Duress and Egress

"Duress and Egress" is a [SEASON NUMBER] thread written on [IRL DATE].
==Summary==
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==Full Text==
It was a bit late into the night outside of Blunt’s tavern. A heavy sleet blew around the building and those surrounding it, emptying the streets of anyone except the most determined of travelers and drunkards. The winter had been less intense than those in the past, but the West was still cold and biting, and it made for a quiet night. 
Behind the tavern, the normal eddies of snow suddenly puffed and spun, and inverted into a different spiraling pattern. A howling black-and-red vortex ripped through the air, and through it, a huge female figure tumbled out into the snow. The portal snapped shut and a second person immediately disengaged from her, stumbling away and leaning up against the corner of the tavern as he hunched over, making an unpleasant noise. “Oh my gods, that sucked so bad,” he wheezed, clutching his stomach.
Clearly you need more practice with the nixes. The Warden got to her feet and brushed off her tattered forearms, while Liam spat on the ground and wiped his mouth, grimacing. 
“You owe me a drink, Nala.”
No, you will pay properly for whatever they give you. Her consciousness spread over the tavern in search of any familiar minds, prodding for Blunt or Stonegit specifically.
moe-lazyeye
Interestingly enough, it appeared as though the tavern were wrapping up business due to the inclement weather, and Stonegit could be seen waving goodbye to a few patrons. The remnant of Blunt’s presence was still tangible, but he wasn’t inside, almost as if he had just left, or vanished.
The bodyguard, perhaps hearing their arrival or Liam’s voice, hesitated to close the door, and poked his head around to look.
demon-in-the-dungeon
Nala left her body behind, to keep from scaring any of the regulars, and she reformed next to Liam as the two crossed in front of one of the windows, showing themselves to Stonegit. Liam waved awkwardly, bundled up in a borrowed coat that was too wide for him, and the Warden greeted her Catalyst with a typical embrace of their minds. I hope we are not intruding, dark-eyes.
moe-lazyeye
There was a surge of both concern and relief when Stonegit realized who had arrived. “Woodchuck!” He said as he put a hand over his heart. His shoulder hit the door frame. “Thank god.” He quickly opened the door for them. “Come in, please. Liam, good to see you too.”
Stonegit ushered them inside and paced for a second before facing her, his face searching. He opened his mouth… and realized he had no idea what to say.
There was just so much. A worry that he had frustrated and annoyed her. Only to find out later that she had been in grave danger. Danger he had unwittingly abandoned her to. The trauma of the entire ordeal. And barely seeing her since.
demon-in-the-dungeon
There was a few seconds of silence. Liam bumped his fists together in front of him a few times before gesturing in the direction of the washroom and muttering something incomprehensible. Then he left the two alone in the bar room.
Nala took a few steps forward, and she reached her right hand out to rest on his left shoulder. As she drew closer, her fingers dissolved like a cloud of ink, and she silently caught him up on the happenings of the island through emotions, images and thoughts, including the dangerous rescue mission in the Jaw of Fenrir, but at the end of it all, she ensured that he knew she was alright. Her hand re-formed down by his fingers, and she linked his with hers. Their old contract glowed between them on Stonegit’s scarred skin.
moe-lazyeye
His fingers curled tighter around hers. “I heard rumor about that. But it was resolved by the time I heard an official report…you work quick Woodchuck. Worried as I am, I’ll exercise restraint, as I doubt Liam is one for checkups from an old man.”
Stonegit lapsed into a momentary silence, and then reach out a finger to shove into her chest. “But no restraint for you. You scared me Na…Warden- Woodchuck, agh…” He pressed and rubbed a palm into his eye. “I’m sorry I just…I heard he was gone, but I knew you were hurt…”
demon-in-the-dungeon
The demon leaned in and pressed her forehead to Stonegit’s, and then she swept past him and moved as though she was going to sit on the bartop, hovering just above it as she gracefully crossed her legs and regarded him with a chin in her hand. What’s done is done, dark-eyes. Neither of us could have possibly predicted what occurred. She was quiet for a moment. The faint sound of water splashing came from the back room as Liam washed up. You saved countless lives, she added, her spoken words less audible than the mental stream between the two of them. Had you not returned, I wouldn’t have had the strength to fend him off before everyone arrived, and the Pariah had broken his hold over me.
moe-lazyeye
She could see the man becoming more relaxed, as he saw that she was relaxed. As always, his thoughts and feelings spoke for him, almost like a tapestry painted before her. 
He never could have predicted that his abrupt return to her side that day would have inadvertently helped save her, and others But he was happier for it. However, his greatest sense of relief came from the knowledge that Nala had not been frustrated or dismissive of him that day. In the end, that silence and that cold, wide-eyed stare, hadn’t been hers at all. But rather Rhenco looking at him, in shock, through her eyes. That had felt good.
But not all the feelings were positive. There was also fear. A surprising amount of fear. He wanted to asked. But he couldn’t possibly. He was so, so scared for her. He knew she had been badly hurt. She was a ancient demon, and couldn’t talk about what a human did to her. The thought made him furious, but also cold with fear. He knew what it had been like. To be locked in a dark place by that man’s hand. To feel so absolutely terrified.  
I wish you had come back for me-
Stonegit’s back hit the table as he staggered back a step, and he held a hand out towards the Warden. “I didn’t mean to think that!” He said, his eyes wide.   
demon-in-the-dungeon
Liam sent a questioning probe to Nala at the sound of wood knocking against wood, and she calmed him, which he acknowledged. Her tail switched back and forth in slight agitation at his train of thought leading up to the offending words.
Stonegit, please. I will never blame you for emotions running high. You know this. She recreated the motion of holding his face to look directly at her, only with their minds. Think what you will. We have little time in life for such misunderstandings… Through her words bled only a shadow of what she had been through, to run parallel to his experience and to show him that she couldn’t possibly fault him for needing her presence so long ago.
moe-lazyeye
Stonegit’s hands came up to grasp at his own arms as he starred into her eyes. He wished he could be stronger about these things, like she was. Putting aside trivial misunderstandings. Holding onto life preciously. Having the patients for himself, the way she had patients for him.
His hand moved as if to brush against her arm. The guilt of endangering her before, and the trauma of events past had led to this insecurity. But once again his heart, once again, began to set at ease. 
I had been able to take your place…I would have. I know you’d never entertain that kind of thought, but it’s true. I really can’t tell you how happy I am that you came here, and that I can see that you’re safe…
Hand hands closed tightly as if to grip her hands, as he let his mind merge further with hers. I know you’re strong. So you might brush this off, but I don’t care. I felt what you felt. I knew that kind of terror. And I don’t want you to ever be alone to deal with it…I am here…always.
Nala merged their consciousnesses into a collective, breathing, living entity for the briefest of seconds, one of the highest forms of intimacy that existed for her…and yet, she was not all there. There were new barriers. Like molten walls of slapdashed obsidian, glittering and opaque, radiating at a low, unsettling frequency as they contained horrors that Nala would sooner die than let Stonegit experience. She told him all of this with no words. Not even Liam knew what Rhenco had put her through, and there was a tremor, a worry leftover from Dixie’s visit to Dario–that if too many people knew, there was a chance that there would be no peace, no rest on Haligan until those with a greater sense of justice than she would expend precious energy to try and destroy monsters such as him.
It would break you, she whispered, in response to his thoughts.
Then she gently placed his mind at a slight distance, letting these looming worries disperse. But, to no surprise, at least not my own. My own experiences tell me that the mental battles of higher beings can be most destructive. What you offer, it is the most you can give…and it means more than I can say. 
Liam edged back into the room, but he held up a paw to indicate that he would let them keep talking, taking his coat off a sleeve at a time and sitting heavily at one of the tables. 
moe-lazyeye
Within their minds, this collectiveness, Stonegit let himself take Nala’s hand as he starred at the obsidian and molten barriers. I don’t have to know, in order to be there. And to understand in a small way…
She had let him in. He had offered his shoulder, hand, and fellowship. And she had let him in. For reasons that stretched back in time, and collected great in number, the acceptance of his offered help would always be a cherished thing to Stonegit. This could have applied to anyone he cared for. But since it was her, it was even more significant.
He allowed themselves to separate. There, of course, was always the weight of what had happened. But it existed now in a place of peace. Stonegit faced Liam. “Hey Liam.” He greeted with an appreciative nod.  
demon-in-the-dungeon
He coughed in surprise and looked over at them, not having expected for them to part in communication so soon. “Hey,” he said in a low voice. “Sorry if we crashed the place. Nala’s practicing the weird teleporting thing.” Liam made a face, remembering the churning of his stomach in the after effects. “It sucks.”
Nala rolled her eyes. Soon, if we manage to get it under control, it could be very useful in our future movements. And it will let you off the proverbial leash much sooner, and much more often.
“Yeah, yeah.”
moe-lazyeye
Stonegit didnt want to spiral. Or otherthink. The good had been established, even though it would take time to cultivate. Nala could sense this. Even though his mind clung to hers in a white knuckle fashion, he wanted to move on subject wise.
“Wow, you have your own teleportation system?” He said to Nala with raised brows. “And it’s only significantly worse than Akkey’s? I’m impressed. ”
demon-in-the-dungeon
Significantly better, she said, offended in an amused way. It is an archdemon ability. If it were worse, I should be worried.
“At least Akkey’s is warm,” Liam grumbled. “Yours burns. Stonegit, can I get drunk before I have to go back through?”
Liam… 
“I’m going to need it.”
moe-lazyeye
“Look into every graying hair on my head, and tell me I’m physically capable of even enabling that.” Stonegit sighed in a dry tone, and Nala was met with a long, LONG history of removing beer mugs and shots from Blunt’s hands, before he obliviously handed them off to whatever minor had been in front of him that day.
demon-in-the-dungeon
The Warden enjoyed a moment of displaying said minors next to an obviously-older, grumpy, frazzled Liam, contrasting their ages. She neither condemned nor consented; she was enjoying the talks too much. 
Liam dramatically slumped over the back of the chair and sighed deeply, his arms hanging on either side of him. “Oh my gooooods, I’m gonna die…”
Liam.
“I’m just gonna dry up.”
Goodness, Liam.
“And die. And it’ll be your fault.”
Nala changed her mind. She aggressively urged Stonegit to appease him to shut him up.
moe-lazyeye
Stonegit crossed his arms, with a sigh and then tilted his head as he walked to the counter. “Alright, get your coin out. I hope you like it straight because I can’t mix anything.”
He dug under the bar for a mug, and glanced at Nala. He thought of the flickering image of Dixie and the map. “Blunt’s trying to get Dixie back to the mainland….”
demon-in-the-dungeon
“Who the fuck likes mixed drinks, anyway…”
Nala’s mood twisted with a wry, sour flare. It seems not to be working. He attempted to instigate a hunt for Rhenco…he finds fault with many of the Rebellion’s current decisions, as of late. Liam walked over to the counter and Nala did the courtesy of making herself transparent so that he could retrieve and pay for his drink.
moe-lazyeye
“I heard about that.” Stongit passed a beer over to Liam. “His found faults that is. I…for one, support the reasoning behind Grey’s mercy…and appreciate Darien’s second chance.”
A string of memories involving Stonegit’s temporary madness. His violence. And Haddock’s overt severity.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “That said…the man isn’t wrong about a lot of what’s he’s chosen to vocalize.”
A string of memeories. His work with Milae, followed quickly by the news of the half breeds committed, cold blooded, murder.
Stonegit was silent for a moment. “Listen…Dixie he’s…he’s helped Blunt and I more than once. In ways no one else was able to. I want him back here so we can protect him from himself. I know he’s disagreeable, and by no means should he intimidate any of you into something… but he’s also a wilderwest citizen. One with airtight reasons for being upset. He should at least feel like his voice has been heard…”
His mind then drifted to what Nala had said about Rhenco, and his tracked location. I wonder…what is he like…now that…
demon-in-the-dungeon
I hope he has become a pathetic worm, she said scathingly, but privately to him. 
The man also knows too little of our history. I… She caught herself. We…have made decisions, and we have made them for a reason. He will sow the discord he seeks to prevent, and I would rather not aggressively enforce Grey and Lila’s will among the new Rebellion ranks. But I will if I must.
“If it helps us get out of this sooner,” Liam muttered, already a third of the way through the mug.
Yes, but for some reason I feel as though my imposition will cause just as many problems, she said dryly. He shrugged in defeated agreement.
moe-lazyeye
“Dixie may have good reasons and maybe more knowledge than you give him credit for. But I’d be lying if I said he had good sense of judgment.” Stonegit sighed as he got himself a drink to enjoy with Liam. “He hasn’t learned the lessons I have. I want him to learn…better that how I was taught…” He sniffed once. “If you cant manage it, then Blunt and and I will eventually wrangle him over here and take him off your hands.”
….Are you going to find out…
The thought was both apprehensive. But also morbidly curious.
"It should be fine. People are grumbly about the dragon dude and the goat guy, but it hasn't been that bad so far."
As Liam talked, Nala was quiet, considering Stonegit's thoughts. Possibly, she admitted. But I have higher priorities. And he caught a glimpse in their intertwined minds, of a handsome man's face twisted in vicious satisfaction, from the point of view of someone laying on the ground below him, darkened by his silhouette. Stonegit could feel how much larger this Jarl, and the other factions as a whole, weighed on her mind, much more than a single man who was already paying the price for crossing her path.
For as closely as the bodyguard and the demon were communicating, Liam was still just as intertwined with his guardian, and he shuddered involuntarily, ears twitching as he looked over his shoulder at the door of the bar warily. For some reason, he felt like a shadow had passed over him, though he didn't know why. "Nala..."
She patiently swept the area with her mind and showed him her findings, which were few and far between. You're safe. He let out a breath and downed the rest of the beer, hoping it would kick in quickly.
moe-lazyeye
Stonegit glanced between Liam, Nala, and then himself in the reflection of his mug.
They had all...been there...
They had all felt powerless. Had someone stand over them with an awful...awful expression. Had all been hurt in their own way, a way that never should have happened. 
At first the thought was scary. Sobering... But then Stonegit’s eyes hardened, not in a cold way, but in a resolute way.
He snorted, as if dismissing the very notion that any of those faces deserved a second thought, and cranked the barrel beside him to fill up another mug for Liam. “Hey...” He met Liam’s gaze, and his expression said it all. He knew. He had walked this road himself many times before, and he’d be damned if he let Liam walk it alone now. 
Naturally, he knew better than to say such a thing. Or impose a way it could be done that would be on anything other than Liam’s own terms. But Stonegit hoped that Liam...like Nala...would accept this however they wanted to, but accept it nonetheless.
Maybe...they all needed each other equally for this...
“I think we both know one isn’t going to cut it. Not when celebrating.” 
demon-in-the-dungeon
Liam looked up from the bar, almost like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. As Stonegit passed the mug and withdrew his hand, Liam quickly grabbed his thick forearm with his broad paw, which still had two of his fingers wrapped and splinted from being broken during his torture. The corner of his mouth curled up in something less than a smile, but something better than a grimace. The Warden’s mind tangibly relaxed at his reaction. 
As he accepted the drink, Liam watched Stonegit closely. “You think we’ll get to do that?” he asked in a low voice. “Celebrate? Is everything really just gonna go away someday? I mean, you’ve been through this already...sorta...”
moe-lazyeye
Something locked in Stonegit’s mind at the word. But not in a defensive, or fearful way. Simply a conscious choice. Their minds were melded together, and Stonegit knew the kind of ‘sorta’ he had been through, and had no desire for Liam to see it. It wasn’t a burden the boy had any reason to bear. He understood Stonegit as well as Stonegit understood him. That was enough.
That said, he didn’t hide the fact that he had blocked something from his view. The theoretical closed door was made apparent to Liam, a symbol that he wasn’t showing him something for private reasons, above treating him like a child that couldn’t handle it. 
Stonegit’s hand came around to grab Liam’s forearm in turn and he kept his gaze. “Celebration is done not in the absence of adversity. But to spit in it’s face. This will never go away Liam. But the fear of it, and the control is tries to put over your life, that will.” He glanced at Nala and then back at the boy. “And every single one of us in this room is filled with too much piss and vinegar for it to go any other way.”  
demon-in-the-dungeon
He couldn’t stop a short chortle at the words, going for his drink again. “I’ll say. I’ve heard stories. If that’s what you think, then it’s probably the best I’ve got right now.” The young man paused, then rolled his eyes, most likely at what he had just said. Nala’s ghostly hand made to run her fingers through his tousled hair, a motherly action that she could only re-create in his head. Liam huffed slightly. “I’m good,” he said aloud.
I want those fuckers dead and gone, he said silently. Before they get to anyone else. The image of his sister passed through his thoughts, seeing her simultaneously very, very young, and her current age, superimposed on top of each other. He was unable to separate them.
moe-lazyeye
Stonegit’s mind responded with an odd mix of understanding, validation, and support. But also a warning. A warning in the form of his own vengeful feelings, what it led to, and what it did to him. 
Not all moments of vengeance were bad, so to speak. Like when Blunt was struck across the face with a wooden bowl. The pop of Jokul’s arms. Or even the air eking out from a slavers wrangled neck. 
While others...the sensation of brain spilling over an arm. A look of quite horror in Blunt’s eyes. And the insane, mad expression of a man standing over the helpless form of a young woman, no, some other kind of half breed, or demon like being, with a bloodied fisherman’s pike raised over his head.
There would have to be balance.   
Stonegit drew a careful breath as he let Liam’s arm go. You’re going to be okay...because no one is leaving.
He turned to Nala. “Who’s left?” He asked simply. Who were the people that still had to be deemed ‘no longer a threat.’ 
demon-in-the-dungeon
Nala's essence shifted and tightened, her trains of thought redirecting and her energy switching over to different images and processes. Analytical and meticulous, from nebulous and sensitive. The names and identities rolled forth. Vidar Bloodletter. Liam grimaced. The Law of the Vesallgardr. The remaining bosses and crime lord's that we're currently stringing High Central together. The woman from Verdandi's visions, and her mysterious employer, who puppeted the Remnants. A few unfamiliar names that she had collected from her and Liam's work over the years. Darien Whiteland. She glazed over his name in a manner that said he would be a future problem to deal with. She flitted over an old identity, Grand Commander Rosso, who was already turned to ash, thanks to Greg. Should more enemies hedge our way, they will join the list.
moe-lazyeye
Stonegit drummed his fingers a little on the table, and Nala got a sense, a prickle of old energy that she wasn’t used to feeling from the man...at least...these days. 
Stonegit took one look at Liam’s grimace, and then rolled his neck a little, as is fingers curled to crack his knuckles. “So...this Vidar guy...what’s his deal?” He asked quietly, and a little too casually.  
demon-in-the-dungeon
Before he could answer with words, Liam’s mind had beaten him to it--a choppy flood of memories was triggered from his month and a half experience being locked in the Jaw, along with further extensions of Vidar’s influence. White Hallows gone up in flames. Treepelt’s bruised, sunken face coming into the light as she threw herself to the ground to embrace and free her son. Several hot flashes of strange, numb pain in his arm, shoulder and wrists, courtesy of Vidar’s astral blocking, preventing him from using his demonic abilities to escape. Wanting to vomit at the sight of the Troughs. Liam, unable to keep his thoughts free of their network of mental communication they’d forcefully linked him to, hardly able to sleep. Challenging Hel herself with the threat of killing a half-breed.
Nalaagura’s consciousness worriedly collected around Liam’s, but he shook his head a bit and took a deep breath, telling her he was fine. “Leader of the Conclave,” he muttered. “Fuckin’ asshole.”
While the other factions trade slaves, the Conclave creates them, Nala supplemented quietly. It is a vile, lucrative system. The situation drove her mad, Stonegit could tell. She would take on the entire Jaw with her bare hands in a heartbeat. She would run their streets red with blood if it eased any pain in Liam’s heart to do so. But it was out of her range of abilities to deal with a threat so well-entrenched in both land and society, let alone by herself. It was a massive undertaking that the Rebellion would have to face eventually.
moe-lazyeye
Stonegit sat at the bar as he let a thumb smooth up and down the hairs of his face. He took it all in, and then drew a very slow, thin stream of air through his nose. He gave Liam’s arm one last reassuring squeeze, and then stood up as he exhaled the breath. 
He then, without a word, walked calmly over to a side desk with held a quill and paper. His fingers snatched over a section and he briefly scribbled on it. A moment later, the note was tucked away into a small tube, and strung it up on a peg used for messenger dragons. 
Stonegit then turned to Liam and Nala. “You’re welcome to stay the night. But I think I’m going to turn in early.” 
I have some negotiating to attend to tomorrow…