I appreciate that,” he gave her a soft smile though he didn’t quite share her optimism. Valkyr were created from an act of pure violence, that was a darkness that couldn’t simply be obliterated or ignored because someone wanted it to. Even he struggled with the shadows that were inherent upon his soul and there were times he had to seek help to keep himself in check and firmly rooted in the light. It was his hope that maybe being bonded with Phe he wouldn’t struggle so much, or that with her at his side he would have a sure path out of the darkness. Even the strongest among them stumbled and fell, and when they fell it could spell certain death for innocents. That was a burden even Gideon hadn’t been able to avoid, in fact as the first of his kind he probably had the most blood on his hands, the stains going deep into the grooves of his fingerprints that no soap or bleach could possibly get him completely clean. No amount of scrubbing was going to clear the guilt or free him from the face of his hapless victims.

A light laugh left his lips, lifting his otherwise dark thoughts out of the quagmire of dim reflections of his past to their current situation. Once more she was incredibly insightful and her words cut right to the quick, like a newly honed sword through a young body the whole of the issue was shorn in half exposing the heart of the matter in one fell swoop. “A little intrusive may be a bit of an understatement Kira.” His tone was a bit sarcastic as he sat back, rubbing his palms against his thighs looking thoughtful. “In time you will find your mind becoming familiar with mine and vice versa, and being with one another will be more comfortable than apart. We may find ourselves reaching for the other and slipping inside of our minds without realizing it until being one is all we know.” He looked at her with a steady gaze, making sure that she knew and understood what he was talking about. It was going to be an adjustment for both of them and he was sure at some point they would come to regret it but those feelings would come to pass.

As they sat there the memories swam around them like fish, swarming around them in gentle eddies that ebbed and flowed with the tides. The Valkyrie was positive that if he reached out and grabbed one that he would be able to catch it and bring it to him, but he didn’t much want to examine anything else right now. Her question surprised him a bit, as he shifted on the couch the smile on his face dropped a bit and his expression turned sad. “I don’t think anyone has asked me that before,” he looked at the Celestial with renewed respect and admiration as he drew in a breath, “It wasn’t easy.” Reaching up, he ran a hand through his hair, thinking about how best to describe his situation and how he had felt in the beginning. “The Valkyr were created from a horrendous act of violence and when I came to I was changed. It took some time to figure out how and why I had changed as well as figure out how to manage everything that was now my life.”

He managed a half-smile, “What do you want to know?”

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CelestialPermalink Reply by ✓ Ophelia Dreyvalian ~Admin~ on October 20, 2019 at 9:49

Ophelia was pretty adamant in trying to keep an open mind in the world, it was easy for her to say she didn’t like something because she didn’t understand it, but if she did that then she truly would stick out like a sore thumb in this modern world which had so many new things. So she took things as they came and always asked a lot of questions, she supposed the more she asked about something and the more she familiarized herself with it, the less it was scary. She knew a fair bit about valkyr because she had made sure to do her fair share of research before agreeing to an alliance with them but one thing which was much harder to research was people. When it came to Gideon it was pretty much her following her instincts but perhaps this would give her the chance to understand him better. But she didn’t want to pry in his head for any of it, she would ask what she wanted to know over time.

“Well I was being polite” she responded to his words about the whole thing being intrusive, she didn’t doubt that it was going to be hard for her to have to share everything that was buried deep in her mind, especially because a lot of it wasn’t going to be intentional and might feel strange. She knew she was going to see memories that weren’t her own and sometimes that might be confusing because they would merge with ones that were but the shared knowledge might also be a good thing, it meant her and Gideon would be able to understand each other on a level that didn’t need words “But neither of us seem like the judgmental types either” which was the bright side because she was no doubt going to see things she didn’t understand or choice decisions. “Does the idea of that scare you?” Gideon was very knowledgeable in this area but never experienced it for himself and she was sure that sharing a lot of personal things like that had to be pretty daunting, it was for her and she had fewer memories to offer.

The memories were both specific and a blur, everything went by so fast that it was impossible to memorize every little thing but as she watched she got a sense for the overall story it was trying to tell, which was probably weird considering she didn’t experience his memories herself but part of her felt natural to them. She figured that was how the bond worked, as two minds connected they shared the little things until eventually, they could both tap into everything the other knew. She turned her head to him as she heard him consider her question “I can’t imagine it was, you’d have had nothing to reference from, it would have all been new” and scary no doubt, considering valkyr weren’t exactly considered a species affiliated with light.

“How did you even begin to process all that?” she was really curious to know how he handled the reality of finding out how he needed to feed on blood to survive, she couldn’t imagine it was easy for any valkyr to accept, but as the first there wouldn’t have been anyone to show him the best ways or even tell him when he needed to stop. “I’m not even sure if being the first or one of many would have been better for me, I always feel like I’m running my leadership in the shadow of someone who came before” she had no idea why the stars chose her of all people to lead considering how good she seemed to be at screwing it up.

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