The Forever King x Chapter 2 [Closed]

[Akito]

Prologue

Chapter 1a

Chapter 1b

The Forever King x Chapter 2
>>Welcome to the New World

It had been two days. Many legions of automatons passed them by, all seeming to head to the same place; but thankfully none had taken the time to break down any doors or abodes. They merely marched down the street to the same destination. It was a blessing on those who had survived the first night and now sought to salvage through the remains of a desolate city. To cope with loss and to search anew, they say no other beast can compare to how quickly a man can adapt.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

12:00pm, hideout

Lysander and Akane still resided in their little suite, relatively safe. What they did next was completely up to them, but perhaps it would be wiser to rest easy for a little while. They may be expecting guests.

[LEO LION]

Akane generally slept during the daylight hours, Lysander would find it difficult to find a time when she wasn’t awake and tending to things about their little hovel. Most of the time it consisted of her preparing small meals for the two of them, at first with what little resources they had, and when those were exhausted within the first few days, well, she had taken to leaving at night to seek out provisions. She would never turn up with a lot in the morning, but there was always something, enough to last them through the day. The feline was getting tired of living with so little though, it was time for a big catch.

This particular day, Lysander might have woken to find Akane cooking something on a makeshift spit. Turning a large chunk of meat over a well controlled flame – it was almost like she was in the forest of her home world again. How many times had she resorted to eating just about anything she came across?
Today he might find her talking to herself; he might see a strange glint of exhaustion in her eyes, of course if ever he asked she would tell him nothing of where she gets her supplies. She wouldn’t at all divulge what any of the meats she brought back were, just telling him to be thankful she found anything at all, or that she wasn’t sure herself. “Maybe its pig…” she would say. “Long nights, too long… when will this let up?” She bit her lower lip, which was cracked and chapped from dehydration – despite the abundance of water around. It just wasn’t something she took the time to drink very often, though she had just enough to keep her body moving. Lysander needed this all more than her, she was sure. She could get by on relatively little, not that she liked to, in fact she most preferred large meals, which is why she finally brought such a large chunk of bloody red meat back this time. The smell was tantalizing, though she had to be careful, she didn’t want anyone outside to smell the cooked food, didn’t want anyone coming in and ruining her current home.

Tabby cat ears twitched atop her head, she was no cleaner than she had been before, face smudged with dirt and her hair still matted, but she seemed (exhausted as she was) in better spirits knowing that Lysander was waking, and not unresponsive as he’d been before. “I wish they would just go away for good… then I could go into hiding again… maybe back to that empty world… yeah…” Her gaze turned distant, as if she was remembering some far off reality.

[lysander]

Lysander had no hat.

The last few mornings as he woke up and stared at the ceiling, he knew he'd lost his hat. He'd wake up and he'd pace, and he'd lie back down for an hour. He never left the cellar; he was still too weak to fight monsters, let alone stairs. But pacing impatiently was just right, and could be done long enough to feed a man's indignation

Sometime the youth'd shout when it was quiet for too long, or he'd yell about everything that had gone wrong and how he hadn't asked for any of it, and hadn't wanted any of it, and hadn't deserved any of it. His need to leave, to move out and among the wasteland he imagined above the cellar, grew denser each moment; and the room shrank. The telekinetic cursed and sighed, grumbled and groaned, bitched and complained. He wanted every bit of this miserable waste to be a lie. He wanted to deny the reality of the situation. He churned and stewed over his dissatisfaction with everything he'd been given. He recounted the negatives for the millionth time. The beating, the entrapment, the waking up the escape, the smashing his head and falling unconscious, the waking up and dealing with crazies, the going to sleep and being nearly killed, the attack against that lune who'd tried to hurt Akane, and the going crazy. So far his week was not the best. "When I'm good enough to go out there... You'll see. You'll see."[/color] He'd utter wistfully to Akane. He never mentioned what she'd see though.

Perhaps the worst part of it was that Akane was more of a trooper than he was. Akane took care of him, Akane shirked off her own self-preservation and she put him first. He noticed how little she gave herself compared to what she doted upon him. She'da been just fine without him; probably better off in the longer run. Akane, a young girl he didn't know, had kept Lysander alive twice so far, and no favors had been returned.

Lysander still had no hat.

These are the thoughts he'd been boiling over while Akane cooked. The smell wafted over to him, and his first thought was bacon... The cowboy knew otherwise, but the smell persisted. Maybe he better go check it out? Yes. Yes.

Tired muscles worked their way along at a shambling pace. His feet shuffled and fell, shuffled and fell until he was an appropriate place where he could lean against the wall. "Akane?"[/color][/size]

[Akito]

[Keep at it for a while, you two.]

The sound of metal on the move persisted. None too close enough to warrant immediate danger, but their presence, their ever looming threat would not disappear. Enjoying breakfast might be difficult with such ominous atmosphere. At least for normal people.

[LEO LION]

“Oh, Lysander!” She turned, her face looking haggard for a moment before it shifted into a grin. “I didn’t know you’d woken up, are you hungry? I’m cooking some meat – it’s a larger portion than usual, but last night I found a good source of food so I figured we could indulge a little.” Sheepishly she poked at the meat, testing it with her fingers – it was still quite hot, but her nerves were dulled by calluses now. She pulled the spit from the embers, and held it to her other companion, though perhaps they were captives in this place.

She didn’t wait long for him to take it and ripped off a good chunk of meat for herself, though she didn’t take back the offer either – merely she held it out to him and pulled the tender morsel off. Teeth sinking into the sweet flesh that should’ve made her sick to eat, but what did it matter? She needed food to survive, so did he. Her teeth sawed threw the tender flesh, it was still a little bloody and the light brown juice dribbled down her chin. The taste was actually quite delicious, the smell tantalizing enough.

Sometimes Akane wondered why Lysander never followed her after dark, never seemed too suspicious – maybe he already knew, or maybe he just believed that she was raiding market of some sort. Rationalizing seemed to be something he did fairly well. “… How much longer do you think…?” The feelings of captivity here had long since set in, she felt as if she was reciting the question for the hundredth time. Her ears twitched at the sound of clanking, the endless marching that lasted day and night of most occasions with little to warrant any reprieve. They were lucky the monstrosities didn’t break into their hide away. She was a little amazed that they’d been safe for so long. “But, at the same time, it’s kind of nice down here.” She was lying of course – but the smile on her face would speak sincerity, at least they weren’t with all those paranoid people… well, they had plenty of reason to be paranoid.

Sorry I've been taking so long, finals over here.

[lysander]

Lysander's bloodshot eyes alighted upon Akane like helicopter spotlights searching dark oceans desperately for survivors. He had half worried that the smell of burning meat was herself. But thankfully, she had not been killed while he slept, and he had not been left all alone again. Instead she had just... brought home... some food. Of course, he wasn't ungrateful. As it was, he could hardly go outside and forage for himself, and they were both starving. No one had any right to be picky. But he couldn't help but wonder about the mystery meat that Akane brought home.

Ugh. Home. I've been stuck in this mess for what seems like so long, anywhere safe could be home.[/color]

The cowboy sat down beside the young girl, and grasped the spitted meat. What was this? Where had it come from? How far was Akane willing to go to feed the two of them? According to what Akane had told him they weren't far from the trailer full of paranoid crazies. And that meant they weren't far from that grocery store they had mentioned. Did the store even exist? They had tricked him after all. Lysander did know that the people had existed. He'd blinded one of them... What had his name been? The big one...

Lysander sighed and bit a chunk out of the meat. He could've been eating someone right then. Someone who had had family and friends, and dreams and plans before all this had happened. Part of Lysander told him that Akane wouldn't dare cannibalize. Part of him said that it was okay to eat them; people with dreams never let themselves die. One of those two beliefs was wrong, and the telekinetic didn't want to think about which one that was.

"Not too long."[/color] Lysander rasped. He cleared his throat, but remained silent for a few minutes as they both ate. The protein was good for him, one way or the other. "I'm feeling better Akane."[/color] He muttered with a vague smile. "By tomorrow morning, I bet I'll be able to go off and forage with you.[/color]

That settles that.[/color] He thought.[/size]

[LEO LION]

"Yeah... with me..." she fell silent at that, uncomfortable; chafing. Akane took a large bite from the chunk of meat she'd kept for herself. Chewing, she contemplated. What would he think if he knew what they were eating? Would he throw it away? Hate her. The thought stung, but she'd been alone before - Rachel's face swam into her vision, the Rachel the raven had shown. She winced visibly, disturbed by that vision, that scene. The entire ordeal would be enough to drive anyone insane... or more so insane. "Do you think there's someone out there? Who can help?"

(laptop battery is dead & charger broken. @ school. best I can do. no net or computers at home.)

[lysander]

[dear, twas a good post. quieteth your face.]

But the protein wasn't all he needed. What he needed was a simple life, one in which his sin couldn't follow. A life of happiness and kindness. The life of the pawn is harder than that of the king, after all.[/i] He'd curse his own life upon no one else, and if he could help it, Lysander would melt that curse away from anyone who embraced it. His once-beautiful hair hung loosely in his face as he lost his gaze between the fire and the meat. He wondered if tossing himself into that pitiful fire and burning it high would atone his sin for not saving the person he was eating.

The sound of her voice was all he needed to confirm his heinous suspicions. It was the sound of a that girl in the romantic comedy trying to keep her secret. It was the sound of dramatic irony and foreshadowing. It had taken him days of eating strange scraps of meat to put his suspicions together. Maybe he was crazy, but the line of thought was perfectly reasonable in the moment.

The timid and tentative hand of a young and naive, yet terribly changed cowboy reached out and pulled the distance between their two bodies closed. His young fingers clutched her shoulder, while he toyed with the meat in his other hand. I don't know. He wanted to say. Fearful, yet trying to remain strong. And if there is, they're probably the same way we are.[/color]

Instead his voice was one of wavering confidence. "Yep. And we're gonna go find them and save them before they get the chance to save us first."[/color][/size]

[LEO LION]

“Save them? Us?” Her expression was quizzical; curious. How could they save anyone when they could hardly save themselves? She looked, almost longingly, to the boarded up entry. The wooden gates were pulled closed; they were nailed together, chained, boarded, and covered from top to bottom. If it was day then light would drift lazily through, flickering only when soldiers marched by – if they could even be called soldiers. Akane felt more comfortable when his hand was on her shoulder, wasn’t sure what it was, maybe his bravery seeped into her. It was like something she fed off of. They both supported each other – kept each other sane in away. If there was one thing she was comfortable about with this whole ordeal, and she voiced this very softly suddenly, while staring off at the never-open entry, “At least we’re not alone.”

[lysander]

Lysander drug a deep breath into his lungs and for the first time in the last few days it didn't hurt. "Yeah, us. Cuz if I'm not the one to save the day, that means some other loser is."[/color] At a time like this it was a surprise to Lysander that he could keep himself conversational; normally he would've shut down, locked inside his head. But something about Akane turned him back into the person he used to be, the person he ought to have turned out as.

Lysander laid back and his red eyes followed the cracks in the ceilings to the edges of the walls. A centipede crawled from one and into another, and his eye was caught off track. "We're not alone. There's you, and there's me. Last I checked, we don't qualify for alone."[/color] It was a simple, and pretty stupid pun, but he had thought it was funny.[/size]

[LEO LION]

Akane smiled softly, Lysander was a strange one – somehow he was able to make jokes in a time like this, they were forced (she was sure of that at least), but still jokes none-the-less. She chuckled quietly. “Of course, what was I thinking? You’re so right, it’s impossible for us to be alone.” Looking at the ground she pulled away from Lysander and wandered to the only place where they could see out into the night – a small hole that would be wide enough for her hand to fit though, she peered through the break at the outside taking a bite from her meal. The morning air was strident with the sound of gnashing metal. Their shadows past across her face and she couldn’t help but feel fear clenching her stomach. Who knew that an empty suit of armor could be so terrifying?

Suddenly she felt claustrophobic, and yet she was exhausted at the same time. How long had it been since she’d last slept? How long had it been since the sun rose into the red sky? Hours, minutes? Time was so obscured in here, in this dark and dank cellar. “Why do you think they’re doing this?” Briefly she remembered the King she’d met before… what had he called himself? Alexis… fon… something or other. Alexis was about the surest thing she could remember. A sickening feeling washed over her. She didn’t remember too much of that meeting. Sneaking out, and running into him… his bird… she was glad those strange pigeons had helped out, had come when they did. Somewhere deep inside her mind she could hear the Beast chuckling, a soft purr in her ears like the feline monstrosity was contented to know that she had been allowed to do as she pleased. Though even with the freedom she was given, the Beast, and Akane as well, felt trapped in this underground sanctuary – though for all the good it brought, it was not unlike those bird cage prisons. “What would’ve happened if we hadn’t escaped?” Would they have been any better off, or would they be even worse?

[lysander]

Lysander felt claustrophobic as well, but in a very different way. In fact, perhaps restless may have been a bit better a word than claustrophobic. While his body had been begging for rest, his telekinetic muscle was just itching to see action. The sensation was a combined itch and urge that demanded he loose the strength he possessed. But he'd been suppressing the urge; after all, Lysander had been spared from the slaughter just as Akane had, and they were both different. Lysander would make the wager that they hadn't hung him up just because of his beautiful hair (which was somewhat lackluster by now).

Lysander shrugged, though seeing as he was lying down it wasn't a very effective gesture. Dragging in a deep breath he moved over to the corner of the room and fuddled with something there for a moment. "I dunno." He muttered quietly. " It could be some sadist's idea of fun, some misguided justice, the removal of a threat. Whatever the cause, the thing that bothers me is that they're all still marching around like that. Why haven't they left yet?"[/color]

The muscles in his chest tightened at Akane's second question. What would have happened if they hadn't escaped from the confines of that bird cage? "No use thinkin about it now, I suppose, seeing as how we already escaped."[/color] A few deep breaths and the crunch of footsteps followed, and soon he was beside Akane, polishing the silver gun in his hand. Lovingly, he cleaned away any dust he could find. "Insanity brings out insanity."[/color] He mused, thinking of the those that had turned away the pair, and that blue haired man.[/size]

[LEO LION]

That was a good question – great even – why hadn’t those automatons left? The metallic knights just continued marching. Day and night, though there were some breaks when Akane was able to easily steal away to gather supplies and return without worrying about being caught. But it was so dangerous to be outside. She pitied anyone that was trapped out there with those things, pitied the people who couldn’t find anywhere safe – pitied the ones that were already dead. But then, the ones who were dead were lucky in a sense. They didn’t have to hide, didn’t have to scavenge for food, and didn’t have to fret about being caught. Their worries were gone now.

But she flinched at his final comment. How true that was. Part of her felt the irony of the comment and how it could easily be applied to her, so easily. That’s what she was after all, insane. “I suppose you’re right, no use worrying now…” There was nothing good that came of wallowing in the past. They could’ve been killed, they could’ve been any number of things, but instead they were here because of the choices they’d made and the little bit of help they’d been given. A voice rang in her ears, a memory. That same person that they both owed their lives to: “Live of your own accord.” and before she could think about it she’d already spoken the words. Though she herself wasn’t sure if she’d said anything at all, her mind already asking that question, did I say that out loud? Was that my voice I heard or just my mind? Man, she’d really lost it.

[Akito]

CRASH!!!

The sound, sudden and ungraciously loud, commanded attention. The coffee table quite near where Akane and Lysander dined was no more, broken beyond repair. In its place, laid the crumpled form of a blue haired man, holding onto a Suitcase as if it were a child. He was dazed, clearly he had hit his head on the floor for it was none too gentle a landing. However, still the man forced himself up, standing again with a look of urgency.

He did not seem to even notice Lysander or Akane.

Only, he tore open his Suitcase and drove his hand into the endless abyss, rummaging desperately inside as if he had lost something very important. Finally, his hand seemed to reach something and his face became suddenly elated. He pulled out...a dead frog?! A large one at that, human size. He had kept something like that in his Suitcase? Little time for gentleness, the man promptly plopped the motionless frog (breathing, so perhaps not dead after all) onto the floor. Then, again he dove his hand into the Suitcase. This time he pulled out a man of similar blue hair who did not seem able to move either. Almost unkindly, he heaped the man onto the Frog like they were piles of clothing.

There was still something missing. A look of desperation crept onto his fine features as he spent at least a full minute unable to find whatever it was he wanted in the Suitcase. He seemed then convinced he himself had to dive in and was about to when suddenly the Suitcase threw him back against the wall with an invisible backlash. Then it promptly closed shut. Firmly. As if never to be opened again.

A look of horror adorned his face. "No...!" The man seemed to cry, "Salo Fara![/font] This cannot be!" He leapt at his Suitcase again and with all his might, tried to pry it open to no avail. He gave up after a while, though, realizing the hopelessness.

Sighing heavily, the man stood up his full height. The frantic state of before a distant memory. The man who faced Lysander and Akane now had an almost eerie calm, poised like a leopard but also helpless like a rabbit. A strange dichotomy to be sure.

"It's good to see you two are safe," The man nodded, with a sullen smile. A white bird, one of the flock who aided the two before, seemed to fly through a barely open window. "I hope my familiars weren't too much trouble,"[/size]

[lysander]

After the incident, Lysander was the first to move. His eyes snapped to the center of the room as he heard, even felt, the first cracks of the falling meteor. Moving on sudden reflex without a moment's hesitation Lysander dove forward and wrapped his arms around Akane's stomach, and in the air he twisted his body so as to catch any flying debris with his back while holding her close. He swallowed hard as the dust cleared, and blushed violently. Scooping up his gun, he quickly turned upon Alexis, barrel staring towards the blue-haired scalp.

As he pulled what appeared to be strange dead bodies from the depths of a suitcase, Lysander was in no way, shape or form taken in. His immense desire for this man's blood outweighed everything. As Alexis was thrown against the wall, Lysander's reflexes kept the guns watching. Even as the blue-haired, red-eyed man was prying at his defiant suit case, Lysander stood still, shaking just barely. There was something vaguely strange about the way Alexis didn't even notice guns. Tools of death, that would make anyone uncomfortable, and this man acted as if they were a tea cup and saucer.

His breathing became deep and ragged, if this indeed was the man who had tried to harm Akane, there was no forgiving, no turning back. Lysander would just keep hacking and slashing and tearing apart until the man could no longer stitch himself back together. Yet when Alexis started talking yet again, something tensed inside of Lysander. A certain hesitation. In a fit of temper, he threw the two guns to the floor as hard as he could. "No thanks to you!"[/color] He cried as he ran towards the man, pulling his arm back in a dramatic fashion that clearly showed exactly how he planned to punch the sorcerer. Right across the jaw, his body said. Although he was definitely fast, his body held the movements of one who had never hit anyone in his life. Not with his fist. His long black hair danced as he neared Alexis, his own red eyes gleaming with a hopeless rage.

He didn't hear the bit about the bird, nor did he notice its arrival.[/size]