Memory Share: Alec í Amasa

[whiteroadrunning]

You're slow to wake. You've been slow to wake, in and out of a tenuous consciousness for days before awareness finally comes, and now you almost wish it hadn't. A sour odor still clings to the damp cellar air, halfway between earth and fresh rot, and your chest aches with each drawn breath.

"-ec? Alec, open your eyes."

You do, forcing your eyes open to find yourself swaddled in warm blankets, propped in the corner of the cellar. Khenir kneels beside you, offering a mug to your lips, and you drink deeply. Too deeply. The taste of the broth is too welcome to savor, and you spill some down your chin and across the blankets before Khenir pulls the cup away again.

"Slowly now, there's no need to make a mess," Khenir says.

"More!" You demand, and Khenir allows you to drink again.

It's a chore to speak, let alone move, but your hand slips beneath your shirt to examine the sharp ache in your ribs. There's a small scab right beside your breastbone, where Yhakobin hammered the brass tap into your chest, and your body shudders involuntarily at the memory. You clutch your blankets tighter around you.

"How long?" You ask.

"Four days. Ilban is very pleased with you." Khenir says.

"Indeed I am," Yhakobin says as he descends the stairs with Theris and Ahmol, and your stomach revolts at the sight of them. You've never felt terror this keenly, never felt such a desperate need to bolt; if only your weakened limbs would move. What this man has done, what he can still do-- It's beyond horror. The bloodiest charnel houses can't hold a candle to him, and yet he carries himself with such serene composure.

Yhakobin lifts a lantern, and it casts the cellar in a dim, almost sinister glow. As the light spreads across the floor, you see the piled earth where that foul bag was buried. The mound is shifting, moving, and your breath catches hard in your throat. Your mind still refuses to rectify the possibilities. That bag carried all the things Yhakobin has stolen from you; your tears, your sweat, your seed, your waste, your blood, and Maker knows what else, all sewn together in a rotting sheep stomach. How could it be--

"What is that?" You hiss.

"Let's see, shall we?" Yhakobin asks pleasantly.

Ahmol takes a spade in hand and gently removes the top layer of soil. Yhakobin kneels, and brushes muck away from the strangely-shifting mass. The sheep stomach is swollen, mottled dark with decay, and you see protrusions in the surface as Ahmol helps him to uncover more. Yhakobin grips the stomach and tears it open, releasing an unbearable stench into the damp air. It overwhelms you for a moment, and you gag, burying your nose into the blanket.

A small, grime-covered hand thrusts up through the opening and grips Yhakobin's wrist. It's perfectly formed, but beneath the muck, its flesh glows an unnatural marble-white. Your limbs are frozen, shaking, your eyes wide and mouth agape, though breath won't come. Yhakobin murmurs something quietly in Plenimaran, and you make a staggered warding sign beneath your blanket as he reaches into the sack to lift out...

A child.

You will father a child of no woman. The oracle's words seem almost mocking now.

Comments

[Private] voice: un.TheOtter

[of_bokthersa]

Where are you right now?

[He's already hunting the other man down.]

[whiteroadrunning]

[Trying to mortify himself out of existence Seregil, obviously.]

Your pillow nest. Having a drink.

[of_bokthersa]

I'm coming.

[And true to his word, he does, making an almost run to the man and tackling him in the tightest of hugs.]

I'm sorry, tali

[It's more a whisper than anything else.]

[whiteroadrunning]

[Seregil nearly knocks the breath out of him, but Alec wraps him in a tight embrace, pressing a few gentle kisses to his temple. Despite the distressing nature of the broadcast, Seregil's mere presence brings a small smile to Alec's face.]

You have nothing to apologize for.

[of_bokthersa]

[Seregil sits up, peppering Alec's face with light kisses.]

I'm sorry that I can't destroy the mechanism forcing you to relive these memories.

[The ones that brought simple embarrassment and joy were fine. This, however, was different. This was a time best left as forgotten as it could be.]

Private Audio

[11calls]

[God Alex hates these on behalf of the people who have their lives shown, and she just frowns for a moment before she asks softly:]

Is there anything I can do for you, Alec?

[whiteroadrunning]

I'll be fine, thank you Alex. Though I wouldn't say no to some coffee tomorrow if you're game.

[11calls]

Yeah, of course! Just say when!

Private Audio

[spherenpc]

[John's voice is quick, and she offers distraction:]

So. Laurie agreed to the wedding thing, if we wanna start planning it.

[whiteroadrunning]

[WOW IS THAT EFFECTIVE DISTRACTION.]

Did she now?! Well, these are some glad tidings indeed! How did you ask her?

[spherenpc]

We just kind of talked about it. I told her what you'd said about wanting to do it and then we talked about it some more and decided it was a good idea.

[whiteroadrunning]

Very sensible.

Alright then, what's your dream wedding?

[spherenpc]

I don't know. It's harder for me, because I can't do a lot of the things that other people do.

audio: persephone

[threshes]

What happened with that thing?

[whiteroadrunning]

Thing? The child?

[threshes]

Yeah.

[Persephone ain't taking back what she said. She's got opinions on things bein' natural and unnatural.]

[whiteroadrunning]

That's a bit of a story.

[Alec hesitates, takes a slow breath, and continues:

We all got out of there, but he can... do things. It's beyond magic, it's-- it's beautiful and terrible power, and it wouldn't have been safe for him to stay with Seregil and me. So he's with my mother's people; far North, where no one can find him or use him for ill. Not that he'd allow it, but...

They have another of his kind living among them. They know how to raise him and keep him safe. Keep others safe too. It's better this way.

[Though Alec doesn't sound entirely convinced of that.]

voice; un-angel

[unknownmoirai]

Alec... I'm so sorry.

[He'd told her about his child but not exactly how it had happened. It hurts to see something that should be wonderful be done in such a painful way. It hurts more than she can imagine because it had happened to someone she loved.]

I wish-

[She feels tears gather at the corner of her eyes and her voice cracks.]

I'm sorry.

[She isn't usually emotional but so much has happened lately that she doesn't know what else to do but let some of it out in the form of tears...]

[whiteroadrunning]

Inësa... It's all right, I promise. You have nothing to apologize for, and it was a long time ago.

[unknownmoirai]

I know.

I just don't want you to hurt anymore. You deserve to be happy Alec.

[whiteroadrunning]

I'm happy now. I try not to dwell on the past, in any case. What's done is done.

audio, un: gwynedd26

[kingforboth]

I didn't know magic could do that.....

That was magic, wasn't it?

[whiteroadrunning]

Alchemy. I don't entirely understand the difference, but I'm told there is one.

[kingforboth]

I'm not sure I know the difference either to be honest. It looks like a kind of magic to me.

Are you alright? I suppose that's a silly question.

[whiteroadrunning]

I've never seen magic do the likes of that. Take life, yes; even reanimate the dead. But that? That was something else.

...but I'm well enough. It was a long time ago. I've made peace with it.

[Sort of.]