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esp_dragonFandom: Original
Summary:
The world of Torpin is open, dragging in Others from different worlds. The majority of them are monsters, prone to violence. There are some, however, that are not, and are able to live amongst the human population, if allowed to. Marland should know; he's one of them. His job is to hunt and stop the Others that seek only to destroy what's around them. On one job, a human Other drops through a portal, an event which Marland has never heard of happening before. And that's not the only thing different about the human...
Rating: M
Notes: Contains swearing.
Any questions or clarifications, just ask. (Unless it’s, you know, plot-related. XD)
As for the italics thing, I'm going for if the word's in caps, then chances are, it's supposed to be in italics. Similarly, if there's words encompassed by -' '- , then whatever's in between them should be italicised.
Genre: Urban fantasy
Word count: 1,874
Total word count: 35,538
Status: Work in Progress
He looked at Shodin doubtfully, ears at half-mast. "If you're sure..." It WAS Shodin's own body and life, so it was his decision to make if he wanted it. But... Puzz could also be getting affected by it - but they couldn't exactly ask him, and even if they were able to somehow, Marland doubted that they'd get a good answer from him. That could have been him assuming though. It wasn't like he'd talked with Puzz enough to know if he was the same as Shodin in terms of unpredictability.
His ears twitched. Okay, that wasn't true: the very first time they'd met, Puzz had been pleased that he wasn't human, and he pushed for Marland to trust Shodin the next time, both of which were things that Marland wasn't exactly accustomed to hearing. The time after that, Puzz had been panicking and had thought that Shodin knew him. Wasn't exactly unpredictable for Marland, but maybe unexpected?
Shodin nodded again, then glanced around. "Do you think I should be standing, or should I stay sitting?"
Marland's ears flattened. "Sitting," he said immediately. He didn't want to have Shodin falling on top of him again.
Nodding, Shodin pushed his chair back so that it was facing Marland and then leaned back on it. He took a few breaths, closing his eyes at the same time. After a pretty big one, Shodin opened his eyes again, smiled at Marland and lifted his right hand, palm up. Marland watched as his palm began to glow softly, keeping an eye on Shodin at the same time. It seemed like it was going even slower this time, the brightness taking longer to appear.
Even then, it was still affecting Shodin. His eyes were shut, in concentration, and maybe something else, his eyebrows drawing in, his lips pursing as Marland watched. Maybe it WAS just in concentration, but then Shodin's breathing changed subtly, stuttering a little bit, getting quicker. His eyebrows drew in even more, making him look like he was in pain and his fingers twitched, the glow beginning to flicker like a candle in the wind. Marland wondered if he should stop him before it got farther. It would stop the panic, but he wasn't sure if Shodin would want him to do that. He tried to think of the reasons WHY, and failed pretty badly, and then just continued watching him, ears folding back after every second. He couldn't predict what Shodin would say or do, and even if he tried to think in the opposite way of his own normal thinking, it would still be completely wrong from what Shodin would think.
Shodin swallowed, his teeth gritting, breathing growing harsh, his fingers twitching even more. He took a few more deep breaths, but that didn't seem to do anything. Marland could barely see the glow now, it was flickering so much. It had also dimmed to the point where it was barely distinguishable from the lighting in the room.
Suddenly, Shodin choked, and clenched his hand, the glow disappearing like it had last time. His hand instantly went to clutch at the fabric over his heart and he hunched over in the chair, breathing rough and uneven. He swayed in the chair, and ended up leaning to the side, braced on the table. He was shaking before then, not as bad as before, but that really, really didn't mean much. It was more constant though, and seemed to last for longer. So it didn't really matter what the difference was in how much he shook.
"Huh," Shodin wheezed, sounding like he was trying to keep his tone light. It didn't work - his breathing was still uneven, and it just sounded like he'd coughed instead. He looked up at him, smile shaky, but still there. "I'm not quite sure if that was more successful than before."
Marland thought that it might have been. He was talking afterwards faster, but maybe that just because he wasn't trying to hide how much he'd been affected by it. Or maybe Shodin knew better what to expect, so he was hiding it better. Marland regarded him closely. He was sweating, most of it beaded around his forehead. The shaking was still present, but it looked like it had faded a little bit, was beginning to calm down. His face had cleared up, so that his eyebrows were no longer scrunched so close together, his mouth also relaxed. He DID look better than last time. Still, that was only what Marland could see - what Shodin FELT could be completely different to what he looked like currently.
"What do you think?"
Marland shrugged with his wings, the ruffling of them loud in the room. "You recovered faster." Because that was all he could really say.
Shodin hummed, using his other hand to brush his fingers through his hair. Or would have, if it hadn't been tied back. He looked startled for a second, eyes widening, then laughed. It was more of a chuckle, and had a breathless edge to it, but it was still louder than his usual chuckles. He tried to do it again, mouth quirking, his fingers only able to comb and to move the hair, but not actually able to make it come out of the hairband. He then flicked at the tail.
"I'm going to have to get used to that," he mused , flicking the tail again. "Or I'll just form another habit." With a sigh, Shodin straightened up in the chair, right hand moving over to rub at his shoulder. There were goosebumps on his arms.
Shodin was... avoiding the issue? Or at least, changing the topic. Which was the same thing.
He was quiet for a while, hand slowly moving up and down his shoulder, not looking at Marland, but the shaking was eventually calming down more, and his breathing was also steadying. Shodin took a deep breath, closing his eyes briefly, before opening them again, looking at Marland.
"I do think that trying to do it slowly helped." He frowned slowly, eyes to the ground. "I couldn't really tell, but the panicked feeling was also gradual to build up, and when it did hit me, it wasn't as hard as last time." He shook his head, hand already raised to brush his hair away from his face. He got about half-way there, before his hand stopped, and he chuckled again. "Hmm, I didn't realise I had that many habits concerning my hair."
The buzzer rang, and Marland glanced at it, head cocked. It had only been, what, a day since Pai had left? She wouldn't have come back already, not unless she was really worried about something. Padding over to it, he lifted the receiver.
"Yeah?"
There wasn't an answer. He waited a couple of seconds, just in case they took a while to respond, but Pai would have answered by now.
"Hey, is 'zis Joris?"
Marland's ears flicked. The voice was male, slurred, and a little faint. Great. "No." He hung up.
A few seconds later, the buzzer rang again, long and unbroken. It echoed in his head, feeling like it was hitting him directly in the ears. Eyes narrowed, Marland switched the intercom off. The buzzer died, and he sighed at the silence.
"So that wasn't Paizinel, then?"
Marland shook his head as he walked back over. "No." The colour was coming back to Shodin, and he seemed more relaxed as well. Good for him. Marland felt like he was going to a mild headache for an hour. He'd still be able to function, easily, but he'd rather not have to deal with the distraction or the annoyance of it.
He looked at Shodin closely, seeing the slight disappointment in the drooped shoulders and his smile dimming a notch. Marland really hoped the two WOULDN'T be able to spend that much time together, because he really wouldn't want to see the results of their conversations. Especially if it involved him. Of course, if he knew Paizinel, she would probably come over as soon as she felt comfortable again, just to talk with Shodin, and to see how else Shodin had affected him. And be far too gleeful about the entire thing. She'd also be interested in Shodin trying to relearn (maybe? He might have been picking it up from Puzz or something) magic.
"You thinking about doing it again?"
Shodin hummed, fingers tapping on the table. "No, I don't think so," he said eventually. "I think twice is enough so far, and I should probably rest in between each one." He smiled at Marland. "If I continue practicing too much, I may end up reinforcing my fear, by associating the fear with the magic."
It made sense, but wasn't he kinda doing that already? Every time he used magic, he freaked out. But if he did it bit by bit, and slowly enough that it was a gradual change, rather than a sudden one, maybe that was what would make the difference. Maybe. Marland hadn't tried to get over his own fears or associations, because they were there for a good reason, and they weren't unfounded, so he wouldn't really know about how you stopped yourself from reacting like that.
The conversation was interrupted by yawns. Marland wasn't entirely sure who started it, but by the end of it, they were both yawning as wide as their mouths could let them.
"I guess that's our sign that we should get to bed?" Shodin quirked a smile at him, running a hand over his head.
How long had they been awake for? It hadn't been THAT long, but the fight wouldn't have helped, and they were still healing, Marland more so than Shodin. Then again, Shodin was probably exhausted physically and emotionally from attempting to just do magic, and who knew what the cost was just for doing that alone as well.
He grunted, nodding. Together, they slipped off to their bedrooms, Shodin going to switch off the light first. Wing extended over his head, Marland fell asleep straight away.
* * *
Marland twitched, breath stilling, ears flicking back and forth and then pinpointing towards the door.
What…?
Slowly, the door creaked open. What had woken Marland up was the turning of the handle. He readied his hands, claws coming out, and prepared himself to spring.
The intruder didn't take a step in to the room right away, pausing at the threshold. Marland could hear them breathing, but it was even, quiet. The person then dropped lightly on to all fours and padded in to the room, sitting down with a huff just where the door ended.
Marland cracked open an eye, wing shifting slightly so he could see through the crack. It was Shodin sitting there, head cocked to the side, eyes wide open, face expressionless.
Oh HELL no. It was Puzz. Why was he…? Marland just wanted to ignore him, pretend he was still asleep (and he should be – there was some light coming in through the window), except Puzz seemed to know he was awake.
Puzz came over and after a second's deliberation, jumped up on the bed and sat down next to him.
What. The fuck.
Summary:
The world of Torpin is open, dragging in Others from different worlds. The majority of them are monsters, prone to violence. There are some, however, that are not, and are able to live amongst the human population, if allowed to. Marland should know; he's one of them. His job is to hunt and stop the Others that seek only to destroy what's around them. On one job, a human Other drops through a portal, an event which Marland has never heard of happening before. And that's not the only thing different about the human...
Rating: M
Notes: Contains swearing.
Any questions or clarifications, just ask. (Unless it’s, you know, plot-related. XD)
As for the italics thing, I'm going for if the word's in caps, then chances are, it's supposed to be in italics. Similarly, if there's words encompassed by -' '- , then whatever's in between them should be italicised.
Genre: Urban fantasy
Word count: 1,874
Total word count: 35,538
Status: Work in Progress
He looked at Shodin doubtfully, ears at half-mast. "If you're sure..." It WAS Shodin's own body and life, so it was his decision to make if he wanted it. But... Puzz could also be getting affected by it - but they couldn't exactly ask him, and even if they were able to somehow, Marland doubted that they'd get a good answer from him. That could have been him assuming though. It wasn't like he'd talked with Puzz enough to know if he was the same as Shodin in terms of unpredictability.
His ears twitched. Okay, that wasn't true: the very first time they'd met, Puzz had been pleased that he wasn't human, and he pushed for Marland to trust Shodin the next time, both of which were things that Marland wasn't exactly accustomed to hearing. The time after that, Puzz had been panicking and had thought that Shodin knew him. Wasn't exactly unpredictable for Marland, but maybe unexpected?
Shodin nodded again, then glanced around. "Do you think I should be standing, or should I stay sitting?"
Marland's ears flattened. "Sitting," he said immediately. He didn't want to have Shodin falling on top of him again.
Nodding, Shodin pushed his chair back so that it was facing Marland and then leaned back on it. He took a few breaths, closing his eyes at the same time. After a pretty big one, Shodin opened his eyes again, smiled at Marland and lifted his right hand, palm up. Marland watched as his palm began to glow softly, keeping an eye on Shodin at the same time. It seemed like it was going even slower this time, the brightness taking longer to appear.
Even then, it was still affecting Shodin. His eyes were shut, in concentration, and maybe something else, his eyebrows drawing in, his lips pursing as Marland watched. Maybe it WAS just in concentration, but then Shodin's breathing changed subtly, stuttering a little bit, getting quicker. His eyebrows drew in even more, making him look like he was in pain and his fingers twitched, the glow beginning to flicker like a candle in the wind. Marland wondered if he should stop him before it got farther. It would stop the panic, but he wasn't sure if Shodin would want him to do that. He tried to think of the reasons WHY, and failed pretty badly, and then just continued watching him, ears folding back after every second. He couldn't predict what Shodin would say or do, and even if he tried to think in the opposite way of his own normal thinking, it would still be completely wrong from what Shodin would think.
Shodin swallowed, his teeth gritting, breathing growing harsh, his fingers twitching even more. He took a few more deep breaths, but that didn't seem to do anything. Marland could barely see the glow now, it was flickering so much. It had also dimmed to the point where it was barely distinguishable from the lighting in the room.
Suddenly, Shodin choked, and clenched his hand, the glow disappearing like it had last time. His hand instantly went to clutch at the fabric over his heart and he hunched over in the chair, breathing rough and uneven. He swayed in the chair, and ended up leaning to the side, braced on the table. He was shaking before then, not as bad as before, but that really, really didn't mean much. It was more constant though, and seemed to last for longer. So it didn't really matter what the difference was in how much he shook.
"Huh," Shodin wheezed, sounding like he was trying to keep his tone light. It didn't work - his breathing was still uneven, and it just sounded like he'd coughed instead. He looked up at him, smile shaky, but still there. "I'm not quite sure if that was more successful than before."
Marland thought that it might have been. He was talking afterwards faster, but maybe that just because he wasn't trying to hide how much he'd been affected by it. Or maybe Shodin knew better what to expect, so he was hiding it better. Marland regarded him closely. He was sweating, most of it beaded around his forehead. The shaking was still present, but it looked like it had faded a little bit, was beginning to calm down. His face had cleared up, so that his eyebrows were no longer scrunched so close together, his mouth also relaxed. He DID look better than last time. Still, that was only what Marland could see - what Shodin FELT could be completely different to what he looked like currently.
"What do you think?"
Marland shrugged with his wings, the ruffling of them loud in the room. "You recovered faster." Because that was all he could really say.
Shodin hummed, using his other hand to brush his fingers through his hair. Or would have, if it hadn't been tied back. He looked startled for a second, eyes widening, then laughed. It was more of a chuckle, and had a breathless edge to it, but it was still louder than his usual chuckles. He tried to do it again, mouth quirking, his fingers only able to comb and to move the hair, but not actually able to make it come out of the hairband. He then flicked at the tail.
"I'm going to have to get used to that," he mused , flicking the tail again. "Or I'll just form another habit." With a sigh, Shodin straightened up in the chair, right hand moving over to rub at his shoulder. There were goosebumps on his arms.
Shodin was... avoiding the issue? Or at least, changing the topic. Which was the same thing.
He was quiet for a while, hand slowly moving up and down his shoulder, not looking at Marland, but the shaking was eventually calming down more, and his breathing was also steadying. Shodin took a deep breath, closing his eyes briefly, before opening them again, looking at Marland.
"I do think that trying to do it slowly helped." He frowned slowly, eyes to the ground. "I couldn't really tell, but the panicked feeling was also gradual to build up, and when it did hit me, it wasn't as hard as last time." He shook his head, hand already raised to brush his hair away from his face. He got about half-way there, before his hand stopped, and he chuckled again. "Hmm, I didn't realise I had that many habits concerning my hair."
The buzzer rang, and Marland glanced at it, head cocked. It had only been, what, a day since Pai had left? She wouldn't have come back already, not unless she was really worried about something. Padding over to it, he lifted the receiver.
"Yeah?"
There wasn't an answer. He waited a couple of seconds, just in case they took a while to respond, but Pai would have answered by now.
"Hey, is 'zis Joris?"
Marland's ears flicked. The voice was male, slurred, and a little faint. Great. "No." He hung up.
A few seconds later, the buzzer rang again, long and unbroken. It echoed in his head, feeling like it was hitting him directly in the ears. Eyes narrowed, Marland switched the intercom off. The buzzer died, and he sighed at the silence.
"So that wasn't Paizinel, then?"
Marland shook his head as he walked back over. "No." The colour was coming back to Shodin, and he seemed more relaxed as well. Good for him. Marland felt like he was going to a mild headache for an hour. He'd still be able to function, easily, but he'd rather not have to deal with the distraction or the annoyance of it.
He looked at Shodin closely, seeing the slight disappointment in the drooped shoulders and his smile dimming a notch. Marland really hoped the two WOULDN'T be able to spend that much time together, because he really wouldn't want to see the results of their conversations. Especially if it involved him. Of course, if he knew Paizinel, she would probably come over as soon as she felt comfortable again, just to talk with Shodin, and to see how else Shodin had affected him. And be far too gleeful about the entire thing. She'd also be interested in Shodin trying to relearn (maybe? He might have been picking it up from Puzz or something) magic.
"You thinking about doing it again?"
Shodin hummed, fingers tapping on the table. "No, I don't think so," he said eventually. "I think twice is enough so far, and I should probably rest in between each one." He smiled at Marland. "If I continue practicing too much, I may end up reinforcing my fear, by associating the fear with the magic."
It made sense, but wasn't he kinda doing that already? Every time he used magic, he freaked out. But if he did it bit by bit, and slowly enough that it was a gradual change, rather than a sudden one, maybe that was what would make the difference. Maybe. Marland hadn't tried to get over his own fears or associations, because they were there for a good reason, and they weren't unfounded, so he wouldn't really know about how you stopped yourself from reacting like that.
The conversation was interrupted by yawns. Marland wasn't entirely sure who started it, but by the end of it, they were both yawning as wide as their mouths could let them.
"I guess that's our sign that we should get to bed?" Shodin quirked a smile at him, running a hand over his head.
How long had they been awake for? It hadn't been THAT long, but the fight wouldn't have helped, and they were still healing, Marland more so than Shodin. Then again, Shodin was probably exhausted physically and emotionally from attempting to just do magic, and who knew what the cost was just for doing that alone as well.
He grunted, nodding. Together, they slipped off to their bedrooms, Shodin going to switch off the light first. Wing extended over his head, Marland fell asleep straight away.
* * *
Marland twitched, breath stilling, ears flicking back and forth and then pinpointing towards the door.
What…?
Slowly, the door creaked open. What had woken Marland up was the turning of the handle. He readied his hands, claws coming out, and prepared himself to spring.
The intruder didn't take a step in to the room right away, pausing at the threshold. Marland could hear them breathing, but it was even, quiet. The person then dropped lightly on to all fours and padded in to the room, sitting down with a huff just where the door ended.
Marland cracked open an eye, wing shifting slightly so he could see through the crack. It was Shodin sitting there, head cocked to the side, eyes wide open, face expressionless.
Oh HELL no. It was Puzz. Why was he…? Marland just wanted to ignore him, pretend he was still asleep (and he should be – there was some light coming in through the window), except Puzz seemed to know he was awake.
Puzz came over and after a second's deliberation, jumped up on the bed and sat down next to him.
What. The fuck.
no subject
Date: Nov. 19th, 2010 11:43 am (UTC)More Puzz and Marland interaction would be so much fun. :DDD Or well, not fun for Marland, but it would be so fun to seeee. EEeeee.
Puzz is fairly strange since...
1. relieved that Marland wasn't human
2. relieved that Marland used magic
3. wanted Marland to trust Shodin and vice versa.
What does Puzz know that Shodin doesn't? Hm~
even if he tried to think in the opposite way of his own normal thinking, it would still be completely wrong from what Shodin would think.
Haha. XD; That would be Marland overthinking things. :')
His hand instantly went to clutch at the fabric over his heart
D:
"You recovered faster." Because that was all he could really say.
Yeah...that didn't look very good. ): But I bet he's going to try it again sooner or later.
Shodin hummed, using his other hand to brush his fingers through his hair. Or would have, if it hadn't been tied back. He looked startled for a second, eyes widening, then laughed. It was more of a chuckle, and had a breathless edge to it, but it was still louder than his usual chuckles. He tried to do it again, mouth quirking, his fingers only able to comb and to move the hair, but not actually able to make it come out of the hairband. He then flicked at the tail.
Okay, this entire paragraph was cute. =P But noo, don't avoid the issue, Shodin!
Ehhhh, whose at the door? A drunk? T___T;
Marland really hoped the two WOULDN'T be able to spend that much time together, because he really wouldn't want to see the results of their conversations.
Noooo Marland! I want to see them talk more. XD
Marland hadn't tried to get over his own fears or associations, because they were there for a good reason, and they weren't unfounded
I suppose some fears are good. ):
Wing extended over his head, Marland fell asleep straight away.
Nice sleeping position. XD
Ahahahahahaha, sorry, laughing at the ending there. Poor Marland! And this doesn't help me not ship them, hahahaha.
no subject
Date: Nov. 19th, 2010 09:04 pm (UTC)Not telling~ :D (XD;; Sorry~)
Possibly, but he's tried to predict what Shodin would do, and that didn't work, so now he has to try and predict what Shodin would do outside of what other, normal people would do. ... Yeah, he's not going to do this very well. XDD
"But I bet he's going to try it again sooner or later."
XDD Yeeeah, this is Shodin we're talking about. Overly curious and really, really stubborn.
-____- Yep, it was a drunk.
X3 I knoooow. I was very gleeful when I put this in. :D
*grins*
no subject
Date: Nov. 20th, 2010 08:32 am (UTC)torturingpoking characters and pushing their limits. XD; I find that I'm a lot more liberal with my own characters and will push their limits (and will do it gleefully). XD;=P
Hahaha, see, Marland is thinking way too much! Just...stop trying to think ahead, and I think he'd be fine. XD
Yeah, that sounds like one stubborn streak right there!
I was afraid it'd be someone after them, but thankfully not?
Heee. <3
=P
no subject
Date: Nov. 22nd, 2010 08:32 am (UTC)But - but then he'll get all confused again! XDD I think he's currently just 'going with the flow' now with Shodin. Have
nolittle expectations of what Shodin'll do, and then just go through with whatever he says - less of a headache that way. Unless it's obviously, something he doesn't want to do.