Derpin' in Zardine (Archieve(?))

The young 19 year old Incubus, Diren, tried to relax in the hot springs and watch the sky. He only had one usable eye, the other being covered by bandages wrapped around the right half of his face, all but the right side of his mouth. He let out a soft sigh, closing his eye. "...Again, such a lonely place Vally is forcing me to stay..." He said quietly to himself, slowly lying back in the water, resting his head against the edge of the spring.

His large wings, one scarred, curled around his body, his tail wrapping around his waist. "...No one is around..." He said, looking up and watching the clouds float by with his deep red eye, seeing as how the other wouldn't be visible. The edges of his lips drooped to a soft frown, and his eye narrowing softly, showing sadness. He let out another sigh, and slowly sat up in the spring water. He looked over to his clothing, that he set on a rock. It was a pure black sexy bare look, with a white collar, and a pair of black vine-print boots placed next to it. "...I guess i'll go for a short walk..." He stood up from the water, his wings curling around his body, as he stepped over to his clothes.

He pulled on his boots, having finished dressing, and ran his fingers through his medium length, deep red, hair. He turned, scanning the area of the hot springs, But decided to walk towards the cliff edge, that separated the hot springs from the sulfur pits. When he arrived, he sighed and took a seat on the ledge, pulling out a small roll of paper from the inside of his shirt, writing out a note. "I wonder...." He said, placing his thumb and index finger in his mouth, whistling. A deep black crow swooped down, landing on Diren's wrist as he held it out. "Here my friend...Take this to Sole..." He said with a smile, the crow snatching the note, and flying off. "Who knows how long it will take...." Diren said, looking up at the sky, while he sat on the edge of the cliff, tail wiggling.

After the crow had dropped off the note Diren had sent Sole, he started to head over to his location, arriving about four hours later.

Sole appearing to be very calm as always, approaches Diren. He taps the incubus on the shoulder and waits for him to turn around. "Hello Diren," he said "face feeling any better?"

The spacing Incubus turned, his eye blinking. "Oh, Sole." Diren said, slowly standing up from sitting on the edge of the cliff. "...It's mostly better now yes, but...It's scarred terribly. I'm too scared to show it to anyone..." He said with a soft sigh, a sad expression on what could be seen of face. "It's not your fault though...You were startled and it was a reflex." He said, placing his hand on the bandages on his face gently. "But, on another note." He turned to the cliff, his wings curling around his body as he spoke. "It's lonely here, I needed someone to talk to, with Vally not here again." He said, his tail wiggling.

Diren then turned, looking at Sole. "The hot springs are quite enjoyable though, And I haven't had the urge to kill since a little after we got here." He smiled slightly. "I-I'm behaving, I haven't killed anyone, and I won't either!" He said, smiling nervously now. "I-I'm being good, So they w-won't lock me in the castle ag-g-g-gain..." His voice seemed shaky, the thought still playing in his head. Diren tilted his head slightly, looking to Sole. "B-But anyway, I-I'm glad you're here, it isn't so lonely now."

A confused expression appeared on Sole's face. He looked at the Incubus, "Why is this Val person always leaving you, it seems that everytime I see you he is never around..." -He stopped to think carefully- <If he starts going crazy Val wouldn't be here to stop him... he might try to kill me.. hmm..., I suppose if there is a sign that this is coming I would have to kill him first> Sole's eyes were fixed on Diren. "Are you okay? You're stuttering.." "And whats the history with you and this castle?" Sole thinking to himself again waiting for Diren to gather his thoughts, <It would be best to learn more about him though, he could be useful, but then again, I will need to talk to Mithos first before I even think about going any further with my plan> -He looks to Diren ready for an answer-

Diren looked down, nervous. "....I-I don't want to talk about the castle...Not now." His tail flicked. "A-Anyway!" He said, trying to change the subject to keep his stress level down to a minimum. "The hot spring feels great here! It's relaxing!" He said, stepping towards a spring. "I've been spending all day in it." He knelt down, scooping water up with his hand and letting it pour back into the spring. "I might as well, There's nothing else to do here that doesn't require some crazy Sulfur golems, or flying beasts....Called.....um...Dragons.." He spoke, raising an eyebrow.

Sole looks to Diren in disappointment, "You know you are not his pet right?" Sole, following Diren to the spring continues to talk "You shouldn't have to obey everything he says... he says stay, you stay, why is that?" Sole sends out a finger at Diren with a serious look on his face "YOU are your own person" Sole's face turns into a calm, not much emotion showing expressing. But then again he might have done something for you that you feel you owe him for.. Sole shrugging, what do I know.

Diren blinked. "What makes you think he's ordering me around?" He asked, a tad confused. "I stay where he leaves me, so when he gets back i'm still here......He's the only one, aside from Akira, Who can calm me when I...well...freak out...And you know i've been doing that almost everyday now." He said, sighing softly, and closing his eye. "...I keep having nightmares..." He slowly placed his hands on his head, softly grabbing his hair. "...Every night...I need to be near where he knows I am."

Sole lowers his finger and looks curiously at Diren "Ah.. well thats a different situation, what I was referring to is wherever you are and we might need to go somewhere else your reply is "I have to stay here or Vally will get mad" " "Hm... Diren, have you tried to find closure? Maybe all of this is happening because you have never gotten closure, ever think of that?" He continued to look at Diren, "Maybe you need to face your fear and go back to the tower." Sole said this next line in a very stern and cold voice, "Alone"

Diren's eye twitched after being told he should go back alone, looking to Sole with a terrified expression. "N-NO!! I WON'T GO BACK!!!" He placed his hands on his head. "D-Don't make me go back!! I-I'll be good! I-I won't kill anyone again! I-I-I!!" He freaked, dropping to his knee's. "D-Don't make me go back! N-Not that castle!" He said, hugging himself now, trembling. "P-Please don't make me go back! I-I can't....I can't!" His eyes teared up. "The torture! S-So many humans coming to kill me! S-So much....S-So dark......L-Lonely....D-don't make me go back...I-I'll be good....I-I won't kill anyone...."

He looked to Diren with an annoyed expression "Oh pull yourself together, it is not a punishment and I wasn't saying for you to go back there as a prisoner!" Sole kept his eyes on Diren "If you go there to face your past you might not have to feel like this anymore, and you wouldn't have to worry about going there anymore" Sole stepped back a few feet, having his hand on the sheath of his sword" He thought to himself, I'm going to have a nice new painted red blade if he becomes hostile towards me.

Sole looked to Diren again still on the ground, "Going to the castle might be the only way to escape from this demonic side of yourself, and yes you must go ALONE, only you can face your own past, no one else can do it for you."

Diren flinched. "No...I-I can't....I.....Th-The minute they see an Incubus walking the halls of the dungeon...Th-They'll lock me up again...." He trembled, holding himself. "Humans...Torture...Starvation..." Echoed in his mind. "No!" He placed his hands on his head. "I-I can't go there, I can't go alone!" He said, the Incubus standing to his feet. "V-Vally! Vally!" He began to run away, towards where him and Val would share a camp, just north east of the hot springs. His wings curled around his body tightly, and his tail around his waist. He'd be pretty far from the camp anyway.

Sole shouted to Diren while running after him, "DIREN! Get back here!" While Sole was running he looked at his hand and a devilish smile appeared on his face. He charged up several fire bolts in his hand and then he sent all five to Diren's feet in hopes that he falls in panic, and even better, his feet injured, making him unable to walk or run. "You have to face your past sometime!" Sole stopped to and looked at Diren to see if his plan worked.

"N-No!" Diren shouted, looking back and seeing the firebolt. "Ah!" He fell forward the moment he'd been hit. "AGHH!!" Diren yelled as his feet caught fire, and rolled over onto his back, sitting up. The Incubus threw dirt onto his feet, putting out the flames. He looked down, seeing his left shoe had been burned away slightly, his right shoe not as damaged.

Diren rolled over onto his hands and knee's, his large wings spreading before he pushed himself off the ground, his wings flapping hard and lifting him off the ground. "I'm not going!" He shouted with a growl, floating just 5 feet off the ground, towards his camp.

Sole looked up at Diren, "I didn't say you had to go now!" He shouted, "All I was saying is you might want to consider it!" "UGH Diren get back here!" Sole opened his hand again summoning five more fire bolts, "You're really irritating me now... you're not even in your right mind" Sole has become very irritated, he then focused on how fast Diren was floating to camp. Sole thought to himself, This is really bugging me, I don't want him to go psycho and then kill people, and everyone gets on my case, but if I kill him, then everyone will be on my case, hmmm I'd rather kill him, lets see how this works.

Sole sent all five fire bolts to Diren's wing that wasn't injured. "Get down here!"

Diren looked back, flying towards his camp. "No!" He said with a growl, before seeing the firebolt. "Ah!" He tilted attempting to dodge it. The Incubus shrieked loudly, his wing being struck by said firebolt, sending him screaming to the ground. "AAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" He screamed in pain, rolling around on the ground. "PUT IT OUT!!!" He screamed, the amount of pain in his voice seemed terrible.

Diren rolled, knowing being on fire usually rolling would help put it out. "AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!" He screamed, his voice turning into that of screeching more than anything.

Sole runs to catch up with Diren, diving over to him to pin him to the ground. "Listen to me!" Sole was attempting to hold Diren in place "I was not saying you had to go back now!" "I was saying you might want to consider it because maybe that's why you are acting that way your acting now!" "Do you understand me!?!" "You must calm down now!" Sole had the eyes of a murderer while saying this and staring into Diren's eye that wasn't wrapped in a bandage.

Sole looked right in his eye and attempted to Shift Diren's head, where his eyes would focus on Sole's evil, cold eyes, "Do you understand me?" His voice was calm but had an evil threatening feel to it, that was a small message to Diren that he might be killed if he did not settle down.

Val heard the screeching right as he sat down to make a fire. Cursing under his breath, he jumped up and threw on the leather jerkin he had just taken off. He debated grabbing the armor as well, but realized he wouldn't have time to put it on. He grabbed his shield instead, a piece of worked wood big enough to cover him from shoulder to knee, threw on his swordbelt so the scabbard clanked against his hip everytime is feet hit the ground, and left camp at a dead run. He came upon the scene, Diren somewhat on fire and Sole with that look in his eyes, and shouted.

"By the deepest depths of Chaos' Sea, what is going on here!"

"Vally!! G-Get him off!!!" Diren screeched, tears running from his eyes from the pain. "I-It hurts!! It hurts!!!" He yelled, struggling to push Sole off. His wings spread, and his tail smacked against the ground. "G-Get off!!!!!!" He attempted to kick Sole off.

Sole was kicked off of Diren. He then got up casually and brushed off dirt from his white robe. Hmm... He turned to Val well long story short, he went crazy, I was trying to keep him here, so he didn't cause any damage, that's pretty much what had happen. Sole looked to Diren, and then back to Val, his face had changed into a face with no expression, no smile, no frown, his eyes cold telling nobody anything, locking them out, if they were ever to try to read him.

he lets out a cold, heartless chuckle "oh, you were trying to keep him here, were you? All the fire, the wounds, that really helps your case. Come on, you were just looking for an excuse to kill him, weren't you?"

Val drew his sword and moved up, putting himself between Sole and Diren.

"I grow tired of you constantly wounding my companion. You WILL leave him alone, or there will be consequences."

Diren rolled over onto his hands and knee's, his wing finally stopped flaming but had terrible burns all over it, to the point he probably will never be able to fly, until he rebirths. "Uhn..." He trembled in pain, the poor Incubus' weak spot being so badly damaged, made it hard for him to even move, let alone breathe calmly. "Val...ly..." He said quietly, and in pain, before glancing over at Val. The Incubus' eyes changed color, now black with deep red pupils. "Death..." His voice growled. "Death on the human...Kill him..."

Diren had been in so much pain, that a different side of him came out, one of rage and anger, revenge almost. Although, it seems he had full control over it this time.

He glanced at Diren, then looked back at Sole.

"You know, thats less some demon and more a perfectly normal reaction for a person who just got hit with what you threw at him"

he advanced forward, his shield held up in front of him and his sword held tightly in his hand.

"so why shouldn't i accede to his perfectly reasonable request?"

Diren's hands and knees slowly slide down, the Incubus now laying face down on the ground. "...Pain..." His voice growled. "Make him feel worse than my pain!!!!" He almost screeched the request, his burned wing twitching slightly while he lay there in the dirt. "....Burn him alive!!!! BURN HIM!!!" He growled, The glow in his eyes deepening in color.

Sole looked to Val with an un-phased expression on his face. "Well, I knew this was going to happen eventually," A evil smile went on Sole's face "Val, Val Val, I'm not afraid of you." Sole turned his back, he moving his hand and gripped onto his sword, still in it's sheath, on touch you could hear a clink sound. He very slowly let it out, as it was coming out you could hear a nice clean, long shing, as the sword slid out of it's cradle.

Sole stopped the sword at a diagonal position, the tip of the sword about one inch away from the ground. He lifted his sword, sliding his tongue along the side of it, too bad it won't be clean enough anymore, "It will be tainted with your blood!" He somewhat shouted blood while raising his sword to point at Val, with a vengeance in his voice that would scare the mightiest of giants.

He laughs, unphased. "Do that enough times, and your sword won't have any edge for cutting left at all. it needs to come out of the scabbard silently, not drag along the metal edge at the top. How do you expect to hurt me if you can't handle a blade the right way?"

he smacked the flat of his sword across the iron boss of his shield, making a sharp ringing noise, but he stayed where he was, not budging from his position.

"well then, come and take me if you think you can."