Solomon's Story

Solomon placed his steps carefully through this patch of forest, such a large heavy frame was difficult at the best of times to keep reasonably quiet, and under current circumstance it was more difficult. Since he was planning on heading towards a settlement of other races he had to walk slightly crouched and hunched to reduce his height and so the cloaks and rag he held over him looked normal.Inside this he wings were curled to his body so they did not get in the way. This disguise basically just made him look like a dark figure moving, but it was common for those with skin conditions to wear similar clothes so it could actually pass off for a person.
Nearing the first signs of civilization he had seen for a while, he stopped at the edge of the forest, allowing his hidden eyes to scan the area, it was still light out, so he could not risk going further into the village. For now though he could easily scout the outskirts, supply stores, main roads, defense position all those things. Part of him though was just to see what advancements had happened, he was behind on how things truly were. He did hate having to work with a guise, but if a fallen, let alone the Warlord just strolled into a village, things could end badly plus he only planned to use it while he scouted.

Dervogilla sat on a mountain top and stared into the icy, snow filled wind. She like the cold sometimes. She couldn't remember true peace, but up here she came as close as she could. The wind caused a comforting white noise effect, canceling out everything else as she closed her eyes. It left her with her thoughts, which always fell back on pain and anger. She turned her head, as if she saw something that disgusted her and turning her head would allow her to look away. She could feel anger rising in her, uncontrollable and crude. She jumped up off the mountain and flew up, up until she could barely breath. Then she barreled back down like she was charging on the mountain and began fighting the stone. Punching, kicking, scratching and breaking the stones and rock until she bled and felt weak. She lay on the rubble panting, wishing she could make everything go away.

Melchisedek was floating on a cloud, humming to herself with a smile on her face. She loved to go down to Earth and talk to the plants and the little animals. Something about the planet just seemed beautiful to her, but to be honest she wasn't really supposed to go down there. Now, though, she's been told she's supposed to. She got so excited. The problem was why. She had to try to save it by helping to bring together the races living on Earth. She'd wanted to see peace for as long as there had been fighting, but she meant for it to be a gradual process. Her smile faded as she thought about the possibility of all that being gone. She stood up and looked over the edge of the cloud. Down there was a Fallen that she had to try to convince to both listen to her and work to save all the Earth races. She let out a sigh and let her body fall.

Dervorgilla felt a strange change in the air. She got up on one knee, looking around her, prepared for a fight. “Who's there? Who's disturbing me?”

Melchisedek flew up behind her. “Gilla, we need to talk. There's a ver..." Dervorgilla had whipped around and pounced on her before she was able to finish talking, her talons sinking into Mel and a frightening screech coming from the base of her throat. Mel spun, with Gilla attached, and got a good gust of wind in her wings, taking off quickly, knocking Gilla off balance.

Gilla let go of Mel and spread her wings. They stared each other down, Gilla looking at Mel's bleeding in her chest and stomach. In the way Mel held herself Gilla knew she was could fight. Mel just hovered for a moment, waiting for Gilla to make her move first. She was more than happy to oblige.

Gilla again charged for Mel, but swooped low as she started to try to dodge, catching Mel's leg and pulling her down. Melchisedek flapped her wings, hoping to get some power behind her and flip Gilla, but the wind was against her at this point. Dervorgilla threw her and slowed to a stop. Mel flipped and spun in the air, tumbling towards hard, mountain rocks. She finally got her balance and blasted off back at Gilla.

Mel pulled a small sword, a weapon she brought just in case. She had hoped just to talk, but she knew if the fighting started she would need something to defend against the deadly talons the Fallen have. She flew past Gilla, "Please! We really..." Gilla screeched at her again and flew towards the mountain tops at full speed. Mel followed in a chase. Gilla knew the mountains well and weaved through the intricate rock formations and caves of the mountain, hoping to scrape off or tire out Mel. She almost succeeded. Mel wasn't used to flying quickly or making quick turns and could barely keep up. But soon, they came to a dead end cave facing each other down again. “Leave me, sister, or I call an army down on you. You're on OUR ground here. Don't think you'll make it out alive.”

Mel panted and stared into Gilla's fierce red eyes. "You know I'm not here to fight." Her calming effect had never really worked on Fallen, but it was her natural instinct to try to use it. "I'm here to ask for your help. And to give you help. There's a big problem back home that y..."

"That's NOT my home! I was born HERE! On THESE mountains, the ones YOU and your people got us BANISHED to!"

"If you don't help, there will be no mountains, no anything. The Ol...” Gilla didn't care. Her anger and rage culminated and she grabbed Mel, her talons dug into her shoulders, and pinned her to the ceiling.

“I don't care what problems you bird-winged fascists have, leave me out of it!” She took her talons out of one of Mel's shoulders and went to slash across her face or throat, but Mel reflexively stabbed Gilla in the gut with her blade. Gilla dropped Mel and flew off. The wound could be lethal if she didn't rest and heal it up. Mel fell to the floor of the cave and coughed. She'd never flown that hard and she hadn't fought in years. None of her wounds were that bad, but they left her weak. She stared at the mouth of the cave, wondering how she would talk Dervorgilla into helping without one of them dying. She let out a high pitched whine as she lay on the cold, damp rock. She shuddered and tried to rest. The pain was intense and she hadn't felt anything like it since the war. She slowly crawled out of the cave, leaving a trail of blood behind her. Right outside the mouth of the cave was a beautiful patch of moss and flowers which comforted her as she began to rest and heal herself.

Dervorgilla had trouble flying because of the wound, dipping and raising in the air as she soared. She tried to scan the terrain but winced at every movement. Finally she saw her goal but passed out from blood loss and pain. She crashed hard into the trees and skidded into the ground right past Solomon and stopping several yards past him.

Chi began pacing the room, attempting to keep track of the minutes, or hours. She checked the window every hour, or so she though, but the sun seemed to stay in the same place. Every time she opened it, she burnt her arms and fingers. She finally just thrust the blinds completely open, and felt the pain of her skin disintegrating. She quickly closed them again and lay down on the bed, waiting for her skin to heal. Just as she layer down, she heard someone approaching the house. She didn't want to open the window again, so she crouched down in the corner, hoping to hide herself in the shadows. A large figure pushed through the door, and closed it behind them. It was covered in rags and was carrying something, or someone in their arms. Chi bit her lip and stood up. As she did, she saw what was in the figure's arms. It looked like a fallen woman. Her black leathery wings were a dead give away, not to mention her red eyes. She backed up a little bit. "What the hell?" She spit out. "What is this? Who are you? Why did you bring a fallen here?" She spewed out the questions with more curiosity in her voice than fright, she was scared however. If she had a heart beat, she knew it would be pounding.

As soon as the sound of something hitting the trees reached Solomon's ears, he turned sharply to see this figure, bounce of the trees, hit the ground and go skidding past him. The first thing that struck him as the figure went past was the wings, it was one of his own kind. He had not time to ponder why one was so far away from the mountains, instead he rushed over and picked up the limp figure and made his way inside a nearby house. Normally he would of stayed outside, but this territory was not his own, and he could not take any chances. Though he picked wrong, for as soon as he heard the voice he pondered should he stayed outside. Paying no heed towards the woman to begin with he brought his comrade through and put her down on the bed. Taking the rags from off himself, he used them to stem the bleeding of the wound, he was no medical expert, but he knew the blood had to be stopped. Turning he locked his blue eyes onto the one who spoke before. " I am one.... who must remain hidden... Ere you speak to others.." he said his low voice echoing from his throat as he moved his large frame towards her, uncurling his wings from around him and letting them sit behind him" i shall silence you" he said thrusting forward with one of his talons aiming straight for Chi's midsection.

Chi watched as Solomon put the woman on the bed. He tended to her wounds, and then turned to Chi. His blue eyes bore into her wide green ones. She blinked a few times as he spoke about staying hidden; then he said he would silence her. Before she could wonder what that meant, he was about to stab her with one of his talons. She moved out of the way, but it still caught her side. She had a large gash across her side and she flinched with the pain. Inwardly she groaned, she had just fed and now it was draining out of her. She shook herself back into reality and ran across the room. If he was as fast as her, she knew she wouldn't be able to get to the door. Chi wasn't going to take her chances because he was intent on killing her. And either way, she wasn't sure she could make it to another building without someone seeing her, and trying to chop off her head. It was a lose-lose situation for her. She had to do something. "Come on.. You don't really want to kill me." It came out as more of a question, rather than a plead. As she backed up, she tripped over James' body, but she caught herself before she fell. Chi nervously bit her lip, and tasted James' blood. Her fangs came out and her pupils turned to slits. She hissed at Solomon, showing him her only weapon. Her nose picked up a heavy scent. It didn't smell sweet like regular blood, but it was still enticing. She scanned the room, and there was nothing that seemed useful. She could try to get to the bed and threaten his friend, but she wasn't sure if the woman would wake up or not. Then it would be two against one. She grabbed her side and winced in pain. She looked down and saw that the tissues were already beginning to heal, and the bleeding lessened, but it was going to take a few hours to fully heal, and only then would the searing pain subside.

Feeling contact with his talons, his face remained expressionless, he had only just caught her, but an injury was an injury nonetheless. As she moved across the room, his eyes never broke their gaze from her. His talons flexed instinctively to stretch and keep prepared. Hearing the question from the woman, his eyes narrowed " The world still needs to believe the fallen are just a myth" he said as he watched Chi almost fall over the body, the hiss displayed towards him seemed to do nothing as he approached her again. Now approaching from more of a distance Chi might of noticed a sword hanging at his waist, another threat to back up the already dangerous man. " One such as yourself should understand the need to remain hidden.... none shall witness a fallen and live to speak of it" he said as with a flap of his wings he sent dust and wind flying at Chi to blind her, as he lunged with a talon out to impale her into a nearby wall.

A shiver ran through Chi's body as he continued to speak. "I didn't believe you were a myth before. The only people I know already think I'm crazy for believing," she said quickly as he approached her. She saw his sword by his side and bit down on her lip hard. She knew that showing her fear wasn't the greatest idea, but right now she just couldn't hold it in. If she had a heart beat, it would be pounding in her throat. "Please," she begged him and stumbled backwards. His wings flapped, and the dust from the floor surrounded her face. She could hear him moving, but she couldn't see a thing. The small girl tried to take a step, but James was in the way. The next thing she knew she was pinned to the wall, with his talon in her gut. She groaned as the pain spread throughout her body. She began to cry as she clawed at his hand. "Please! I'll do anything!" She cried out. Her abdomen muscles were jerking with pain and she was fighting the urge to black out. She could feel his talon inside her, and it only made it worse. Tears streaked down Chi's face, leaving watery dirty trails on her cheeks. Her eyes were cleared and she was able to see Solomon clearly. He was very big compared to her slight body. "I'll do anything," she said again, and began sobbing frantically. "I swear it! Just let me go! I'm dying" She cried out at him. Her voice lowered to a whisper and she fought back the tears. "I swear, I'll do anything you ask."

He paid not attention to Chi's early pleading, he only cared for the fact his claws had connected properly and he now held her against the wall, and her life was in his hand. Now at very close range, he lowered his head down to stare into her eyes his fine grey hair falling to his shoulders, and his battle worn face in front of hers. His frame having no problem holding her in place, and his hand and himself show no signs of distress from the her attempts to move his hand. The pleas showed now sign of effect on his face, but his mind was thinking of the options he had in mind. Gazing square into her eyes to see the pain, and to see the life slowly seep from her eyes. he relented sharply pulling his claws out " You shall have your uses" he said wandering back over to the bed to rip some rag for her, throwing it across. " But i swear..... if you ever betray me..... i will nail you to a tree so you may watch the sun rise" he tone was deadly serious, though he did take some extra rag and threw it towards her " And wipe your face..... the tears are disgraceful" he said glancing between chi and his fellow fallen, planning in his mind how he was going to get everything work.

When his claws came out of her stomach, she bit back a scream and slumped to the floor. She stood up and held her side, hoping the pain would dull soon. He was going to let her live. She closed her eyes and sighed. You shall have your uses. The words echoed in her head as she held her stomach. Uses...? More than once? Always...? The thoughts swished around in her head, but she was shaken from her daze when he tossed her a rag and spoke once more. Betray him? Were they on the same team now? Or was she once again a slave under someone with more power than her? She wasn't thinking about that when she agreed to do anything, but if that were the case, she would rather die than return to slavery. Instead of asking what he planned with her, she wiped her face clean as he told her too. "I won't. You have my word," she said to him, watching as he inspected his fallen friend. She shook off her nerves and walked over to him. She was confident that he wouldn't kill her now, and even though he scared her, she couldn't help but ask him questions. "So," she said, her voice sounding light as a feather, "Why are your eyes blue? And what happened to your friend? Am I allowed to go home, or am I with you all the time? Are we more of partners, or am I just here to answer your beck and call, and do the dirty work? I'm Chi." She looked at him with curious eyes, looking slightly childish, but in an innocent sort of way. She was hardly innocent, but she had the look. She held out a delicate pale, blood covered hand towards his own bloody hand.

Upon receiving her word he stood near the bed his placed his comrade on. He really had to adjust his plans now, the wound was obviously caused by a blade of some sort, but the fact she should of been up in the mountains was what was really bugging him. Hearing the barrage of questions from Chi he turned his gaze slightly towards her. He would only pick out the more relevant questions to answer. " You will live to a degree of normality..... to keep up a facade... but i will give you tasks you must complete... otherwise you know what will happen" he said, keeping up with the threats, even though he hard her word, he did not trust her. Glancing down towards her hand, he blinked slightly then looked back up " Chi... how long till you heal?"

More threats. She was tempted to roll her eyes, but instead she jut nodded. When he didn't take her hand she awkwardly tucked her hair behind her ear. She took in a deep breath and bit her lip. "Hmm.. I'd say a few hours, but now that I have multiple wounds, it will take longer," she said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "I'll be completely healed within the day, considering I just fed, so I have some strength," she said, glancing at the corpse on the ground. "I'll be fine though. I can move fine. The pain is already gone." The last part was a lie. It was still there, especially since she could feel her body knitting itself back together. She fought the urge to itch it. She could ignore the pain though. "I will heal faster if I can feed again, since I lost most of it anyway," she said and looked at the blood covering her, and the blood on the ground. James' blood; completely wasted. She rubbed her eyes, smearing blood across her eyelids and cheeks. "So... what happened to her?" She asked, pointing to the woman.

Listening carefully to how long she suggested, he nodded slightly as he stared of into the middle distance, losing himself in thought for a bit before snapping back to reality " Your first task wont be for a while..... I need to figure things out first" he said glancing down at James’ body before nodding slightly " I may fetch you some prey later..... I need you healed in the shortest amount of time" he said, his voice remaining low, but seemed slightly softer. Focusing his gaze on Gilla he sighed " She obviously was attacked..... Though she seemed to have got some hits back" he said gesturing to the blood on the claws " None of that worries me though.... its the fact she came to find me.... something must be on her mind" he said wandering into the other room, bringing himself a stool to sit down on. Even when seated, he looked an impressive figure. " Get yourself comfortable..... None leaves until I am happy with what knowledge I have."


((Long post, this is a collab between umbra and I. Enjoy!))

Dervogilla began to wake up, not visually stirring. She could hear voices. One sounded familiar, the other feminine. Her body used to heal faster, before her failed attempts at children, but since then she didn't heal as well. She didn't know how bad it was yet, but she felt like she was dying. She heard the female voice, "What happened to her?" The sound was muffled by the static in her head caused by the pain. She didn't remember it being this painful when it first happened. The flight over made her black out but that felt great compared to now. The familiar voice started speaking and she concentrated on listening to him. "its the fact she came to find me.... something must be on her mind." That was...

"So... Solomon." Gilla barely groaned out the words. She looked around, not knowing where she was. She saw Chi and Solomon. "Who...?" She could smell the human blood on the floor, though she couldn't see the body. But she had a good idea of what she was. "Never mind. Sol, we..." She panted and held her breath trying to deal with the pain. Everything was mixing together. She needed to find a way to get herself stitched up and cleaned out or she'd bleed to death or get an infection. Her intestines were cut, though not bad, causing them to leak into the open wound. She could feel that she was bleeding out the back as well, which meant it went all the way through. The only thing she had to be happy about was the blade was so sharp and didn't tear or cause much damage in width. She put her hand over her wound and tenderly started putting the tip of her talon in to feel. She sharply inhaled and winced.

"I need... I need werewolf fur. Girl, I know I don't know who you are and I doubt you know me. And this is a lot to ask, but I NEED this. You need to go, find a werewolf and get the fur." Werewolf fur, when the person is turned, is incredibly strong and makes very good stitches. They lose some of their strength during the day. But when the full moon is out, the stitches lend some of their healing power to the area around them and allow it to heal faster, though not nearly as strong as the healing factor in a turned werewolf. "You have to hurry, if you don't, it will be too..." Gilla passed out. When she woke up, she couldn't tell how much time had passed, but it was still dark. Or dark again...

Gilla saw that Chi was gone put saw Solomon, standing now. Her voice was very quiet, "Solomon, come here. I need to talk to you while we're alone." She swallowed and took a breath. "I don't know what's going on, but I was visited today. One of those big chickens came down and... hu... hu... I don't know what she wanted. She said she needed to talk to me. Maybe I should have just listened, then maybe I wouldn't be bleeding out on... Whatever I'm laying on." She cleared her throat and tried to refocus her eyes, which kept blurring. "But I don't know what she was trying to say to me, we ended up fighting instead of... Instead of talking. But if they're coming down into the mountains a... Into the mountains and talk into th... and talking to us directly then it... Something must be up. I'm not strong enough to find out what's going on. I need you to... Find out what's going on." She touched his arm but then hers fell. She fumbled for a moment and caught his palm. "I'm sorry about what happened. I..." The, Gilla passed out again.

Sitting in his own thoughts, Solomon allowed himself to drift away from reality slightly, only to be dragged back when he heard sounds coming from Gilla. Just about hearing his name he fixed his gaze on her, even to the point when she asked briefly who Chi was, he paid no attention (which turned out good since she did not dwell on it either). " Chi... do as she asks... but don't be rash in collecting the fur... for when you return i have some matters i wish to discuss, or rather more a proposition for you"

When Chi had left upon this errand, Solomon stood staring out the slightly parted curtains, to gaze outside. No lights were lit since the fallen's vision at night was good enough to suffice in most tasks, let alone the simple curious gaze of an old fallen. Hearing Gilla speak once again, he turned his eyes down to her, and did as she asked coming closer to the bed. Listening intently to every word she said his expression never changed, except for a slight narrowing on his gaze when she mentioned the big chickens, which he took instantly to mean the sacred ones. " I shall seek out the one who done this.... i shall discover what message they intend to deliver, and let them hear a message of my own..." he said stopping his speech as he felt his hand clasped " You have no reason to apologize" he spoke, but she had passed out again.

He was confident Chi could find the fur they needed, for his mind was rather working on what the scared one would of done. It was obviously injured, so where would an Injured scared one head to from the mountains, the safest of bets would of been seeking out any nearby fair elves, Lest of course the sacred one decided to go it alone. A debate now raged in Solomon's mind, the prospect of him using his own presence