thenexusofsouls

[thenexusofsouls]

PSA: Short Hiatus Until 4/30, Back Here 5/4

{i am the caretaker of souls} I'm suspending my rp schedule from 4/25 to 4/30 so I can take care of the end of my classes. I'll need time to grade assignments and exams, and to answer student emails regarding final course grades and makeup assignments. My regular rp schedule will resume on 5/1, so for this blog that means I'll be back on 5/4. See you then! =)

#{ i am the caretaker of souls } ᵒᵒᶜ

[thenexusofsouls]

{i am the caretaker of souls} Alright, I've gotta call it for tonight. Early dentist appt. tomorrow. (Yay...) I'll post again to remind everyone once my hiatus starts, but I'll be postponing my usual rp schedule for about one week while I take care of end-of-class shenanigans. I'm already starting to get a lot of emails from students, so the madness of hellweek has already begun, haha. So I won't be here next weekend, but I'll be back again the following Saturday 5/4. See you then! =)

#{ i am the caretaker of souls } ᵒᵒᶜ

[thenexusofsouls]

No, loss certainly wasn't easy, and Nuada had felt more losses than most. It always seemed that as soon as he loved someone, as soon as he gained a friend or companion, something happened to them. Usually... it was humans. They took them from him. Them... and any misguided non-humans they could brainwash into doing their dirty work for them, just as they had with Anung Un Rama, Son of the Fallen One. How disappointed Nuada had been to see him become their lapdog. With devastatingly tragic results.

Nuada bowed his head, his forehead touching Wanda's shoulder as they held each other. But for her comfort, he felt as though he might fall apart. "If I was not sure... then never should I have placed it in danger..." Nuada whispered. Wanda was right, he couldn't have known, but that did nothing to make him stop blaming himself. "Please..." he said, his grip on her tightening for just a moment as he spoke. "Do not leave me too..."

Bark children had collected at their feet, looking up at them both with sad, beady eyes. They were sad too, for Wink had been their friend as well. They had gladly sat on his shoulder as he lumbered about, giggle and dangling their legs, or helped him scout things out in the Market. Now, they had lost one friend, and were very concerned about the other.

“Nuada… what’s happened? What’s gotten you so upset?”

"Nothing, dear one..." Nuada answered too quickly. His voice was trembling, his hands were shaking, and he paced back and forth in his home beneath the Troll Market, seemingly agitated. There were tears in his eyes, though he tried to avert his gaze from Wanda so she would not notice. "It has been an unfortunate night, that is all," he said, hoping that would be enough for her but... knowing it would likely not be.

Nuada blamed himself for the death of the Earth elemental, even though he genuinely had not meant for its demise to occur. He'd gravely miscalculated, and now the world would never see such a beautiful creature again. How could he have erred this badly? It broke his heart.

#mxrvelouscreations #muse: nuada bethmoora

[thenexusofsouls]

Some of the tension in Nuada's body loosened up at her words. She wasn't here to say shame on you, to lecture him, or to otherwise tell him that yes, he'd erred very badly this time. Mercifully, Nuala seemed to only want to comfort and take care of him. In his grief-stricken state, Nuada's usual defensiveness, arrogance, and distrust were nowhere to be seen. He was just tired. So very tired.

"They murdered my friend..." he whispered. "They deserved to be punished. But... I..." Well, he'd already told her. There wasn't any point in continuing to say it. No words of contrition were going to bring back the Earth elemental or Mr. Wink. As he lay on his back, his eyes closed, and tears trickled down either sides of his face. Nuada did not often cry, but he simply could not hold back the tears.

When Nuala laid down next to him and drew her arm around him, a few pairs of bark children climbed onto the bed and did the same, lying all around both twins, hugging them and cooing with sounds of sympathy and care. Before long, a pile of them had accumulated all around on his bed, some of them sniffling for the loss of Wink.

Nuada didn't realize his breaths were coming too fast and too irregular until Nuala had asked him to slow them. His brow furrowed with the difficulty of managing his breathing while his heart and chest hurt so badly. He lay his hand over his heart, wincing a little as he tried to do as his sister asked. "It hurts..." he whispered to her. "How many more... must fall? How many more... must the humans and their allies... take from us?"

“Brother, your grief is overwhelming. What’s happened?” (Nuala to Nuada; @mxrvelouscreations

@mxrvelouscreations

"I... have made a terrible mistake... sister..." was all Nuada could say. His face contorted with grief, and he felt sharp pains in his chest. Staggering to his bed, Nuada sat down on it and cradled his head in his hands. He felt tingling in his extremities as his heart raced, the realization of what he'd just done ushering in panic along with the grief.

The Earth elemental had been such a beautiful creature, so rare and unique, the last of its kind. It had trusted him... and Nuada had let it down. He couldn't speak, especially not to Nuala, who was probably relishing the thought of his failure and distress after the way he'd treated her of late. But he could not muster up any arrogance or defensiveness at a time like this. Not when he was hurting this badly.

"Please... if you have come to lecture me... I... I cannot..." he said, trailing off before finishing his thought. Breathing hard, he turned to lie down on his back, eyes closed and a look of torment on his face. "I thought... that it was stronger..." he finally managed. "I never... would have placed it in such danger otherwise..."

#mxrvelouscreations #muse: nuada bethmoora

[thenexusofsouls]

June just... rests her head on Nomak's shoulder. Cuddling up to him, taking his cold hand and kissing it with cold lips. They're both so similar, so pale, so cold and frail. But June has never known the power Jared has despite his condition. "I'll look after you..." That's one way of her saying she loves him. "I'd do anything for you..." And that's the other.

Nomak loved how affectionate June was with him, even if she was a bit skittish about it from time to time. Given his ever-evolving condition, there were times when he felt gross or monstrous, but June always made him feel normal and like himself again. He wished there was a way to help her frailty, though, for her own sake. When she kissed him, he smiled and drew his arm around her shoulders, gently pulling her close to him. "And I shall look after you as well," he whispered, his voice raspy and dry yet somehow soft for her. "Hush now. Rest. You need it," he encouraged. "I will stay with you."

#extraordinarygrrls #muse: nomak

[thenexusofsouls]

Nomak chuckled at that. It was an understatement, certainly. Perhaps it was some sort of requirement for someone who was both a vampire and a father, to only care about himself and no one else. Not even his own flesh and blood. Not having ever fathered any of his own children, Nomak couldn't say for sure if it was an inevitable curse, but he doubted he would ever have treated his own children the way Damaskinos had treated him.

Similar features? That made Nomak very curious. If he shared pallor with these... strigoi... then what else might he share. "What of this? Do strigoi possess this?" he asked, before he opened his mouth wide. His jaw split down the middle and spread itself wide to reveal two poisonous barbs and a very infectious tongue-like appendage. He didn't remain like that for long, lest he alarm the other or cause his own instincts to rage out of control. Pulling back, his jaw folded back together once more.

If they shared the same goal, then perhaps they could join forces to achieve each of their desired outcomes? Nomak preferred to work alone, for few understood him, but this man had to understand him more than most, given his own situation. "Join with me, then," Nomak offered. "And together we will rid the world of two heartless vampiric fathers."

“You don’t look like the rest of them. The Master is not your creator, is he?” (Quinlan for Nomak; @mxrvelouscreations

@mxrvelouscreations

Nomak was perplexed by what he saw, and even more confused by the scent of this... person. He was no regular vampire, nor was he a reaper, and yet... his scent was something of both. And somehow also like neither. What exactly was he looking at here?

"What master? I serve none," Nomak said harshly. If the other was referring to his father, Nomak definitely would never have referred to Damaskinos as his master. "I was not created, I was born a vampire... and then reborn as something terrible. A failed experiment of my father's." His head canted. "You... Are you one of his experiments as well? If so... I pity you."

#mxrvelouscreations #muse: nomak

[thenexusofsouls]

"Yeah, I... I thought the doors were locked. I guess the last technician who left forgot to do it." She sighed and folded her arms. "And I shouldn't have just trusted him to." The thought of the windows being broken and one of those... those things coming in here was terrifying to Marie. She thought of going to check the doors now, but... what was the point when someone had already gotten in? At least he seemed halfway decent and wasn't chasing her around the room. Not yet, anyway.

"Thank you," Marie said, surprised that he would think enough of a cat to bother to give his condolences to her. Miss Kitty might have made a mess all the time and had a really weird-sounding meow, but Marie had loved her all the same. But that wasn't the only loss she'd suffered recently. As the man asked her if the strigoi in her house had been someone she knew, she appeared visibly anxious.

"He was my um... ex-boyfriend, Tom. We'd had kindof a messy breakup, but we still worked together and... we tried to be friends. Maybe he hadn't always treated me well, but I never wanted-" Her voice broke and she cleared her throat. "He doesn't deserve... that..." The thought of Tom running around as one of those things made her immensely sad, but there wasn't anything she could do about it.

"Yeah, I... don't really have a lot, so I'm just doing the best with what I have," she said. Protect herself. Sure. She knew exactly no self-defense and barely knew how to operate the handgun she had bought herself. All she had was a healthy serving of grit to survive, but that might not be enough under the current circumstances. "It's just a standard 9mm handgun," she said, reaching behind her and drawing it out of her back jeans pocket. "They're just regular bullets. It's all I have. I wouldn't even know where to get silver bullets from."

“Don’t be afraid, I’m not here to hurt you. I have to ask though, have you been infected?” (Marie from Quinlan; @mxrvelouscreations

@mxrvelouscreations

Marie did her best to hide her nervousness given the sight of the man. Clearly, despite his question to her, he was the one infected. Nevertheless, her nurse's personality and ingrained desire to aid people helped her to keep herself relatively calm.

"No, I haven't. I'm a trained medical professional and I've been exercising proper precautions." Or at least, as well as anyone could nowadays. She was doing her best. "Do you... need some help?" she asked, for despite her fear of being turned into a strigoi, Marie was rather brave when it came to assisting injured and ill patients.

#mxrvelouscreations #muse: marie sebastian

[thenexusofsouls]

He'd lived through many empires falling? That seemingly minor turn of phrase didn't go unnoticed by Ivan. Just how old was the person before him? No one really knew how long vampires lived, but the queen was rumored to potentially be millennia old. That was a sobering thought. Despite how this man appeared, however, he seemed to understand the situation and to also have a surprising amount of empathy as well. All of that was completely confusing to Ivan, who was used to killing first and asking no questions later when someone looked as this man did.

Times were changing, though. New types of vampires were being created now, as his former friend and comrade Jacob had proved, and the Church had been exposed for the self-serving and corrupt entity it truly was. So why not a vampire who could talk, feel empathetic towards humans, and want to hunt his own kind? It would take some getting used to, but Ivan was willing to give some things a chance.

His story was a disturbing one, and it really made Ivan think. What would happen if a pregnant woman was infected? Ivan couldn't recall an instance of that happening, to his knowledge. Would the baby be human, a vampire, a familiar, or... Well, he guessed he was looking at what the results would be, whatever this man was. He might call himself a vampire, or a strigoi, as he'd said, but... he looked like nothing Ivan had ever seen before.

He was quiet as he listened, taking in every bit of information, until something confused him. The way this man talked about his father, the Master, it seemed like the creature was as intelligent as humans were. That was why he'd asked, because that didn't track with what Ivan knew of vampires at all. The man's question only served to deepen that confusion.

"Stingers? No." Ivan replied. "They have fangs. Two sets. Upper and lower. And claws. The vampires I hunt are more intelligent than animals but not as intelligent as people. Not like you. They're more like wolves or large predatory cats. They lack eyes and a nose, and hunt by echolocation and thermal sensing." He slowly strolled over to his bike, reaching into a leather satchel and drawing out a journal. Cautiously, he approached the other, opening the journal to where he'd drawn some sketches, showing him a full-body drawing of a vampire. "This... is what I hunt," he said simply.

“So. It would seem that you have experience in killing vampires yes?” (For Ivan from Quinlan; @mxrvelouscreations

@mxrvelouscreations

What fresh hell is this? Ivan thought as he looked upon this... man? Human vampire? Familiar? He didn't... quite look like any of them. Dear god, are there more variations than the ones I already know of? His guard was up, to be sure, but because this was a creature he'd never encountered before, and it appeared to be calmly speaking to him for the time being, Ivan was willing to attempt a peaceful exchange.

"Yes," he replied, opting for the obvious and straightforward answer. "Twenty years," he added, already wondering why someone who appeared as if they had already been negatively touched by vampirism would ask about his ability to kill them. Was this person looking for a fight, or assistance? "Why?" he asked, hoping the other would offer more than a cryptic response, not that he was owed as much. The authority of the Priests only extended so far as people respected and heeded that authority.

#mxrvelouscreations #muse: ivan pace

[thenexusofsouls]

Wade chuckled. "Okay. Whatever you say," he said with a slight smile, perfectly willing to drop his shoddy attempt at a pep talk that clearly wasn't working very well anyway. Apparently he'd struck a nerve. It was becoming more and more apparent that he should never have kids, not that he even could anymore... but that brought up memories too painful to dwell on. He sighed, shrugging everything off in his usual manner.

There was no way he wasn't going to let this kid buy whatever he wanted, given the vibes he was getting off of him and the way his eyes had lit up looking at all the food. None of it would help Wade at all, although he could eat it if he really wanted to. It tasted good and all, it just... didn't agree with him very well. But right now, he had to keep up appearances. "Yeah, sure, uh... grab me one of those frosted chocolate cake ones," he replied to the kid. He watched which one the boy chose for himself and nodded. "Nice," Wade commended him.

After they'd loaded up the counter with everything they were buying, Wade paid for everything with his credit card and helped carry the bags of food outside. "Alright, you want some company while you devour this or have you had enough of me?" he asked with a smirk. "I can take my donut and bounce if you want." After all the other blunders he'd made so far with trying to look after this kid he'd managed to soft-adopt tonight, he wasn't about to overstay his welcome if it wasn't wanted.

Well that caught their attention alright. A middle finger had shot into the air, directed at a group of teens across the street who were hovering by a Duncan Donuts long closed for the night. The boy beneath the hoodie, propelling said finger, sneered. Just like that, the group of five moved towards him, the tallest, Shacks, sauntering forward with an irritating air of confidence. And to think, there'd been a time when Rockland had thought he was cool.

"You can't seriously blame us, Rocky." He looked to the others with cruel amusement, "It was a prank, get a sense of hum-" Too busy searching for the favour of his crew, he'd missed the draw of the younger teen's fist before it met his cheek.

"Prank my ass, I could've been arres-oof." Rockland was tackled by Archie, the smallest of the bunch, who was about a head shorter than he was, but kinda stalky for his age, and with the element of surprise on his side. Cane clattering out of hand, and across the sidewalk, the lanky teen scraped across the pavement, electric pain radiating up from his tailbone. He caught the breath that had been knocked out of him just in time to catch the thump of a fist to the nose in return. - For Wade

Wade didn't know what to make of this city yet. He'd only been here a couple days and was still trying to get his bearings. It wasn't a bad city, he thought, just cold. Just... really cold when you're alone, like all cities are. Nevertheless, Wade did some hunting and stocked up on other supplies, always wanting to stay on the move. That's how he got jobs, and that's how he kept sane.

Tonight had been quiet enough so far... that is until he heard sounds of a fight. But a fight... between kids? Was he hearing this right? Wade made his way toward the sounds, and sure enough, some kids whose parents were absent and whose bedtimes must be fast-approaching were going at it. Or rather, several kids were beating up on one unfortunate one.

"Hey! Come on, cut it out, what the hell're you guys doin'?!" Wade yelled, hoping to scatter the bullies. "You know better than this, get off him! Don't make me call the cops!" he said, watching as they all scattered... save for one. Wade knelt down beside the boy lying on the ground. "Hey, buddy, you okay?" he asked gently.

#rocklandjbrin #muse: wade

[thenexusofsouls]

“You can still turn your back on this if you want. Just don’t expect us to still be here when you finally come around again.”

{I was thinking this could be Thor and William finding out Sara isn’t dead}

__________

{ Ooooh this is a good one! This would be so hard for Eric because loves them both and feels that he has a duty/responsibility to both as well. He was married to Sara first and that’s his first love, but it isn’t right to just abandon Thor either. He’d be so incredibly conflicted. }

“It’s no’ like that,” Eric said, the inner turmoil clear in his expression. “She’s m’wife too, Thor. My first one, so... really... I ‘ad no business marryin’ you in th’first place, I jus’ didn’t know’t. But since I did anyway, I’ve got a duty t’you both.” And yet Sara wanted nothing to do with him and Thor was quickly starting to feel the same way. Was he about to go from two wives to none? “I need to talk to ‘er. I abanoned ‘er once, I won’t do’t again. But I will be back. You ‘ave my word.”

#muse: eric #submission

[thenexusofsouls]

Thor would’ve protested her partners’ leaving, but the bone-deep exhaustion she felt kept her from being too emotional. Besides, both William and Eric had vowed to stay by her side. It should’ve been fine. She watched them walk away then shut her eyes tight.

William pulled Eric into one of the more isolated corridors. Not everyone in the palace had the best of intentions in mind regarding their lover, so they didn’t want word getting out to any of the locals or the neighboring kingdoms. Thor’s fears of being branded a mad queen were justified, and William wanted to protect her from all that. The guilt he felt from abandoning her as a child still ate away at him.

“Do you have any idea how much trouble that mirror has brought us all? he snapped, but his intention was not to start an argument. Just like Eric, William felt as if he’d failed Thor. He abandoned her when they were children, and he’d been made to watch as she was plunged into the eternal sleep. “She says she could not stop looking at it. That she heard it calling for her. We must deliver it to Sanctuary for good.”

William crossed his arms, half expecting Eric to start arguing with him. Their friendship was most unexpected as they were complete opposites, but for whatever reason — maybe their love for Thor, William still was unsure — they made it work. Although at first glance, he’d found Eric crude and low-class, his kindness and protection of Thor changed his opinions eventually. The sleeping death was what had truly brought them together.

“It contains a dark energy, something that even our lover’s purity could not combat. Thor told me that an object cannot be evil, only people can. She ordered it to be polished. The mirror’s power is too great. It will be difficult, but…” he shook his head. “Thor is deathly afraid. I’ve seen her lingering near the tower every so often, and I know she wishes to recall anything of significance from her past. Since her imprisonment until her escape, she can remember nothing. She ordered me to send it away merely a fortnight ago. We should’ve — I should’ve…”

But dwelling on the past seemed futile in this moment. There were more pressing issues, and that mirror was one of them. William led Eric to the room where it was kept. Dead magpies and butterflies littered the floor. Thor had always used the rhyme about the birds to signify important things, and there were four when she came back to them.

“If we are going to go,” he murmured, “we must leave soon. It has been too long already, and the advisors are already worried. They want her—”

William sharply looked up. The whispering and ringing in the room had become apparent to him.

“Hush,” he said simply, “do you hear that?”

__________

“Aye...” Eric replied to William as if he were a child being scolded for pilfering in a market or something. His eyes were downcast, shame and worry on his face. “Anything that belonged to Ravenna’s nothin’ but evil,” he asserted. He nodded as William said the mirror has been calling out to Thor. He hadn’t heard it himself, but neither did he doubt it. Ravenna was a sorceress, and magic was something Eric didn’t understand. He’d grown up with it all around him, thanks to Freya, but he knew nothing about how it worked or what its limits were. For all he knew, Ravenna had done something to the mirror to make it influence others. “So let’s do’t then. We should keep’t covered. If a mirror can’t reflect anything, then neither can it harm anyone... right?” It was a giant guess.

He thought about it for a moment. Eric loved Thor, he did, but... he wasn’t great husband material. Look what had happened to his first wife. And now his second was spiraling into madness, illness, and who knew what else. William was responsible, vigilant, dedicated... and everything Eric wasn’t. She’d be better off with William anyway, if something were to happen to him. “I’ll take it t’Sanctuary. You stay ‘ere with ‘er. She can’t be alone, you know that. One of us has got t’stay with ‘er, William. I’ve fought in more wars’n you ‘ave. I’ll be fine,” he said stoically, already moving to go get the mirror and start on his way, leaving neither time nor room for William to argue.

But as he moved across the room, he heard William hush him and whirled around, brow furrowed and ready to come back at him in no uncertain terms. Hearing what he said, however, Eric stopped and listened. And there it was... the whispering Thor had been speaking of. “Aye, I did...” Eric whispered to William. It was unnerving at best to hear a mirror talking, but... for a moment... just a split-second... Eric thought the voice sounded familiar... His heart began to race and he swallowed hard as a realization hit him. “An object... cannot be evil. Only people can.” Eric repeated William’s words as Thor had related them to him. “Now what... what if... “ Eric stammered a little, almost afraid to speak it aloud, to give it life. To give her life again. “What if Ravenna’s soul found some way of enterin' th'mirror after Thor killed ‘er...?”

Eric shook his head, done with this entire situation. All that mattered was getting that mirror as far away from Thor as possible and keeping her safe. He was not going to lose another wife. “We’ve got ta get’t away from ‘er. I’ll go now,” he said, his eyes serious and yet begging William to agree.

#muse: eric #submission

[thenexusofsouls]

{You, Eric, and Freya all saying no but Ravenna saying yes is both iconic and in character, ahaha. I just rewatched some fanvids and read some fics exploring her character, maybe it’s a sign? You’re right about taking over being her gimmick though xD}

__________

{i am the caretaker of souls} Right? She’s such a bossy bitch, heh. I’ve already got Nuada on this blog, that’s enough villain energy for now, I think. But everyone else on here getting attention is making Ravenna nuts, because of course she always has to be the center of attention. XD

#{ i am the caretaker of souls } ᵒᵒᶜ #submission

[thenexusofsouls]

{i am the caretaker of souls} I will not add any more muses. I don't have time for more muses. If anything, I should reduce my muse list...

Ravenna, whom I've only been writing in a limited capacity off-site, seeing all these asks and threads I've got going on from her movies:

Me: "No." Eric: "No." Freya: "No." Ravenna: "You need me. This place is a disgrace." Me: "Um, excuse you. Rude." Freya: "This is my space." Ravenna: *patronizingly* "Of course it is."

#{ i am the caretaker of souls } ᵒᵒᶜ #{when muses just won't quit heh} #{ravenna's been bugging me for months} #{but there's no way i'm adding her... she'd take over the place lol} #{that's kindof what she does pfffff}

[thenexusofsouls]

is the forest god actually the last of its species tho? thats what Nuada said but didnt it release a bunch of seeds after Hellboy killed it

{i am the caretaker of souls} Yes, it's the last. So... my understanding of the whole thing is that those aren't seeds, they're pollen grains or spores or something similar. Because we saw what the actual seeds look like, they're like large green beans, heh. What was released from that giant flower at the head of the elemental was more dust-like, so I'm assuming it's pollen.

What that means is that there would have to be a second elemental that those pollen grains could pollenate, and then seeds would result from that. It's like the one in the movie was the "male" and it would need a "female" to pollenate, and that female would then grow seeds. So without a second elemental, all that pollen won't do anything but turn everyone's cars green with dust, unfortunately.

Now I don't know if like... that pollen could somehow be genetically engineered into seeds through research. The DNA could be extracted from the pollen and then maybe by splicing it together with an existing plant of some kind, maybe viable seeds could be made? But that wouldn't be natural, first of all, and second of all, the result would be a combination of the elemental and whatever plant they use to help create the seeds with. So... yeah, I don't see the original creature coming back unless someone magically finds another seed somewhere or can wish one into existence, lol.

#{ i am the caretaker of souls } ᵒᵒᶜ #muse: nuada bethmoora

[thenexusofsouls]

poor nuada realizing the seed ain't safe with him (which is true. nuada bb we saw that in canon) and giving it to mantis. bruh 👀 why these two lowkey cute doe... they both so pretty, if I were either one of them I'd just fall in love with the other, simple. I'm weak lmfaoo

{i am the caretaker of souls} Haha, right? Yeeeah, better let someone else take care of that seed for ya, and who better than Mantis? =) They are cute, though. They've got a complicated and strange relationship but it's working for them so far. I'd like to see them become really good friends, but I think that depends on Nuada changing a lot first, heh. I don't think they'd ever be romantically involved, though, that's just my guess. Mantis is a little put off by him, I think, and Nuada sees her as a friend right now. But hey, one never does know, heh.

#{ i am the caretaker of souls } ᵒᵒᶜ #muse: nuada bethmoora

[thenexusofsouls]

{i am the caretaker of souls} I still have so much that I want to get to, but I've got to head to bed, unfortunately, since I have to get up early and it's already 5:30 AM, heh. I'll be on hiatus next weekend for work, though, so I've got to make the most of this weekend. Part of the problem is that I haven't been able to get on earlier at night lately because I'm into the last week and a half of classes and work is starting to get really crazy. My Sunday muses are still fairly quiet, though, so I may just be here again tomorrow to get done as much as I can.

#{ i am the caretaker of souls } ᵒᵒᶜ

[thenexusofsouls]

When Wanda stepped in his way, Nuada stopped pacing and simply stood with his head bowed, crestfallen. He knew he didn't have to hide from her, but at a time like this, he just felt so ashamed of himself. If Wanda saw him like that, what might she think? "I've done something terrible..." he whispered as she touched his chin, his eyes finally meeting hers, but only for a moment. "I have erred.. most grievously..."

Her arms wrapped around him prompted Nuada to melt into her hold, his grief filling him with exhaustion. Slowly, his arms lifted to hold her as well. "Wink was killed, and I sought to avenge him. I released a creature to teach his murderers a lesson, but... it must not have been ready..." A sob escaped him. "They killed it as well. It was the last of its kind, Wanda. I had no idea... it was so vulnerable to human weapons..." With that, he fell silent, clinging to her as he wept.

“Nuada… what’s happened? What’s gotten you so upset?”

"Nothing, dear one..." Nuada answered too quickly. His voice was trembling, his hands were shaking, and he paced back and forth in his home beneath the Troll Market, seemingly agitated. There were tears in his eyes, though he tried to avert his gaze from Wanda so she would not notice. "It has been an unfortunate night, that is all," he said, hoping that would be enough for her but... knowing it would likely not be.

Nuada blamed himself for the death of the Earth elemental, even though he genuinely had not meant for its demise to occur. He'd gravely miscalculated, and now the world would never see such a beautiful creature again. How could he have erred this badly? It broke his heart.

#illbringthechaosmagic #muse: nuada bethmoora