Princet Valiant
Nonbinary Judeo-Bolshevik
- Pronouns
- Fae/Faer
Quiet settled into the room as everyone waited for each other to make a move. The youngsters had backed away; frightened whispering began to permeate throughout the room, and the sense of imminent danger hung heavy in the Distant Sight like the sword of Damocles. But for Arne, there was also a feeling of relief even as he shook slightly at the tingling heat of Zurvduat's sheer anger. He wasn't going to be hurt, not today.
"Is this how you raise your child, General?" Old Bird's words were filled with so much scorn that Samus seemed almost shocked. A slow-boiling sensation of outrage flickered from him, seeking to escape through any means of venting.
Arne was still shaking, he felt so small, weak, and alone before the Alimbic he considered his chief father. Even when in a room with all these people who cared for him, he felt powerless. The gaze of Zurvduat into his own eyes still inspiring dread to the point that he could bring himself to meet it head-on. Pain, red and raw, echoed dully in his face and across his body, phantom memories of agonies inflicted over a lifetime.
Samus was seething; she had never been so angry in her life. The Phoenix inside of her's fires stoking into a brilliant inferno of rage. She was going to kill Zurvduat if she was given half the chance, and Zurvduat could feel it. She smirked at that briefly beneath her helmet. Good, let him feel her anger. He deserved to feel every iota of her fury.
"-How long have you been beating my son, Zurvduat?-" Elmorni asked with a cold menace. There would be no hiding answers from her now, not when he had acted so brazenly in front of her very eye.
"-Unhand me at once, subordinate.-" He said coldly. This defiance from Elmorni baffled him, what manner of mutinous ideas has Old Bird placed in her mind he wondered? But he failed to realise that this cold anger was all her own.
"-You are interfering in a process that does not concern you, Mystromagus. We have only the best intentions in mind for the Hatchling and the Neophyte.-" Mother Brain protested before Old Bird waved both of them off with a dismissive shake of his hand.
"No, neither of you will be going anywhere with either of them." Old Bird's tone made it clear he wasn't asking. He made his demand, and he fully expected them to listen.
"As a matter of fact, I do not want Arne in your care any further. I will be speaking to the peer council about this. Your days of terrorising this child have come to an end. Release him from your charge, now." Old Bird said harshly. He would not take anything less than absolute acquiescence on this issue.
Arne dared to hope for a moment, though doubt coloured it with uncertainty. Zurvduat was his father at the end of the day, even if he refused to accept the title. What would Arne do without him altogether? Without being able to make Zurvduat see things his way, to prove his worth and value to him?
Samus though, was basking in the vindication. She never liked Zurvduat, not from the second she laid eyes on him. Every move, every breath he took reeked of the arrogant bullying demeanour she despised. Long had she dreamed of punching him in his face, and the sensation of his surprise tinged outrage at this defiance gladdened her down to her soul.
"-You...you dare intervene in my affairs old man?! What could you possibly know about what I have had to do to keep this child in line? To keep him focused on his appointed task instead of constant whining!?-" Zurvduat snarled before Elmorni cut him off.
Elmorni was cold in her assessment of Zurvduat, the Mystromagus turning his wrist aside and floating slightly upwards, offering an arm to Arne who gladly clung to her in response. Thirteen years old he may be, but he still had an infantile desire for being embraced by her. She was warm, safe, comfortable, and he felt ever so slightly less afraid of Zurvduat in her embrace.
"-You have been doing this for years, haven't you? The sudden loss of milk teeth. The fear of seeing you raise your hand in his direction, the terror he has for you. Zurvduat, how could you do this to my son?-" She said with a scornful, accusatory note, petting Arne's hair gently and telepathically whispering soothing notes.
"-And you knew it was wrong, didn't you? You've been hiding your abuses from the distant sight so that I would never know. No wonder why so much of his time is shrouded in fog when I gaze upon it.-" She continued, the realisation making her go from frosty to arctic in tone.
Samus, of course, was far from cold in her anger. She had yet to temper it into some chill blade of winter, but the hot rage from her was more than enough to get Zurvduat to pause and genuinely consider her fury. Even Arne was taken aback from it, and Old Bird briefly gave her a look of concern.
"Leave now, before I get mad." Samus snarled at him as her power suit hummed with collected energy in her cannon. She was already charging a shot, and Zurvduat seemed to be at a loss for words with how brazen she was being. To make a move so bold as to threaten him directly was unprecedented, almost unexpected. But of course, she would do something so bold and brazen.
"I will do it, don't think I'm bluffing." She said, her face a feral snarl beneath her helmet and her blue eyes giving Zurvduat a stare so intense that it could just about cut through Cosmium. She had plenty of confidence built up from holding her own against the Sunstalker and Moonhunter, what could an old Alimbic General be before that?
"I told you to take care of the kid! What were you thinking!?" Spire said, throwing a hand forward and pointing accusatively at the General.
"Your methods of discipline are barbaric; I will not have it continue in my sight." Grey voice added, Zurvduat taking a moment to look at everyone staring back at him, accusing and disapproving eyes boring into him. Even Ysarmoch folded his arms and glared up at him while Arne felt safe enough to meet his adoptive father's gaze briefly.
Arne looked to be almost as surprised by all the positive attention and support he was getting. People cared for his safety, his happiness. He was loved and wanted, at least here. He didn't need to be so afraid of Zurvduat anymore. And why should he? He had managed to see off the Sunstalker and Moonhunter. By any reasonable definition, he had proven himself one thousand times over.
And with that new surge of spine, he hardened his expression. "I'm not going with you, General. I don't need you." He said, each syllable feeling almost like a drug, tantalising and addictive in the promises of independence they offered. That he could forge his own bonds and find his own community, and stand on his own without the menace of the General looming over him, he, of course, didn't want to push him out of his life entirely, but maybe now he would understand that he wasn't going to let himself get hit anymore. At least, not now when he felt safe in doing so.
With even Arne having the backbone to stand up to him, Zurvduat turned towards Mother Brain, asking her for guidance in this situation. Their plan had backfired terribly, though she yet retained her trust. But no answer was forthcoming, Mother Brain had overplayed her hand and would need to reconsolidate and restrategise. She would let him take the heat for now, but she offered him her assurance that their day would come sooner than later.
"-So be it then, I will concede on this issue for the time being given how strongly you feel about it.-" Mother brain said, bowing her Oculi Drone's head and starting to slink back.
Making the telepathic equivalent of a scowl, Zurvduat snatched his arm out of Elmorni's grip and began to pull back. "-This is not over, we will have words about this. I will have my eye on you all, count on it.-" The General said with a cold, harsh voice as he slinked away.
Samus felt triumphant; she had done two great things today and her confidence that she could be the hero everyone needed only grew. The boiling anger in Samus' chest banished itself, the evils being done to Arne would no longer occur, she was sure of it. She held her head up high, and let the brief satisfaction of a job well done fill her heart.
She dismissed her armour once more, slipping to the ground and offering a hand for Arne who nodded and released himself from Elmorni's embrace. "Are you okay?" She said as she opened her arms with the gift of a hug, seeing him make the telltale signs of shaking and shallow breaths. She knew that sort of traumatic pain all too well, and the thought that it could be caused by someone he trusted made her sick to the stomach.
Arne looked around and felt warm, understanding that he was safe here and that the chill of his terror was no longer the only sensation he need feel. He looked at the hug, and he formed his lips into a gentle smile as he took her into it as she had just some hours before when he noticed she was in pain.
The two's embrace was electric, an affirmation that they weren't alone in the cosmos. There was someone who understood, someone who would offer a shoulder to cry on and have each other's backs at any time. Someone whom they could bare their hearts towards without feeling as though they were putting themselves at risk.
It was a gentle moment, he cherished her support, and she adored his. In the year they'd known each other, they had come far indeed. And now they could trust each other enough to open themselves up, to let the empathic warmth and affection flow between them. The sensation melted into them like an electric blanket that seeped into their very bones and gave them a fluttering feeling in their core.
It was comforting, and for a time, both felt like this was a moment that could and should last for eternity.
But alas, there was too much to do, and the day was getting old. Their time together had to come to an end, and with great reluctance, they parted from one another and stared into the other's eyes.
"I'd like to visit whenever you're free, Samus?" Arne said, his mind turning to the inevitability of the two having to go their separate ways for the final stage of their education.
"I was going to ask you the same thing, Arne. But, I think I'd really, really like that." She said back as she stroked his hair and got a purr of affection in response from him.
"I'll have so many new friends to show you when we can see each other again. I just know it." Samus smiled at the thought of that, steeling herself with the hope that she'd fit in and be able to mingle with the general public.
"And well, I'm hoping I will too. Maybe we could have another party like this when our birthday comes up, right?" Arne endeavoured to hope, already trying to think of how the two could continue to enjoy their shared birthday like this.
"That sounds like fun! Don't keep me waiting for your plans, though. Or I'll think up my own." She said with a teasing bit of menace and a devilish Cheshire grin.
"Now you're going to make me want to see what that's like." He shared a giggle with her before they calmed down.
"We'll call each other too. Hoping we won't be too busy out there..." He said with a small laugh.
"We'll make time. I'm sure." She said, rolling her eyes shut.
There would always be time.
"Is this how you raise your child, General?" Old Bird's words were filled with so much scorn that Samus seemed almost shocked. A slow-boiling sensation of outrage flickered from him, seeking to escape through any means of venting.
Arne was still shaking, he felt so small, weak, and alone before the Alimbic he considered his chief father. Even when in a room with all these people who cared for him, he felt powerless. The gaze of Zurvduat into his own eyes still inspiring dread to the point that he could bring himself to meet it head-on. Pain, red and raw, echoed dully in his face and across his body, phantom memories of agonies inflicted over a lifetime.
Samus was seething; she had never been so angry in her life. The Phoenix inside of her's fires stoking into a brilliant inferno of rage. She was going to kill Zurvduat if she was given half the chance, and Zurvduat could feel it. She smirked at that briefly beneath her helmet. Good, let him feel her anger. He deserved to feel every iota of her fury.
"-How long have you been beating my son, Zurvduat?-" Elmorni asked with a cold menace. There would be no hiding answers from her now, not when he had acted so brazenly in front of her very eye.
"-Unhand me at once, subordinate.-" He said coldly. This defiance from Elmorni baffled him, what manner of mutinous ideas has Old Bird placed in her mind he wondered? But he failed to realise that this cold anger was all her own.
"-You are interfering in a process that does not concern you, Mystromagus. We have only the best intentions in mind for the Hatchling and the Neophyte.-" Mother Brain protested before Old Bird waved both of them off with a dismissive shake of his hand.
"No, neither of you will be going anywhere with either of them." Old Bird's tone made it clear he wasn't asking. He made his demand, and he fully expected them to listen.
"As a matter of fact, I do not want Arne in your care any further. I will be speaking to the peer council about this. Your days of terrorising this child have come to an end. Release him from your charge, now." Old Bird said harshly. He would not take anything less than absolute acquiescence on this issue.
Arne dared to hope for a moment, though doubt coloured it with uncertainty. Zurvduat was his father at the end of the day, even if he refused to accept the title. What would Arne do without him altogether? Without being able to make Zurvduat see things his way, to prove his worth and value to him?
Samus though, was basking in the vindication. She never liked Zurvduat, not from the second she laid eyes on him. Every move, every breath he took reeked of the arrogant bullying demeanour she despised. Long had she dreamed of punching him in his face, and the sensation of his surprise tinged outrage at this defiance gladdened her down to her soul.
"-You...you dare intervene in my affairs old man?! What could you possibly know about what I have had to do to keep this child in line? To keep him focused on his appointed task instead of constant whining!?-" Zurvduat snarled before Elmorni cut him off.
Elmorni was cold in her assessment of Zurvduat, the Mystromagus turning his wrist aside and floating slightly upwards, offering an arm to Arne who gladly clung to her in response. Thirteen years old he may be, but he still had an infantile desire for being embraced by her. She was warm, safe, comfortable, and he felt ever so slightly less afraid of Zurvduat in her embrace.
"-You have been doing this for years, haven't you? The sudden loss of milk teeth. The fear of seeing you raise your hand in his direction, the terror he has for you. Zurvduat, how could you do this to my son?-" She said with a scornful, accusatory note, petting Arne's hair gently and telepathically whispering soothing notes.
"-And you knew it was wrong, didn't you? You've been hiding your abuses from the distant sight so that I would never know. No wonder why so much of his time is shrouded in fog when I gaze upon it.-" She continued, the realisation making her go from frosty to arctic in tone.
Samus, of course, was far from cold in her anger. She had yet to temper it into some chill blade of winter, but the hot rage from her was more than enough to get Zurvduat to pause and genuinely consider her fury. Even Arne was taken aback from it, and Old Bird briefly gave her a look of concern.
"Leave now, before I get mad." Samus snarled at him as her power suit hummed with collected energy in her cannon. She was already charging a shot, and Zurvduat seemed to be at a loss for words with how brazen she was being. To make a move so bold as to threaten him directly was unprecedented, almost unexpected. But of course, she would do something so bold and brazen.
"I will do it, don't think I'm bluffing." She said, her face a feral snarl beneath her helmet and her blue eyes giving Zurvduat a stare so intense that it could just about cut through Cosmium. She had plenty of confidence built up from holding her own against the Sunstalker and Moonhunter, what could an old Alimbic General be before that?
"I told you to take care of the kid! What were you thinking!?" Spire said, throwing a hand forward and pointing accusatively at the General.
"Your methods of discipline are barbaric; I will not have it continue in my sight." Grey voice added, Zurvduat taking a moment to look at everyone staring back at him, accusing and disapproving eyes boring into him. Even Ysarmoch folded his arms and glared up at him while Arne felt safe enough to meet his adoptive father's gaze briefly.
Arne looked to be almost as surprised by all the positive attention and support he was getting. People cared for his safety, his happiness. He was loved and wanted, at least here. He didn't need to be so afraid of Zurvduat anymore. And why should he? He had managed to see off the Sunstalker and Moonhunter. By any reasonable definition, he had proven himself one thousand times over.
And with that new surge of spine, he hardened his expression. "I'm not going with you, General. I don't need you." He said, each syllable feeling almost like a drug, tantalising and addictive in the promises of independence they offered. That he could forge his own bonds and find his own community, and stand on his own without the menace of the General looming over him, he, of course, didn't want to push him out of his life entirely, but maybe now he would understand that he wasn't going to let himself get hit anymore. At least, not now when he felt safe in doing so.
With even Arne having the backbone to stand up to him, Zurvduat turned towards Mother Brain, asking her for guidance in this situation. Their plan had backfired terribly, though she yet retained her trust. But no answer was forthcoming, Mother Brain had overplayed her hand and would need to reconsolidate and restrategise. She would let him take the heat for now, but she offered him her assurance that their day would come sooner than later.
"-So be it then, I will concede on this issue for the time being given how strongly you feel about it.-" Mother brain said, bowing her Oculi Drone's head and starting to slink back.
Making the telepathic equivalent of a scowl, Zurvduat snatched his arm out of Elmorni's grip and began to pull back. "-This is not over, we will have words about this. I will have my eye on you all, count on it.-" The General said with a cold, harsh voice as he slinked away.
Samus felt triumphant; she had done two great things today and her confidence that she could be the hero everyone needed only grew. The boiling anger in Samus' chest banished itself, the evils being done to Arne would no longer occur, she was sure of it. She held her head up high, and let the brief satisfaction of a job well done fill her heart.
She dismissed her armour once more, slipping to the ground and offering a hand for Arne who nodded and released himself from Elmorni's embrace. "Are you okay?" She said as she opened her arms with the gift of a hug, seeing him make the telltale signs of shaking and shallow breaths. She knew that sort of traumatic pain all too well, and the thought that it could be caused by someone he trusted made her sick to the stomach.
Arne looked around and felt warm, understanding that he was safe here and that the chill of his terror was no longer the only sensation he need feel. He looked at the hug, and he formed his lips into a gentle smile as he took her into it as she had just some hours before when he noticed she was in pain.
The two's embrace was electric, an affirmation that they weren't alone in the cosmos. There was someone who understood, someone who would offer a shoulder to cry on and have each other's backs at any time. Someone whom they could bare their hearts towards without feeling as though they were putting themselves at risk.
It was a gentle moment, he cherished her support, and she adored his. In the year they'd known each other, they had come far indeed. And now they could trust each other enough to open themselves up, to let the empathic warmth and affection flow between them. The sensation melted into them like an electric blanket that seeped into their very bones and gave them a fluttering feeling in their core.
It was comforting, and for a time, both felt like this was a moment that could and should last for eternity.
But alas, there was too much to do, and the day was getting old. Their time together had to come to an end, and with great reluctance, they parted from one another and stared into the other's eyes.
"I'd like to visit whenever you're free, Samus?" Arne said, his mind turning to the inevitability of the two having to go their separate ways for the final stage of their education.
"I was going to ask you the same thing, Arne. But, I think I'd really, really like that." She said back as she stroked his hair and got a purr of affection in response from him.
"I'll have so many new friends to show you when we can see each other again. I just know it." Samus smiled at the thought of that, steeling herself with the hope that she'd fit in and be able to mingle with the general public.
"And well, I'm hoping I will too. Maybe we could have another party like this when our birthday comes up, right?" Arne endeavoured to hope, already trying to think of how the two could continue to enjoy their shared birthday like this.
"That sounds like fun! Don't keep me waiting for your plans, though. Or I'll think up my own." She said with a teasing bit of menace and a devilish Cheshire grin.
"Now you're going to make me want to see what that's like." He shared a giggle with her before they calmed down.
"We'll call each other too. Hoping we won't be too busy out there..." He said with a small laugh.
"We'll make time. I'm sure." She said, rolling her eyes shut.
There would always be time.