"The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war."
- Norman Schwarzkopf
-x-
Standing before the three elders left besides himself he cast his gaze over towards Calla at his side, his breath coming in through his nose like a crisp leaf in fall. His lungs expanded with the Earth, like he was breathing with the trees. The three before them were angry, their faces weren't hidden with the distaste for one of the Prims on their land, but Derek stood just before Calla so that she didn't have to bear their gazes.
"I bring you the future Queen of the Prims, and all her knowledge of the forthcomings that she can bear to know. Before I let her speak I want to make sure none of you use foul words. This woman has suffered enough at the hands of the King and I wish to show her a safe haven. With that in mind… Lily."
He moved out of her way and then he kept his gaze glued to the elders before them.
Calla had known it was coming, this meeting, but being there and seeing these elders that meant so much to the Dûrvos it seemed so much more unnerving; this wasn't just important for her future with them there were so many more people who were affected by it. Standing in place and staring at a spot between Derek's shoulder blades she clenched her fists so tight when she finally released the death grip she had bloody crescent marks there.
"I thank you for your time to hear this. I admit I only know things I was privileged to know and things are convoluted at best." Each of their faces reminded her of ash covered bark and that you could see the lines of their lives so much more. Taking a steadying breath she delved down deep into memories untouched and processed.
"Jaxon's father was insane on a good day, violent with cruelty unmatched to this day. He was a despot and we lived under his rule without ever knowing if it would be our last day. Then came the rebellion and the leaders who were tired of such ways of life. We are creatures who need blood and violence to live, yes but not that way. He got close to the King, became his best friend and then one night he stole his head. It wasn't long after Jax did the same to him and made him a symbol of what happens to those who don't step in line."
Inhaling again their crisp and clean air hurt her lungs but she remained steady and strong.
One of the elders looked at the woman as she spoke, while the other two seemed to want to gaze anywhere but at the guest. Derek watched each of them while her voice carried over the entirety of them. Her story was solemn, it seemed to constantly be depressing and gloomy on their side of the line and his eyes closed at the imagination of what his sister was enduring. Not allowing his mind to linger there long he just swallowed and pushed himself back to the present and looked over at Calla, the way her uncommon blonde hair glistened in their sun, her pale skin somewhat translucent. He could see where her veins bled, where bruises and scars highlighted her skin from years of wear and tear.
"So your kind even has rebels in its own midst?" An elder spoke to her and the other two cast looks upon her that could've turned the most wild canine into a submissive puppy. Derek set his jaw and made sure his brows shadowed an angry glare, seeing the two ease up some before he let Calla take the floor again, more or less an acting shield for her in the moment. He and the elders remained in their flesh form, minimal coverage as was per usual and he wondered how strange they seemed to her amidst it all. If she looked at them the same way they were viewing her pale and jagged features.
Quelling back some at that look she just rose a brow for a moment but then schooled her face into one of no emotion. Getting mad at them and trying to make them respect her would be the furthest from actually helping them trust her. Giving Derek the tiniest curve of her bow shaped lips she turned back to the elders.
"We had people who thought there were injustices being made to a mad King who murdered women and children. Jaxon Stomana doesn't murder women and children, he doesn't hurt anyone who hasn't broken the rules we had rebels there is a difference with all due respect to an elder but you know how to live your lives ours are different there. This kind that I see in front of me wanted the same freedoms that we needed by killing the King."
The anger blurred her vision, it made things red and fuzzy. The pulse beneath her throat buzzed like a bee trapped in a box. Not replenishing her blood was getting to her but telling any Dûrvos seemed like admitting a weakness and Jaxon had taught her the stupidity in that.
"Yes but rebels do not surface without the need for tyranny to be overthrown. For the lack of intelligence in a leader. We do not have rebellion because our kind does not belittle its own." One of the elders that had shown clear distaste in her presence spoke up and Derek's voice bolstered over them.
"She is not here to be ridiculed for faults of centuries of her kind. We have our own flaws and weaknesses and as you can see she is not feeding on them or pointing them out." His blue gaze casted over each of them with an intricate study. "The death of the old king has saved us and brought us out of the ground. We were allowed to uproot again due to whatever rebel had the gall to behead the Prim King."
He allowed the words to settle for a long moment before he rolled his shoulders to straighten his posture slightly and then bent in half out of respect.
"She is tired and her body is not used to the heat and sun our side provides her. I am sorry she cannot give you more information now. I am going to take her through camp and meet some of the saplings. Please, understand, that with my sister gone there is nothing we can do but honor the agreement she sacrificed herself for." He stood straight again and then took Calla by the elbow and led her out of the hut-like building and back into the direct sunlight.
"I apologize for their behavior. Nora was a complicated sapling so they are just worried."
Calla was angry and she felt the blood in her body begin to sizzle with it, her kind were icy and frigid but that anger and passion threatened to destroy them from the inside out in so many ways. Derek said everything that she had wanted to say with more class, patience and general kindness than she ever could. The men before her reminded her of the elders at her old home; once they had an idea in their heads there was no dispelling them from that idea. Setting her jaw into place and forming that thin frost without knowledge over her body. It would glitter in the sun like dew on grass first thing in the morning there but hard to see.
"Thank you for listening." Calla said softly before she was led out of the tents and to wherever Derek was leading her. The steps away seemed like miles each one she felt her skin warming up again from the frost thinning. Her eyes caught his intense blue ones, how the noon sun shadowed his cut jaw and cheeks.
Nora seemed like a fierce match for Jaxon then.
"Your kind worries, it's a vague concept for me but I get it. I felt the same when my father led the rebellion. While they hoped for the best outcome, I knew what would happen when he left that morning to kill Stromana. Jax picked me as a sign of his benevolence...to marry the daughter of a traitor. A non-threat in the scheme of things and he could remind me every single day that the skull that lines the doorway of the castle is my Papa." She said softly looking up at him with a shaky hand pushing her thick curls from her face.
"I needed to tell you without anyone around I am sorry but I hope you could understand."
The news was shocking at best, he wasn't entirely sure how to take the story and the tale he'd just been told. What sort of man, being, higher power marries the woman of his traitor and tortures her with the skull of her dead father every time they enter their home? What sort of horrors had he just allowed his sister to walk across to? Would it be his horns above the castle next for Nora to stare at from her cell? Would Calla really have to return to him and marry that sort of entity?
Questions reeled Derek's mind and he felt his breath shake like an earthquake beneath their feet. The worries were obsolete at the moment, their very existence at this moment revolved around the peace they could bring between species. His gaze carried over her and he just nodded to her, a brisk movement but one of understanding that he could get out for the time being.
"Your secret is safe with me. Tell it when you are ready."
Stopping her to face him he hadn't even realized they'd gotten so far into the village that saplings were now staring at them, most of them in flesh form, but the ones still ill in the care of the witch doctors would be in their true form.
"Hello, little ones." He looked over at the audience of gazes.
Calla could tell that she had shocked him utterly, there had been a moment just one singular moment where he had looked panicked. Nora. But without telling him things she couldn't assure him Calla herself knew that Jax wouldn't do what he had done to her father to anyone again, his lust rage had been so geared towards revenge and blood that he had lost his mind. The funeral and crowning had changed him into the man that he was. Her eyes had slipped away from his face until he stopped her and spoke to the tiny saplings. A breath hit her lungs again when she saw them.
Fragile. New and so vulnerable. There were no real ages but she could tell from their stature and how their limbs were formed that they had so very much fresh life into them. Frowning slightly at Derek she smiled shyly, feeling so ridiculous in her garments still the same silk dress encrusted with glittering diamonds at the top.
"I'm Calla. It's so very nice to meet you." She said dropping slightly down so that she was on one of her hips and her legs curled under her. Hands supporting her from behind so that she could be more on their level. One of the ones closest to her like he was edging on a spooked animal watched her boldly. He cradled one of his hands but she could see the burn there like he had gotten too close to a fire and sparked embers on bark. Showing him her intentions Calla moved meticulously and cupped her hand under the burn and then with her fingers of the other hand she swirled runes of her people there.
Healing runes were ones rarely used but she had learned them from her grandmother, a healing woman.
With the slightest bit of breath coming out the flurries danced around the burn creating a salve and a protective barrier with it. The cold would soothe it in the very least but it was like the burn was being washed away like dirt and water. Hearing whispers and murmurs she looked up, her smile faltering as they looked at her and one of the smaller saplings came forward from the back of the small grouping.
"Did I do something wrong?" she breathed.
Derek watched as she lowered herself to their height, his smile cracking at his features as one of the saplings allowed her to touch them, seeing the frost cast over their wound and nearly cure it on impact. His own lips were parted in majestic surprise, looking at the sapling and then hearing the whispers like they were right in his ear. As if the wind was carrying them directly to his being and he closed his eyes, inhaling the Earth and feeling that tension there.
Upon the reopening of his eyes he saw the tiny sapling that had always seemed to favor Nora step forward. They looked a lot alike with their long dark hair and caramel colored eyes. As if they'd come straight from the heart of Mother Earth. He could see the same burning fire of curiosity in her eyes as he did his sister's.
"She is not the same as we are." The tiny voice was strong, no wavering or hesitance. She was aware that Nora wasn't here any longer he assumed, she seemed agitated by presence, her shoulders hunched forward slightly and her features set like a furrowed rabbit eating.
"That she is not, but isn't that why we should learn from her?" Derek spoke gently and lowered himself onto his haunches, his neck craning slightly as he looked at her, and her alone. The sapling stood strong, realizing her posture had been one of upset; she straightened upon catching his gaze and he just gave a small chuckle. She was strong, she stood her ground and he simply nodded in respect. Coming to stand to his full human height he just looked over the curious eyes and debated on his words.
"She is of different descent, yes. She has different skills, powers, desires and sins. We are not all of naught. We are not all brought from the same bark, from the same nature. We have strong warriors, healers, scriptures, doctors. Different skills and outlooks. We must view this new outlook as one of learning and we are to respect and understand that her ways are different. She promises not to bring terror on the village and we promise to greet her with peace - as is embedded in our veins."
When he turned to touch Calla to show that she was alright, he saw she wasn't there and his brow furrowed. He nodded for them all to go about what they'd been doing before he turned on his heel and made his way carefully in the direction of her slight frost. Just barely seeing the dew on the foliage on the ground. She walked heavier than his kind, leaving behind an almost melting trace of her existence.
Calla had hurt more than she wanted to admit; the evident insult was there she didn't fit in and she never would. Frowning as Derek reprimanded the sapling she hated it because it was for her benefit when the sapling had only been speaking the truth. Slipping up to her form she made a soft look of excuse to the witch doctors and walked through the branches and the bracken to get a breath alone. Too much blood loss, not any being replenished and she was beginning to experience too many emotions. Being a Prim meant to feel it was to burn yourself down to nothing, it's why her people were so cold and emotionless. Hot tears burned her and she swiped at them with the back of her hand.
Scratching herself because of the frost covering her hands. Everything about her was a monstrosity compared to the gentle Dûrvos that she had embraced to the best of her ability.
"She promises not to bring terror on the village and we promise to greet her with peace - as is embedded in our veins." Derek had said and while he hadn't meant it like she couldn't have those same veins of peace and softness she heard it in Jax's purring and lulling voice as he would tell her how she didn't compare in so many ways.
Not a single moment had she even given into her lusts. Hadn't thought about Derek sinfully even though she knew she was inclined to feel that way towards him, that she would want to one day give him herself in that way, carnally at best.
A whiff of something and Calla closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side like an animal scenting the air.
Because you are an animal Calla. Her own purring demonic voice called to her and she huffed the air, a mistake it brought the smell back to her face like the wind changing directions. Something was dying in the distance deep in the woods and it was suffering, she could smell the blood pumping it's frightened heart and her throat felt like there was a bitter frost clinging to it burning from the inside. Her speed was like skipping steps in one second she was in place, then she was flitting through the trees not worried about running into anything or falling, graceful and sinful in her movements.
The snow leopards that she kept as pets prowled so prettily that they never lost their sleekness and that's how she looked. Her dress tightened at her hips keeping every line of her body for show. Predators looking like prey.
In the clearing of the woods there was a watering hole of crisp blueness untouched by the sins of man, Dûrvos or Neoprim. Animals came here in all stages of life and this is where the larger animal had tried to take down the doe. Hissing out a breath like a whistling wind hitting glass she warned it off and then slid her hands over her body. The dress became slitted at her hips and cut off so she wouldn't make any more noise than she had to. Feet bare now as she felt the fresh ground under her the soles of her feet and toes curling into the dirt.
"I am not a monster." She told herself tracking droplets of blood into a darker clearing not that it was any different for her. She could see perfectly as before her kind was more animal in their senses and she realized like the young sapling had told her.
Too different. Nothing more than a token of peace.
Moving her head and shoulders she came forth and stepped one more step until she saw it.
Bucking and writhing in its death throes it wasn't going to die anytime soon, it was flesh wounds that would eventually bleed out or get blood poisoning from elements. Still clean the wild eyes went to her and went wider as it scented her. Letting the wind come from her mouth to lightly breeze her scent past her own back instead of it, Calla just sat beside it for a few moments praising it with her hands in it's pelt. Leaning down to whisper in it's soft ear.
"I wouldn't do this if you weren't dying, I need to make it less painful for you. I am so sorry." Turning her lips into the doe's jugular it struggled once before she tore into it, the blood gushed into her mouth doing two things at the same time. It fed her and calmed down her emotions and filled the doe itself with peace and calm. As the last beats of her heart gave into Calla she lifted her head up, tears slipping down so crystalline she felt them with each drop.
Hated taking life even like this.
Just as a branch cracked and something filled with more vitality than the doe entered her territory. Catching her feed on the doe, catching her in the act of the thing that they all called her a monstrous animal for.
Derek.
The trail went for a few miles, perhaps a little less he wasn't entirely sure. He heard the rush of water and he knelt down into the Earth and put his fingers into the depth of the dirt, tendrils reaching out like roots as he searched for her presence. In the distance near the water he felt a surge of life and loss, his eyes opening before he moved with a quicker movement towards it. Upon finding her she was hunched over and he was worried for her at first.
Worried that perhaps she was hurt or otherwise injured but it was when he saw the blood that he realized it was the doe who was dying and the surge of life was coming from Calla herself.
"Liliya." Her name came off his lips like velvet and he slowly dropped to his haunches as he watched the life of one source fill another.