tɦɛ iɳquiรitѳʀ (freemarched) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-06-30 11:01:00 |
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Nasir hadn’t slept that well in a long time - no Dreams, no nightmares, and wrapped up in Max’s arms. No better way to wake up, in his opinion. For once he was the first to wake up, a rare occurrence but one he was happy to take advantage of. Go get breakfast to surprise Max with, they’d have a nice morning together and then head off to go about their days. Sounded fantastic to him. So a quick shower, throw on some clean clothes, and out the door. There were burritos calling their names. But...something felt off. Nasir couldn’t identify what it was exactly but it set his teeth on edge. He clenched his jaw and planned on carrying on and ignoring it - maybe last night wasn’t quite as dreamless as he thought and some leftover emotions were just hanging around. But then something moved, catching Nasir’s eye but gone too fast for him to see. The tooth-grinding feeling intensified. ...Maybe he should investigate. But no way was he going without protection. Nasir turned around and headed back to his apartment, hoping to be quiet. It was probably nothing, just his latent paranoia popping up again, nothing that Max needed to worry about. Just a quick check to make sure everything was okay. He eased the front door open and tip-toed into the bedroom for his spear. Something was definitely off. Max felt it as soon as those coffee-colored eyes snapped open. He’d gone to sleep warm and content, because he’d lucked out with a boyfriend who didn’t mind being cuddled to death - but that was all shattered into a thousand pieces on the ground, something breakable that slipped from his grasp. He rolled over in bed with a gasp, arm reaching for Nasir - he wasn’t there, but that wasn’t what worried Max. What worried him was when he splayed his fingers on the pillow, and flipped his palm over, what he saw was green. An ominous cloud, what looked like mist and felt like he’d stuck his hand into dry ice, that swirl of magic. Nasir appeared in the doorway then, and Max jumped out of bed - at least he was wearing actual clothes sort of, even if it was just a t-shirt and soft sweatpants. “There’s a Breach - a rift, there’s a rift,” he stammered, his fingers flexing - the mist continued to swirl, the connection to the Fade crackling and pulsating dangerously. “I need...outside, now.” After the danger was taken care of, he’d think about what all this meant - he would be able to maybe process that his worst nightmare had come true. Nasir was pulled up short to find Max awake - well there went that plan, dammit - but his panic was definitely even more concerning. Nasir wasn’t quite sure what to even do with that, so he just nodded, retrieved his spear like he planned on doing, and said, “Let’s go,” taking Max by the elbow and leading him outside. The sudden appearance of the weird scary green mist in his hand was extremely disconcerting, but they could deal with that later. It was only after a few steps that the words even registered. “Wait, a rift? Like a rift like - demons?” Fucking hell. Nasir tightened his hand around his spear (mostly to hide the sweat that had sprung up on his palms, and all over, the cold prickling sweat of fear). Okay. They could do this. “What do we do?” “Here, take these.” Max had managed to grab the supply of potions he made for Nasir - the cork in the skull and crossbones bottle, Tears of the Dead, was popped out and he quickly poured the tonic all on the spear. A couple of regeneration potions were offered as well, the bottles tucked into Nasir’s pockets. “The tonic will only last you for three hits, so make them count.” Because he knew - Like it was on cue, the sounds of screaming could be heard, and a stampede of parents scooping up little people, running from the direction of the complex’s pool. It was somewhat early, but it was also summer - kids were off school, they were eager to get their swim time in beneath the warm rays of the sun. “The rift’s in the pool,” Max realized with a groan, and the appearance of the demons being shat out seemed to have confirmed. These demons watch. They lurk. They envy. The Shades rose up from the ground, water in the pool rippling and glowing like it was radioactive. The earth shook, the mark on Max’s palm beginning to charge and crackle - less of a mist, more of a live wire. “I have to close it but the water has to be drained first,” he added, since he didn’t particularly want to drown down there. “Whatever you can do to drain the water, do that.” It would involve fighting through demons but that was something he knew someone like Nasir could handle. Nasir nodded, accepting the potions and his spear back. “Three hits. Got it.” He had no clue how he was going to do that but he’d figure it out. Make it work. He’d fought his own demons enough, this should be easy, or whatever. Poetry and deep thinking could wait. Nasir cursed, pushing against his neighbors as they ran, panicked and screaming. Thankfully there weren’t as many as there could have been, later in the day, and none of them seemed injured. Small mercies. “Of course it is. It’s summer. Demons are all about having a good time.” Fan-fucking-tastic. The appearance of the Shades made him jump, heart starting to race, but adrenaline quickly following it. Okay, he could do this. Just, drain the pool. Should be simple. Right. Probably start with the pool equipment or something. Just have to get over there. He had three hits and then...well he’d figure it out from there. Gripping his spear and squeezing Max’s shoulder with what he hoped was a reassuring smile, he headed off to the maintenance closet where he was pretty sure the pool equipment was kept. A demon rushed at him and thankfully Nasir had gotten enough practice in that he reacted automatically, stabbing it in it’s...stomach? Whatever, it went down and he didn’t have to deal with it anymore. Most of them were staying close to the pool so he was able to slip away, although leaving Max alone was kind of painful. But he dealt with these things on the regular in his dreams, so he could handle it. Hopefully. He hurried down the hallway with the maintenance closet, and found one labelled ‘pool equipment.’ It was locked, because of course it was, but thankfully the door was cheap and the lock even cheaper, and Nasir had the kind of strength and lack of awareness of pain that came from blind terror, so it only took a little bit of desperately ramming it with his shoulder to get it to break enough for him to get in. Hopefully the super wouldn’t be too pissed considering demons in the fucking pool. Faced with the machines, Nasir froze for a minute, assessing and sure, panicking a little. But his eyes locked on something called ‘main drain’ and he latched onto that, because that sounded about right. And then he just turned everything, haphazard, until water began to gurgle through the pipes. Hopefully that meant draining. God he hoped that meant draining. Max didn’t have his staff with him, but the energy that crackled and pulsed was charging there on the palm of his hand - the ball of what looked like electricity grew and grew, gathering, gaining momentum. The Shades were coming and they were hungry - mostly for a mind fuck or two, but Trevelyan was already on his way to where the rift was. Closer and closer, continuing to charge the fucking green battery - Then he let it rip, both hands extended, arms slammed down. Another smaller rift opened, just one that acted as a vacuum, sucking in demons as they made these sounds - it was a fucking mess over here, a glowing green mess, and then right as Max’s retinas were beginning to burn, the mini-tear closed and had taken a pocket of demons with it. Except more would come out in another wave, when he tried to close the original rift - good news though? The pool had drained. “Nasir,” he called, hoping he’d return to have his partner’s back - but Max knew he would, there was no question. Okay, good, if Max was calling for him and not, y’know, screaming in terror or pain associated with being torn apart by demons, that was probably a good sign. Nasir legged it back down the hallway just in case, skidding a little on the wet cement as he rounded the corner. He heaved a sigh of relief at seeing a pleasantly demon-free if ominously glowing scene, and Max safe and sound. Probably. There was still a lot of electric crackles going on but the lack of demons was comforting. Nasir all but bounded over him but stopped just short of actually touching him. Affection could wait until the demon-spewing tear in reality could be dealt with. “You’re okay?” he asked, because that was an important question here. Okay was probably relatively speaking but hey, he’d take ‘relatively okay’ over ‘not at all okay’. Definite preferential here. “I’m fine,” he promised, hands coming up to cradle Nasir’s face - well, just one hand, the right, the one that wasn’t currently causing verdant mayhem. And Max kissed his forehead, his cheeks, then his lips - just once, but he made that one linger. A long kiss, like he was going off to war - in a way, he sort of way. “I’ll close the rift in the pool now that the water’s drained, but a wave of demons will pop out so be ready.” Then he stepped back a little, calling upon Spirit magic - usually his staff was the weapon of choice to channel that magic, but ultimately Max knew he was the true conduit, he didn’t always need a physical object. The feel of power spiraling through him, pinballing through neurons, caused him to close his eyes for a moment to focus again as he used his hands, for the gesture - a flex of fingers - and cast a barrier spell and covered Nasir; it would decay, wouldn’t last forever, but it was just an extra bit of protection. Down the ladder he went, into the bone dry pool, and he could see the rift there, an ominous mouth with teeth. The opening felt both simultaneously hot and cold, and through slitted eyes, he watched and held out his left palm. With an oomph he was jerked forward a bit, the connection between the mark and the rift solidifying, and he dug his heels in to hold fast. Right as the next wave of demons did, as promised, emerge. Nasir gave him a small smile. Okay. They were okay. Good. Everything was going great so far. Excellent. He accepted the kiss, clinging to Max’s shirt a little because - okay. He was a little afraid. He could admit it, to himself. But he needed to be strong because they were gonna have to fight demons and he didn’t need Max worrying about him freaking out. That could come later when he was by himself. Yup. That was a plan. He let Max step back, and followed him down into the pool, guarding the steps at the shallow end so nothing could escape and get out and cause havoc somewhere. Two more hits left on his spear. Hopefully he wouldn’t need more than that. Just had to be smart about his strategy. Don’t freak out, don’t flail wildly. Just pretend they’re Roman legions, he’d fought plenty of those in his dreams, it’d be a cakewalk. Yup. He wasn’t sure why he was surprised by the number of demons that popped out but he was a little more concerned about Max, keeping an eye on him even as the demons came rushing out. He braced himself, muscles clenching in anticipation. The regen potions were heavy in his pocket - there was a good chance he’d need one before this was over, but damned if he was going to let any of this shit get out to attack anyone else. Demons, he could handle. Someone else - he thought of V, and of his neighbors, and even of his parents - couldn’t. And that was important. Normally, Nasir would have more backup - at least, the Inquisition did. When they traveled all over southern Thedas to close rifts. They had more people, more potions slotted into compartments on their belt, more weapons, more strategy - but Max only had time to grab what he did, and then the game was on. He knew this was coming, and he should have prepared more - should have done something. Maybe whisked Nasir away from all this, or spared him the trauma of being in a relationship with someone who carried the burdens the Inquisitor did. The Tears of the Dead tonic would ensure that the demons would go down immediately, but when the potion expired it would just be the spear on its own. The protections Nasir had would be enough to keep him from harm though - Max had to believe that. He was jerked forward again, muscles of his arm flexing, every bit of him fighting the pull toward the rift - because he had to not waver, or wobble. “Be careful!” he yelled over the din of this mini-battle. “They’ll try to get into your head.” It’s what Shades did - they twisted the mind of their victims, and would literally suck your soul. Nasir - or, well, his dream counterpart - had experience with being at a disadvantage, numbers-wise. The gladiators swelled in numbers almost every day, liberated slaves joining their ranks and more and more learning to fight, but still, they were up against the Roman legions. So a part of him theoretically knew what to do when outnumbered. Hopefully that would apply. Max’s warning came just a tad too late, as one of the Shades caught onto him, drifting towards him with purpose. His muscles suddenly felt weakened, knees almost buckling under just his own weight, and something whispered in his ear: the familiar voice of his former master, murmuring so sweetly that he would never fully escape from him, that he would always be trapped and scared, and that it would just be so much easier to go back to his old life and live as a slave, not having to think or work or do anything more complicated than get on his knees, because that was all he was good for. Nasir grit his teeth, squeezing his hands around his spear. Not real, he told himself. It’s not real. Just ignore it. It’s trying to get to you. Knowing that didn’t make it easier, but as the Shade loomed up on him, impossible and terrifying, his instincts took over. His body knew what to do, at least, and even as the voice whispered to him that he would never be loved, that it was impossible, that he was too broken, he slashed out with the spear and the Shade disappeared, as did the weakness and that fucking voice in his head. But there wasn’t time to rest, or recover, or even think about anything other than ‘one hit left’. Make it count indeed. But now that he knew what to expect from these things, it would hopefully keep him a little safer. Hopefully. Trevelyan wanted to help more but closing the rift was taking all of his energy - everything in the vicinity of his hand was literally giving off green sparks, like fireworks for the 4th of July, and he dug his heels in some more. He focused. Eventually it grew smaller and smaller, beginning to close even as much as something from ‘the beyond’ seemed to resist - until it was done, it was gone. The Inquisitor was forced back a little, stumbling, the last bit of magic zipping up and down his arm, engulfing his hand, before it shorted out. And he sank to his knees, a little overwhelmed, his arm and fingers twitching from the strain. “Nasir!?” He looked up, hoping his boyfriend was fine - and not covered in demon guts. Or, well, as long as he was alive - Max would take him covered in demon guts at this point, let’s be honest. Nasir had been trying to pay attention to Max, to make sure he was okay, but he’d gotten slightly distracted by dealing with demons. If he never had to do this again it would be too soon, definitely. The nastier parts of the supernatural could just leave him alone for the rest of time. The more pleasant parts, like his boyfriend, they could stay. Nasir landed the final hit on a Shade - the Tears of the Dead had worn off long ago, and the Shades were still trying to weaken him (he was too stubborn to admit that it was kind of working), and he just had to get this-last-fucking-one- There. Dead. And he was only slightly worse for wear. He was down at least one of the regen potions and he was covered in something gross that he was happier not thinking about, but he was okay. Relatively speaking. He’d have to deal with some of the things the Shades had put into his head later, but for now, he could pretend to be fine. He looked up as Max called for him, stumbling over to him and pulling him into a hug. If he subtly felt him over for anything out of place, well, he was allowed and could totally pass it off as post-victory groping. “That fucking sucked,” he said into Max’s shoulder. “Why couldn’t it have been dragons?” “If it was a dragon, we’d be dead,” Max quipped, as macabre as it sounded it was also true. Two against one dragon wasn’t good odds - they’d had enough problems with a whole party fighting dragons. But he gladly returned the hug, now that his arm wasn’t trying to kill him, getting to his feet while still clinging to Nasir. They only had a few moments here, ‘resting,’ because there were more, Max knew that - more rifts, and one big Breach. That he would have to close, all on his own - calling on his friends for backup, because now was the time. They would have to work together, if they wanted to save their home. It was the Inquisition all over again, just with new players. Both hands were free to frame Nasir’s face now, the left one with the mark dormant and giving him a brief respite. But Trevelyan’s dark eyes burned into his boyfriend’s face, so intensely they were nearly bleeding red, orange, yellow - the colors of the sunset - from the pupils. “I love you,” he said, and he was sure. Really sure. Sometimes love didn’t blossom from sweet cupcakes and flowers - sometimes it came from dark places, from seeing the other’s worst and knowing the worst of what the other had been through. Max wouldn’t have called anything about this easy - but it was overcoming obstacles, and choosing to be happy after so much strife. “Wouldn’t have gotten into my fucking head,” Nasir grumbled. “Unless dragons are fucking telepaths or whatever now.” He let himself be clung to, until Max pulled back, because he was feeling a little fragile himself. He needed the reassurance. He wasn’t quite sure how dire this was but it seemed pretty bad. Like, tears in reality were probably never a good thing but he had no idea just how bad it was. Nasir tipped his head up as Max cupped his face, staring into his eyes - they were intense, and something in his stomach flipped over. Later, he told himself. When there aren’t demons. But that love confession brought him up short, and he froze for a moment. But only a moment, and then he was practically jumping onto Max, kissing him almost desperately and only pulling back to tell him, “Okay that was worth having to fight demons,” and then, a few kisses later, “Oh right, fuck, I love you too.” Despite the dire circumstances, and what they had just done (killed a bunch of demons, woke up to a giant mess), Max actually smiled - a quavery one, somewhat, because he was inundated with emotion and longing and relief. He hadn’t ever said that before, at least not to anyone who weren’t his parents (and even that was long ago), not in the instance where the sentiment was returned. “Eloquent,” he teased, breathlessly, catching Nasir in all his enthusiasm and Max’s own kisses contained that touch of frantic desperation too. “And so brave, you really are,” his fingertips brushed over his partner’s forehead, smoothing over hair that he was kind of a sucker for braiding (his braids looked awful, so being humored sometimes was appreciated). But that was a fact - sure, sometimes Nasir understandably had his moments where he felt like the world was closing in on him, a world he couldn’t trust. But he had people he could trust in it, and obviously he would fight for what he did have. “You took on all of them - I promise next time you’ll have more backup. I’ll give you more potions, and grenades. If you’re still...wanting to help.” No pressure - it was his choice. Before, he said he would - but now that there was experience with what it took to actually close a rift, Max wouldn’t have blamed him for wanting to stay away. Nasir couldn’t help a smile in return - just as hesitant, because there were still things to deal with, he knew. But still, for the moment, he could be just a little bit happy. No one had ever told him that they loved him, not anyone who meant it sincerely and wanted him as an equal; not since his parents and his brother, anyway. He didn’t deign to answer that with anything but a sharp nip to Max’s lower lip, which was soothed by a gentle kiss for the compliment. Nasir didn’t see himself as brave - he did what was needed to survive, whether that meant bowing and serving or fighting a legion of Romans or stabbing a demon in its face until it stopped trying to eat him; and maybe a little stupid because he kind of enjoyed the demon stabbing. But surviving? That was just instinct as far as he was concerned. But now was not the time for nitpicking, not when their time could be better spent. “Of course I’ll help,” he said, because wasn’t that obvious? He liked the fight. And even more than that, he had people to protect. And if Max was going into battle, and it was somewhere Nasir could follow, then he sure as shit was tagging along. Because he loved him. Not to mention, “I want to try out these grenades you keep promising me.” “You’ll like them,” Trevelyan grinned, his hold tightening just a little, returning the kiss that was more like nuzzling - at least fighting demons did lend a way to vent aggression. So perhaps it wasn’t all bad. “Okay, let’s - “ They had to go, and he had to find his armor, and his staff, and get in touch with everyone else - he wouldn’t delude himself into thinking this was the only rift. Smaller rifts meant one big tear in the Veil elsewhere, and Max had to find where that was - and close that, not to mention the other littler ones which were probably very inconveniently located. Since Orange County liked trolling them. “Let’s get out of the pool.” Kind of a joke, because it was drained, but hey. “And I’ll find you all the grenades you can handle.” Good thing he and Morrigan had crafted many to spare - Max was glad for that bit of prep, at least. And he could do it in his sleep by now. “Setting demons on fire does sound pretty satisfying. Almost as much as stabbing them.” Nasir clung to Max because he knew that he was going to say that they had to go, but he was scared. He knew it was going to be crazy and there was real risk involved here. But he was willing. What other choice did he have? He nodded with another watery smile, heading for the shallow end and the stairs (because as fun as trying to jump to get to the ladder in the deep end, he was still a little shaky from dealing with the Shades). “You’ll be surprised by how many that’ll be. Just let me grab my armor and put on something a little more suited to fighting demons than sweatpants.” It was alright to be scared - Max was scared too, he was terrified. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to get hurt because of his dream bullshit, and he was also afraid of the aftermath. As in, getting rid of the mark and the methods for doing as much - would it actually kill him here, or would he need his arm magically amputated again? Would he just wake up with nothing from the elbow down? There was no time to think of it now, however. “Good, we’ll stick together,” he put his arms around Nasir (while he still had both - oh wait, not thinking of it) and held him close for a moment at the edge of the drained pool (sorry, kids). “It’s going to be fine. I promise.” One way or another, it would be. Maybe he didn’t know what the future held exactly, but he could promise they would make it through this, and whatever else popped up to surprise and awe, in their wacky world. |