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 Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 1:45 pm
Paimon sighed. What had he done to get into this mess that Karma was dishing out? "But then what is to stop him from taking any others?" he asked.
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 2:34 pm
Ca sighed, leaning into her mate. "Don't know..." All this thinking was making her head hurt... maybe she'd follow her Chosen's example and take a nap.
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 7:43 pm
Paimon nodded and nuzzled his mate, essentially tucking her into the hay, loped his head around her and closed his eyes. He was tired and needed a nap for sure.
{{timeskip?}
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 8:00 pm
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 8:56 pm
~*~ TIME SKIP ~*~ The mood in the house had significantly brightened since Manga and Sebastian bonded and recovered. The latter's wounds weren't completely healed, but they were small enough now that he could move around. The kids had recovered from the scare of the violent Seb and the rest of the household was picking up on the enthusiasm of the two girls--and flourishing under the nurturing care of Manga and Sebastian. But because the wounds were no longer severe, Manga no longer had a real excuse to being in the room all the time. And her nightmares were trying to make their comeback. Her dark memories had mixed with her current happiness, exchanging the real victims of the past with the people of her present. She woke up gasping for air and doing everything in her power not to scream. Then she tried to put a lid on the images, as if attempting to make a mental lockbox to hide the nightmare away in. _______________________ Ca was contently snuggled against her mate, glad to have him home. Paimon had gone off in search of Grimm, but found no sign of him anywhere. And he'd finally returned to her, a source of great relief. Especially with the problem of Ruin hanging over their heads, she couldn't help but feel anxious when she was left alone... She sleepily opened her eyes, which widened at the sight of a brown stallion doing... something with the straw. She didn't know what, but she instinctively moved closer to Paimon. Who was this stranger?
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 9:07 pm
Sebastian had come into Manga's room, waking from her nightmare before she even did. With their Bond, he was able to come even before she realized she needed or wanted comfort, When she woke he was there, moving towards her bed and wrapping his arms around her to hold her tight to him.
_________
Paimon snuffled in his sleep and wriggled closer to Ca as she moved, his flames low as if sleeping themselves, though they still put off a bright heat.
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 9:23 pm
The mental lockbox failed. Manga flung her arms around Sebastian and buried her face into his shirt. Unable to get over the horrors of the nightmare, she did what she hadn't done in almost eleven years.
She cried.
The artist quietly sobbed into his shirt, clinging to him as if her life depended on it. Scared. She was scared--terrified. Derrik and his parasite Wrath were still out there--and unfortunately, Wrath knew her better than anyone else except Sebastian and her Bonded. Her deep-rooted fears of death and fire hadn't faded, though she'd been to overcome them enough to work around them. Those two things could get to her, and if Wrath tried anything, those were the first two things he would do... kill and burn. She couldn't think on that now, though. She needed to calm down, let Sebastian's presence sooth her soul. Eventually Manga ran out of tears and just leaned into the arms holding her so tightly. Why hadn't she realized how comforting this was before?
____________
Ca growled and tugged at her mate's mane to try and wake him up. There was someone here! A quiet chuckle came from the stranger.
"You could've let him sleep. I mean no harm." Grimm smiled in amusement. "Honestly, you two are really impatient, aren't you? I don't think anyone's been so eager to summon me before."
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 9:26 pm
Seb just held her and let her cry, he could feel her need almost as if it was his own. He could feel her fears of Wrath and Derrik, and unfortunately, he didn't know how to help.Once she finished crying, he let go of her with one arm and reached for the tissues he had brought in, and handed one to her, wiping her tears before he did so, so they wouldn't dry on her cheeks.
_________________
Paimon jerked awake with a snort and looked around, his vision cloudy for a moment before he noticed the stranger. His eyes narrowed and he jumped up, his flames lightly jumping as he got away from Ca so he wouldn't burn her. "Who're you?" He growled, his voice sounding almost like his father's for a moment, like it always did when he tried to be threatening.
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 9:43 pm
Manga smiled weakly, feeling better albeit a bit emotionally drained. She gave him a gracious look before accepting the tissue and blowing her nose. Now that she was calm, she instinctively moved to wash away the sense of helplessness in Sebastian that had been caused by her own fears. As long as he was there with her, she was alright...
_____________
Grimm rolled his eyes, still smiling in amusement as he got to his feet. "Grimm Fate, at your service," he replied with a bow. "For being so eager to see me, you sure weren't prepared... then again, most of my customers are a bit closer." Absently spinning the gold thread around his hooves, he continued, "Let's get to business, shall we? What is it you wished to discuss with me?"
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 9:48 pm
Paimon simmered. Grimm.. Grimm fate. "Summon... what?" he asked in confusion, but he shook it off. Better to get back to business. He turned to Ca, as if asking her permission before continuing before he spoke again."We would like to make a deal with you..." he said softly.
___________
Sebastian sighed and hugged Manga tightly. "Everything will be alright, Dahlia. You just gotta trust in that. Why don't you let Lacey take some of your burdens or something? She's the only one you haven't leaned on recently." Of course, she hadn't told him about Lacey, but he knew, he could feel the mother of three in the back of his heart as she struggled to deal with Ruin's children.
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 10:08 pm
Grimm nodded, but then explained his system. "We don't make the deal first," he informed the pair. "You tell me what the problem is and then we work out a deal based on your needs."
Ca nodded first to Paimon, then to Grimm's explanation. It made sense... and was surprisingly kind of the deal maker to help them keep their options open. And then there was something about this Azrien, something that reminded her a bit of her own adopted father... She couldn't put her hoof on it, though.
______________
Manga smiled. "I know..." She tightened her grip on his shirt slightly. "I'm not... alone anymore." She had a wonderful support system now, something she wasn't really used to... But she shook her head to the suggestion. "She's got enough on her plate right now," she replied softly. "I don't want to put burdens on her until she can handle her own." That was best... Once Lacey was back on her feet, then she'd allow herself to shift some of her burdens to the mare. But until then, the artist couldn't bear to put that weight on her...
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 10:14 pm
Sebastian nodded in understanding of Manga's decision. "Then let me bare some." he said. Although there was barely anything she could hide from him, she wouldn't let him carry any of her burdens for her. Her excuse had been that he was too weak, but he could now... if she'd let him.
_____
Pai nodded. "I had to make a deal with Ruin... an open ended agreement." He said, not sure exactly how to explain it.
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 10:47 pm
Manga sighed and just leaned into him. "Alright... but they're heavy," she warned him gently. The weight of responsibilities, the weight of lives she'd ended... the weight of her worries and doubts, the weight of even her own life... they were all surprisingly weighty. But she handed some over to him anyway. There was no more excuse not to let Sebastian assist her with the immense burdens she carried. Quite frankly, even with Gau taking it upon himself to carry a load of it, there was so much... The artist didn't dare put it on Ca either; she was pregnant and didn't need any extra strain.
_____________
"Owes... favor," Ca added, hoping that would help clarify. Apparently it did.
"I see. So the whole, 'you owe me but I'm not going to tell you what you owe' routine. An obnoxious classic. So. Where do I come into this equation?" He couldn't just remove the obligation that Paimon had to Ruin. He wasn't going to--and wasn't sure he could--interfere with a previously made deal like that.
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 10:53 pm
Sebastian closed his eyes and he let them all sink in. Sure it was heavy on top of what he already carried, but he could do this. For Manga. For his Dahlia. For his heart that she carried in the palm of her hands. He could do it. He waited a couple moments after it all sank in, getting used to the adjustment before opening his eyes and looking at her, his eyes clear with nothing but love for her. He wondered if it had been a surprise to her, to learn that he didn't care about anything she had done in the past, or if she already knew he would love her no matter what.
__________
Paimon nodded. "Worse off, its to Ruin, who's kidnapped two of my brother's children, stole away a distant relation and bargained her to carry his foals, and has done other nefarious deeds. We are afraid he is going to ask for a foal, perhaps our firstborn, as it is something he would do." He replied, anger making his hooves flame, though he kept the temp down low so it wouldn't burn the stable and Grimm down.
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 11:02 pm
Manga gave him a relieved smile, obviously grateful. Her Sebastian... he always seemed to know--or stumble upon--exactly what she needed. And he was always willing to do what was needed to make her smile... It was a gift she was eternally thankful for. She blinked when another pair of arms joined them, a small laugh escaping her lips when she saw it was Emmie trying to invade their hug--and since Emmie was there, Maddie was likely to be shortly behind.
___________
"I've met him. Acts like he sat on a pinecone that he couldn't burn to a crisp." Seeing where the conversation was headed, he finished. "So, in other words, you want to make a deal with me to prevent Ruin from taking one of your children?" That type of interference he could do. After all, if Ruin didn't specify the price, a new deal could be made--and the former deal would have lower priority than the latter.
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