Men who play games of war and soldiers born from circumstance...
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Slipping clawed fingers away from the Harbinger’s hips and sliding them down to wrap around the back of his thighs, Bal’thial slides him up just enough to pull free before settling him back down again in his lap as blood stained fingers travel over the contours of his sweat slicked skin. Leaning up again to claim another kiss, his own words are broken in between still panting breaths as he pulls back enough to speak directly against the other man’s mouth. “I had an encounter… with one of my own… and I was… fearful that we would be separated… for good…” mismatched eyes lock with pupiless white as he wraps his arms around the blonde’s waist, the softest of smiles gracing his lips. “There is no where else …I want to be… and nothing that could keep me from you…” “For this I am glad…” Kso’ppghiel smiles. “I was able to speak with your Forgemaster as we rode… I found out many things about my father… He also gave me a sack for us to give to his son. I looked at the map, it is only a day’s ride from my village.” Clawed fingers move up to play across adorned horns, the soft chiming all but drowned by the crackling fire. “If you encountered another, how long is it safe for us to be here? There is probably only enough water to last us another day with the horses. I would like to leave that woman’s land as quickly as possible.” “I want to be out of her territories quickly myself…” Bal’thial tilts his head over as claw tips continue to play across his horns, bringing his mouth just beneath the Harbinger’s jaw to trace slowly along the structured line while he speaks. “…we will rest for a few hours time and then we should pack what we can and leave. Sleep will most likely be minimal until we cross the borders, but the farther we can get into the East, the better our chances will be when she returns to find you ‘dead’ and myself gone...” Pupiless white eyes slide shut and the shorter man stretches his neck up just enough to allow the tall Captain better access as he moves down the long line with a smile. “Once we have crossed, we will deliver the package to the Mastersmith’s son, replenish our supplies before moving on as I would still very much like to see your family’s gravesites before we head back out and into the West.” “I have not visited them myself since I left…” Kso’ppghiel’s voice grows distant. “It will be odd to see again. I also wonder what has happened to our farm, I do not remember if it burned with the rest of the village.” He smirks. “I was a little busy at the time to take notice. Too many dead Ranga in the way.” His head rolls back down, full lips tracing over Bal’thial’s forehead and fingers moving along the tops of long ears. “When all is done and we have visited our families, I hope to find someplace more permanent to spend with you. I have been traveling far too long.” Blue and green eyes slide shut and he smiles as full lips continue along the length of his ear, the taller man sliding his arms up along Kso’ppghiel’s back. “This… is something I would enjoy very much. The Northwestern territories have much in the way of lush farmlands near the upper coasts and while I do not wish to spend the remainder of my life as a farmer, there are plenty of villages in need of… protections. I have no doubt we will be able to trade our services for land in one or another…” an idea he’s finding himself liking very much, a place where they can build their lives together, no longer products of war and at peace. “It will be better for us both to do this, to find a place where we can stay beneath any real notice because the last thing we will need is Queen Io’fayl catching wind that you are still alive…” “Before I was taken, I remember hearing word of a small accord between the Northern territories. Not enough to make them allies but more along the lines of them both equally hating that woman. I am in honest surprise you and your men were able to get as far within the Northeastern lands as you were. I do feel that even if we were to be discovered, neither territory would allow her to hunt us deep within their lands beyond bounty hunters.” Kso’ppghiel smiles. “And I do not feel they will pose a problem.” Full lips remain on the warmth of the Captain’s skin as he continues. “Becoming a farmer will never be in my future… but as you have said, there are many in need of protection.” A smirk forms soon after. “I am finding myself wanting to be somewhere… colder. Perhaps a northern scrubland would be a nice place to settle. They are more hunting and trapping towns than farmlands.” Mismatched eyes slide back open as he shifts his head back to greet the pupiless white gaze at his front with a smile. “I have spent over thirty years in desert territories and am weathered for the climate so it will be a refreshing change to find myself back in colder lands.” The smile fades on his lips as he slips a hand away from the Harbinger’s body and reaches up to move tangled strands of white blonde away from the other man’s line of vision. “Wherever we travel, wherever we settle I will be content so long as you are with me… finding you tangled around my heart was never something I thought could happen, and even though there are many dangers that await us while Queen Io’fayl lives… I am grateful for the day that she ordered me to bring you to her as it led to this moment we share now.”
If they left just as darkness was settling across the land and rode hard through the night, they could reach the coast by morning, then travel up to the borders at a slower pace to the Eastern territory and eventually his village. Sleeping in forests was more desirable than desert. The blonde looks over to his companion as he finishes strapping on his bags to the saddle. “Are you ready?” Pulling the leather straps that secure his serrated edged weapon to his horse’s side, mismatched eyes slide over to meet white through the shadows the light linen hood covering his head creates and he smiles. “That I am.” Sliding a hand over to take the reins while slipping his other towards the saddle to brace, the tall Captain quickly mounts, followed soon after by the one at his side. Walking his steed back a few paces before turning him around, Bal’thial nods towards the direction they’ll be taking. “We should stay out of the villages as much as possible until we reach the Mastersmith’s son, but as long as we travel along the coast line, there will be enough supplies to be found.” Kso’ppghiel nods and a moment later, the white haired man has kicked his horse into action, followed quickly as the Harbinger does the same.
 One soldier bravely steps forward despite the look of utter insanity he receives from his peers, hoping the information will help to calm his Queen. “M-mistress…” Angry, rust colored eyes shoot straight to the voice and the guard suddenly wishes he wasn’t in the room right now. “V-Vir’nas was close to the Captain… m-maybe he knows why he’s not here…” Io’fayl storms up to the shaking man, grabbing him by the collar and wrenching him up. “Get. Him. Now.” The guard nods frantically as he’s dropped, hitting the floor and bolting out the door as soon as his feet are under him. In little time the young soldier is moving towards his Queen’s chambers, the fear he feels so intense he can barely get his own legs to work. They’d all been dreading the return of their Mistress, knowing she’d probably kill the lot of them simply because her pet and their Captain are both gone and out of them, his fear has been the greatest because it had never occurred to him until the day before her arrival that his boasting would put him in the spotlight. He has a message to deliver to her, his Captain’s final wishes before he’d gone and he’s hoping with all that he is that it won’t end up being his last words said. Io’fayl stands with her arms crossed, impatiently waiting for what ends up being a small whelp of a soldier. She had heard Bal’thial had taken somewhat of an interest in this one, but she couldn’t for the life of her figure out why that was. Rust eyes narrow as fear-filled yellow avert their gaze as he’s pushed forward, the other soldiers melding as far as possible into the wall behind. “Why is my Captain missing, child? Where is he? What happened to my Harbinger?” Every word makes Vir’nas flinch a little harder. The young soldier opens his mouth to speak but only manages a small squeak instead, and it takes him a moment longer to gather his voice enough to get the faintest of whispers to pass through his lips. “D-dead, my Queen.” Hard yellow stay plastered to the floor, his breathing verging on hyperventilation as he continues. “S-sicker… and sicker, your Harbinger d-died, b-but our Captain, he tried everything to s-save him, he really did. And when the F-forgemaster s-said it might be contagious, he burned the body and Captain B-bal’thial, he was so upset because he felt he f-f-failed you so he left.” Vir’nas clenches his fists as his head sinks down further, too afraid to look up. “He told me to tell you how s-sorry he was and I tried to get him to stay, but he was s-so upset, I’ve never seen him that upset.” Rust colored eyes narrow as she stands in silence debating over what she had just been told. The Captain left because he was a failure. How… cowardly and not something she would have expected from Bal’thial. If the same had happened to Tir’snin she doubts this would have been the outcome. There is something not right about this. Where does that man think he can go? She will find him and drag him back to deal with the consequences of desertion. “When did he leave… where did he go?” God, he wishes he was anywhere but here, he really does. “H-he left just after it happened, my Queen” Vir’nas whispers. “I s-saw him ride off, towards the mountains, b-but he never said where he was g-going exactly. J-just that he was sorry and had to leave b-because he claimed he was no longer fit to serve you.” Something isn’t… right. The fool wouldn’t go south, that’s still her territory. She needs a real explanation as to what happened, she cannot simply lose a Harbinger and a Captain all at the same time over such an asinine reason. Gran’hein supposedly burned the body. Rust colored eyes narrow as the one before her practically wets himself in fear. A look of utter disgust washes over her face, she doesn’t need children trying to serve her, this isn’t a game. “Pathetic creature… you are not fit to serve in my personal guard. Join the infantry or move to the kitchens…” Io’fayl pushes past him as she storms out of her chambers, all her men parting in fear as she passes on her way down to the forges. The young soldier practically turns sheet white as his Queen’s words resonate throughout his head, not wanting to believe what he’s just been told. He’d moved up in rank because of a fluke, the day the Harbinger had first been brought in and the guard under Bal’thial’s direct command that he’d killed giving him the opportunity to make it this far. He’d always served under his Captain, but never so close until that day and now... He never even had a chance to prove himself, not to his Captain and not to his Queen… Shaking hands are brought up to his lips as the rest stand behind and look on, the shame of a demotion before his peers almost too much to bear and he stands motionless until the last of Io’fayl’s footsteps have faded in the hallways just behind before he turns suddenly to bolt out of his Mistress’s chambers with hard yellow eyes plastered to the floor. He can’t look at any of them, he doesn’t dare and the only consolation he feels as he runs down to the second level where his quarters once lay is that at least he’ll be leaving the rank of personal guard with every one of them still thinking he and Bal’thial had been very close.
 “Where is he?!” De’lenah lazily puts her tea down before calling out. “Husband, the Queen would like to see you and she seems very impatient…” She simply smiles as rust colored eyes narrow in her direction, Gran’hein emerging from another room soon after. “Where are my Captain and Harbinger?” Io’fayl’s voice comes low and demanding. The large man smirks. “Dead and gone. What Kso’ppghiel had was contagious so I burned the body. Bal’thial couldn’t stand failing you so he left.” “This is the story I keep hearing and I believe none of it. Bal’thial would not leave for such a reason, he is not cowardly. Kso’ppghiel would not die like that. Where are they?!” “I’m telling you what happened Offy. If Kso’ppghiel left, he would have taken his swords. There are two swords above your bed aren’t there? Thial felt bad about the death, he liked the kid, thought he was a good fighter. Struck him a little deeper than your others. He knows you’ll probably stick a price on his head, he’s prepared for that.” Caramel colored eyes glitter as he smiles. “You are telling me he left thirty years of perfect service because of one incident that I do not believe happened. Burning a body leaves no evidence of death, Gran’hein, I’m not an idiot. Where are they?” Io’fayl steps forward, moving in face to face with the Forgemaster. “I did not lose Mithghiiel’s son to an illness.” “No Offy, you lost Mithghiiel’s son before he ever got sick. You caged him and treated him like an animal. You honestly think Mithghiiel himself would have tolerated any of that? The only reason he couldn’t do anything about it is because you’re a heavy weight and he’s still young. You made Bal’thial beat him down daily for no other reason than he had spirit, one that wouldn’t bend to your will. I know what went on up there and I have to say that’s a bit much even for you. So calm yourself and accept you lost because of your own actions.” Rage darkens the Queen’s eyes, she reaches out to strike at the one in front of her only to have her wrist caught with the barest of effort before her fist would make contact. Gran’hein’s own eyes turning serious. “I may work for you, but you do not command me, Offy. I’ve known you for far too long and out rank you by leaps and bounds. Don’t give me a reason to prove it. You come to my home, make demands in front of my wife, threaten me and you think I will simply bend to your will in a cowering mass like every other creature. Come now.” He laughs a very bitter laugh. “I was very angry over Mithghiiel and I’m no more pleased over this. Your selfishness and histrionics are driving out some very valuable and good people, some I called my friends and I don’t take well to losing friends. Now you can walk back up there and run your kingdom like a good Queen or you can give me a reason to send your entire territory into chaos because you’re no longer running it.” “You wouldn’t dare take my command.” Io’fayl’s fist and eyes never move, refusing to back down. “You’re right, I’m not stupid enough. I don’t want your kingdom, I’ll simply pack up and walk away. ‘Bout time I retired anyway.” “I will have you executed.” She snarls. De’lenah laughs in the background, drawing narrowed rust eyes in her direction. Gran’hein yanks the Queen’s attention back away from his wife. “You can certainly try, Offy. The longer you keep this up, the nicer retirement is starting to look. You’re doing this to yourself, I hope you realize. Absolute command isn’t always a good thing. It’s how you lost Mithghiiel, how you lost his son and your Captain. I know you have a lot to prove but I think you’ve quite proven it already. Go back, lick your wounds and return to your rule with a clearer head or you’re going to destroy yourself.” He throws Io’fayl back, crossing his arms as he waits for her to leave. Silent, seething rage continues to show despite knowing she’s been beaten. Her eyes narrow once more at De’lenah’s smiling face before she turns around and storms off towards the door. “Oh and Offy…” Gran’hein catches her as she’s leaving. “You can threaten me all you want but if you ever look at my wife that way again I will kill you with my bare hands…” A large grin forms over his lips as she slams the door.
“You did not sleep very long.” He says softly, tightening his hold around the other man’s waist to pull the cloak closer against them. “I am not exactly a good substitute for silk sheets and soft bedding I am sure.” “I never do sleep very long. Out here one cannot afford to be off guard for an extended period.” Kso’ppghiel smiles. “I was always uncomfortable in those silk sheets, very unnatural. You do not seem to have slept at all. I am sorry I cannot provide you with a comfortable bed until we cross the border.” Clawed fingers slide over the Captain’s arms to tighten the hold. “Ah… but I am here to protect you so you can rest and recover thoroughly…” Bal’thial smiles teasingly as he leans down to touch his mouth in strands of white blonde. “I have little need of a soft bed in truth. I have traveled enough campaigns for Queen Io’fayl and spent many a night in the desert that the bed waiting for me upon return was not enough to spoil me completely.” A smirk forms on the Captain’s lips. “Before gaining that position, I had never seen the likes of silks or sheets so I will not miss them much…” “I have lived many years without anyone’s protection. And I am certain you still had the luxury of a tent and guards.” The blonde teases. “I am still getting used to having a companion at all.” White eyes close as his lips move up to press against Bal’thial’s neck. “Once I am fully recovered I would like to begin that once promised training so that I may someday be able to take on that woman. You will also get that rematch you have been hoping for now that I have both my weapons again.” He smiles deviously. “I will do my best not to take your head.” Bal’thial laughs while tilting his head up just a little to allow the Harbinger access before a sharp nip is given playfully just beneath his jaw line. “I am looking forward to this rematch as much as I am training.” Dropping his head down, the one he holds tilts farther up to meet his mouth with his own, the kiss shared soft yet filled with the same fire burning to both men’s fronts. A smiles forms on full lips when they break moments later, and mismatched eyes glint as they meet pupiless white. “I will need my head to do both these things so I will thank you ahead of time for not removing it from my neck.” An amused bout of laughter slips free of Kso’ppghiel’s mouth before he settles back against the taller man once again, the strong arms that hold him pulling his closer towards the white haired man’s body. “Once we have crossed the borders and visited both your family’s graves and the Mastersmith’s son, we will ride to the west and seek out a place we can call our own… the clan I was partied to before my Queen’s had many connections throughout the territory, and many of those still owe me favors for services rendered. I may be able to collect and find us some place safe where we may practice in relative peace, training for the day you can return to exact the price Io’fayl owes you for your family’s blood.” Kso’ppghiel nods. “I am in no rush, my sense of urgency for revenge is not what it once was now that you have filled the hole the loss left. I will kill her, but I am willing to wait until I am better prepared. My lack of social desire or ability did not allow me the same when it comes to being owed. I would always leave before a favor could be exacted as nothing I did was for them in the first place.” A cold wind blows past, the blonde unconsciously pulling in closer to the one behind before he realizes it. “Though I still may be able to find favors in my old village if any of them remember my father. He would always lend a hand to those in need, often dragging me with him.” He smirks. “The more I hear of your father,” Bal’thial chuckles softly. “The more I am grateful for the level head he seemed to carry on his shoulders and sense of decency…” the Harbinger’s gaze slides up to meet mismatched blue and green and he smiles. “It is that sense of decency apparently that saved the woman who had a son I happen to be enamored with. I wish to thank him personally for this and will do so when we pass through your birth place.” The smile fades on the white haired man’s lips and his voice falls a little low. “This will be the first time in many years I am traveling not as the Captain of Queen Io’fayl’s personal guard and I am in hopes that without my uniforms, I will not be recognized… my presence alone may cause problems in the east if I am not careful.” “The farming villages should not know who you are, very few of high rank visit. The clans may, however.” Kso’ppghiel smiles. “Your face is one none are likely to forget. Your eyes alone more memorable than most. I have never seen eyes such as yours before in all my travels.” Clawed fingers slide up to trace along the Captain’s brow as mismatched blue and green eyes close. “Nor have there been any I would like to look into.” Mismatched eyes slowly reopen to meet the white gaze below him and he smiles. “There are no other eyes in these lands I want looking… even if my brother would argue that mine are not so unique.” Sliding a hand away from the blonde’s body, Bal’thial slips it up to wrap around the fingers that trace the lines of his brow and he pulls Kso’ppghiel’s hand to his lips, leaving the softest of kisses against his palm. “and neither is this face of mine. Though…” the slight traces of a sly smile reforms on his mouth as he nips at pale skin. “I am the better looking of the two, if I do not say so myself. My brother always seemed more suited for the life our father wanted for us, I on the other hand found a sense of refinement from war my brother is lacking…” “Your brother is not you, therefore does not look like you. Your personality and experience make you who you are. This face…” The blonde brings the back of held fingers up to the Captain’s cheek. “Is not your brother’s face. You are no farmer, even without seeing your brother I already know the differences are vast.” Kso’ppghiel shifts back as the white haired man moves over top of him, fingers continuing their way along long ears. “War brings a raw beauty to things that a simple life of a farmer cannot. This beauty, you possess.” A smile forms on Bal’thial’s lips as the fire light dances across both men’s features and he slips his arms tighter around the one he holds, mismatched eyes closing momentarily while claw tips continue to trace along the line of his ear. “Raw beauty… I rather like the sound of this…” reopening his eyes to meet the pupiless gaze below, he tilts his head and leans down again to touch his mouth to the Harbinger’s, whispering directly against full lips. “It is something you posses in return…” sliding his mouth in the slightest to brush lightly, he smiles once again. “And I find it amusing that we had both been destined for lives very different than the ones that led us to one another. War led me to you and for that alone, I could never regret my choices… or my losses due to it.” “While I do not want my family dead, I am glad all paths from then on led me to you. You showed me life and meaning where there was none, for this I am grateful.” Their lips meet briefly, Kso’ppghiel speaking without pulling away. “The realization and chance at a life beyond retribution are worth more to me than you know. No other could even begin to draw my attention the way you have.” He smiles. “I look forward to running into your old clan. I would like to see the one who took such an interest in you and to see his expression once he realizes you can never be his." “I am happy and honored that I was able to pull your attentions, as there is much to you that would have been wasted had you remain on that path of destruction you were on. You have brought meaning to my life as well, one that I was once simply living with motions formed through habit, necessity and need…” Brushing his mouth one more time, the taller man’s smile fades as he pulls back enough to readjust his hold around Kso’ppghiel’s body and slide him closer. “We will most likely run into my old clan once we cross the borders into the Western territories. But… it will not be so easy to find that man in particular…” mismatched eyes slide away and a distance crawls into the Captain’s voice. “He is long since dead.” He falls silent for a moment before a smirk forms on his lips. “Though I am sure the look would be one of anger, were you to see it. He was very… possessive in his way.” “I am finding myself somewhat disappointed I will not be able to see this.” Kso’ppghiel smirks. “But you are not the type to be owned, this was obvious from the moment I met you. I am curious about all that you have done in your past.” His fingers slide back along the metal adornments of Bal’thial’s horns, smiling as they chine softly in his wake before returning his hand under the wool to run along the line of the Captain’s back. “Self destruction was always at the forefront. I knew that life would kill me, it was only a matter of time. Though when I was brought back to that woman, I found myself too prideful of my life to allow her to end it.” He shakes his head slightly. “I am surprised I am still alive. One does not live long on their own in war.” “You will most likely learn much of my past and what I have done, if not by my doing, then by the others once we happen upon them.” Bal’thial laughs softly. “And yes, it is true that war does not afford our kind long lives for the most part… though it may be that path of destruction and the lack of caring that kept you living. It seems that when we care nothing for our personal safety or pay no mind to where we are carried along the winds, nothing can touch us. Yet the moment we find value in our lives and do not wish for death, suddenly it is there before us, trying with all its might to take us away.” The Captain smirks. “I am glad though, that your pride took precedence to death while under Queen Io’fayl’s ‘care’ as I found myself hoping rather quickly that you would not find an end the way her last few had found their ends.” Kso’ppghiel shakes his head. “She would not kill me because of my father. If I were any other, I would have been dead. From what your Forgemaster has said, she was trying to relive what she had with him through me. I am not my father and even he would not have tolerated what that woman did.” He smiles. “I went into every battle expecting to die. I had wanted to perish fighting with everything I had. If I was to die, it would be on my own terms, not that woman’s.” Dawn begins to peek through on the horizon. “We should head off before light. If we ride straight through we can reach the border by evening.” Mismatched eyes slide away from the blonde he holds and over to the two horses that rest to their sides, and he smiles. “I suppose we should… I would prefer to remove myself from her territories as soon as possible.” his gaze slides back down, but he makes no movement to pull away or allow the other man to do the same. “At least they have found some rest and can continue on for us should we tire while riding?” Kso’ppghiel smirks before leaning up to nip at his jaw line, causing him to laugh once again. Leaning down to place his lips near the shorter man’s ear, the Captain kisses the spot just below, smiling when the softest of shivers runs over the Harbinger’s skin before he pulls away and finally unwinds his arms from around his broad frame. The blonde takes a moment longer before he pulls away, slipping free of the heavy cloak and up before turning to offer his hand to the white haired man. Reaching up to take it, their bodies slide in close when Bal’thial is pulled up to his feet. “In one day’s time, Harbinger… you and I will be completely free.”
Kso’ppghiel… has she truly lost her last link to Mithghiiel? She is certain the child would have been broken in time. She shakes her head, it was not a broken man she wanted in the first place, she wanted someone with the spirit and fire of Mithghiiel. The old fool was right and she hates to admit it. She cannot rule absolutely and still get a free spirit. If she had simply recanted the order, would Mithghiiel have stayed? Would he have come to love her in return? Would Kso’ppghiel? Rust colored eyes shift over to the swords resting above her bed, same as they were before she left. Determination and anger washes over her features and she moves to her door, surprising the guard stationed outside as she rips it open. “There is to be a bounty placed on Bal’thial’s head for desertion. I want him returned to me alive. Five million gold.” She hesitates a moment before speaking again. “Kso’ppghiel’s as well… ten million. His return condition does not matter.” The guard opens his mouth to speak to remind her that her Harbinger is dead but thinks better of it rather quickly. Io’fayl’s eyes narrow as she notices the slip and turns back to her room, slamming the door shut.
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