clearing in the preserve: saturday night

Sep 27, 2014 17:46

The day, as it was, hadn't been terrible. Nathan had been edgy and nervous but that had seemed to flame out. He'd seen no one with eyes like this. He'd encountered nothing to make him believe that a Hunter was here. Nathan believed Anders, he did, but he hoped that maybe Anders confronting whoever that was had sent him back to England.

So, Nathan decided to chance the preserve... )

[people] anders, [people] marcus edge, [places] preserve

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not_every_mage September 28 2014, 00:28:59 UTC
Anders hadn't seen Nathan at the talent show. With Karl sleeping the sleep of the 'new to this dimension and completely befuddled and exhausted,' it seemed like as good a time as any to check in. And since Nathan wasn't in his room, that meant a trip out to the preserve.

Which, of course, would be easier if he were a touch more familiar with the woods. He kept stumbling over the dry branches at the edge of the path.

"Andraste's scarlet overcoat," he swore, not for the first time, and raised his voice from his spot some thirty yards from where Nathan lay. "Nathan, are you out here or am I wandering around with a torch for no reason?"

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halfbad September 28 2014, 00:40:03 UTC
Dimly, Nathan managed to hear that voice over all the other noises in the preserve. His injuries were knitting together but his shirt was still ripped and there was some dried blood on both torso and face.

He looked worse than he felt at this point. He'd crawled over to sit against a tree, tired and confused. So, when he heard Anders, he didn't answer at first.

"Over here," he finally said when he guessed that whoever it was that had attacked and then cuddled him was done for the night.

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not_every_mage September 28 2014, 00:47:50 UTC
"Good," Anders said in relief -- he really hadn't wanted to waste the trip to the woods -- and then walked the short distance.

His smile drooped when Nathan's features finally came into focus.

"You're bleeding."

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halfbad September 28 2014, 00:50:50 UTC
"It's dry," Nathan told him, demonstrating that by reaching up and rubbing some of it off his face. "I stopped bleeding a few minutes ago."

Maybe not very comforting but truthful, at least. "I'm okay."

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not_every_mage September 28 2014, 01:00:16 UTC
"That's good," Anders said dubiously, and moved to sit next to him. "But why were you bleeding to start with? Was it that man from yesterday?"

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halfbad September 28 2014, 01:06:47 UTC
"It wasn't a man at all," he answered, still trying to get his head around it. "It was a giant black wolf. Strangest bloody thing, I swear. It could have killed me and it didn't. I don't -- it knew what it was doing, who I was."

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not_every_mage September 28 2014, 01:09:16 UTC
Anders took a moment to consider that. "That's completely insane," he decided. "I've never heard of an animal stopping like that."

Lucky, obviously, but insane. He reached into the pouch at his side and drew out a healing potion, which he offered to Nathan. "I know you can heal yourself, but this might help a bit."

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halfbad September 28 2014, 01:19:50 UTC
"I'll take anything that helps speed this up," Nathan said, taking the potion with a quick smile of thanks. He peered at it quietly, using that moment to continue to gather up his thoughts. "I don't really understand what happened."

He took his eyes away from the potion and looked over at Anders. "I thought it was going to rip my throat out but it didn't. I don't know. It licked my face and nuzzled me and then left."

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not_every_mage September 28 2014, 01:25:27 UTC
"Maybe it saw how pretty you were and couldn't hurt you," Anders suggested, which was a weak joke but an attempt at one nonetheless.

He tapped his boot idly on the ground, thinking. "This might be silly, but can your shapeshifters look like anything besides people?"

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halfbad September 28 2014, 01:32:45 UTC
Weak joke or not, it made Nathan exhale a laugh before he took a sniff of the healing potion and then eventually a sip. A careful one though since he wanted to get used to any flavor or effect on him.

"...it can't be him," Nathan whispered in disbelief. Anders' question had jogged something in his head and now he was seriously beginning to think he knew who this was. "There's no way."

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not_every_mage September 28 2014, 01:36:16 UTC
It was just elfroot. The taste wasn't exactly pleasant,but it had never done anyone any harm as far as Anders knew.

"Who is he?" Anders asked, sitting up a bit straighter as if preparing for something.

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halfbad September 28 2014, 01:44:46 UTC
Nathan took a few more sips and then rubbed a hand over his face, still not believing it. It was just impossible to think about.

"The only person I know who has a gift like that, his original Gift," Nathan said, taking a breath and looking over at Anders, "is my father. But, he wouldn't come to see me. It's too dangerous."

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not_every_mage September 28 2014, 01:56:27 UTC
"Not if he knows you've been here for months and no one else found you," Anders suggested. "He might have realized this place isn't being watched. Or if -- I don't know. Would it be good news if it were him?"

Turning into a giant wolf to attack Nathan didn't strike Anders as the friendliest parental choice, but that was a secondary issue at the moment.

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halfbad September 28 2014, 02:05:31 UTC
"It would be strange if it were him," Nathan said, finishing the potion and leaning back against the tree. He was quiet for a second, staring up at the black sky peeking through the trees.

"This tattoo here," he said, pointing to the small one on his finger, "can be used to make something called a witch's bottle. If the Hunters catch me, they'll cut it off and create something called a witch's bottle with it. They can use it to control me and they want me to kill my father. I refuse to do it but it's still dangerous for him to be around me."

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not_every_mage September 28 2014, 02:16:34 UTC
"You aren't going to hurt him," Anders said, and hoped he was right. "And of course Hunters use blood magic, or the next thing to it."

He swore into that night sky. "Seems as though it'd be simpler to kill him themselves."

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halfbad September 28 2014, 02:25:49 UTC
"Wouldn't be as poetic, I guess," Nathan said, closing his eyes and letting it fall back against the tree. "They probably wouldn't be able to anyway. Marcus is powerful. Extremely powerful."

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