Regrets and Reunions

"Regrets and Reunions" is a [SEASON NUMBER] thread written on [IRL DATE].
==Summary==
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==Full Text==
Her hand shook as she flicked the portal closed, the wrist in her sling throbbing a little painfully. To say that she was nervous to visit Tree would be an understatement. But Blunt was right; she deserved to know.
Slowly, she came up to the door, and exhaled to steady herself. Whatever happens, I’ll take it… she lifted a hand to knock.
tree-the-cat
The front door cracked and part of Tree’s face was visible in the opening, and her pupil immediately thinned. “Um…Akkey, I…I don’t think you should be here.”
akkeyagentofhelheim
She blinked, “Tree! W-why? I need…” Her lips pressed into a thin line, “I need to talk to you…”
tree-the-cat
“I know, and…and we probably should, but…not now, not–”
A low, bassy rumble briefly shook the house, and Tree’s eyes widened, and she reached out to grab Akkey’s good forearm. “Shit, Akkey, you need to come back later–”
akkeyagentofhelheim
She staggered a little, taking hold of Tree’s arm as well, “What’s going on, Tree?!” she shoved at the door a little with her shoulder, trying to pull the cat half breed out, panicked at the sensation.
demon-in-the-dungeon
There was a sudden, screaming tear in space behind Akkey and a huge porcelain hand grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her backwards into blinding, roaring darkness. The black, thundering energy stripped away from her view and Akkey was roughly laid out on a gray, desolate plain, indescribably cold and with a breathtaking howling wind stripping the land of all vegetation, leaving a rocky silver plain for as far as the eye could see. The faint, foggy silhouettes of enormous mountains loomed in the distance.
There was a few heavy footsteps and a pair of white swords buried themselves in the ground on either side of Akkey, the same hands gripping both hilts.
No words. Just a roaring mass of simmering anger hovering directly above her.
akkeyagentofhelheim
Fuck.
Her heart pounded in her chest. She hadn’t prepared herself to meet Nala this soon, and for the first time again in a quarter of a decade… she was afraid of her.
She sat on the ground, shaking visibly but staying exactly where she was, quiet, unmoving and all defenses down.
demon-in-the-dungeon
They stayed like that for a long time, in deadly silence.
Do you know how Greg died?
akkeyagentofhelheim
She shook her head slowly, hoarsely whispering, “I-It was in the Central attack on Haligan. Th-that’s all I know…”
demon-in-the-dungeon
Again, instead of speaking, there was silence. But the Warden began forcefully feeding Akkey a stream of memories, some from the Warden’s perspective, some lived through others like Grey and a few different soldiers. A surge of armies over Haligan’s beaches, Nala unknowingly making her way across the continent to check on the Arnasons, the Haligans falling and dying to the Gathering’s blades, an imposing, armored man engaging Grey in a desperate swordfight, Greg getting deeply stabbed, his encouragement for Grey to leave and escape, and the retreating view of a massive phoenix of flames rising into the air and spreading its wings as a fiery explosion ripped across the island, eliminating the remaining soldiers. And then, silence. Falling ashes. Smoldering buildings. A pale, limp body on the front steps of a charred Haligan home, and Nala’s raging, twisted Daemon scream upon seeing what had happened, what she had been unable to prevent due to her time away from the island. 
Each memory burned like the fire that drained Greg of his last dregs of life, and the demon was shaking uncontrollably as she cut the memories off sharply. 
akkeyagentofhelheim
She roughly fell on her back as her eyes saw the images, her head pounding. The last memory disappeared and she blinked, like someone had suddenly turned on a dull light. Tears streaming down her cheeks in the harsh cold, her shaking forearm over her mouth as she cried. The wind roared above them and she stared up her, vision practically blurred from her tears.
“I’m… s-sorry….” she could barely whisper, wincing at the sound of her own voice.
demon-in-the-dungeon
What were you thinking?
akkeyagentofhelheim
“I… wasn’t…” Lies.
She shook her head, shifting her arm over her eyes as the tears refused to stop, “I lied. I’m not getting better. Frigga’s back and I’m losing myself again.”
A vision of dark ice heading straight for a young Blunt’s heart flashed in her mind, and she caught her breath for a moment. What was that… She shook her head again, “Dreams, visions, blanking out and attacking people. I can’t do this again, I need…”
“I need to control this power or else someone else will, and everyone will die… And he… he knows how to do that, I could…” she gasped desperately, full of shame, “How could I…”
demon-in-the-dungeon
The Warden’s blank face stared down at Akkey, the only expression as usual being the tension in her eyes behind her mask. Had you succeeded in pushing Liam to the point of overuse that Greg experienced, I can assure you that you would not be standing here to tell me this. Which makes the experiment all the more dangerous. It makes both you and I more dangerous. Her hands clinked against the hilts of her swords as she shifted into a less aggressive position, using them for balance. But you understand and bear guilt more poignantly than anyone I know. I will leave that warning as it stands.
I did not give Liam his control over darkness by choice. Being demontouched sways the vessel in the direction of an element they hold the most control over. He carries darkness in his heart, but chooses only to exercise it when appropriate. The strength of the deep does not run in your veins, Akkey. That is why it tears your very being apart to channel it. That was forced on you, by an entity whose very existence was a struggle, fueled by hatred, frigidity and revenge. If you want to even understand a fraction of this, you must separate yourself from its nature. You cannot walk Liam’s path and embrace it, else it will control you. Her eyes closed briefly and a swell of loss and pain rose within her. Tezzeret fought the same battle. Instead of traveling deeper into himself, he walked alongside his darkness. He made treaty with it, while my brother guided him out of the shadow. If you were not made to twist the darkness to your will, you must find another way.
akkeyagentofhelheim
“What if I can’t…” she exhaled shakily, shifting her arm so only her hand stayed over her eyes. Her wrist pulsed again, “It’s been 25 years, if it can come back and repeat everything after all this time, I don’t know what else I can do…” An old sense of hopelessness washed over her, something she hadn’t felt in years
demon-in-the-dungeon
Then you fight it, she said, with new heat. The Warden pulled her swords from the earth with a ring of metal and pointed one of them at Akkey for emphasis. You are speaking to someone whose very nature works against herself every day. The gods and deities and valkyries may try to wield us as tools, but that is all we can ever be to them. We are more. You are more. A familiar-colored energy washed over Akkey’s mind, and it was comforting, but it was also hot and stirring. Frigga would want us to fall to despair. We shall not do that, no matter how much darkness clouds our way.
akkeyagentofhelheim
She sat up slowly, letting her hand fall to her side and looked up at Nala past the weapon. The sensation filled her from the tips of fingers. The wind howled again but she didn’t feel the chill. She clenched her teeth, blinking tears away from her eyes, “Right… you’re right…” she clenched her teeth and sighed, hanging her head, “I’m sorry, Nala…”
There are ways to deal with this that do not include stretching my ward to his absolute limit. I will help you. But I will also make it clear that I will be protecting him, and exacting justice on those who harm him. She flourished her swords and pushed them back up into her ribcage, kneeling down to offer a hand to Akkey. If it helps, it is the same protection I offer you. 
akkeyagentofhelheim
She stared up at her, wide eyed and a little taken aback at her offer, especially after what she had done to Liam. She slowly took her hand, and stood shakily, before giving a meek nod of understanding, “I’ll find another way. I won’t be reckless… or selfish… I’ll figure something out.. Th-thank you, Nala…” her shoulders hunched over slightly, gripping one of her porcelain fingers with her own.
demon-in-the-dungeon
The demon tilted her head and lifted Akkey’s chin, meeting her eyes and nodding once. I do believe you should still speak to Treepelt, but I doubt things will be as worrisome.
akkeyagentofhelheim
She let out a sigh, “Yeah…” She wiped her hand over her face to brush away the tears, “I hope so.”
demon-in-the-dungeon
Nala pulled Akkey a little closer, and her essence flared with bright, shifting light as the two of them emerged back into White Hallows, and an old cat half-breed jumped and stepped back in front of the shade of her home, almost raising her arms defensively before recognizing the demon. “Great Odin’s ghost, Nala, I thought you’d killed her.”
akkeyagentofhelheim
“Wouldn’t be surprised if she did, yeah…” she mumbled under her breath, blinking tiredly. Her eyes flicked between the two, before settling on Tree. She pressed her lips in a humourless grin, “We’re back…”
tree-the-cat
“I can see that,” she said shortly, folding her arms. Tree was half-dressed in trapper’s garb, and there was a short crossbow on her back and a few long knives at her hip. Her weathered green eyes took in her old friend’s appearance, and she felt her heart twinge. Akkey had clearly been going through a lot. Why else would she have done something like that? “Everyone’s alright? He’s still got all his limbs and has his head on straight and all that?”
akkeyagentofhelheim
Akkey nodded slowly, “Yeah, they’re fine. Verdandi healed him pretty effectively, although he was still tired.” her brow creased at the memory, “He was kicking my ass halfway through, to be honest…”
She sighed, “Tree, I’m sorry, I…” she trailed off and closed her eyes, wincing at the number of times she’s done her wrong and had to say that. Too many times…
tree-the-cat
The corner of her mouth twitched at hearing how well he had done. She held up a paw. “I’ll take the sorry. You just need to follow it up with actions that say sorry, too. You’re pretty good at that, though, if my memory of our first rebellion is accurate.”
akkeyagentofhelheim
“Right. Absolutely, I will…” she said quietly, gripping the hem of her shirt and glancing up at her.
tree-the-cat
“Well then, come in for a bite to eat, if you want, and then you can be back on your way to the bigger and better rebellion. I’m sure you’re quite busy.” Her tone made it clear that she was quite satisfied being away from such ruckus the second time around.
akkeyagentofhelheim
She couldn’t help but wrinkle her nose in grim amusement. The half breeds really couldn’t be more opposites. As much as she whined about how tired she was, she had admittedly missed the excitement of battle, “Breakfast would be nice, yeah…”
Category:BOTGD 2
Category:Events
Category:Act I
Category:Treepelt Halfpaw
Category:Akkey Black
Category:The Warden