Skin and Blister

"Skin and Blister" is a [SEASON NUMBER] thread written on [IRL DATE].
==Summary==
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==Full Text==
Faysal/Sol: Faysal awoke from a light slumber with a start, Sol was tugging furiously at the edge of his conscience. “Faysal, something powerful is nearby.” She paused, tentatively thinking over her words, careful not to seem too excited. “It could be her, but from what we’ve learned, Nala has been gone a while from this place and a new power could have moved in. So, I’m moving us forward with extreme caution until we know for sure.”
Faysal was still groggy from his nap on the shoreline, he brushed the dirt from his shoulders as he got up. “Okay, point me in the right direction and we can. cautiously, introduce ourselves.” The two of them began walking towards the center of the island, passing by some stalls that were beginning to close up shop with the sun setting. Sol remained hidden in his satchel, she let her powers of concealment wash over the two of them as they walked closer to the presence she sensed. 
Liam/Nala: A trace of black, whispering sand slid across the ground around Faysal’s feet, almost mimicking snow blowing across a frozen lake, and it hissed forward and slowed as it neared the paws of a lanky redhead that was standing with his back to the approaching man. The blackness stopped and drifted loosely around his feet in a circle, occasionally dripping upwards like dark honey. 
The young man turned, and the amber sun shone behind his head as his hair blew in a sharply cold wind. He had a paw close to his chest, and the same blackness was skidding across his fur. His ears twitched. “What are you looking at?” he said accusingly at the huge figure getting nearer to him. 
Faysal/Sol: “Is this the one?” Faysal said aloud, seemingly to no-one in particular. Sol only gave a feeling of affirmation in response, hesitant to speak in the presence of this unknown demon. His eyes narrowed as he appraised the half-breed in front of him. The breeze picked up as nightfall crept closer, the sand and soil began to almost billow. Even through the coming storm he couldn’t help but feel the gaze of the shopkeepers and patrons nearby, eyeing the two of them. 
Faysal cracked his neck and pulled his massive arms across his chest. His eyes seemed to glow a faint green as he spoke again. “Well, boy, I seem to be looking at you.”
Liam/Nala: Just behind and above him, Nala invisibly narrowed her eyes and sharpened the blades of her consciousness. She couldn’t feel anything. It was maddening. But how else would this man be able to pick Liam out of the crowd? She ran another scan over the area, just to be sure. 
Liam tilted his head at the man’s mannerisms and his own pupils narrowed supernaturally in response. “Well,” he said, kicking his feet up a little to swing his legs and leap off the fence post he was sitting on, wiry and catlike. The dark magic at his feet thickened and roiled. “You should look at something else, dipshit.”
Faysal/Sol: Faysal’s face darkened as it fell into a scowl, he continued forward and into a brawling stance as he strode towards Liam. With inhuman speed Faysal brought his open hand through the air and connected it with the side of Liam’s face, static arced from the impact. The growing wind fell silent before Faysal spoke again, “No need to call me names, boy.” 
Liam/Nala: The surrounding rebels caught their breath at the attack, as Liam staggered and his body seized briefly, a few glints of energy snapping off his profile. He stood haggardly for a moment, shoulders slumped and face turned down, and the shadows around his paws scattered briefly on impact. He slowly turned his head back up to look Faysal in the face. His eyes were lowly glowing solid white, and his lip curled in a snarl. 
“Don’t touch me.”
The shadows from the growing twilight surrounding them rushed in and slid up his legs with a howl, and as they did so, Liam hopped both feet up in the air and slammed Faysal in the chest, and despite their difference in statures, a wave of hot force sent Faysal stumbling backwards. Nala’s energy twined with Liam’s and they both burned together as he landed heavily on his feet, the shadows already bulking around his limbs.
It’s been too long.
Wreck him, Nala.
Faysal/Sol: You were right, Sol. 
Faysal watched as an aura grew around Liam, the man before him became wreathed in shadow and scarlet. So what do we do now?
You have to draw the demon out so I can identify them. It should be easy enough if it’s Nala. If it’s someone more powerful, say, my mother or her sister, I’ll tell you when to run. 
“Reassuring,” Faysal muttered. The light green glow in his eyes began to amplify, motes of teal and blue coalesced and began tracing down his arms forming a buckler over his left hand. He brought his still forming shield up and put it between himself and Liam. Faysal yelled out in a taunting voice, “come on out, demon. How I would love to talk with you.”
Liam/Nala: Liam stomped a foot, and as dark sparks swirled around him, he curled his paws into fists and the handles of two long, jagged knives made of scarlet light formed with a violent flash. The people around them started to scatter backwards away from the two of them as he raced forward and twisted his body around to build up the momentum for a twin arcing swing, biting the blades into Faysal’s astral shield to test it. “Bet you would!” he yelled through the heat and the electricity. “Not before she finds yours, though!” 
And Nala gathered up her mind and turned it into a single spear with which she moved to pierce through Faysal’s mind in order to drag out the being she knew was hiding from her.
Faysal/Sol: Nala’s mind met only the void, as she pushed into Faysal’s conscious Sol guided her into the parts of Faysal’s mind that were erased. The only thing her astral mind could see were neuron ends, pulsating softly like stars in a cloudless night sky. Sol only watched, waiting to gently push her back out. This seemed so like her sister, but she wasn’t quite sure yet. 
Liam swung his blades into the shield, and as they made contact they were erased. The energy binding them was dissipated and reformed as his swing carried through. Faysal backed into a crouch, drawing himself further behind his shield as Liam continued his barrage of attacks. He waited through several more swings before spotting an opening. Faysal kicked his leg out underneath his opponent before bringing it up and driving his knee into the underside of Liam’s thigh. The half-breed toddled, his tail and arms flailing out to regain balance as Faysal withdrew behind his shield again. The gasps and murmurs of the onlookers filled the air, drowning out the static hum of Faysal’s shield. 
Liam/Nala: Liam rolled back to disengage as well, growling and eyeing the shield of energy blocking his way. Nala, what the fuck is taking so long!? 
The Warden dug her probes through empty space in frustration, and then furiously began trying to fill up the space with static, noise and distractions. She filled the emptiness with the racket of the storms of the Demon Lands that would wrack Bloedrest through several days and nights, and Liam winced as he heard the echoes through their mental link. He took the opportunity to leap at Faysal and briefly dissolve into a black cloud that re-formed around his left arm and shoulder in the form of Liam doing his best to drive the inside of his elbow into Faysal’s neck, trying to choke him out. His back claws dug into the folds of Faysal’s armor as he held on tightly, grunting aloud as he did so.
Faysal/Sol: Faysal gripped the arms of the halfling wrapped around his neck. He thrashed about for a few moments attempting to pry him off before opting to slam backwards into a building, knocking the wind out of Liam. Even still, Liam remained attached to the hulking frame of Faysal and his vision began to darken around the edges. Sol began channeling a massive amount of energy into the shield on Faysal’s arm and it began to pulsate with a deep hum. The first major pulse of it deafens the two of them temporarily and Sol uses the energy to nudge Nala out of Faysal’s mind. 
A second pulse lashes out and throws the two of them away from the building, Liam’s demon-enhanced strength allows him to hold on, but only just. Sol uses this pulse to throw what remains of Nala out of Faysal and barricade her into Liam’s mind. 
A third pulse explodes out, the foundation of the building cracks, several of the nearby stalls collapse, and Faysal and Liam are flung apart. Sol slams into Liam’s mind directly with a wave of brute force before retreating into her shell again. Faysal is sprawled out on the ground, haggardly catching his breath he throws a fist into the soil and pushes himself up. Coughing he calls out to Liam, “Fancy tricks, boy. Tell me, which demon taught you that?”
Liam/Nala: Liam barely heard him through the blistering headache pounding in his temples, and only managed to wheeze a faint, “What the hell?” out loud as he stirred at the base of one of the plaza’s torches. 
Then his throat constricted and mangled for a second, and he rolled over onto his belly, and his shadow-covered claws dug into the ground as he growled, “The one that is about to end your demon’s miserable existence for continuing to play games with me.”
Liam shoved himself to his feet, briefly grabbing his ribs in pain before starting to stalk towards Faysal again. He picked up speed, his legs spurring into a sprint and he dove and rolled off to Faysal’s right as they nearly clashed again. He whipped around and kicked into the back of the huge man’s knees, and as he buckled in reflex, Liam seized him by the arm that currently carried his astral shield and dragged him downwards, once more yelling with the effort of manipulating someone so much bigger than him.
Faysal/Sol: Faysal fell with Liam’s attacks, his mind tracking the scene in slow motion. As his body crashed down he whipped an arm around Liam and pulled him into a bear hug. He put all his might into choking the other man and subduing him. He hooked Liam’s neck with his right arm and braced behind him with his left and began to squeeze while rolling around on the dirt road. 
Sol’s orb began to twitch and stir in the bag, she was haphazardly tossed out with the fall. Cracks began forming along the seams of metal and glass, wisps of green and cyan energy formed arcs and spirals in the air. Time itself slowed as her astral form began to coalesce for the first time in a century.
Liam/Nala: As Liam struggled and kicked, slowly losing air as his vision began to break up, Nala turned her attention to the presence emerging from the odd device that had fallen from Faysal’s side. She rolled off of Liam like a bright smoke, forming her own scarlet, feminine form on the road, in front of the few terrified onlookers left. Liam hooked his blackened claws into Faysal’s arm, digging and tearing what flesh he could find while his face reddened. 
Call him off, the Warden thundered, her essence tainted with a very real fear that Liam had gotten into more than they bargained for. You wished to see me so badly–leave them and face me.
Faysal/Sol: Faysal loosened his grip enough to let Liam catch a breath before rolling on top of him and pinning him to the ground. The two of them were able to watch as the two forms began to approach each other and grow in size and become more and more menacing. 
Ribbons arced through the air, feathers and petals wrapped around the orb at the center. Eyes and veins began to peak out of the cracks in the sphere bubbling into a grotesque display hovering in mid-air. A voice that was reminiscent of shards of glass trickling down a stone whispered through the air. “Tell me your name, demon, and I may spare your… child.” The voice resonated, repeated, and crescendoed into a crashing wave of sound as a second, larger sphere of violet and cyan began to envelop the twisting astral form of Sol-Dha. 
Liam/Nala: You will spare him no matter what, Nala snarled, and a wave of astral flames engulfed the road to combat the other demon’s show of force; a blast of hot sparks and wind blew out from her as she took a clawed step forward. I am the Warden, and you have trespassed on land, people, and wards that I have claimed to be my own. She summoned a long, shimmering blade into her hand and it, too, rippled with heat and fire. And now you will leave, or face destruction. 
Faysal/Sol: NALAAGURA 
Her voice exploded out from the hovering orb, a banshees scream echoed through the surrounding buildings and into the dusk. A six armed figure descended from the cloud of ribbons, one of her arms extended outwards towards the other demon. Her cloud of many things began to reform into a crown obscuring her face, the ribbons danced down and around her form and she spoke again, but only in a whisper. Nalaagura I have searched for you for so long. It’s your sister, Sol.
Liam/Nala: Nala lurched backwards at the screaming sound, the fire pulling inwards to form a barrier around Liam and Faysal in reaction. Her furred legs drew low into a crouch as she spread her arms, still ready to bare her astral weapon if needed. There was a tremor in her soul. It couldn’t be, so much of her family had been lost over the years… 
Prove…prove it. She hesitantly reached out a hand glowing with amber and carmine veins, reaching out with her mind but ready to retract and harm at any moment. 
Faysal/Sol: Sol drifted closer towards Nala, wrapping her in a tender embrace before connecting their minds for the first time in centuries. She tried to show her everything since their last meeting. Her travels, her eventual capture, and her time in stasis. She showed her the last year of travel with her linked human and the powers the two of them possessed from whatever the mages in Skyburner did to them. After all this she impressed one question to Nala. Where is H’zola, where is our family? 
Liam/Nala: It was her. It was truly her sister. 
I don’t…I don’t know. But…so many of them are gone. Nala quickly rolled through the deaths of the ones they knew in her mind–Shaper’s dying essence on the bloody field of Ragnarok, the Archon’s battered body relaxing into death on the same grounds, the grief of the Empress before she vanished entirely from their realm, Nala’s killing blow on the Praetor as the Guardian assisted her, and the Warden’s visit to Bloedrest to see the broken chains leftover from their father’s death, scattered around the Empress’ empty throne. Nala put a hand to her face and throat, temporarily overwhelmed by reliving so much death and pain. 
Liam sensed Nala’s distress and kicked at Faysal’s huge, armored shin with his paw, growling, “Get off.”
Faysal/Sol: Faysal stood, dusting himself off with one hand, and offering the other to Liam to help him onto his feet. Faysal had a small cut above his eye that was trickling blood, it mixed with the dirt kicked up during their scuffle.
The shield and armor around Faysal evaporated into mist as Sol drew Nala closer in their embrace. Sister... Sol's voice softly cracked as she drew in all the death that had happened while she was away. Sister I am so sorry, I... she paused, holding her even tighter. I should have been there, I could have helped, maybe Igl or Kiaama would still be... Sol faltered, finally loosing her grip on her younger sister. She looked her up and down and a wave of energy waned from her as though she were sighing. I am sorry for the deception, I needed to be sure you were really... you, before I revealed myself. Faysal and I needed the safety of my cloak, I was afraid.
Liam/Nala: No need for fear, sister. Any of us standing together is more than our enemies can handle. Liam aggressively bumped Faysal’s arm away as he stood on his own, rubbing his neck while eyeing both the huge man and the new demon. But I see you have found yourself a vessel in the meantime, Nala said, her attention shifting to the two standing behind the reunion. She mentally greeted Faysal, now realizing that he was protected by Sol in some form. 
Apologies for the...display. You seemed to be a threat, she said to Faysal, almost a completely different character than before.
“Apologize for yourself,” Liam grumbled, curling a lip up at him.
I shall, Liam. You may be as sour about this as you like. Their mental link was sharp as Nala impressed to him that she wouldn’t be taking much more of his attitude in this direction, and he acknowledged but didn’t let up.
Category:BOTGD 2
Category:Events
Category:Act I
Category:Liam Arnason
Category:The Warden
Category:Faysal
Category:The Matriarch