Possible Small Group RP (2-4)?

[Fallen_Razielim]

Seth was surprised when he rotated out from her grip and wrapped her in his arms. She tried not to feel guilty, even though she was certain that somehow her presence in the material world was going to be the beginning of something horrible. But, she had to be here for Raziel, right? She steadied her thoughts and then returned his hug. "I... I was pulled towards the hub, but thankfully the higher spiritual pressure in the Spectral realm stopped my soul from being destroyed. I was able to find a way to bleed off some of the pressure, so... I should be fine now." She was careful not to look him in the eyes, lest he see that she had left out information.

It was a long moment before she realized that she was hugging Raziel, and that while her mind had been occupied with her careful lie of omission, her body had pressed itself against his... ever so slightly. She pulled herself away from him, afraid that he would be angry at her boldness. "Raziel... I..." She wasn't sure what she wanted to say to him, but she had been so afraid of leaving him alone. "I... I was worried that you would be alone. I had to come back." She looked up at him finally, "Thank you. If you hadn't of killed me, I would have... die?" She smiled at how that sounded. "Funny, how complicated our lives have become since we died..."  

[Reaver Of Souls Raziel]

Seth's answer sufficed, Raziel thought nothing of it, he was just glad she was safe. He pulled her back into another hug, not being able to help himself, though he felt a lot more comfortable about this when she returned the embrace. He smiled softly at Seth when she finally pulled away.

"You were worried about me? Love, you have no idea how worried I was for you then..." He said, giving her a pat on the shoulder before standing, helping her up as well. "Though I suppose my being alone is quite worrisome, since I'm suddenly a target for all the demons in Nosgoth. I appreciate your loyalty, Seth" He assumed that is what she meant, because really, who could love and care for something like him?  

[Fallen_Razielim]

Seth stared at him a moment, overcome by the fact that he had said love. Then she shook her head, strictly reprimanding herself and reminding herself that it was just an expression. However, she didn't want him to misunderstand why she had to come back... or did she? "Raziel, I couldn't let you fight on alone. Not just the demons who attack you, but... time. I know I would hate to be alone for it all, and so I couldn't live with myself if I knew you were alone like that..." She quieted suddenly, embarrassed by her unruly tongue.

She stretched slightly, glad that her ribs and back had healed from her short stay in the Spectral realm. While stretching, she stole a glance into her ribcage and saw that her heart was still open, oozing slightly. She winced at the thought. No matter how she thought about it, having her heart open was a horrible plan. How long would the Elder God be willing to syphon off the excess pressure, and would he stop once it leveled out? Was she losing any of herself from all of this? She threw her banner over her chest and wrapped it around her jaw, both to stop herself from thinking about it all and so that Raziel would not see her wounded heart. Questions were the last thing she needed right now.

"Shall we return to your companion?" She flapped her wings experimentally, testing them. Absently she wondered if she could cause them to grow again. And no sooner had the thought escaped her mind than they grew to twice their size, leaving her a tad drained and very startled. "What...?"  

[Reaver Of Souls Raziel]

It was Raziel's turn to be embarrassed. What Seth said had him visibly flushed, that she did care for him in a way. He was thankful for the cowl covering his deeply coloured face.

He cleared his throat, suddenly feeling at a loss of words. "Oh... he's resting now." Raziel said, his eyes flitting between the ground and Seth as he tried to word properly what he was going to say next. "Perhaps we could... explore the estate a bit more?"

His eyes widened when her wings flared out like that, seeming twice as large as they were before. "What...?" Raziel shared the sentiments as he was almost tempted to reach out and touch one of the leathery appendages... but he quickly withdrew his hand when it moved the slightest bit. He knew if he had wings now, he would feel uncomfortable about anyone touching them after what he had been through. He had a feeling that Seth might feel the same...  

[Fallen_Razielim]

Seth turned and looked at her wings, stunned. Then she finally registered what Raziel had said, and her poor mind took it in a million different way. She honestly wasn't sure which issue she should address first. "Um... explore his mansion?" She tried to keep her voice level, firmly reminding herself that he probably meant that they should look for the library... or something like that. Then she turned and looked at her wings. "I... I flew over here. I don't understand how, but... they seem to be able to grow... I."

She saw him reach towards her wings and then pull back. "Would you like to touch them?" She slowly extended a wing towards him.  

[Reaver Of Souls Raziel]

Raziel blinked out of his stupor. "Oh, I couldn't possibly..." He started to say, but without even thinking, his hand reached out to touch the outermost part of Seth's wing. He was surprised a himself... but since he had already gone this far, he brushed his hand gently over the leathery membrane. Aside from the colour, they looked and felt a lot like his own wings... of course Raziel felt a little jealous, but also a pang of grief for what he lost.

He smiled meekly at Seth once he took his hand back. "They're beautiful." He said, hoping his voice didn't carry any of the sudden sorrow he felt. But in case it did, he quickly changed the subject. "Would you like to go inside now? Or perhaps we can move to the other side of the mansion? I'm sure I saw a garden there."  

[Fallen_Razielim]

Seth was amazed at the feeling of his talons carefully trailing over her wings, the sheer amount of nerves inside the membrane surprised her. She shuddered slightly at his touch, but then smiled at him. In his eyes was the tiniest trace of some dim emotion, and it pulled at her heart to see it there. Carefully she pulled her wings back and held onto one of her arms, unsure of what to say. Not wanting to hurt him, she allowed her wings to shrink. "Perhaps we should walk back... and a garden sounds lovely."

They walked in silence, he brooding slightly, she feeling horrible for hurting him; however unintentional it was.  

[Reaver Of Souls Raziel]

The silence was awkward for Raziel, though it gave him time to think about things before they reached the garden. He mostly thought about what Seth meant to him and also what their being together again meant. His thoughts drifted back to when he first sired her, when everyone thought Raziel taking a disease-ridden prostitute as his fledgling was an act of pity, if only they could have seen her through Raziel's eyes. He loved her from the moment he laid eyes on her. His heart went out to the poor wretch of a woman who had so much hidden potential, though no one else seemed to see but him. It was why he made her into a vampire... but her hurt from her human life was too deep of a wound for the dark gift to close. Raziel could see no love in her eyes for him or any man that wanted her. He however fully understood, making himself fall under the illusion that he only saw her as a daughter... but now that she was the only thing he loved that he had left, this illusion was starting to fade. He now had no woman or man even to distract himself with, he was lonely and he longed to have someone close to him to ease his pain.

Though the fact still remained, Seth was off limits. Raziel was unsure if she was healed enough from her ordeals to let him love her. He was worried that he might do something to hurt her and break her trust in him forever... he would rather be lonely than risk that.

When they made it to the garden, Raziel finally spoke up. "Hm, black roses... they're still your favourite, yes?" Raziel asked, noticing a big bush of them beside the path. Raziel personally hated such a dreary flower, why people used magic to turn such a lovely red to black, he had no idea. But Seth adored them, and through Seth, Raziel learnt to like them as well.  

[Fallen_Razielim]

Seth was roused from her self loathing when Raziel pointed out the flowers. Her eyes softened and she walked over to them, hesitantly picking a flower and holding it to her face, breathing in the scent. Slowly turning around she smiled to him. "You remembered..." She took another deep breath and then held out the flower to Raziel. "Do you know why I love this flower?"

When he took the flower, she turned back to the bush and continued. "You see, most people like roses when they're red, or white. They symbolize love, either pure or eternal. But black roses... they signalize a different love. Most would say that it symbolizes death, but did you know it has another meaning?

"It really meant farewell, the overcoming of a long hard journey. They were used at funerals. A single black rose might be sent by a close friend or loved one leaving for a war or on a journey from which he did not expect to return. Another meaning is 'slavish devotion', since a true black rose is impossible to produce." She paused, gently fingering a petal, "You see. They mean so much, so many different meanings. But overall, they were about putting the past behind you, looking forwards. Unlike a red rose, they aren't naive, they know there will be pain, but that the future is worth it. They signify an end of something, and the beginning of another." She breathed in the rose again. "I always wanted to be that strong. I wanted to think that someday I might not be used by everyone, that I might have someone who give me a black rose because I meant that MUCH to them."

She laughed softly, a sad laugh devoid of real joy. "It probably sounds silly, but, I held onto this romanticized view of the world, even with the life I lived. Do... do you think that was naive of me?" She still didn't turn around, petrified of how he might react. Would he care? Would he scoff? Would he call her a silly girl and cast her aside like so many others? He was the only man she had ever truly wanted a black rose from, but he was also the only man she'd been too afraid to ask.

(Meaning of the Black Rose found on Wiki...)  

[Reaver Of Souls Raziel]

Raziel had no idea that such a depressing, little flower could be so meaningful. He felt his spirits lift as Seth went on about all its different meanings and she actually earned a small smile from him. He crossed his arms, looking thoughtfully down at the rose bush. "It's hardly naive; it takes true strength to hold onto one's views through adversity." He looked back up at her, smirking. "I'd say you already have that strength, Seth."

Raziel suddenly got an idea "Close your eyes." He told her, waiting until she did so before he crept over, plucking a rose from the bush. He then pushed it carefully into her hair, standing back and admiring his work. "Hm, just as I thought, it suits you~" Raziel mused, taking her hand and leading her over to a pond with a reflective surface. "Alright, you can open your eyes now."  

[Fallen_Razielim]

Seth was a little wary of his request, but with his praises ringing in her ears, she gladly complies. After a moment she feels his presence in front of her, and he slips something into her hair. She gladly lets him lead her by the hand, glad for the small contact. And then she opens her eyes, and she gasps; not because she sees her own form, which she had yet to truly look at, and not due to the flower woven into her dark midnight blue hair, but because she sees Raziel standing next to her, and they look perfect together. She feels her knees go week for a moment and turns to him. "Raziel... I..."

However, telling someone she loves them isn't what she's good at, isn't what she's comfortable with. After a lifetime of being used, of being bought and sold, and then another lifetime of being alone, she can't bring herself to tell him anything. So instead she throws her arms around his broad shoulders and thanks him over and over again, hoping he understands what it means to her. What it ALL means to her.  

[Reaver Of Souls Raziel]

Raziel was surprised when she actually called him by name and it felt natural; there was no hesitation for her. Though the biggest surprise was yet to come when she hugged him like that. He was sure it meant something more than a typical hug... or maybe he was desperate and imagining things. Regardless, he couldn't leave it alone anymore; he just had to know.

"Seth..." He cupped the side of her face, urging her to look at him. "I enjoy seeing you happy like this... even though I can offer you very little. Almost all I held dear is gone except for you. You mean so very much to me, just as you did before, so if there's anything, anything I can do for you-" he made sure to emphasize on the anything part.

"please, don't hesitate to ask." Though really, it was Raziel who wanted to ask of her, but he couldn't, not without running the risk of losing her. He knew this was a cowardly method to find out her true feelings, but if it meant not hurting the one he loved most, he was happy to be a coward any day.  

[Fallen_Razielim]

Seth listened to him, let him draw her face to his, and she felt her grip on reality must be slipping. He couldn't have just offered her... whatever she wanted? She felt tears in her eyes, tears that couldn't be produced and couldn't fall. Leaning in towards him, she put her hands on his temples and transmitted to him, all of her feelings for him, all of her insecurities, all of her passion and pain. Words hurt, words were misunderstood and misconstrued, so she could only hope that her feelings would explain themselves.

Feeling that she needed to tell him, if for no other reason than to be brave, she began slowly, quietly, "I... Raziel, I have loved you, ever since I first saw you. Long before you knew I was alive. I had seen you walking through the town, watched you from the side of a customer, through the small window I was allowed. I felt like a plant, growing underground, who had caught her first glimpse of the sun. You... you shone with such radiance, so much purer than the other men. You were like some god, chiseled from the purest marble and by the surest hand. I saw you many times after that... always beside some man who had bought my flesh for a night, and always yearning that the sun might see fit to set me free from my prison. You could have killed me, and I would have praised your hands for spilling my blood."

She continued on, her voice barely audible. "Instead, one day you saved me. You turned me into a creature who was beautiful and unsoiled. I never took another being to bed, for fear of damaging the new life you had given me. And I loved you, so much. But you were Zeus, you were Apollo, you were Mars, sitting in your Heavenly home, while I could do no more than continue to gaze at you, and serve you as a Valkyrie might serve the great Odin. I killed for you, I expanded your lands, I laid waste to your enemies, and asked for nothing. Because you had given me everything I could have asked for..." She fell silent then, unsure of how he might react. Perhaps she had mistaken his words... perhaps he would be repulsed by her... perhaps...  

[Reaver Of Souls Raziel]

Raziel listened to Seth's words very carefully, and immediately wanted to kick himself after her first sentence; she had loved him since the beginning and he had never realized this? He felt like a fool... though he couldn't remember a time he had been happier. Although he would have to curb his enthusiasm until she was finished speaking.

Again he was reminded of how she once was, his heart hurt to recall how Seth use to be. Raziel was glad he was able to give her a second chance at life, to return her pure heart to her in the baptism of the dark gift. Though once she was pure again, he didn't want to taint her. But to find out that all these years she had wanted him and he had done nothing for her? Well he would make sure to kick himself extra hard when this was all over. But for now, he was going to give Seth the most heartfelt hug his lonely soul could muster.

"I don't know what I did to be deserving as your God, I never even thought myself to be divine, regardless of Kain's sentiments... but for you to love me, even after all I've done and what I've become... I now know Gods do exist; you're my Goddess, and always have been.

"I love you Seth. From the moment I first laid eyes on you I knew I loved you and that you were meant for greater things. It's why I turned you, not out of pity or what you could do for me, I wanted you to be by my side always... I'm only sorry I didn't realize that I wasn't the only one who felt that way." Raziel said, feeling like he just had an enormous weight lifted off his shoulders, and for the first time in he didn't know how long, he was truly happy.  

[Fallen_Razielim]

Seth felt her body flood with joy. His words... there was no way they could be real, and yet, they were. She relished at his hug, rejoiced at his proclamation, and replied in the only manner that made sense. She rose her head to his, standing on talon tip, and kissed him. Her kiss was hesitant at first, seeing as she had no lips, no lower jaw, and no experience in this form; but once she felt Raziel loosen up, accepting her kiss, she let her emotions take over. It became natural then, as her fangs twined with his and her hand rose to bury themselves into his hair.

It was amazing, as he crushed her against him. She closed her eyes and relished his touch upon her. She felt a lump in her throat, emotions raging. And then the lump uncurled and shot through her teeth and into Raziel's mouth. She still had her tongue?