Trusting Tezz

November 17-18, 2014 thread from Season 2.
== Summary ==
== Full Text ==
=== Part 1 ===
Tezzeret Verdile: It was early morning again. Tezz was having troubles sleeping again. 
I don’t want to wake Clover and Melira yet. I can just go outside and practice forms… Maybe Treepelt is there to spar, again… The air stung his throat as he went outside, he let go a small shiver. Setting his feet into the snow he moved his hands in a flowing motion about him. The snow melted and turned into a floating stream around him…
Clover Rose: Clover woke up shortly after Tezz, and decided to go out and look for him upon realizing he was gone. She looks over at Melira, who is still asleep, and picks her up gently enough to avoid waking her up. She carries the little girl outside, holding her close so she stays warm. She sees Tezz and she walks over. “Good morning.” She speaks quietly, taking in the warm steam.
Tezzeret Verdile: Startled by another persons presence the water hovering around him wavered as his concentration broke. Tezz caught it again and inhaled deeply. “Good morning.” He breathed out slowly as he spoke. He closed his eyes trying to keep his focus around Clover. “How..” He paused to take another calming breath. “How did you sleep?”
Clover Rose: "I slept alright … what about you?" Clover asked, shifting Melira in her arms as she did. She observes what he’s doing. "Do you want me to go? I don’t want to distract you."
Tezzeret Verdile: "It’s fine, I need to learn to focus with distractions around me. I mean, if we get put into another situation where we have to fight, I can’t exactly have everyone shut up and be quite while I’m doing this. Fortunately, you’re a pretty big distraction to me still." Tezz had a faint grin creep onto his face, keeping his eyes firmly shut.
Clover Rose: Clover looks away from him, feeling the blush spreading across her cheeks. “Oh, I am?” She puts on a somewhat teasing tone as she speaks, looking back at him and smiling. She glanced at Melira to make sure she was still asleep - which she was.
Tezzeret Verdile: Tezz cracked his eyes open. “I want you to keep as still as possible.” The stream that was a circle around him opened up and moved to Clover. He let it circle her and come back around to him in a figure eight pattern. Stepping forward, he closed the gap between them, keeping focus on not letting the water touch either of them as it moved as a snake would around and between them. “Just, trust me.”
Clover Rose: "Tezz? What are you doing?" Clover holds still, watching him and the water, a little unsure about what he was doing.
Tezzeret Verdile: "I’m learning. As long as you keep still, both you and Melira will be fine." The distance between the two of them was too small to allow the water to pass there anymore. Tezz diverted the water to just circle the both of them now, separating the stream into 4 layers moving parallel to the ground at different heights. A bead of sweat formed on his forehead from the strain, he kept his head to the side so he could watch the water in his peripheral vision. "Just, trust…" He closed his fists, the rings turned to ice around them. With a wave of both hands the rings scattered back into snow and fell leaving a near perfect ring around the two of them. Tezz looked forward and smiled into Clover’s grey eyes. 
Clover Rose: Clover’s gaze darts between Tezz and the ring that was now surrounding them, her eyes wide. “Wow.” She manages after a few moments, smiling at him uncertainly. 
He’s certainly getting better at this. He must have been practicing a lot.
Tezzeret Verdile: Tezz took in another deep breath, relaxing himself again. He leaned forward and gave Clover a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you for trusting me.” He smiled again as he stepped back and began heading inside. “Let’s go get some breakfast.”
Clover Rose: Clover smiled at him, nodding. “Yeah, it would be good to eat . . ” She walks after him, glancing down at Melira as she feels her moving. She watches as the little girl rubs at her eyes, yawning.
=== Part 2 ===
Tezzeret Verdile: *later that day* 
"We’re going for a walk, the sun is shining, and the forest looks beautiful." Tezz smiled back to Clover, he was pulling her behind him carrying Melira in his other arm. "She can burn off some of this energy on a walk too."
Clover Rose: "Alright. A walk sounds good then." Clover smiled at him, picking up the pace slightly so she was walking next to him. "Any particular place we’re going?"
Tezzeret Verdile: "We’ll be going as far as we need to go to tire the little one out."
Tezz, Clover, and Melira walked back to where Tezzeret first met Tree, a short distance from the dungeon. He could still see the remains of the ice that held Tree’s feet in place. His blood was staining the snow nearby. But, something’s wrong… You feel that too? 
Yes. Tracks, beasts near.
No, not here, not with Clover and Melira. I don’t need them to see YOU yet… 
You want them safe?
Yes.
Let me out.
Tezz sighed, his brow furrowed, he was not prepared to have Clover know yet. But, it needs to be done, they need to be safe. He could see them, a small pack of feral wolves began circling from the tree line. “Clover… I need you to trust me… once more today.”
Clover Rose: "What is it this time?" Clover asks uncertainly, looking around. It didn’t seem like it would be a simple trick, and this made her worried immediately. 
How bad could it possibly be?
"I trust you." Clover decides to tell him, waiting to see what he will do.
Tezzeret Verdile: "Trust me."
"Trust me."
Their shared voices emanated from Tezz, his other voice a low rumble behind his normal voice. Tezz’s eyes darkened as he stepped forward, away from Clover and Melira. He raises his left hand to them and puts a wall of ice between them and him. With his right he draws up seven chunks of snow and forms them into lances around him. 
These aren’t people, we don’t have to hold back.
I wasn’t.
The lances flew out each seeking a different target, and each successfully impaling a wolf. But Tezz was starting to lose strength as he could only maintain this state for so long, drawing off of his feral side. But only one wolf remained, charging Tezzeret. He fell to his knees, left hand dipped to the snow, he formed a blade of ice in it. The beast was almost on him now, his vision tunneled to see only the yellow eyes of the creature. He swung his whole body into the stab, screaming the last of his conscious breath as the shiv pierced through the wolf. They both collapsed, one dead on top of the other. 
Clover Rose: Clover stares at Tezz through the wall of ice for several moments, frozen in shock.   
Is he . . is he possessed? No . . it can’t be the Warden, she’s gone. She has to be gone. 
She grabs Melira’s hand gently and walks over to Tezz and the dead wolf. She kneels down next to them and brushes Tezz’s hair from his face with a shaking hand. Clover tried to check his pulse, but her hands were shaking too badly for her to be able to tell.
Oh gods . . what if he’s dying? What if he’s already dead? I don’t know, because I can’t stop shaking. Oh Odin . .
She drops Melira’s hand and puts her head in her hands. 
=== Part 3 ===
Tezzeret Verdile: *about an hour later*
 Tezz’s eyes fluttered open, he was in the snow. The wolf was nearby, as was Clover and Melira. They were holding each other in a silent hug. “Unh, Clover…?” He was murmuring out from behind the pounding in his head.    
Clover Rose: Clover visibly flinches at the sound of his voice. She turns and looks at him, the fear present in her eyes again. “A-are you possessed? What was that other voice?” There are so many other questions she wants to ask, but she leaves it at that, watching him warily, wondering if she might have to run with Melira.     
Tezzeret Verdile: "N-no… not technically… It’s… not who you think it is… It’s not Treepelt’s Warden…" He sighed, the pounding in his head was not making this difficult of a talk any easier. "That was… that was me… And if we’re going to do this… take care of each other… and Melira, I suppose there’s some things I should explain, about my past… and the gaps in my memory."   
He rolled over to look her in the eyes. “I… I killed my parents, but… it wasn’t fully me. It was that thing that you saw fighting. He’s part of me… He has been since I was put into a school for.. special kids… That part of me used to take over… and murder. All the gaps in my memory, are peoples lives on my hands. Blood I’ve spilled, I’m surrounded by death. But… I’ve been fixing it, learning to control it so I don’t hurt people I care about….”
Tears started to roll from his eyes as he continued. “The only reason I can manipulate water now is because I’ve been learning to work with the murderous half of me. It’s what saved us here, it’s what saved Kiri back in the labyrinth. You telling me you trusted me meant so much more than what you saw on the surface. I was letting you affirm that you were trusting in something you didn’t even know about. Trusting me, trusting him not to kill both of you… I’m so sorry Clover… I should have told you sooner…”
Clover Rose: Clover watched Tezz in silence as he spoke, taking it all in. She wasn’t sure how to feel. Hel, I certainly know about loss of memory. That’s pretty much all I know. She sighs as this thought crosses her mind. “There’s some things you . . you don’t know about me either.” She murmurs, moving over to him and brushing the tears from his eyes before hugging him tightly. “I forgive you.” 
Tezzeret Verdile: "That’s it then?" Tezz’s voice trembled and broke. "After all of that, what you saw. Knowing that I’m a murderer and psychopath at best." Tezz was trying to keep the anger and shock out of his voice. "I was expecting… more… I don’t know… I just don’t know what to expect. I’ve only ever told this to one other person. That was after I stopped… that thing.. .from killing them. I just, didn’t expect to be so easily forgiven…" His voice was falling to a whisper. "I’m no good with people… I’m so paranoid about what they think that I’m afraid to talk… afraid to open up. I’ve had to fight through this alone for over seven years now…" His voice cracked and he broke into tears once more. 
Clover Rose: Clover pulls away from the hug enough to look into his eyes. “Oh . . Tezz . . ” She wipes the tears from his eyes best she can. “You know about the Warden by now . . you know how she possessed Tree. Caused her to do horrible things. She possessed me too. And because of me, Kiri got led into a trap. Along with one other. Gods, my memory is so ruined  . . I can’t even remember who it was. But it was my fault. Because of me, so many people could have died . . from my foolish attempts to help.” Clover blinks rapidly as she speaks, trying to keep her own tears from falling. “I may not know exactly what you’re going through, or exactly what . . that thing . . forced you to do. But I do understand. And if others hadn’t been accepting of me . . after, I don’t know where I would be now. I probably wouldn’t be here.” She pulls Tezz close again, hugging him more tightly than before.
Tezzeret Verdile: Tezz nodded as he was having trouble finding words, and his voice. Tezz felt Melira walk over and hug him from the side. “Come here you…” He cracked a solemn smile through his tears and hugged Clover and the shivering girl close. “You’re freezing! Let’s get you back home…” Tezz leaned over and kissed Melira on the top of the head before pulling himself and Clover up. He leaned in to her and whispered, “Thank you,” before gently kissing her lips. 
Clover Rose: Clover leans into the kiss for a long moment before she breaks it, resting her forehead against his. “You’re welcome.” Realizing just how cold it is, she pulls away and wraps her arms around herself, shivering. She watches Melira as she walks in front of Tezz and makes grabby hands at him, silently demanding to be picked up.
Tezzeret Verdile: Tezz put Melira on his shoulders. “Hold onto my ears, he pulls her hands down to his ears. You can steer me with them like this.” He showed her that pulling on his left ear made him go left, the same goes for his right. He let her guide him through the trees while keeping near Clover. Every once in a while though Melira would steer Tezz into a tree and giggle. 
Clover Rose: Clover watched the two of them with a smile, glad they had bonded so well. As they walked back, Melira’s eyelids started to flutter as she yawned, before she folded her arms on top of Tezz’s head and laid her own head on top of it. Within minutes Melira was asleep.
Tezzeret Verdile: The three of them made it back to the fortress, and made their way back up to the room Tezz claimed. Tezz laid Melira on his bed to take a nap and then stepped out the doorway and slid down the wall. He closed his eyes and began humming a tune to himself.
Clover Rose: Clover walked out into the hallway, leaning against the wall as she listened to Tezz’s tune. As Tezz continues humming, she moves over to him, grabbing his hand and pulling him to his feet. She smiles wordlessly at him, positioning his hands so they’re on her waist as she starts swaying to the tune. Clover rests her hands on his shoulders and looks at him, eyebrows slightly raised as she waits for a reaction.
Tezzeret Verdile: He continued humming, smiling back at Clover, he lead them in a small awkward dance in the hall outside the room to his tune. Neither of them spoke as they swayed back and forth, undisturbed in their momentary peace. 
Category:Season 2
Category:Events
Category:Tezzeret Verdile
Category:Clover Rose
Category:BOTGD