#phoenixprophecy

Darius: -I watched silently from the dark of the beach house’s upper level, the small silhouetted figure lit up ethereally with the bright moonlit backdrop. @FieryInnocence’s arms are weighed down with what appears to be bottles, the high clanks of the glass necks and wider bases sounding with each step she took closer to the water’s edge. 

I could go to her now, end both of our miseries and madness, but my instincts were warring to keep a safe distance. The shadowling whispers had been stirring more with the weather heating up in the human realm, the borders between both worlds were thinning as the seasons changed from cool spring to blazing hot summer. 

The Summer Solstice was here. Another time of change, and my darling was saying her farewells, much like I. She was broken up inside, her emotions a tangled mess that I could feel so acutely through the invisible tether which entwined our souls. 

It was impossible to ignore. Dark pupils adjust to the night as I continued to stare off into the expansive darkened coastline absently for a moment. I missed @FieryInnocence, the thrill of her touch shocking through my senses, awakening that dormant side of my being. 

A side I never knew existed, yet she roused it up from nowhere and set it ablaze from a tiny spark. A flash of crimson jerks me back to the lone figure wading in the low surf, the neck and bottom of one of the bottles flying end over end while the glass arcs to dip in the oncoming rushing waves. 

It disappears briefly when a curling wave submerges it completely, before it bobs upward further off from where it landed to slowly drift on the current. @FieryInnocence waits, somber dull blue eyes trained on the object as the tide carries it deeper into the foamy waters.  

It pained my heart to see her this way, so distraught and conflicted over our memories. Her softly spoken words filter into my thinking space, soft pleas to come back to her. I rip my sight away with a tortured groan as her fingers hover over the mark gracing the curve of her neck. 

@FieryInnocence’s figure turns away from the water to flint back into the confines of the dark beach house.  I stride slowly over to her vanity, my thick digits trail over the tiny cosmetic bottles that lined the top, the rings I’d place over the parchment with the words:  

“Meet me under the Aurora skies when you’re ready. Remember how to find me and never stop believing. - D”  

A wallowed sigh breaks free from my thinned lips as the Beast struggles deep within my soul space to stay. 

Each step was taking a great effort to make, trying my damnedest to strengthen my resolve while the dark magick prickles hotly over my skin and my molecules scatter off to disperse right as the door below sounds a hard slam shut. 

My body reforms at the waterline, thick dark hair rushing around my hard features as I retrieve the blood red container from drifting off. My calloused cold fingers wrap around the curved container as I tuck it securely into the inner pocket of my blazer. 

I turn my blackened gaze back to the home, my mind picking up the scratchy whispers of shadowlings zeroing in on my location. 

I had nothing to offer @FieryInnocence other than more pain, death, and a life always hopping from one cursed realm to another in search of some fabled prophecy that could possibly or possibly could not be the salvation for both our worlds. 

I groan out a distorted gurgled sound past my gritted teeth, jaw ticking tight as I summon the magick once more to set forth with my plans. I had to lead the shadowlings away from @FieryInnocence. 

Anna Belle: [“Ms. Reed.” I felt a nudge against my arm and my eyes tore from their fixation. /Him/. The sun had been shining for days now, summer  finally showing its face in Georgia, and I have to admit that I couldn’t have been happier. 

“Time for your medicine, Ms. Reed.” 

The orderly was kind. New, naïve, but kind. His hazel eyes moved between me and the window through which I’d been completely lost in. 

Of course, just as all other nurses, doctors and orderlies alike, he was warned of my… “condition.” I guess being labeled as a manic schizophrenic was somewhat new to some of these doctors. 

A small laugh parted my lips and I reached out to take the cup from him. Yes, he definitely was new. The moment I grabbed the cup, he turned his back and the tiny pill was rolled away to a center drain grate. 

At first, with the “hallucinations,” I was simply considered a manic depressive with extreme bipolar tendencies. But as I began to, in my doctor’s words, create an elaborate alternate life and dream up such people as Him, I was slipped into the schizo column. 

And that’s where I’ve stayed. I refuse to give up on my truths. No matter how hard they try to drug me. 

He was and is real. I know it. I feel it. And I will find a way to prove that. 

Anna Belle: Our Father, who art in Heaven... 

[The prayer fell from my lips as fluidly as always. My eyes fixed to the crucifix hanging on the wall opposite of the bed. It's not mine, so I don't call it such. It's the bed, the room, the anything. 

None of it mine. My thumb brushed a circle over the knuckle of my index finger, just as it would a Rosary. I'm not allowed one, though, so I have to pretend. 

Seems I've been deemed untrustworthy with such items. Supposed one could attempt to kill themselves with one. 

Not that I would. I couldn't do that. Not with a necklace as sacred as a Rosary. My blonde, dingier than normal, hair fell to cover my face, eyes welling with tears. 

It is nighttime I fear most. Without light, there is no him. Without him, there is no me. Pushing myself to my feet, I stood upright, eyes moving from the crucifix to the window. 

The moon was barely full, but was hidden by clouds. I tried looking at my reflection, hoping for a glance, a peek. Anything. But all I got was darkness shadowed by more darkness. 

It was late, so I opted to attempt to sleep. The daily pill I'm meant to take scratched against the metal frame of the bed. I'll have to remember it in the morning. Hide it up my sleeve and when I wash my face, let it slip down the drain. The pills take him away, so I don't take them. 

My hands come to rest on my stomach, eyes trained to the ceiling. Sundays are easy. Church, no matter the religion, the luncheon and then therapy. I made a vow last week to not get angry during this Sunday's session. 

I hope I can keep it. If not, I could lose everything I worked for. The bible says that God will answer the desire of your heart, if you do as you should and stay steadfast on him and his path. 

And the desire of mine is too great to lose over anger. But no one believes me, I know it. 

Anna Belle: [Who knew that the beach could be so peaceful? I've tried everything to rid my mind of the images of a world in a different time and place. I drank, no matter how much or little, I still did it. 

I stayed at my desk and wrote until words were beyond thought and I even considered signing up for a dating site or going on blind dates - all to rid myself of the dark-haired man who haunted my dreams in the best of ways. 

The wind picked up, carrying the soft rhythm of guitar with it, and I had nothing left within me. All thoughts seemed to drift away with the notes. 

I'd opted I'm going to the beach because I hadn't gone in a while and because it's the place anyone would want to leave their memories, tucked neatly in bottles that bob with the tide, left to be found by someone who would probably never understand. 

Six bottles, each containing the faintest of memories in them, sat before me. I'd gone to a friend who is beyond skilled in drawing and got them to create an image of Him.The man who filled every dream and vision. The similarities are dumbfounding. 

I was lost in the glint of the deep colored eyes, eyes that often fade to black in my dreams. The image was hidden inside a red bottle; a color I had come to associate with Him. Passion, love, lust, anger...all of it. It was him. Stories of him, of us were in the other bottles. My eyes closed and I took what felt to be a final breath. 

If this man were real beyond my mind, where was he? I'd willingly give him all of me. A silent curse slipped past my lips and I bent to pluck a bottle from the sand, popping the cork into it. 

Even if he were here, my words would surely push him away. Me and my big mouth. I'd lost much of who I was since my… whatever doctors say happened. 

The bottle fell from my fingertips and slowly began to be pulled away from me in the tide of the ocean. And with each inch of distance growing between us, my heart clenched so tightly, I lost my breath. 

Anxiety filled my chest and I knew I'd lose it. One bottle down, just a few to go...but I couldn't. I couldn't let go. Not just yet. 

Because this man, a man who was no more than a memory to me, meant too much to just walk away from. 

I gathered the bottles and took them back to my hotel room, planning to try again tomorrow. Tomorrow's another day, right? 

4/27/13 1:14pm Darius: -I continued to watch @FieryInnocence while I gulped down a mouthful of whiskey, my stomach churning in protest at the single barrel Jack when it hit the empty awaiting pit. 

My teeth ground down on some stale bar nuts, while my mind continued to roll on the questions I had no answers for. By last call I was thankful that @FieryInnocence was sliding free from the stool with grace after paying her tab. I followed her home, internally wondering if she was able to detect our bond through the beast’s mark with my close proximity as we ventured out into the cool April night. 

As we stepped free from the bar’s interior all around us the smell of fresh earth, and spring were thick. Flowers and plants in bloom with new growth lined our path that were overwhelmingly fragrant to my senses, but none smelled lovely as @FieryInnocence, the trail of unique perfume that lingered behind her with each step she made toward her home lifted my spirits some.  

Why I did not just approach her I was not sure. I guess in some ways I did not want to frighten her if she had no recollection of me or her time in Caspius realm. 

Free to restart her life, perhaps with the husband and family I was sure @FieryInnocence  had always dreamed and wanted. 

I rubbed thick fingers into the center of my brows, I couldn’t think clearly, my own logic was always torn apart whenever I was near @FieryInnocence. 

I keep to the fringes of the shadows, my dark eyes watching closely while she fishes out her keys, stumbling lightly over her grey fluff of a kitten once she successfully unlocked the door before locking up for the night. 

I sigh out in somewhat relief at seeing her arrive safely, and knowing she was fine. With one last look at her home illuminating from the inside I’d been forced to tear away from the object of my obsession. 

My intestines were protesting and gnawing on themselves after having no nourishment for days. The gargling sounds were loud enough that it had become necessary to seek sustenance. 

I turned away and left @FieryInnocence’s home no wiser than before I’d seen her tonight. Sinking into the shadows of the night, I shadow hopped off to a nearby diner. 

The serving waitress was sickly thin woman with bleach blonde and frizzed out hair pulled away from her plain features covered  heavily in masked makeup. My firm lips turned up in disgust as she smacked on a cheek full of some fruity bubblegum while taking my order. 

I held my breath as her stench caused my stomach to turn more painfully, my was voice labored as I placed my order to go. The clanks coming from the cook in the kitchen and around the crowded diner were driving my senses into overload. The visual and audio stimulation was too much, my sensitivity to the human world was still amplified, but slowly stabilizing. 

The beast stirs deep within not so patiently waiting as distorted groans left my dry lips. I snatched my bags from the trembling waitress with a dark icy glare when when she hesitantly walks over, a chill of fear shivers over her as her blue eyes bulge catching a flash of my features slipping to reveal the beast. 

I tugged up the collar and lapels of my black blazer sharply, tossing waded up cash onto the diner’s table top before  briskly making my exit. With my ears ringing, and my magick acting haywire, I slowly made my trek back to my flat. 

I’d reached the building in no time, tossing my keys across a counter before dropping into a seat to slam down my food. It was dark, the shadows were playing across the white of the walls as I chew-swallowed my food. 

My stomach and beast groan out in content finally feeding, my body starting to feel stronger with each bite.- 

What now? 

-My ears calm with the ringing session on my eardrums only to prickle and turn to right at a small sound, the black coat I’d discarded after my travel back from Caspius shifting slightly. I quirk a brow a moment down at the black fabric when it parts, a tiny set of eyes swiveling around in different directions before they give a slow blink.- 

You sneaky little stowaway, you. 

–I chuckle down feeling myself ease more as Darwin creeps slowly out of the confines of the coat. I watch in amusement when his jaw gapes down with a soft hiss, his swiveling eyes taking in the loft.- 

Yes, it’s safe. This is home. At least or now… 

-I shake my head on my broad, tense shoulders, crumbling up the trash from the night’s meal. The weight of everything from @FieryInnocence’s disappearance, the cross travel situation, and my wrecked magick settling heavily on them. 

I toss it into the kitchen bin, striding back to scoop Darwin into my palm. After I spin us around giving the small chameleon a quick tour of the place I tried to think where would be the best place to keep him. My dark eyes settle on the atrium in the heart of the room, the lush foliage ample enough to hide Darwin and allow him to explore.- 

Ah…I think I’ve found you a nice spot. What do you think? 

–I step over the stone steps, folding my form down as I flatten and extend my palm for Darwin to creep off. He tilts his green scrunched orbs back in my direction as if making sure it is alright, before he reaches out with one small leg to clinch a leaf between his toes. 

He steps precariously off my  palm, curling his tail around the stem of the plant to nestle in. Darwin’s pigmentation shifts colorfully and brightly across his tiny scales as he acclimates to the new surroundings. 

I chuckle darkly watching him more as his pink sticky tongue licks at his mouth, his pair of toes gripping the foliage to climb off further into the garden.- 

Yes, I think you quite like it. 

–I shake my head once, my fingers threading into my mess of dark hair before standing to my full height. It would take Darwin some time to get used to this place, but he’d get accustomed to it. I step back from the greenery, searching for my cell.

With being back on this side I had some unfinished business to attend to. First thing on the list was to check in on the Den in Trinity. I’d been away for months now and I was sure Ty was probably wondering if I’d ever return. 

Once things were settled there, then I’d look into new investments here in Savannah. I wanted to  stay close to @FieryInnocence, with the hope that she’d remember something. 

I knew I still had the situation brewing in Caspius, but there was nothing to do until I located the prophecy book. 

Darius: -Coming back into myself, the grains of sand particles my magick allowed me to travel reforming to rebuild my hard structure again, I feel weak and disoriented. 

It would take days for me to fully come back to myself, my vision is hazed when I stagger off to the flat I’d purchased in Georgia. 

I fumble, lifting my heavy arms to unlock the door and rush to the sink in desperation. I needed water and lots of it, this last jump to the mortal realm had dehydrated me leaving my tongue thick and throat parched. 

I groan in relief as the clear fluid glides over my glands, quenching that soul penetrating thirst. A wince squints my lids as the brightness of the sun blaring brightly through the shutters sends sharp jabs of pain to my dark irises.- 

Fucking hell! 

–Damn this realm was bright as fuck. They were such a difference from the crimson skies of Caspius. I stomp unsteadily over, blindly grasping for the strings with a thick forearm blocking my view as I attempted to shut out the light. 

With a small triumphant sigh the back of my lids darken and I lower my arm to collapse at my side. I leave the windows to stumble off, large palm bracing on the cool wall in a slide as I search out somewhere soft to land. 

A grunt clears my throat when I feel my kneecaps thump into the arm of the leather sofa. I round the corner barely clearing it and end up tumbling forward with a hard lurch, my body crashes into the cool animal skin with a deep grunt. 

I turn to sprawl out with my heavy limbs hanging off the edges of the furniture right as darkness claims me. 

I’m awoken at what seems hours later by a piercing alarm ringing a shrill in my eardrums. I cover my palms over my ears, realizing the dreaded sound was the smoke detector of a neighbor startling the night. 

I take in my surroundings in confusion once my awareness returns, in my mind thinking it’s been only hours by the weary feeling still lingering in my bones, but in reality it must have been days. 

A heavy beard was now covering the lower half of my jaw and chin which rough digits scratched at in agitation. The blasted ringing ceases thankfully and I bellow out a groan that rumbles the expanse of my broad chest, a thick satisfied yawn sounding out in the now quiet night. 

Why was I here again? I rattle my head trying to find the answers when a ghost of a vision passes by my peripherals. Fair locks dancing behind a maiden, her face hidden completely from my sight.- 

Anna darling… 

-I husk out her name on a whisper as the memory stirs and flares within me. My body ripples with a wave of weak magick right as the spectral image faints away in the atmosphere. With a shove off the sofa I right myself upright, rushing to wash and trim my burly features. 

Satisfied once the coarse hair is layered in the basin of the sink and not my jaw. I rinse my body in a speedy shower and dress for the night. Stark white cuffs buttoned up at my wrist, a black blazer and pressed slacks cover my tall length. It was one of the modern comforts I loved about being back on this side. 

I finished off and summoned up a spark of dark magick to hop through the shadows toward @fieryinnocence’s abode. 

One look at the darkened interior tells me she’s not home and by the late hour I had to wonder where she was. A wisp of her scent breezes by with a flare of my nostrils and I spin on my hard heels to track it to the local watering hole. 

My brows drew down hard as I entered the establishment, most of the bar patrons reeking of booze and a heavy cheap perfumed smell of desperation from the lonely women. All except for one that is. 

That light honeysuckle scent punches me straight in the gut when it wafts above the other’s stench, my feet drop me into a back booth as I kept my dark eyes locked on her. 

Fuck @fieryinnocence was a golden goddess shining bright in this dank hell hole of a place. I admired quietly from a safe distance not wanting to alarm her or knowing if she would even remember me, if my memories were even real or merely a fascination. 

I scrub over my hard features, before returning my gaze up to her sitting under a light at the bar, a drink hanging off the tips of her delicate fingers. 

3/20/2013 8:21pm Anna Belle: [The visions... thoughts... whatever I was having of /him/ is gone. I've had nearly two weeks of quiet, so my idea of needing to possibly seek professional help sort of went out the window. 

Mischa has been helping me... cope. Or whatever it is I'm doing. The drink sitting on the bar in front of me isn't doing anything that I'd like it to; part of me wanting to forget whatever these "fake" memories are, the other part wanting to remember them even clearer. 

Darius: -Another restless night. My hard muscular body twists in the rumpled bed sheets, large fists pounding into the lumpy pillows tucked beneath my head. 

I’d been attempting to settle comfortably enough to finally ease into some semblance of slumber for hours now. Most nights I was kept up with the memories of @fieryinnocence haunting me. 

Her presence here in this dimension seemed like an illusion. I can’t be certain if she was real with the way she vanished without a trace and it was driving me to near madness. 

One moment she was here, her honeysuckle scent filling the halls and expansive library, awakening this long dormant castle and bringing this cursed beast of a man alive again; And the next her absence reminded me of the stark reality of my existence. 

The truth of how the life and path of a beast was usually a solitary journey. A rush of air slips past my firm lips, my hard heels sliding across the black silk sheets, long limbs spreading out at my sides in frustration. 

I had searched the castle grounds frantically for @fieryinnocence with no success. The only things that kept me from tumbling over that sharp edge of sanity were the little signs that proved the golden beauty was not a mere figment of my mind. 

I gruff out sleepily giving up the nightly fight right as the gloomy bed chamber brightens from the first streaks of dawn. I step chillingly free from the mused bed, my pale hard bare feet flattening against the cool marble as I gritted a tired groan free from my dry lips. 

I slowly make my way to the bathing chamber, my next step halted when I sense something prickling just under the ball of my foot. I step back, voice cracked and hoarse when my dark drowsy eyes spotting #Darwin creeping across the floor.- 

How the hell did you get out, Darwin? 

–I gave a shake of my head, strands of my shaggy overgrown hair shifting forward as I crouched down to scoop the hissing chameleon up into my large palm. 

His tail instinctively curls around my pinky, my body stands to full height before returning him to his living dome. He was one of the signs that I knew @fieryinnocence was real. He was an unexpected gift after I discovered him in the garden. A distorted chuckle of amusement frees from deep in my throat and I knew the Beast enjoyed the tiny creature’s displays. 

I turn away after locking him up and continue on to the bath chamber. My thick, rough fingers scratch lazily over my taunt lower stomach just over that light trail of dark hair leading low before my thumbs hook into the waistband of my sleep pants to drop at my ankles. 

I reach into the shower to start the taps flowing, the steam rising around the enclosure to fill the room. I stepped inside the water rushing over hard lines as I rested my head against the marble tiles in utter weariness. Fuck I had missed you. 

I wished there was a way to get to you, my magick still somehow being bound to this plain. I tighten my hand into a fist, to whisper just that out harshly, water slicking down the edge of my scruffy features.- 

I miss you. 

–I sighed out feeling hopeless, the curve of my vertebrae shivering when a prickle of magick brisk over my slick skin. My vision goes hazy, almost milky and I crumble down as the hot water pelts over me. 

Next I feel as if I’m floating, my body slowly fading away until eyelids slam tight at a bright white illumination. I crack them open slowly and I’m surrounded by a bright white vastness. 

I straighten up quickly to my feet, and stagger forward only to be met with a clear barrier flickering with images of @fieryinnocence lying in bed, a small ball of fur nestled beside her fanned out fair locks decorating her floral pillow. 

I let out a shuddering sigh of relief at seeing @fieryinnocence is fine and I’m bewitched by her exquisiteness again. She was so much more than a physical beauty; her inner loveliness emanated from deep within, and had attracted me from first meet. 

I see her delicate fingers stroke over the crook of her neck absently caressing my mark and a tremble rushes through me, my heart pounds once hard against my rib cage. 

Her voice sounds in my mind as if she is close and I reach forward to reassure her only to have the walls of images turn liquid and ripple out in waves to distort the picture. 

A snarl turns up my harsh lips, metallic scales starting to shift across my hairy forearms as the Beast stirs. 

I scan the image quickly for clues and recognize the room @fieryinnocence is resting in. It was her home in Georgia. I call out quietly in a distorted whisper- 

I’ll find my way to you soon, my darling. 

–I see her lids flicker wildly, a small grimace turning her resting features and I hope silently that she was able to hear me through our link as I heard her. I turn away with one last look, my tall form slowly dissipating in a fade to materialize back in the shower stall. 

I thrust off the wet shower floor to my full height and forcefully shut off the taps before I yank a fresh towel off the rack, the cotton fibers roughly soaking up the moisture dripping down the length of my tense body. I dress in haste, another familiar figure now filling the back of my mind. I discard the damp towel, my bare body striding out the steamy room and over to the bureau to pull free clean attire for the day. 

After strapping up my heavy soled boots I stride out with purpose making my way down to the East wing, the wing I ordered long ago sealed up to the staff and my nostrils flare catching the faint scent of spices. 

My dark brows furrow, and with a wave of my hand the air shifts to unlock the lock easily before the door swings open. I pass through my first resting my eyes taking in the dust settled around the tops of furniture, everything looking untouched. 

I had shared this room with #Angel nearly a year ago. My reason for being here after so long was to search out the enchanted traveling trinket I had gifted her. 

#Angel had left the pendant before she vacated this realm for good, and I had in mind to use it to cross back to the mortal realm. 

My thoughts are cut short when the lid of the jewelry box lifts, the red velvet inlay revealing the pendant gone. Remembering the spices I rushed out of the dank chamber, my steps heavy as I made my way down to the kitchen. 

I’ve startled her, the crashing dish shattering hard against the floor is evident of that. #Clara had been skittish for weeks now, my senses picking up on the subtle changes in her demeanor around me.- 

You can’t keep me here, Clara. 

–She backs up slowly, her pulse picking up and my vision starts to bleed black to narrow the split of her shirt that revealed on the chain running around her neck.- 

“Sire. I- I would never.”

–She stumbles on her words, voice shaky as I reach my nails elongated as a curved black coarse claw lifts the gold link from under her pristine shirt. #Clara flinches back as I tug it sharply to break the chain off her collar.- 

“Forgive me, I meant no harm, Sire. I swear it.” –Her hand rose to rub along the burn that was sure to have come from me lashing it away. I shake my head, my magick starting to stir more now that the enchanted piece is in my hold, and peg #Clara with a hard look as I grit out harshly.- 

Never disobey me again, Clara. 

–I swallow thickly, my Adams apple bobbing as my lids slam in an attempt to regain control before I shift completely.- 

Clean out the east wing and air out the old chamber before I return. We’ll speak more once I revisit Caspius.

-She straightens her blouse, bowing her head nervously.- 

“Yes, of course.”