Snippet #2475603

Aiden and Darren’s fighting had drawn Jake and Crys’ attention away from the the music and they joined the others who had stopped to watch them, Irvin wasting no time in taking bets from the boys of the guard and some of the Crimson Shadows. Crys snickered as the boy asked if she wanted in on the action. “That wouldn’t be fair.” She told the boy with a smirk.
“What does that mean?’ Irvin asked, raising an eyebrow, leaning forward and whispering excitedly. “Can you tell who’s going to win?”
Crys laughed softly. “No, of course not, Irv... Well, not exactly...”
“Well... If you were to take a guess...” Irvin insisted.
“She’s messing with you, Irvin.” Jake pointed out, shaking his head at the boy.
“Oh... Haha, very funny.” The boy mumbled. “You guys suck.”
“Oh, come on Irvin, don’t be so sensitive.” Crys chuckled, putting one arm around the boy’s shoulders. “I was just playing with you a bit. No, I can’t tell who’s going to win. I can’t even tell what is going on right now unless someone tells me. I’m good, but not that good.”
“Well... I think Darren’s winning... Yeah... Yeah... He’s got him.” Irvin confirmed. “If you’ll excuse me, I have some bets to collect.”

“Luckas is probably happy to see that.” Jake stated casually, giving Crys’ hand a gentle squeeze. “I’ll be right back, I still have Darren’s hat.” He told her, watching Darren as he parted ways with his mother. Placing the hat on his head he walked after the boy. “Hey, is this my birthday present, kid? It does look better on me, doesn’t it?” He teased.

Crys nodded as Jake told her he was going to go return Darren’s hat, smiling as Kaya joined her, scratching behind the wolf’s ears. “You’re going to carry that thing everywhere, aren’t you?” She mumbled in amusement. “Jakey broke my wolf.” She chuckled, wandering off from where Jake had left her and approaching Aiden. “Hey, Aiden, right? I see you’re enjoying the party.” She greeted. “Now I feel kind of bad for telling Dastan’s guys not to pick fights. Although they do tend to hit pretty much everything but their targets with this amount of liquor in them.” She smiled, running her fingers along Kaya’s snout. “That armor you built for Tala, you were saying it’d have to be lighter still?”

The fight had ended, but Luckas was still somewhat glaring after Aiden with an annoyed expression. “The Kid won... Can I... Interfere now, Lady?” Luckas asked, glancing at Ess with a somewhat pleading look in his eyes. “Just a little bit?”

Deidra breathed an airy laugh, staring off at her knees before pushing herself to her feet and raising her hands palm up to examine. She looked up at Dastan, raised her hands up, palms out for him to see and then returned to them to their previous position. Dee approached Dastan, still staring at her open palms, to stand a few steps away. “So you have managed to not turn your mistakes into tradition?” She whispered, presenting her palms in front of Dastan and flexing her fingers so that one could notice mirrored scar tissue that extended across her palms just below her fingers. “Not all scars need to be a consequence of pain in order to grow. Not all are reminders of a regret or even a lesson learned. As you pointed out, it can be a reminder of..a more pleasant nature. These..” Dee’s eyes flickered between her hands and the man before her, a shy smile peeking past her lips. “..barely stopped the blade..one of many that were astray. I still don’t know how, but I did..and I can. It happened so fast, I was only aware of the aftermath of bloody palms and a six inch blade between them.” Deidra’s lips parted as she inhaled slowly, holding her breath a moment before releasing. “And then I had to do it again...and again...until it became an art. That was the day I realized what I wanted to do with my life.” Deidra cleared her throat, leaning backwards to stretch her fingers to retrieve her liquor, quickly swallowing down a few shots worth. Playfully, she tilted her head back as if to get a better look at Dastan when a particular question came to mind. “...What to you...deems something worthy? Are we talking, worthy to give your time? Worthy of the world’s? Or..” Dee winked, “..Worth dying for?”

“Hey, is this my birthday present, kid? It does look better on me, doesn’t it?”

“Ha! Don’t you wish..Uncle Jaaakey.” Darren snorted, a mischievous smile forming. “If I knew you wanted a hat, I would have bought you one...and not these little ol’ things..” A fake look of disappointment crossed his eyes as he reached towards his belt, untucking his shirt to reveal a thin wooden case, not longer than the length of his hand. “Maybe I should just give them away…” He played before smiling and handing Jake the small package. “Happy Birthday Jake.” He paused a moment, watching silently, choosing to speak again at the moment Jake snuck past the paper to his present. “Mom...told me about this little dagger she gave you long ago...so I thought to get something that matched..aaannnd Mom and I figured out her...poison that she gave you, reacts quicker when it interacts with other elements...in particular….Gold. I personally don’t get why, but she was rather excited by it.” Darren chuckled in amusement.

Essence couldn’t help but giggle when Luckas looked at her for permission to mess with Aiden. She glanced at her bottle, a brief thought of clocking Aiden over the head with it caused her to frown. “Alcohol abuse…” She snickered. Ess almost answered Luckas if it wasn’t for the fact that because she was feeling just a bit intoxicated and not paying attention to where she was going, causing her to trip and fall over some invisible inconvenience and start laughing until she rolled onto her back in hysterics, she may have agreed to be carefree to what Luckas would do to Aiden. Truth be told, she was feeling a bit of pity for the man and actually cared not to be cruel to him as entertaining as it would be. She couldn’t deny that part of her. “You’re not my pet to command, Luckas….I would prefer you hold off for another day..but I can’t tell you what to do.” Essence moved to stand but fell to her knees and just laughed again. “Ok ok..slower this time…” She muttered to herself as she was successful to stand on her feet once again. Her eyes lit up as they once again found the crate of fireworks, Essence shuffling over to it with a devious smirk.
Aiden quirked a brow at Crys when she approached, and shrugged. “It’s not a bad party at all, truthfully..especially considering the guest list.” He grinned. “I’ve seen you around before...Crystal right? Er..Crys...that’s what Jake calls you. His spirits are always up when you’re around...that is something I think we all notice.” Aiden felt something nudge his hand and looked down to see Ward who had sat beside him to stare at Kaya and what she had in her mouth: Drakey. Ward was cautiously sniffing in the stuffed dragon’s direction while still keeping out of reach. It looked almost like he wanted to steal his sister’s toy, but was scared to. “I think, since the wolves have become a part of so much and can be a weapon in itself, that it made sense for the armor, no? Lighter is better.. enables them to move at their natural speed..faster, and protect against the point of a sword. Plus…” He chuckled. “It makes them scarier...or cuter...depending whose opinion you favor. You have something in mind to use instead?”

“Funny.” Dastan stated. “I never realized, or decided, what I wanted to do with my life. My life sort of became what it is... That must be an interesting feeling.” He smiled going into a moment of thought, before seemingly changing the subject. “I stole Shadow for my sister, she loves horses and I saw him, standing there waiting for this guy to finish his business, and I thought... Such a waste. In the end it didn’t work exactly as I planned, because that horse just wouldn’t have any of it.” While he spoke he reached for Deidra’s hand, very slowly as if to give her plenty of time to stop him if the gesture was unwelcome. “You can’t quite see this one.” He explained, leaning forward a bit as he raised her hand to reach the back of his head, where it was possible to feel a small raised line just above the base of the skull. “This one... This one was by a woman.” He stated, releasing her hand and lowering his. “This... really great girl... I met her while she was traveling with her family and they crossed our encampment. We talked and we drank for a very long while, we were laughing loudly and I could very much tell she liked me and then... Amongst our laughing; and having had quite a few drinks... I call her by another woman’s name. So she was obviously quite insulted and chose to express her feelings by smashing a bottle on my head.” He chuckled, head still lowered as he stared at his feet. “That was a quite a while ago, it was when I realized how the loss of someone can sneak up on you without warning; in one moment you’re laughing and the next thing you know you’re saying their name as if they’re the one sitting beside you. Then you realize that they’re not, you just wish that they were.” Taking a deep breath, Dastan lifted his head and gave a small shrug. “As far as living beings go... You can tell they are worthy, special, when they humble you by simply being themselves, when they find a way to sneak up on you even when they’re not actually around, when you meet them and you immediately know that if you walk away you’ll never meet someone quite like that again in your lifetime. When someone like that comes into your life they are definitely worth the time it takes to know them, and it’s sure worth fighting to keep them, or dying to protect them... Like I would, for any of these drunken fools roaming your camp tonight.”

Jake laughed as he accepted Darren’s gift, opening it up and examining the small blades for a long moment. “Hmmm....” He mumbled under his breath in fake indecision. “Yeah, alright, these are pretty cool, you can have this back.” He played, taking off the hat and placing it on Darren’s head. “I’m pretty sure Crys wouldn’t let me keep it anyway.” He concluded with an amused chuckle. “She’d either tell me to get rid of it, or steal it from me.” He joked, glancing at where she was speaking to Aiden. “You know, this is my third birthday party since I was a kid... It’s going pretty well... In spite of malfunctioning explosives and uninvited guests.”

“You’re not my pet to command, Luckas…”

Luke had been laughing quite amused until he heard that very familiar word, his smile shut and he twitched slightly before forcing it back on, keeping close to Ess as she tried to steady herself in a manner comically similar to someone watching a child that was just learning to walk. “Another day it is, then, Lady.” He mumbled simply, relaxing as the woman finally got on her feet, but still keeping close enough that he could keep her from falling over again. “How much have you had already?” He asked her, raising a brow. “I’m just wondering if I’m at risk of being taken advantage of yet.” He teased, glancing at the box of fireworks and honestly wondering what would happen if he lit one of those and shoved it into someone’s pants.

“Crys is what most people call me, at least to my face.” Crys said, smiling at Aiden. “And that’s very nice of you to say that, Aiden. Although, I’ve been able to not worry so much about Jake this past year; he’s got some good people to knock sense into him when I’m not around.” She snickered. “And now Kaya too, of course.” She added, ruffling the wolf’s fur playfully. “And I think the armor is a great idea. I’m not exactly sure how to improve on it myself, but I do know a person... uhm... If I can get him to take interest. The guy is a bit of a... Well, he’s crazy, but he’s the best. He works with some metals that not many know too, so maybe he’ll know of some material that would work better for this. Something maybe lighter and more resistant. Do you guys have the armor sketched? Maybe I can go to him with the design, I know he won’t leave his shop, making him move to Blackpond was a hassle.”

“Interesting, hmm? I guess so. I look at it as I had a choice. I had the choice to continue as I was..with what I was given..knowing I’d die...or I could choose to live.” Dee smiled, watching Dastan carefully as he gently took her hand to place it behind his head. She wiggled her fingers beneath his hair, finding the scar and when he pulled his hand away, hers remained. As she listened to Dastan’s story, her smile disappeared. “What a waste of alcohol..” She joked through a sigh. “...I could understand someone being offended if the wrong name was called during a more..intimate moment...but besides that..” Dee trailed off in thought, moving her fingers in a soothing massage motion on the back of Dastan’s head as if the man’s head still hurt. After a moment her fingertips lifted, trailing out of Dastan’s hair slowly as if to grab his attention, placing her hand over where her heart would be. A sad smile formed as she tilted her head, moving closer to the man so that she was in his line of vision as he stared at his shoes. “I know what that is like...that wanting. Those scars that are here...people say they can’t be seen. I don’t think that is entirely true. I still think this woman went a bit overboard.”

“Deidra! Matthew wants to see you..” A voice yelled across the way, that person never approaching.

Dee turned and yelled back, a clear look of impatience crossing her eyes. “Tell him to give me five minutes, please!” She signed, turning her gaze back to meet Dastan’s. “Duty calls…” Dee shrugged. “If I knew I was going to meet you, I may not have volunteered for this job..but..” She paused, smiling softly at the man, her gaze trailing over towards Ess for a moment. Her eyes shifted, troubled thoughts barking at the back of her mind. Tonight she would leave for Blackpond and nobody knew what for, except the Captain and Matthew. The first thing Matt had said was, “...There’s a likely chance you won’t come back from this. You may encounter situations where you will not be allowed to act...for yourself or another. We will not be able to come for you if you run into trouble. Do you understand the importance and severity of your role?”

Dee didn’t hear Dastan when her mind faded from the present moment and when she remembered where she was, glossy eyes focused up towards the night sky. “..People worth dying for...and many of them I will never even know.”

Essence fell into a small hiccup fit and shrugged. “I imagine...I have had enough…” She smiled, leaning over the table comically to reach for Deidra’s bottle while she wasn’t looking, turning her back towards the woman while she casually sipped the bottle even though she still had a bit left of her own. “Hmm..” She muttered sipping one bottle to the next and alternating once more. “Are these suppose to taste different? I don’t get it.” Ess stared down at the bottles as if they were annoying her, her brows furrowing in puzzlement before she pushed the nearly empty one onto the table and leaned into Luckas to whisper. “I have a secret to tell you..” She paused to smile, turning away, and grabbing him by the arm to drag him away with her as she moved in the direction of her camp.

Darren laughed, adjusting the hat which Jake had returned to his head. “Crys would look good in a hat..I think better than you.” He played, politely tipping the brim of the hat towards Jake. “I’m glad you’re having fun. This was a good idea…” Darren paused, yelling a bit above the music. “It’s a wonder how you kept it from Mom..”

“I knew all along! What you talking about , boy?” Ess chimed in, her back towards her son.”
Darren shook his head. “Is it really smart to be giving that woman explosives? I mean, I could give her some pointers..but I doubt she really knows what she is doing...You do see the one she’s trying to hide right?” He said, nodding towards his mother who was trying to conceal a large firework beneath her arm.

“One more! Then we go to bed.” Clayton crossed his arms, Lily nodding in agreement through slitted eyes.

“What did we say about bedtime, kids? When it’s time it’s time..” Jess sighed, shooting a glare at Jake. “Hey Mister Jake..why don’t you go put the kids to bed?” She teased, the kids looking over at Jacob with a hopeful smile.

Aiden laughed at Jess and glanced over at Jake, while still talking to Crys. “He lets those kids walk all over him..that Lily has him wrapped around her finger. But right, Blackwell...I heard of him. I can get you a sketch before you leave camp and I’m sure we can pull together something to pay the man with. I’m happy to have caught your interest. Many here thought it was impractical and honestly, the way it is now..it’s just doable. They can get by but I can tell Tala wasn’t thrilled. The way it is now...also not very quiet. We don’t all need to be Ali to hear them coming.”

Dastan closed his eyes for a moment as Deidra massaged the back of his head as if the gesture automatically made him sleepy, opening them again as she pulled her hand away. “Well, that girl had had a lot to drink...” He elaborated. “She apologized the next day, but... I had made it clear to us both it was just too soon for me. We became good friends after that. I was at her wedding a few years later and everything.”

“Deidra! Matthew wants to see you..”

“Don’t you people know parties are sacred?” Dastan snorted slightly, playfully looking past Deidra as if trying to scold whoever was calling for her, but not really speaking loudly enough to be heard. “Kids these days...All about duty and responsibilities... They respect nothing...” He playfully mumbled, his expression shifting from amusement to slight concern at the look on Deidra’s eyes, as well as the tone of her words. “Sounds really serious this job you took...” He pointed out. “Which makes the thought of you turning it down on my behalf quite a flattering one, but I take it it also means I won’t be seeing you again so soon.” He spoke in a tone that was only half questioning. The idea seeming to bother him a bit more than he’d like to admit, he was really enjoying the company of this woman. Finally he smiled and leaned into her to whisper playfully. “I won’t forget your name, I promise.”

Jake laughed at Darren’s comment, nodding in agreement. “Crys would definitely look good in a hat.” He smiled softly. “Definitely.” He mumbled, shaking his head and laughing a bit more at Darren and Ess’ exchange, frowning a bit as he actually wondered if Ess should be trusted with a bunch of unstable fireworks. “I don’t know if it’s smart, but... You know... I’m not going to be the one to try and confiscate her toys.” He snickered. “With a bit of luck most of those won’t actually go off anyway.” Taking a look around the party, Jake nodded. “Yeah, I’m enjoying myself... And I think it wasn’t too much of a traumatic experience for Ess either. Guess we all needed this, right? Lighten the mood for a night at least. I’m just sorry Annie couldn’t make it... I think maybe if I had gone to the plains to pick her up I could have convinced her, but... I’m not sure, the kid is stubborn.” Jake sighed, looking genuinely concerned for a moment. “She could use some time with family and friends right now.”

When Jake was called to put the kids to bed he winced, sighing as the kids looked at him with hopeful smiles. “That’s so not fair, Jess.” He whined under his breath. “Come on now, kiddies off to bed you go.” He commanded, running over to the kids and carrying off Clayton and Lily under his arms, receiving a mix of giggles and protest in return. “Why can’t we stay just five more little minutes?” Lily whined.
“Becaaause, I told you it was Jess’ decision whether or not you could stay up and she said it’s bedtime.” He stated firmly, walking in the direction of the Captains cabin, the other children reluctantly following.
“But... but...” Lily protested. “Do we at least get a story?” She complained.
“Miss Ess already told you guys a story, didn’t she?” Jake asked. “Hmmm...” He mumbled, pretending to think about it.
“Okay, okay... Can you sing then instead?” Lily asked.
Jake halted in his step, putting the children down and lowering himself to Lily’s eye level. “If you all go to bed, this instant, without any more protesting, then okay. I get to pick the song though.”
“Deal.” The girl agreed with a smile, running off into the cabin.

“Yes, Blackwell...” Crys chuckled softly. “The man is an artist, but he has quite the temper, gladly he was quite fond of my father so he tends to tolerate me a bit more. I’m sure payment won’t be much of an issue if he thinks the project is worth his time. I’m going to be leaving tomorrow... I’d like to say morning, but I think it will depend on how long it will take a bunch of hungover mercenaries to move their asses, I agreed to stop by their encampment before tending to my own affairs so I will be riding with them.” Crys sighed softly, a sweet smile crossing her features for a moment as Kaya affectionately rubbed up against her hand before wandering off to follow Jake and the children. “You know, Aiden...” She started, turning her attention back to the man. “You’re a really nice guy, I can feel it, and as much as I don’t like to meddle in people’s affairs if I can help it, this is a rather difficult one for me, because Ess is a sister to Jake, which means she is in a way, family to me as well... So I’m going to share with you a piece of advice I also gave Jake, and I hope you don’t resent me for my intrusion: It’s unfair to expect someone to change what is in their heart. It’s like asking them to cut off a part of themselves and no matter how good your intentions or feelings may be; eventually they will resent you for it.”

Luckas was without a doubt a bit confused at what Ess was going on about and stumbled a little bit as she pulled him by the arm. “What kind of secret?” He asked curiously. “Okay, I’m starting to worry... Last time someone dragged me by the arm like this I ended up in a tea party.” He complained.

“I won’t forget your name, I promise.”

Deidra smiled, turning to catch Dastan’s gaze and nodded. “I believe you.” She whispered, motioning him to lean in closer, her voice getting softer. “I hope to see you again…” Dee breathed, a flicker of fear flashing in her eyes which melted away with her smile. For a moment she wished she didn’t volunteer just so she could forget the world for a while; forget the pains and sorrows of others and just be selfish. She was afraid of failing and not coming back, but she refused to believe it would turn out that way. Deidra’s role was too important. The risk was there, but Dee believed she was strong enough. She had to be. After all, life in itself was a risk. At that thought, Deidra slid her fingers beneath a few locs of Dastan’s hair and wrapped them firmly to give a noticeable tug, pulling his face close to hers to let her lips brush his cheek. “In case I don’t see you.. for a while, there’s something for me to remember. I would have regretted otherwise…”Dee pulled away, turning to walk towards the other end of the Nest. “Be safe, Dastan..”

Darren chuckled, playfully hitting Jake in the arm. “Yea...if we want to keep our fingers..we don’t mess with Mom.” Darren sighed, thinking of Annie and agreeing it was a shame she couldn’t make it tonight. “I haven’t been by there for a few weeks..at least..she didn’t say much in her last message so I was planning on going tomorrow or maybe the next day. You want to tag along, Jake? I was thinking maybe to bring her something..but I’m not sure what. Wish I could give her the answers she is searching for..you know what I mean?”

Darren didn’t expect an answer to his last question, especially since the children had managed to use their puppy dog eyes to sway Jake, bending him to their will. Master manipulators, those kids were. They didn’t complain about not having their moms and dads around, even though he was sure they were missed. Every single member of this camp watched over and cared for those kids as if they were their own, thus never leaving the children wanting in most matters. Jason though, the eldest of the pack of children, had more to worry about than the smaller ones. He paid attention to the adults and their evasion on certain matters and with the Captain in Newhaven most of the time, many thought it was best to protect them at all costs. They weren’t being lied to, just some truths were held back, especially from the brutality of their contents. Jason, however, could see the holes in what he was being told. Darren found that he liked the kid, impressed with his understanding and problem solving smarts. He could be almost completely honest in his answers to whatever questions Jason threw at him. Jason, was the only one of the children that didn’t follow Jake to bed, instead he sat next to the bonfire, staring off in deep thought and didn’t even blink when Darren sat beside him in silence.

Aiden’s smile disappeared, a bit of surprise and resentment clouding his eyes when Crystal spoke to him about Ess, yet he remained silent until she was finished. A frustrated sigh mixed with a groan was his only answer at first and when he spoke, his tone carried a bit of sadness to it. “I feel like one day I have a chance and then the next I don’t...I feel confused and I’m not sure if she means what she says because...her actions speak differently. I honestly...was ok with how things were but then there was just something about the way she looked at me and ...all those...everything I thought was pushed aside...came flooding back.” Aiden ruffled up his hair, shaking his head. “You probably think I’m pretty pathetic…” He mumbled softly.

Essence scoffed in amusement at Luckas’ comment on being dragged to a tea party. “Well, if Miss Lily was throwing it, then those can’t be missed. Event of the year by all social and acceptable standards.” She giggled, pausing to look around inspecting her surroundings. As if she was satisfied she revealed the large explosive of sorts from her side and under her arm and stabbed a place for it, into the ground. Ess circled it a couple times before sprinting over to a tree where a lantern hung and returned with it in hand, offering it to Luckas. “Apparently this is my party but I think you should be the first to light our fireworks. Don’t worry, there’s plenty left over.” Essence swayed a bit from where stood behind Luckas, giggling at herself again when she hiccuped once again. Her brows furrowed when Beo approached to sniff at what Ess stuck into the ground, the woman whistling and snapping her fingers for the wolf to back away. “No no, it’s not a stick or something..you are not a doggie…” Ess sunk to her knees, smiling when she found that Tala had snuck up on her and was waiting by her side. She wrapped her arms around the wolf’s neck and buried her face in Tala’s soft fur, the act seeming to steady her.
“Luckas, I’ve always wanted to see the ocean” She whispered finally, her words not appearing to be very significant but it was clear by the look in her eye, it was quite important to her. “Have you ever been to the ocean?”

”Be safe, Dastan.”

Dastan smiled as he watched Deidra walk away, a slight frown marking his expression with concern. Dee seemed worried about what she was about to face and because of that, he was also worried for her. Dastan liked Dee, she was interesting and easy to talk to... A bit easier to talk to than he expected as he had told her things he didn’t usually tell women he had just met, it was an interesting change.

“Hey, Shaykh!”

Dastan turned to the small group of mercenaries that had been calling for him, the men looked as though they were plotting something and that immediately caused Dastan to laugh as he walked to join them.

“You’re not pathetic.” Crys smiled. “Well, maybe a little, but... Everyone is pathetic in moments like this. There’s no way around it.” She spoke, reaching for the man’s arm in a comforting gesture. “I just think you need to be careful for your own heart’s sake, Aiden. If she’s really confusing you she probably doesn’t know it. Ess is not cruel like that, she wouldn’t just toy with you, right? In my opinion though... When you love someone, you know. If she loved you the way you’d like her to, she would know.” Crys sighed softly. “I guess I’d just like you to keep in mind that you deserve someone who loves you and knows it, not someone who may or not give you a chance if her stalker goes away.”

Luckas mumbled something under his breath at Ess’ comment on the tea party. “At least I got to wear a cool cape... And not the princess hat.” He added with a snort watching with amusement as Ess set up the firework and handed him the lantern. “I have to say Lady, you do know what I like.” He said playfully, inspecting the explosive with a delighted look in his eyes. “I don’t get... why is this your party though? I mean... Lily said it’s your birthday... but you were born in the winter...” He mumbled, calmly lighting the explosive and standing back a few steps, watching with a confused frown as smoke escaped the device, but it didn’t go off. “Hmmm...” He mumbled, giving a light shrug and turning to face Ess. “No, I’ve never seen the ocean... Never been outside Valcrest... Never had a reason to go that far.”