TRP: Azriel, Bala, and Ba'ob (Run)

**Abby:** at 9:28 PM

[Setting, Skyport, day 210]

Bala was going shopping for stuff. But she'd let Ba'ob come,
and given him a fairly wide leash to roam around on. So he took his wolf, who
looked like a big dog now with that collar, and followed the nice smell up the
ways a bit.

It was a little... cafe? Was the word? And it smelled like
chocolate. Ba'ob didn't have any money though, so he lingered just outside
their area, scratching the wolf's ears and just watching for a minute. All the
happy looking humans, elves, tieflings.... hey. Wait a minute. Ba'ob recognized
that tiefling. That was Azriel!

Ba'ob perked up, waving and bouncing, and then running over
and throwing his arms around Azriel. "Azriel!" he cried. "Missed
you missed you. Happy see you. Missed you."

**Izzy:** at 9:34 PM

Azriel jumped and choked on some cocoa. Dear god, he really
needed to pay more attention, what with Larkin out there ready to put his head
on a pike. (Or she'd already forgotten about him. Oh, that was even worse. Oh
no.)

He blinked a few times in alarm, because the voice was
definitely Ba'ob, but he looked ... clean, for one, and his hair had been cut,
and he was wearing a red cloak rather than his usual, magical green one. And
the wolf -- was she wearing a collar? (What in Mask's name.)

But he immediately wrapped an arm around Ba'ob, and the
other one as soon as he'd put his mug down. Ba'ob wandered off sometimes, and
he always came back, but this was different. This was strange.

"I'm happy to see you too, love," he said,
puzzled. "Where have you been? You know I get worried when you
disappear."

**Abby:** at 9:41 PM

Ba'ob buried his face in Azriel's shoulder, so he didn't
have to look up, and shrugged lightly. "Went visit-- went to visit a
friend," he said, slow and careful, making sure to get all the words.
"Then went- then I went to make a new friend. And I'm staying with her
now."

There. That's what happened. No need for questions. They
could just hang out till it was time for Ba'ob to go.

The wolf was nosing up, resting her head on Azriel's lap
whining. Trying to say that there was something wrong. But Azriel didn't understand
wolves like Ba'ob did, it'd be fine.

**Izzy:** at 9:45 PM

The full sentences, the personal grooming ... whoever this
friend was, god, Azriel needed to thank her. Since when did Ba'ob have friends,
exactly? Peculiar. Very peculiar. Not bad, though.

"Oh. Well, if -- if you want to." He didn't try to
hide his disappointment; Ba'ob was family. "The house is terribly empty
without the both of you, though. I hope you'll still visit?"

He dropped a hand to tentatively scratch the wolf's ears.
She was whining. He guessed perhaps she'd missed him, as well.

**Abby:** at 9:49 PM

Ba'ob flinched a little. As much as he wanted to, Azriel's house...
"I can't," he said slowly. "It's... too far." He hugged
tigher. "I want to," he mumbled quietly.

**Izzy:** at 9:52 PM

That was fucking concerning. Azriel frowned. This wasn't a
typical Ba'ob doesn't understand or care about personal boundaries sort of hug,
either, he thought. "Too far?" he said slowly. "What does that
mean? Ba'ob, darling -- are you all right? Do you need help?"

**Abby:** at 9:58 PM

Ba'ob tensed. "Am okay. Want this." He was
backsliding again. "I can't... go to far. From the house. Don't need help.
Am-- I am okay."

The wolf wasn't convinced. She pulled back and grabbed
Azriel's sleeve, tugging him up and away from the table and in the direction of
his house.

"Wolf! No!" Ba'ob cried, attempting to pull Azriel
the other way. "Can't go there. Have stay close. Wolf!"

**Izzy:** at 10:06 PM

Ah, this only became more and more alarming, and now they
were playing tug of war with him. Azriel needed to take control of this
situation immediately. He turned his hand to pat the wolf's head again, hoping
to calm her down, and dug his heels in.

"There, there. We'll, ah -- let's stay here, for now,
yes?" He realized he was speaking to the wolf, as though she could
understand him, and looked back to Ba'ob, back to her, back to Ba'ob. Perhaps
she could understand that he was doing his best, here. "We'll be very calm
and drink some cocoa. Ba'ob," he said firmly, "it's all right. I'll play
you a nice song. Would you like that, love?"

**Abby:** at 10:08 PM

The wolf whined, looking towards Azriel's house, down
towards the butcher shop, and then back at Ba'ob. She'd quit tugging, so Ba'ob
took the opportunity to latch onto Azriel, glaring at her. "Song is good,"
he muttered. "We sit here. Song. No going to house."

**Izzy:** at 10:17 PM

Since fucking when, exactly, did Ba'ob look at his wolf like
that? (Or take baths, or cut his hair, or speak in full sentences -- it was oddly
comforting to hear him going back to the broken diction he typically used.)
Azriel gave her another comforting pet about the ears and gently tugged his
sleeve away -- ah, good, no rips; this was a nice jacket, and all -- to sit
back down, anglingBa'ob to the
chair nearest to him.

His viol case was under his seat. He really think that some
music might be a good way to settle Ba'ob, so he pulled it out -- after sliding
his almost-full mug towards Ba'ob encouragingly -- and set it against his neck,
drawing the bow across the strings and then pausing to retune the instrument, a
little.

"Would you like to tell me about your new friend,
then?" he said casually. "Does she have a nice place for you to
stay?"

**Abby:** at 10:22 PM

Ba'ob reluctantly let go and wrapped his hands around the
cocoa mug. The wolf sat down close by, ears pinned back and occasionally
whining. Still upset. Even though Ba'ob had explained it several times.
"Yeah. Manor-- the manor is nice. A bit cold but nice," Ba'ob said.
"I got a room, mostly hang out there. I'm not supposed to go outside."
He sipped at the cocoa. Mmm that was good, and warm. Almost warmed up that
chill that was always clinging to Ba'ob's bones, now. Almost.

**Izzy:** at 10:24 PM

"Hmm." He finished tuning and started pulling a
quiet, calming tune out of the strings. "Why aren't you supposed to go
outside?"

**Abby:** at 10:26 PM

Ba'ob shrugged. "I didn't ask. Probably so I don't
cause trouble," he said, edging on bitter. He was really good at that.

**Izzy:** at 10:27 PM

"That seems unfair," he said, to feel it out.
"You're a free spirit, love, you need space to run around, and such."
The idea of Ba'ob being confined to a room in a cold manor unsettled him. There
was a problem, here, certainly. He just needed to find the root of it.

**Abby:** at 10:30 PM

"I'mtrouble
is what I am," Ba'ob said, crossing his arms and resting his chin on the
table. Suddenly he didn't feel like cocoa any more. "I don't belong... out
there," he said. "Bala-- my friend-- she's just... making sure I
behave."

**Izzy:** at 10:31 PM

Azriel frowned. "And did she tell you that you're
trouble?"

**Abby:** at 10:34 PM

"Didn't have to," Ba'ob muttered. "I knew it
before. You know it too, you were just being nice," he said bitterly,
picking at the edge of the table. It was a nice table, smooth and polished, but
Ba'ob was already worrying splinters into it. Just like him.

**Izzy:** at 10:37 PM

"Darling, I'm very much a fan of your chaos,"
Azriel said, completely honestly, which was something that was coming to him
more easily these day. Dreadful. "If your friend doesn't like you being who
you are --" matted hair and dirt and all, god help them -- "perhaps
she doesn't have your best interests at heart. Would you mind if I spoke to
her?" Give her a piece of his fucking mind, more like.

**Abby:** at 10:38 PM

"No!" Ba'ob sat bolt upright. Azirel, and Bala--
something about that idea made his stomach churn. "Not safe. Stay 'way.
Please."

**Izzy:** at 10:41 PM

"If it's not safe for me, why is it safe for you?"
he needled.

**Abby:** at 10:42 PM

Ba'ob gripped the edge of the table. "I deserve
it," he snapped.

**Izzy:** at 10:43 PM

"You absolutely fucking don't, Ba'ob." He stopped
playing and lowered his viol, frowning, studying his wolf boy. He barely even
looked like himself; Azriel felt uncomfortable, now, by how he'd been vaguely
pleased by Ba'ob being cleaned up. "Please come home."

**Abby:** at 10:46 PM

Ba'ob shook his head. "Can't," he said. Reached
over and started rubbing at his arm, at the cuff on it. "Really- can't
Azriel." He felt sick. (He didn't want to go back he wanted to go back
with Azriel but stucktrappedcaptured.) "I asked for this," he said,
desperately. "I begged for this."

**Izzy:** at 10:50 PM

The hair on the back of Azriel's neck stuck up. No, this
didn't sound good. It didn't sound good at all. He eyed Ba'ob's forearm.

"All right, darling," he said soothingly.
"That's all right." He scooted his chair closer to Ba'ob's and lifted
his viol back up, playing a gentle melody. "We'll just have a nice time,
then, before you have to go back." And then Azriel would follow him, and
find this woman who was doing whatever she was doing to Ba'ob, and he'd play
one of those wonderful Skyport songs he'd learned. Maybe the one that exploded
things.

**Abby:** at 10:55 PM

Ba'ob nodded slightly and started counting his breaths. Like
Bry'd taught him. Listen to the music, focus on steady breaths, and it'd be
fine. The wolf came up and rested her head on Ba'ob's lap and he stroked it.
Okay. Good. It was fine. Ba'ob was calm. He was fine.

**Izzy:** at 10:59 PM

Azriel watched Ba'ob as he played. He hadn't seen Ba'ob so agitated
since they'd gotten themselves thrown in jail, at the Sanctuary port town. At
least the wolf was with him, but -- that collar, and the way she'd tried to
lead them away, made Azriel think she couldn't help him. He was trapped, and
for some reason he thought he deserved it. Maybe Azriel should try to talk him
out of it, somehow, but he was wary of prying too much and upsetting the poor
thing.

"If you're supposed to stay inside -- if you don't mind
me asking," he tried, "why are you out in the city, now, then?"

**Abby:** at 11:05 PM

"Running errands," Ba'ob said. "Bala said I
could wander around some." He rubbed at his arm again. More like she'd left
it on a higher range and Ba'ob took that to mean she wouldn't mind him
wandering... but maybe she'd get mad and cut his range down next time. He shot
a worried glance towards the butcher shop. Still no sign of Bala.

**Izzy:** at 11:09 PM

Azriel nodded in understanding. Errands. Interesting.

He followed Ba'ob's eyeline down the street. "Are you
looking for something, love?"

**Abby:** at 11:10 PM

Ba'ob jerked around so he wasn't looking that way any more.
"Checking," he said shortly. "S'fine."

**Izzy:** at 11:16 PM

Oh, this Bala person was definitely just down the fucking
street, then. He wondered what Ba'ob would do if he just --

Well, why not just do it?

Azriel stood up, catching the strap on his viol case and
hooking it around his shoulder, keeping the viol in his hand, and continuing to
play it a he started walking in the direction Ba'ob had been peering.

**Abby:** at 11:18 PM

Ba'ob froze. No. No no no. What was Azriel doing.
"Azriel!" he cried, bolting up and running after him, trying to block
his path. "No. Don't. Don't do that."

**Izzy:** at 11:19 PM

Azriel slipped around him and kept walking. He figured he
could just pinpoint the place Bala was doing her errands by gauging how upset
Ba'ob got. He didn't ... like manipulating Ba'ob in this way, but well, it
seemed to need doing.

**Abby:** at 11:23 PM

Ba'ob lunged at Azriel, but he slipped around him and kept
walking. "Azriel no!" he whined. Scrambled over so he was between
Azriel and the butcher shop, holding up his hands. This time he wouldn't let
Azriel escape.

**Izzy:** at 11:25 PM

Azriel ducked again.

**Abby:** at 11:29 PM

Ba'ob grabbed for him, whining as Azriel once again ducked
out of the way. Why was he so hard to grab.

The wolf suddenly lunged in. Good- she'd help- she'd knock
Azriel down- or charge over to the butcher shop and stand in front of the door,
whining. "NO!" he yelled. But too late.

**Izzy:** at 11:39 PM

Oh, wonderful. Yes, Azriel loved that wolf. The two of them
were on the same page, oddly, about many things that involved Ba'ob. He should
learn a song to speak with her, or something.

The wolf had stopped in front of a butcher's shop, and just
before Azriel got to it, the bell over the door gave a cheery ring and a tall,
pale woman with a mass of blond hair and a long black coat stepped outside,
dabbing at her lips with a handkerchief. She wasn't carrying any shopping bags.

She looked down at the wolf impassively, and over Azriel's
shoulder, to Ba'ob. This had to be her.

**Abby:** at 11:41 PM

This couldn't happen. Couldn't. Except it was and Azriel was
gonna get hurt, and Ba'ob was too, and the wolf-- maybe he could stop it.
"Sorry sorry," he babbled. "Didn't mean to. Is okay. Azriel go."
(He wasn't talking in complete sentances) "No fights no fights. Everything
okay."

**Izzy:** at 11:48 PM

Azriel felt himself bristling at how panicked Ba'ob sounded.
Ba'ob was his. No one got to fucking make his family that scared.

The woman had curled a lip slightly, giving Ba'ob a
disdainful, disapproving look that made Azriel's blood boil, but he kept his
face and voice pleasant and dragged a brief harsh sound of of the viol to get
her attention.

"Hello! Yes, down here," he said, smiling toothily.
"My name is Azriel Khole. Ba'ob is my friend. I'd like for you to leave him
the fuck alone, or I'll be forced to set you on fire or find some other
horrible things to do to you. I'm very creative."

She looked down at him, and said, "Your name is Azriel
Melaine," and his smile froze in place. His blood chilled suddenly.

**Abby:** at 11:51 PM

Ba'ob darted forwards, grabbing Azriel's arm. "No
fights no fights," he said, to Bala, to Azriel, to himself-- he wasn't
sure. The wolf's ears were pinned back. Ba'ob had managed to get through that
she couldn't growl otherwise she would be. He attempted to pull Azriel away
from Bala. He was gonna get hurt.

**Izzy:** at 12:02 AM

Azriel let himself be pulled back a couple steps, stumbling.
He realized, all at once: Ba'ob's red cloak. God. Oh, god. Fuck. The Sanguines
were here, and one of them had Ba'ob.

He was going to kill this bitch.

He yanked a painful long note out of the viol, careful to
direct it away from himself and Ba'ob and the wolf -- expecting it to shatter
the glass front of the butcher's shop -- but instead of cringing, she snapped
her fingers, and he felt the magic die in the air. He grit his teeth and angled
his bow back along the strings, intending to nullify her counter, but she
lunged for him and fucking bit him -- bit him right on the damn face, presumably
because with his jacket and scarf she couldn't reach bare flesh anywhere else.

And it hurt like all nine hells. He could swear that
something -- changed about her, something flickered, and her teeth were far sharper
than a human's teeth should be, sinking into his cheek. He flailed. It was
magic, a cold sharp pain that left him feeling drained.

Then she released him and shoved him back, and wiped the
blood off her mouth, grinning.

His hands were shaking, but he raised his bow again.

**Abby:** at 12:06 AM

"No no no!" Ba'ob whined. He'd flinched back,
grabbing the wolf by her collar, watching the fight. "Azriel run," he
pleaded. Wolf was growling now, tugging at his grip. Bala was gonna hurt him.
Kill him. And Ba'ob couldn't stop it. (stucktrappedcaptured
stucktrappedcaptured)

**Izzy:** at 12:35 AM

"I certainly fucking will not."

The bite had made him feel a bit light-headed -- blood
always used to, but he'd grown accustomed to it, somehow. The pain was no good,
though. He broke into a brief, lively tune, equal parts meant to heal himself
and bait her into wasting her magic on another counterspell -- the latter
didn't work, which meant the former did, and he felt a bit better. Then the
song transitioned seamlessly into the same grating note, and it boomed out from
a point behind her. There was the shattering glass he'd been wanting, and Bala
winced and threw her hands up to cover her ears, shrinking down a bit.

Azriel gave her a smug look. That should teach her to
interfere with his family. He opened his mouth to say something to that effect,
and she snapped her fingers, and then he was surrounded by knives.

Ah, he thought, yes, I know that one too, but knowing it
didn't help him, particularly -- he tried his own counterspell, but it fizzled
as the knives slashed into him. His jacket was ruined, and he fought his way
out of the knife cloud, but the taut string of his bow was snapped by an errant
blade before he could quite manage it.

Fine, then. He honed in on the pain and rebuked her, setting
her coat on fire, and as she snarled and started patting it out, he glared at
her and hummed a little tune. He would save Ba'ob from her without an
instrument. More fire would solve this problem.

But before he could focus in on the song, she barked out,
"Ba'ob -- kill him."

**Abby:** at 7:46 AM

Ba'ob's guts turned to ice. Fighting Azriel. No. He
half-reached for his sword, still clutching the wolf's collar with one hand.
"Please no," he whimpered, glancing between the two. "No fights.
Don't make me," he said to Bala. Told Azriel to run. He'd told Azriel and
he hadn't listened. And now-- and now this. Ba'ob wanted to throw up.

**Izzy:** at 11:08 AM

Oh, that was wonderful -- Ba'ob would be bound to realize
this woman was bad news, now. There was no reason Ba'ob would fight him. That,
surely, would be the catalyst for Ba'ob to walk away from her and come home.

Except that he reached for his sword, instead.

Magic, Azriel thought. Of course. Bala was compelling Ba'ob.
That made sense -- he supposed it was what he would do, yes.

She dusted herself off and commanded, "Kill. Now."

Azriel waited for the last order to hum a hurried tune, head
throbbing dully at the unfocused casting -- trying to dispell and break
whatever spell it was. And he could tell his magic landed, didn't get
countered, so the tail end of the hum turned to a hasty, breathless,
"Ba'ob, let's run, let's go home, darling," and he held out a hand to
urge Ba'ob along with him.

**Abby:** at 3:07 PM

Ba'ob shook his head, slowly drawing his sword. (Could
refuse- he'd get punished- Bala'd kill Azriel anyway.) The wolf snarled,
lunging forwards, for Bala. "No," he said, and hauled her to face
Azriel. She didn't understand- didn't understand any of it- but she was just a
wolf. "This who we fight," he said.

The magic running between them was strong. Usually easy,
fluid, comforting. Ba'ob grabbed it and twisted. And then he let go of her
collar.

The wolf lunged for Azriel, teeth snapping. Ba'ob hung back,
still just clutching his sword. "You run. Please. You run."

**Izzy:** at 6:20 PM

Well -- that didn't -- that didn't make any sense, he knew
he'd dispelled whatever magic might be controlling Ba'ob. Perhaps Ba'ob didn't
realize, and he was just afraid.

Azriel took a couple steps back when the wolf snapped at
him, but he refused to let both of them be afraid -- he was going to take care
of this, he was going to help his family.

"Ba'ob," he said, quietly but urgently, holding
his hand back out, "it's all right." He whistled, winced, casting the
spell again. "I broke the compulsion, you're free, we can go, my love,
please come with me."

Bala ... laughed.

**Abby:** at 6:27 PM

Ba'ob shook his head again. Wasn't how it worked. He'd tried
to explain. No good. No more words then, he stepped forwards and weakly swung
at Azriel. He dodged, good at that, and this time Ba'ob was happy about it.
Maybe now Azriel'd get it. Maybe now he'd run.

**Izzy:** at 6:35 PM

He jerked back again. Bala was still giggling, watching
them, and he shot a glare her way. This was something else. Something
different.

Fine, then. Original plan. He'd fucking kill her.

"Darling, it's going to be okay," he promised, and
whistled, putting everything he had into it and lashing his broken bow at her,
a fireball blooming off the tip. She flicked and danced, though, avoiding the
worst of it, and he snarled and wiped the blood away from his nose, looking
back to Ba'ob, knowing he would keep attacking.

**Abby:** at 6:43 PM

Ba'ob tried to tune it out. The reassurances, the laughing,
the whistling. He had one job. He swung again, and this time it connected. Sank
into Azriel's side, spattering blood across the cobblestones.

Ba'ob stared at it, feeling his sword arm go limp. Barely
kept a hold of it. Looked up at Azriel, bloody and battered, looking about ready
to fall over. "Please run," he said again, quietly. His hold on the
wolf had slackened, she was pawing at her head, whining in confusion.

**Izzy:** at 7:04 PM

Ah, fuck. Fuck, that was painful. His jacket was very much
ruined, and there was quite a lot of blood, and he was getting light-headed. He
stumbled back, holding his side, still clutching his viol in one hand. Maybe
one more spell, and he could -- ah, and he could heal himself again, too, he
wasn't so far gone that it would hurt more than it would help.

Bala didn't look too badly off, though. A bit scorched around
the edges, but smirking. And there was no way Azriel could attack Ba'ob, or the
wolf -- perhaps a sleep spell could remove Bala from the situation, but he
didn't think he had the magic left to pull it off.

He had to ... he had to run. Normally he was a great fan of
running, and not getting injured like this, but it was Ba'ob, and he would be
leaving him with this woman, and it made his stomach turn the way Ba'ob kept
begging him to run. He didn't think he had any other choice and it broke his
heart.

"Ba'ob, I'm going to help you," he said steadily,
locking onto Ba'ob's eyes as he backed away. "I love you." He wiped
blood away from his nose, and his composure cracked. "I'm sorry. I'm so
very sorry."

And he turned and bolted.

**Abby:** at 7:11 PM

Ba'ob watched him go, trying not to cry. Wanted to say
something back-- wanted to run after him-- wanted out. But he couldn't. He
rubbed the cuffed arm against his leg. Couldn't.

Bala said to kill but Azriel was gone. And Ba'ob wasn't
chasing. He shuffled over and collapsed at her feet. "He gone," he
said dully, dropping his blood-stained sword with a clatter. Was gonna get hurt
now. Closed his eyes and bowed his head, waiting.

**Izzy:** at 8:29 PM

"I told you to kill him," Bala said impassively,
not laughing anymore. She turned to walk the other way, crunching over broken
glass. "Next time you stay home."

**Abby:** at 8:33 PM

Ba'ob-- wasn't getting hit? He stayed put for a second,
counting breaths. Save the panic till they were... at the manor. Pulled himself
up and followed after. Back to the cold house that felt like a prison.

[END]

Title: Run

Summary: After being taken captive by Bala, Ba'ob meets up
with Azriel in Skyport. Azriel tries to save him, but Bala forces Ba'ob to
fight Azriel, and Azriel has to run.