Dorián looked at the sky as Maria shrouded the entire state of New York with a spirit shield. It pleased him to know she still had that ability. Sighing, he wondered where Nemine was, but was stopped in his thinking when he heard the onslaught of dragons, fae, and various beasts clashing on the field of battle. As he jumped from rooftop to rooftop, he took in the sight of the battle, lending his lightning whenever he could. That is when he noticed Nemine on top of the building fighting against Kana and her troops.
“What is she doing?” he questioned as he looked up into the sky and noticed Fenirex.
“FENI!” he shouted getting the dragons attention as it lowered down to face him, “I need a ride, over there.”
Dorián pointed to Nemine’s location and the dragon nodded, “sure, hop on.”
Dorián hopped onto the back of the dragon and flew towards Nemine dodging tentacles and blasts of varying elements before he jumped from Fenirex’s back and landed beside Nemine. He grabbed her by the arm and tugged her to a safe place.
“What are you doing trying to get yourself killed?”
Slipping from his grip, Nemine spun to face Dorián and stood there for a moment, holding the gash in her side. It wasn’t major, but any bleeding wound could take its toll after a while. After a moment, the Ice Banshee realized that she should answer him. Damn him and those eyes…
“Hardly… If you haven’t noticed, I can handle myself.” Her tone was cool, but there was a slight undertone in there that was unheard when she spoke to anyone else. She regretted that she had to sound so harsh with him, but that was how she was, and in her Mystic form it was even harder to keep the ice from her voice.
“As to what I AM doing, I am supporting my master, just as you are yours.” Her gaze held no room for denials. She spoke plain what she saw was the truth. “Why suddenly worried, Dorián…?” A realization struck her as she noticed that mist was being produced from her body. Not a thick mist, mind you, but a small noticeable cloud of cool air was surrounding her, as her body chilled the air around her quite noticeably.
Dorián stood there for a moment and sighed. She was right, he didn’t know why he worried so much about her, but it sickened him to think of anything bad happening to her.
“Trust me, I’m not fighting for any ‘master’, at least not the one you’re thinking of, but you have to admit a Kraken is overkill,” Dorián replied, “I just-I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Are you hurt?”
There was care laced in his voice, such care that would sicken Naja if he knew.
Nemine caught the tone as well and it softened her voice a little, which apparently had an effect on how much mist was coming off of her.
“I agree about the Kraken… But I will not argue with Haakon. Whether this is meant to scare or if it truly is a slaughter, I do not know nor care. My place is with the Nobility.” She sounded like she was arguing with herself, and she knew it. Without a second thought, she moved on to the more personal question. Moving her hand slightly, she drew it away from the wound, blood staining her pale white skin.
“Only a scratch… At least by my standards…” She looked up at him and realized that he was much closer than she had thought. The smell of him filled her nose and she stepped back. “I’ll be fine, though…” She vaguely noticed that the battle was continuing below them, on the streets of New York. Her eyebrows drew together at a certain fight, just barely within her sight… Something tickled her memory, but she couldn’t put a name to it. Blinking, she returned her attention to Dorián.
Dorián listened to Nemine as she spoke. It seemed she was talking more to herself than him, but he simply sighed and stepped closer when she stepped back.
“You’re hurt, let me help you,” Dorián said as he looked at her blood stained pale skin. His heart sank to know that she had been injured, but this was the price for war.
“I’m not here to make you turn on the person you call master Nemine, I’m here to make sure you’re okay, now hold still.”
Dorián examined Nemine’s wound, though he knew she didn’t want him to. He licked his finger and placed it softly on the wound while uttering something in an angelic language. Apparently it worked for the wound was gone when he removed his finger.
“That should help you, but pro…” Dorián stopped talking as he heard a voice in his head, a very familiar voice.
“What are you doing Dorián? Did not I say to fight the Nobility?”
“Naja, Naja is that you?” Dorián asked as he looked around him but saw no one.
“I can’t Naja, I can’t fight her, I love her.”
“Either you fight her or I will kill her.”
Dorián stood there looking at Nemine, his eyes full of confusion.
Nemine was slightly taken aback by him healing her, yet also touched, an odd combination. She drew back again when he was done, but her eyes softened. Then he began to speak, apparently talking with Naja, who was not present. Nemine wondered what the man said, but was painfully aware that it had something to do with Dorián fighting her.
“Dorián, what is-“
Nemine! Your absence from this battle has not gone unnoticed. You will find that lightning mystic and end him, you understand? I am NOT in a forgiving mood at this time. Refuse and I will teach you the full measure of agony!" a voice boomed into her ears, a familiar voice.
“Haakon…” Nemine breathed, about to say something, but something told her that there was no point. It seemed that their superiors were determined to end this little… charade. Nemine felt tears sting her eyes.
“… It seems we are truly doomed to be enemies, Моя любовь…” She whispered, the mist surrounding her thickening again as her eyes became distant. Maybe if she could just seal her thoughts away, she wouldn’t betray herself and go easy…
“Приготовьтесь ...” She said as a spear of Ice appeared in her hands.
Dorián looked down at the ground and watched as his bow appeared in his grasp, thunder booming and lightning flashing across the sky.
"I wish we could just get away from all of this, but he won't stop unless I fight you. Very well, let's give them a show!" Dorián stated as he held up his bladed bow. His eyes shimmered with electricity as he prepared for what was to come.
As Kurama cleaved through werebeast with his eternal rose whip, he couldn't help but feel a sudden chill fill the area, not to mention the clouds above were acting strangely. He looked around, doing his best to help the Mystics win this war. His eyes caught sight of Nemine and Dorián and he witnessed Dorián heal Nemine. His eyes filled with anger. What the hell was his "brother" doing?
He made his way towards the building, fighting and killing those beasts that attacked him. The only trouble he had was with the Werekings. The great beasts easily towered over him, but he was determined to make it to Dorián. He wanted to know what was going on, he wanted to know why Dorián was doing what he was doing. When he looked up again in their direction, he noticed that the two looked to be readying to fight.
Jumping to the nearest building, Kurama watched, keeping low and out of sight to see exactly what would happen.
Nemine rushed forward, pain obvious in her eyes as she swung her ice spear at Dorián. She doubted he would simply let her hit him, despite it all, so she already prepared her follow up, which was a cone of icicles spraying in front of her as soon as her slash was done.
Dorián watched Nemine as she rushed forward. He too had pain in his eyes as he watched her. They were being forced to do this, and it hurt him. He blocked the ice spear with his bladed bow, but the icicles hit him square in the chest and sent him back a bit. He wasn't focusing. Looking up at her, he waved his bow and three arrows show at Nemine.
Nemine didn’t expect her attack to land, and it hurt her even more so to see it strike home. A shiver went up her spine and she quickly lined up three ice shards to intercept the arrows, though she miscalculated and ended up with another score across her right arm, barely more than a centimeter deep. Trying to keep the pressure on, Nemine followed Dorián and executed a series of swipes at him. Uppercut, come back and side-swipe, then lower-left-to-upper-right diagonal slash, followed by a jab with the butt and a downward slash.
He had grazed her, but he had to keep his emotions out of this. Still, he looked away momentarily when the arrow grazed her. When he turned back to her, Nemine was advancing again. She started swiping at him with her ice spear, and while Dorián was able to block the attacks with his bow, he wasn't focusing and allowed the butt end of the spear to struck him; however, he unleashed his own onslaught with his bow following the same movements Nemine had done.
This wasn’t the true Dorián fighting… He was holding back, just as she was. Tears stung her eyes again, but she blinked them away. Dorián was returning her attacks with similar ones of his own… In fact, she realized as she deflected them with her spear, they were exactly like hers. She misjudged the last slash, though, and ended up with bruised as well as bleeding fingers. She couldn’t quite move her ring finger on her right hand now, which caused her a little bit of surprise. She wasn’t focusing either. All she could think about was what they used to be, those many years ago. The lack of pain made her miss that her ring finger was cut nearly in half, but she returned the attack anyway. This time she simply jabbed the spearhead at Dorián, her powers shaping the spearhead into a larger, deadlier blade.
Dorián didn't want to do this, and he wasn't going to do this anymore. He watched as his bladed bow struck the ring finger causing blood to ooze from the wound. He winced when he saw it, but looked at Nemine as she readied to attack again. He was done, if this attack killed him, then she would be safe and he wouldn't have to answer to Naja. As the spear was thrust, Dorián dashed forward. The spearhead pierced his shoulder, but that didn't stop him, he pulled Nemine into an embrace and allowed the blood that was pooling in his mouth to spill free.
As they embraced, time seeming to stand still around them as everything else was tuned out for a time...
“How Sweet…” A voice spoke up from behind Nemine.
It all happened too fast for Nemine. There was barely any resistance as her spear slid into Dorián’s flesh. There was blood spilling from his mouth. He was pulling her close and… Nemine felt the ice spear melt away, leaving the hole where it had once occupied his body. There wasn’t much else she could do. Nemine just let herself be pulled into his arms and ceased to think. There was no ‘this is wrong’, no ‘why are we doing this?’
And yet…
A voice pulled her out of it all, causing her to turn completely around. Renshi.
The pain that rushed through his body upon impact with the ice spear was quickly blanketed by the love he had for Nemine. As he held her, a million things went through his head. He’d have to face Naja, he’d have to protect Nemine, and he’d have to explain to his comrades why he did what he did. It frustrated him to know that he and Nemine would never truly be able to have a relationship unless he left the mystics. Could he do it? Could he muster up the will power to completely branch off from Naja and the mystics? He could see Kurama’s face scowling at him for even thinking about leaving. At the moment, as he held Nemine, all of that didn’t matter, she only mattered and he’d go through hell and high waters to be with her.
As he was about to release Nemine from the loving caress, he heard a familiar voice. He turned slowly and noticed Renshi standing there.
“Oh great he’s here,” Dorián would think to himself as he glared and prepared to open his mouth to say something to Renshi.
Before they could react Renshi struck.
He rotated slightly to the left before disappearing in a cloud of smoke and reappearing behind them both with both of his hands equipped with his trademark swords, one held normally while the other was inverted with the blade pointed downward and lunged towards the woman, swiftly bring his inverted sword upward and to the left in a diagonal movement. The tip of his sword caught her on her right hip and leave a trail from there upward and ending at her shoulder. Instantly the cut began to bleed out and cover both her lower body and his sword in a crimson mask, the visceral scene was only matched with the sinister look in Renshi’s eyes as he pulled his sword back and watched her slowly begin to fall, leaving only the Lightning Mystic who was already badly wounded.
The sword he used to attack Nemine vanished in the same smoke he vanished into earlier as he gripped his remaining sword with both hands and slashed at Dorian.
The sword’s blade caught him on his chest, just below his shoulder and stopped while blood began to drip from the stab wound as their eyes met again.
“You thought a punch would even things…” Renshi began, the smile leaving his face as a scowl replaced it. “Your bitch just now evened us… this is just because I can…” he finished before gripping the hilt of his sword tightly and finishing the cut, trailing it across his chest as blood began to fill the gash his sword left and trickle down his body, staining his clothing just as Nemine before him.
It happened so fast, so fast that Dorián wasn’t able to defend neither Nemine nor himself. He watched as Nemine was struck down and then he felt the hot blade of Renshi’s sword pierce his flesh and cut across his chest leaving a deep gash that allowed the crimson liquid to flow forth as he fell to the ground hard. He let out a pain filled gasp as his body hit the ground and the pain from the cut and puncture wound combined and filled his body. Blood had clouded his mouth and was seeping from his lip as he looked up at Renshi with a deadly glare and spit the blood onto the feet of Renshi.
“Coward!” he managed to spit out.
“DORIÁN!” he called out as he and Renshi locked eyes for a few moments. They eyed one another, Kurama’s eyes filled with hatred for Renshi. He wanted to tear the bastard apart, but Dorián and Nemine needed his help now.
Quickly Kurama jumped from building to building attempting to make it to Dorián, Nemine and Renshi and when he arrived atop the same building, he noticed Renshi smirk and vanish in a wisp of black smoke. Kurama cursed under his breath and rushed over to Dorián and Nemine. By now his earlier outburst had caught the attention of everyone on the battlefield.
“FRIA, MARZAREX, I NEED YOUR HELP!”
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