Stonegit and the Warden

November 17-18, 2014
== Summary ==
== Full Text ==
Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss: Stonegit shifted back and forth on the floor, swinging his ax, exercising his fire magic, and feeling out for anything else that might come in handy when preforming his bodyguard duties. He twisted his mouth to one side. Stonegit was feeling much better, better than he had felt in years. He knew the King cared about him, he knew the King found him appealing. That other part had bothered Stonegit before because he didn’t know what it all entailed. But now he knew that it was just as simple as the statement, so the thought simply gave him a warm, flattered feeling.
But…
Poor Stonegit and his blasted head. The brain in there always found a way to circle around and poke at him with feelings of guilt and uncertainty at random times, even when any normal person would have been able to ‘get over it’ or ‘move on.’ Stonegit grumbled to himself, forgetting that the Warden could know his thoughts and hear his words. “Well what did I expect to happen?” 
The Warden: A valid question. The Warden emerged from the dark corners of his mind, emanating strong irritation for his earlier actions. One that you might have asked yourself before stuffing me back into your dent of a brain. Did you want me to patch up yours and that king’s disaster of a relationship? Or perhaps that of the king’s and my own? I am not a tool, dark-eyes, to wield at your every whim. We are partners in this oath.  
Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss: Stonegit winced, and then rolled his eyes. “Look Woodchuck the only reason I stuffed you back was because you where making Haddock upset…and he might have stabbed me to try and kill you.” he looked away, mumbling again, his lips pressing together. “And I wouldn’t call our relationship a disaster.” 
The Warden: The king’s temper is his own. I simply told him the truth as he needed to hear it. Stonegit’s vision blurred and re-focused as the Warden paused in an attempt to get more comfortable with his body. And please. Don’t take me for an amateur. I know a mixed-up melting pot of feelings when I see one. Half-lies are no more useful than full ones, not to those who share your thoughts. She sniffed. In any case, have you gleaned what this king’s new plan could possibly consist of? Or do you still refuse to shed light on the subject for me? You’ve been keeping possible conjectures well-hidden and half-formed.  
Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss: "I don’t know anything about the King’s plan…and I don’t have to." Stonegit said. "I trust him." he paused his training, walking over to a table and taking getting a quick drink. He sighed. "Yeah…fine…laugh it up. I still gave orders over him, and I was so screwed up in the head I didn’t answer a serious question back with a banishment threat." he leaned against the wall. "And I still feel bad about it. So thank you for summing that up." 
The Warden: You may trust him, but I do not, she replied distastefully. I fear this is a plot to rid me permanently from this sphere of existence…and we both know that wouldn’t end well for anyone. Her voice grew dangerously soft. I mean well towards your ragamuffin group, but if our interests conflict, then the deal may be broken. I am kept alive and you gain the protection of your precious friends. That is our agreement, child. 
Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss: "And I’m fine with that I really am." Stonegit assured. "Like I said I never knew Vox and I never suffered under your former cruelty first hand. You have only helped me so far…and if this deal goes well, then I assure you that I won’t let Haddock kill you. Even if we separate one day I’ll make sure both of us can manifest safely on this earth."  
The Warden: Ensure that he does, she replied, miffed but placated. How different he and I are…I believe we shall never come to terms with one another. And, another item of business… She shifted places in his mind again. Do you intend to tell the entire rebellion of your possession? That would not bode well for anyone. Especially not the cat-child. If you do not tell her up front, my presence alone could be enough to alert her and she could spread panic and chaos needlessly among your comrades. 
Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss: Stonegit worked his jaw. “I plan on it.” he replied simply, sitting down. "Please talk to me…" the thought ran through Stonegit’s mind before he realized he and he got up quickly, beginning to train again. 
The Warden: What’s this? She snagged the stray thought and toyed with it, examining it. Is the blind one still feeling lonely? A thrumming chuckle echoed through his head. You must feel isolated indeed to yearn for the company of a devil…one that has killed your scout, no less…I’m surprised at you, dark-eyes. 
Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss: "Awww shut the Hel up Woodchuck!" Stonegit growled, throwing himself into his techniques. "Why would I have anything to say to you? Your past may no matter that much to me but you’re still a nut job demon." 
"It’s been nine years…" his constant stream of consciousness betrayed him again.  
The Warden: It was too easy. The boy’s damaged brain was an open book to the Warden. She caught another flash of thought from his consciousness and pulled it out of the depths of his awareness. She tut-tutted and dropped it in front of him like a dead thing she’d caught while hunting. Nine years, hmm? Please, elaborate. 
 While she spoke, she gently prodded his memory, encircling it, coaxing out anything that he let slip away, any stray threads that he left hanging around. Her fishing was fueled by her sudden curiosity about his tangled past. She knew the gist of it, yes, but she craved more.  
Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss: "Piss off!" Stonegit said fiercely, keeping his voice down so he didn’t worry Haddock in the other room. His back stiffened and he gritted his teeth, knowing it was too late know. The Warden had found is thought stream, every last one of his core desires. 
"No matter how cruel you can be at least you’d always tell the truth and give a straight answer."
"Nobody…nobody knows who I am! How I really feel! What I put up with! But I want them to!"
"I saw Haddock! He was beautiful, he looked like somebody who could take care of me. He was prideful, I wanted to help him, I wanted to make him go tit for tat with me. I wanted him to feel human for once…I wanted to feel the same…”
Stonegit growled in great frustration, holding his head. “Stop it! Stop it!” he hissed. “It doesn’t matter if that’s true, I certainly don’t want to be sharing it with the likes of you!” 
The Warden: Haven’t you learned? We keep no secrets from each other. We are one body. One mind. Honestly, if you had the willpower, you could be divulging every one of my secrets as well. She twisted the memories she now possessed through her fingers, swirling them like smoke. Unfortunately, if you were to learn my past all at once, you’d go mad. Absolutely stark raving mad. I’ve lived too many lifetimes for you to comprehend it all. But your life is laughably short and so I can extract whatever I please. There isn’t any real point to these memories, anyhow…isn’t there? Her aloof tone turned scornful. You humans and your love. Like that scout and the cat. Pointless circles, round and round, the same cycle of highs and heartbreaks over and over and over again. I may understand it more than i did…but it’s still pathetic. 
Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss: Stonegit sat down again, collapsing to the floor, his hands landing in his lap. He gave up, there was no hiding his feelings and memories, so he may as well get some of it off his chest. “I was a fool,” he said. “Foolish to think Haddock was everything I imagined. Foolish to think that he would let go of his royal disposition for the sake of some banter.” his eyes narrowed. “And I suppose I’m still a fool for still loving him. He may have never told me anything about his wife, but I can see it in his eyes every time he speaks of her. They light up brighter then they ever shall for me…” 
The Warden: The Warden was taken aback. This wasn’t what she had imagined at all. She’d pictured kicking and struggling. Denial. Lying. Instead he was laying his heart out in the open, without even needing to be drawn out. Why do humans have to be so cursed unpredictable, she growled to herself, assailed by strange feelings of…was that empathy? 
She carefully reached out to where she channeled Stonegit’s sight and added something else, insubstantial and incorporeal, a kind of hallucination, for lack of a better term. Bit by bit, she built up the faint image of her current form, black eyes and matted fur and curving tusks in a humanoid body. The Warden stepped forward and grabbed his chin, pulling it upwards in a firm but caring way. In actuality she was merely forcing his chin upward through possession, but she wanted to add whatever small visual comfort she could give to him to make up for her earlier harsh words. If anyone else saw him at this moment, they would see him alone, apparently conversing with himself.
Stonegit. Her mouth did not move but she stared at him intensely. I’ve been through hundreds of anchors. I’ve seen human lives play out before, time and time again. This is life. To want things we can never have, not in their entirety, this is life. Excruciating pain is life. You live with it. You cope with it. You fight with it. You come to terms with what’s in the past and you don’t let it destroy you. You use it to learn from your mistakes. You are not the exception, dark-eyes.  
Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss: Stonegit kept her gaze for a moment, then gave a sly smirk. “You and Haddock read the same book I see.” he reached up, flicking the Warden’s hand away from his chin, not disdainfully, but almost teasing. 
"But thank you," his thoughts chimed in. “The last person I sat down and really talked with was my mother.”
Stonegit rolled his eyes, speaking. “But don’t you worry about me. Now that I understand his feelings I’m not longer pinning. I can live without his full affections.” he tapped the ground with his knuckles. “But damn I wish he could be straight with me. But once again that’s my problem, the gears up here,” he said, rubbing his head. “Their real problem is that they need everything spelled out for em. And they never work well in a stressful situation. I mean, I’ve constantly messed up in every high stress situation to date thanks to this busted head. I’ve embarrassed myself in front of Jackson, Haddock, Akkey, and then Haddock again.”
For a moment hope flickered in his eyes. “Woodchuck…I don’t…I don’t suppose there’s anyway you could fix me? Make my brain work so it’s not like that anymore?”   
The Warden: His hand passed through hers like a specter but she removed it anyway, looking at him closely and quite differently. No. I’m afraid not. I thrive on chaos and destruction, not healing, bodyguard. I could channel my temperament directly into yours but that would be counter-productive and not physically improving anything. My fuse is as short as yours. I suppose… She hesitated. If you feel an episode coming on, you could allow me to take control, even if it’s only partially, and stop you from doing something that you regret. It’s…bending the rules of the contract, but…for this… Her voice returned to its aloof briskness. It appears you need more assistance than I had previously thought.  
Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss: Stonegit nodded a few times as if understanding, but the Warden could feel the chemicals in his brain practically boil. He stood up casually. “No big deal,” he said calmly, picking up a wine bottle off the drink table. “You know…” he said, attempting to smile but his voice breaking slightly. “It’s just been only thing I’ve ever wanted for the past fucking decade…A brain that WORKED!” he yelled, the bottle exploding as his hand crushed the thick glass. He gasped, shaking his hand and holding where the glass had sliced him. “I’m sorry!” he said, squeezing his eyes tightly. He breathed deeply, his mind returning to its regular process. “I’m sorry…but that’s exactly what I mean. That kind of thing shouldn’t happen…” 
He starred down at the blood seeping from his hand, and then sighed, beginning to clean up his mess. He gave a humorless laugh. “I thought we’d relate you know. Haddock and I. Him with is temper and me with my lousy brain…but instead we just clashed.” 
The Warden: AAGH!!
 The Warden’s hallucinatory form flickered as the pain coursed through Stonegit’s body, and she doubled over, gasping in agony. She still hadn’t grown used to human pain. The bond between them stretched and grew dangerously thin as the Warden attempted to instinctively flee, but their oath reeled her back in and she returned with excruciating slowness, still managing to project herself into Stonegit’s vision. 
The two temperaments do tend to collide, she said in a strained voice, watching Stonegit clean out his hand. P-please, don’t…don’t do that again. She took a shuddering breath. Let me help with that, even slightly…for both of our sakes. He nearly made a wrong move with a shard of glass and she caught him just in time, adjusting his grip and sliding it out of his palm less painfully. We can work together instead of fighting. Give us a second chance. 
Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss: Stonegit glanced up at her surreal form, and then smiled, chuckling slightly. He bent over, laughing, his shoulders actually shaking from it. “I-I’m sorry,” he said, trying to stop, but failing. “I got a cut on my hand on a bit of glass and you screech like baby Nadder.” he continued to laugh, eventually inhaling deeply, stopping. He shook his head. “You sissy,” he said. 
"But again…thank you. It’s been so long since I had somebody to talk to, someone who would listen to my feelings."
Stonegit winched at that last sentence, knowing his sissy comment could come rocketing back to bit him in the butt.
"And yes, we will work together, I might even like having you around eventually." 
The Warden: Put yourself in my position and you’d understand. But instead of growing angry, she cocked her head at him and gave him a half-grin.  
I like you, dark-eyes, she finally said in a resonating voice. You’re a much better host than the cat-child. His subconscious thoughts rippled across her own mind and her smile curled farther over her face. And how sweet. I may even grow to tolerate your constant interference in my conversations with others and the habit of breaking inanimate objects. Very endearing indeed. But she said all of this with an almost affectionate tone of voice, and she stepped her ghostly form back and nodded to him.  
Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss: "…..Thanks," Stonegit managed to say, his voice only slightly husky. "You’re not so bad yourself Woodchuck." he wrapped up his cut in a cloth, tightening the knot. "Ok then…I think I’m going to ask the King to have a drink with me. I’d like to tell him some things, only this time while I have a brain about me." 
Category:Season 2
Category:Events
Category:Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss
Category:The Warden
Category:BOTGD