Where light and darkness meet...(kitsy!)

[Anonymous]

It was a dark, yet serene night hovering over the outskirts of sevenwinds. The air was calm and cool, a blessing for any travelers who dared to traverse "gaia's blight", the wasteland that separated the rest of the world from the paradise that was the sevenwinds...

Because while the starry night sky was beautiful, that blight upon the once beautiful earth was not. Gaia's blight was more of a wasteland then anything else, a mixture of sand, rock, and bones of dead beasts from the unknown. It was hell on earth most of the time, almost untraversable due to the poisonous sandstorms and even more lethal foul creatures that lie within...

Yet despite this, there was one man on this night that traveled through this forbidden land, on foot no less, to seek destinations unknown. The man known as "Valmont".

Valmont's body was wounded from a battle unknown: his upper body naked, the still cold air brushed against his numerous wounds. while shallow, they indicated some kind of "magic" attack that had gashed his body. Moreover, all that remained of his left arm was an area 4 inches above where his elbow used to be. His clothing was still in unusually good condition: the upper shirt and jacket he wore were tied around his waist, as while they too did regenerate, the articles of clothing were too damaged to be worn right now. His sword still hung from the back of his belt as well, in much better condition then the man carrying it.

He was weary from a Journey unknown: he had wandered through the wasteland without , without food or water, a map, or technology. Most importantly, however, he was wandering without the most important thing for survival...

Hope.

For he was also being consumed from within by a burden unknown. Suffering from both withdrawal from the drug he had lived most of his lifetime with, and with a newfound and horrific knowledge about himself, his own dark power had started to make itself felt from within him.

By trying to consume him.

If anyone where to see the man, they would see what almost appeared to be a monster: while his body was still very much human, his eyes reflected otherwise: his left eye was much like a normal persons with one exception: his Iris was a dazzling emerald in color.

His left eye was the one that suggested he was a monster: Where one would find white in a human eye, there was black in his. where one would have normally found an emerald color to rival his other eye, there was a bright, blood red color.

His physical change reflected the struggle within him: the struggle for control. A part of him believed he was good, albeit misguided, in helping the world with this dark power. Darkness was not Inherintly evil to this side: only the use of it was.

Then there was his other side.

A person struggling with the truth of who he is: Valmont was told by the world around him that he was a monster, a freak, an abomination, a blight upon mankind. His better half ignored this hatred, and instead focused on the greater good, while this half built up in hatred, malice, and agony. Now that Valmont knew the truth, This half of him had become a condemner: It hated everything...

And would stop at nothing to destroy it all.

Yet if one were to look at the weak and weary Valmont as he traversed this cursed land, he would look much like a normal lost and doomed traveler. The only indication that something was much different about him was the intense, jet-black aura that surrounded him. it looked as if two or three inches from every part of Valmont's body was surrounded by a complete lack of light. It looked as if he was about to become the black beast he always feared he would become...

And yet Valmont bravely continued to fight. Fighting to survive, to stave off that dark night within him for as long as he could. Eyes closed, head hung low, he stepped forward, not caring where his legs would take him. Every so often, he would repeat a sort of "creed" to himself out loud.

"I...am not a monster. I fight to help others. I...am light, trapped within a void of darkness. Darkness is not evil...the misuse of it is. It is my responsibility...to not misuse this power..."

In a sense, this represented him running from himself: trapped and not knowing where to go, simply wandering aimlessly, hoping to find something, or even someone, who could show him the way.

Valmont continued this pilgrimage for many, many hours, until finally, a combination of luck, fate and perhaps some mysterious guidance brought him to a place where he might find what he was looking for...

A place where light and darkness met.

----------------------------------------

"I cant...I wont...give up..."

Valmont told himself this as he began walking into the mysterious set of trees that he had found before him upon opening his eyes. Part of him thought that they were a mirage, yet most of him somehow knew that the trees, grass, and general flora and fauna that lay before him were real.

He had never actually seen a forest with his own eyes: not a real one, anyway. Were he not so occupied in his own internal struggle, he might have had time to muse on that fact, But for now, He only continued to walk through the woods, lost in combating himself.

I...am not a monster

Yes, you are. You always have been, and you knew it deep down.

No. Power is what we make of it, we choose who we are.

Then I suppose you chose this path too?

Valmont shut out that dark voice in his head after hearing that. Was that voice really him? He could not tell anymore. He was too wounded and weak and lost both in the world around him and his mind to know.

As he did, he finally came upon a what appeared to be a waterfall, along the edge of a cliff. What he saw was extraordinary: A forest below him, almost as far as his eyes could see...

Walking up to the edge of the cliff, only feet away from the waterfall and the river that led into it, he stared out at the massive expanse of forest. there was something different about it. something magical...

Unfortunately, He would not have very long to enjoy such a view. His strength finally failing, the darkness in his mind dragging him into despair, his body fell forward, off the edge of the massive cliff, falling downward twoard the forest below...

where he would land, he really did not know. most likely into the water below, where he would drown, unable to have the strength to swim. He wondered if this was really his final ultimatum: death, or consumption by his own dark madness.

little did he know what lie below, in the waters of the river of sevenwind was not death, but something more. Perhaps, down in the forest of sevenwind, he would finally find a part of what he was looking for...

[Anonymous]

"Oh that just doesn't work at all." Shilo had a tiny chipmunk like thing on her shoulder as she sat in the branches of a tree. The chipmunk made a few noises and she shook her head.

"You can't be serious. I am not letting you and all of your family in my house." She chipmunk seemed to look down for a moment and rubbed against her neck. She rolled her eyes dropping down to another branch in a crouching position. The tree she sat in was the one she actually lived in. She had manipulated the tree into a house with her powers and stolen what she needed to keep warm and almost everything else she needed. It was the good part of being nymph, she could be sneaky with the best of them.

The trees branches stretched over the river that ran along the forest and Sevenwinds. She moved to sit on her rump her legs dangling over the side. She was wearing a leather outfit a small dress that cut off above her knees, with short like things underneath it. It was brown which stood out against her slightly green tinted skin. Her hair was down passed her shoulders and dark brown which hung down passed her as she leaned over the river out of the branch. The chipmunk scurried up her back it's claws digging into the leather.

She smiled feeling the water splash up towards her as it rushed between her fingers. She felt a small fish go through then tried to grab for a bigger one that splashed passed.  She leaned further out of the tree holding on with her legs as she hung upside down.  Her fingers stretched further trying to grab a hold of one when a loud splash surprised her. Shilo's eyes narrowed and she swang back onto the branch and walked down it looking down into the water.

It was a person!

She gasped and dove in the chipmunk hopping off of her at the last moment. The water wasn't freezing luckily like it was some days. The sun had kept it warm. She pushed passed the current of the water with strong fingers grabbing a hold of the stranger's arms underneath and kicking her legs hard to push them up to the top. He seemed to be passed out, but alive. She paddled over to the side fighting the current and slipping through. She was much stronger than she looked.

She dumped him up on the side of the river and climbed up after him. She checked his pulse as she leaned over him. Poor guy. Most people from Sevenwinds knew not to lean over waterfalls. She glanced up to where the river fell and shook her head looking at him again. She had never seen him in the forest before.

[Anonymous]

As valmont slammed into the water, a warm sensation washed over him: In a moment of dark humor, he realized at least he would be drowning in a warm river. Cold water would have been awful: It would have preserved his body for the world to see, and all he wanted to do was vanish...

Vanish into the depths of the world, to never be seen or heard from. even if It meant he had to suffer infinite exile, he would endure it as punishment for what he was. He did not want to hurt others.

So if that was his fate, to suffer or die without honor to protect others, then so be it. In resignation to his fate, he closed his eyes, trying to shut out the world and drift into and endless sleep...

A tug, followed by something grabbing his body made him jolt back into an alert state, or as alert as he could be. he then felt himself pulled out of the water, somehow. His first conclusion was that he had been grabbed by an animal of some sort, but when he opened his eyes and awoke from his almost deathly slumber what he saw was certainly no wild animal:

Her skin was a very light and beautiful shade of green that John had never seen before. Her eyes were also a beautiful shade of green as well, like emeralds. Her hair was a dark brown color, and looked rather soft from what John could see when she was so close.

She was beautiful. John Valmont, in all his life, had never seen anyone quite like her.

After a moment of gawking at the woman, he tried to move, but his body would not let him: his muscles ached for rest, and part of him was hoping this woman would help him. Another part of him, however, realized how dangerous he was: while the voice in his head had subsided for now, and his monstrous black aura had faded, his left eye was still transformed. The white of his left eye was still black, and the iris was still red as a forbidden red dawn. Moreover, he was quite sure the fact that most of his left arm was missing would indicate his somewhat violent past circumstances.

Was he really supposed to die in that river? Part of Valmont had somehow gotten a bit more of a will to live by looking at this woman, If only temporarily and for reasons beyond his control. The woman seemed to be checking his pulse. If she was not sure if he was alive or dead, he would help clarify it with the only action he could take right now: speaking

"Why...did you save me?" he asked, his voice very weak. He tried sitting up again, with no avail, the muscles In his body only quivering at the attempt.

[Anonymous]

"Why did I save you?" She answered his question be repeating it in an exasperated tone. She rolled her eyes and sat back onto the grassy ground. She really couldn't see why anyone wouldn't want to be saved from drowning. It seemed like a horrible way to go. She would always pick a way far more interesting if she had a choice in it.

"I can always out you back." She laughed and shook her head at him. "You're gonna catch a cold if we stay out here though." She stood up dusting off her backside and bent over him looking at his face and rather close to it. "Mind if we go inside, I'll get you something warm." She grabbed his two arms and lifted him up rather impressively. Her stature was nothing compared to her actual strength.

"My house is right here." She pointed her elbow to the very large trunked tree next to them.

[Anonymous]

"Why did I save you?" she said, sounding rather exasperated. Eric saw her roll her eyes and sit back on the grass. He had to admit it, but hearing the woman actually sound concerned, even if it was in an exasperated and indirect way, was somewhat of a relief.

"I can always out you back" She said with a laugh as she shook her head.

Eric smiled unconsciously, a face he had not made in a very, very long time. Eric then saw the woman stand up, and next thing he knew her face was very, very close to his. So close he could smell the natural, forest smell of her body.

"Mind if we go inside? I'll get you something warm." she stated, lifting him up off the ground with a strength and ease that was far greater then her size indicated. As Eric felt his weight become featherlight, thanks to the woman lifting him up, He felt a strange sense of comfort: like somehow, just this simple act had eased his burdens.

"My house is right here."

"I guess inside sounds better then the river. I feel like..." Eric began, his voice trailing off. what remained of his left arm became numb. followed by his torso, then his legs and his other arm. all the tension and pressure built up within his muscles just vanished along with this numb feeling.

His body was simply unable to keep him conscious any longer, he had pushed it far too hard, even with his regenerative capabilities and immense stamina, and now that he had felt he was somewhat out of danger, his exhaustion set in as his adrenaline faded.

"I...Think...I..." he muttered, his eyes slowly closing and his words trailing off. As he did, his body became limp in the woman's arms, his body finally giving in to fatigue and overuse.

His last thought before slipping into his deep state of restful unconsciousness was that he should have tried harder to move, instead of forcing the woman to carry him. He would definitely be needing outside treatment if he was to survive his recovery, even if it was in the form of something simple like bandages for the wounds on his naked torso and the area where his left arm seemed to have been "cut off", just above where the elbow once was.

((OOC: feel free to patch him up as best as your character can, though don't try to regrow the arm, please: Ive got a story event for that later. Valmont should stay asleep for awhile, perhaps even a few days or even a week or two, to recover. you can choose how long he is out before waking him up, just let the big guy have a day or two of rest ^_^;;

I guess you could say I'm giving you a bit more then average permission to control Valmont for now, if that is okay.))

[Anonymous]

Shiloh listened to him for a moment before he passed out again. He had smiled a little! That was encouraging. She sighed and slid him into one arm while pulling herself up with the other and jumping off the ground into the tree. The chipmunk was sitting there on one of the branches looking at her its head tilted to the side. She stopped and looked at it for a minute hanging onto the branches looking rather precarious.

"Fine, you too, but that's it. I refuse to take in all of Sevenwinds." The chipmunk squeaked at her and crawled over to her to sit on Valmont's shoulder. She pulled them both down into the center of the large tree. She held her hand out to the wood and the tips of her fingers started to glow bright green. She moved her fingertips slowly and the wood and branches pulled back to reveal her home.

She laid him down in front of the fireplace on a rug. Her home was very simple but she had stolen a variety of things from the people of Sevenwinds to make it more comfy. Her fireplace was made of stones she had gathered and the rug was made from one of the animals or two she'd skinned and eaten. She had a couple large wooden chairs with some animals skins over them and fluffed out with feathers. She had a normal little home, just a smidge different.

Shiloh grabbed a plant from the corner and pulled several of the large leaves off, some pods from other plants and some water. She broke open the pods which were filled with a sticky liquid. It was going to help heal some of those wounds. She slid his jacket off and removed his weapons first sitting them on the ground next to her. She started on his arm first or technically his lack of arm. She spread the sticky liquid on the wound after rinsing it, then covered it over with the leaf and put some of the pod liquid on the outside.  She did this with the rest of his wounds and then grabbed him pillows and a blanket. Covering him up and sliding a few pillows under his head her work was done.

Shiloh made some tea and then sat watching him the rest of that night. He hadn't woken up. She would make dinner and go outside, her normal set schedule of nothing very important. She would always worry about him while she was out though. The nymph couldn't bare to stay away for very long, plus she changed his bandages every day. She waited for him to regain consciousness for about a week.

That night she was sitting in one of the wooden chairs a skin wrapped around her and the chipmunk on her shoulder. She was nodding off a cup of tea in her hand and a book on her lap while she waited for him to wake up, hoping it would be tonight.

[Anonymous]

As the days passed and Valmont's well tended wounds healed, his mind was thrown into turmoil: The traumatic events of before he had been miraculously rescued kept replaying in his head, like a record stuck in a loop, destined to replay the nightmare over in his dreams until it drove him mad...

It was the ultimate torture, in a way, being trapped in his own mind, where time and space meant nothing. A place where his senses were held hostage by his memories, the only difference being that he now had to watch himself relive these events through the third person. It felt like a lifetime, but eventually, Valmont watched the nightmare fade away...

And awoke to the world around him.

------------

The awakening was rather abrupt: his body quickly moved into a sitting position, accompanied by a rather audible gasp. his eyes were unfocused, his mind dull. He felt so groggy, like he was in some sort of haze.

"Huh...?"

He couldn't make out the world around him very well, but It was not what he was expecting: the last thing he remembered was falling off some sort of cliff, and then hitting the cold water. For a moment, a rather curious and even morbid thought passed through his mind.

"Am I...dead?"

Valmont's question had no time to be answered: the pain in his arm cut off any response and made it quite evident he was very much alive: Even though it had healed, there was some kind of residual pain around what remained of his left arm. He took his right arm and clenched his left shoulder, his pain apparent through a sort of low growl he emitted.

"Where am I?" Valmont asked, not even aware of the woman nearby him. He had meant it more as a rhetorical question, though if she answered him it might be a comfort to him to know he was not alone, especially since his dulled senses left him in a rather unnerving haze.

[Anonymous]

A noise! Shiloh peeked over her book then dropped it. The guest was awake! She clapped and then rose out of the chair and went to grab some water. She grabbed a mug she had stolen from one of the houses in Sevenwinds and brought it back to her visitor with water.

"You're not dead silly." She shook her head sitting down next to him on the floor next to him her legs tucked underneath her. She touched his hair for a minute. Then pulled her hand back not to alarm him.

"You're in Sevenwinds. I found you falling down a water...fall." She looked away for a moment finding the repetition of words sounding sort of silly, but looked back. Her expression was more like a kid finding that some words sounds the same and it seems odd when they are mooshed in the same thought. "In my house more specifically." She smiled pointing up at the tree surrounding them. It probably wasn't even that obvious it was a tree they were sitting in.

"I have some water here if you want it." She picked the mug up holding it out to him. The poor guy seemed like he had suffered so much. All those wounds, and his arm. She bit her lip looking at him, wondering if he would be alright.

[Anonymous]

"You're not dead silly." A female voice said through the dull hum that seemed to be ringing in his ears.

Unclenching his arm from the place where his left arm once had been, his vision turned to the young, light-green skinned woman. however, his response was rather abrupt, as his judgement was impaired. He was still somewhat paranoid of his own perceptions, considering what had just conspired within his own mind. Her touch to his hair, while comforting, was not quite enough to undo his jittery nature.

"You're in Sevenwinds. I found you falling down a water...fall." She said. Valmont smiled weakly at her somewhat child-like expression. It was covering up a slight recollection of standing at the top of a waterfall of some sort.

"In my house more specifically."

"I see...listen, I should probably go, I don't want to cause trouble-" he began slowly, trying to stand up on his feet which, unfortunately, were not quite as ready as he was. while he did succeed in standing up, it was apparent his condition was still rather poor. His body, while not injured, was still rather exausted and he had probably gotten sick with some sort of cold. Also, the sudden act of standing up in this state caused him to feel dizzy and light-headed. he could not even tell (or remember) that she had offered him water only seconds ago.

"wh-where is my jacket?..." he said weakly, his eyes trying to focus on hers as he looked at her, but his vision continued to blur. he could not feel it, but it was also pretty easy to see that he was shaking from his sick and weakened condition.

He was not going anywhere, even though he wanted to.

(OOC: sorry if its short xD )

[Anonymous]

Watching him try to get up made Shilo question his intelligence just a smidgen. He was obviously still sick and weak. He only proved it to her by the shaky way he stood in front of her, barely able to stay on his feet. She shook her head at him as he tried to get away. Shilo knew that if she let him leave she'd probably be diving into the river saving him again. That really wasn't what she wanted to do. She'd much rather go swimming for fun.

"You don't get your jacket back till you're better." She leaned forward and out her hands on his shoulder then one hand moved to his face. She could feel the fever and the sickness. "And you aren't better. It isn't any trouble. Trust me." She stroked his cheek for a second and shook her head at him. "Please sit back down, or I'll have to make you." She said the last part in a cheery way completely believing she could despite her smaller stature.

[Anonymous]

"Please sit back down, or I'll have to make you."

Something about the way she said that made Valmont rather unable to say no to her. Maybe it was her kind and gentle touch. Or maybe it was some weird vibe he was getting that she had some kind of power that would easily make him not go anywhere if he tried. Perhaps it was also because she was completely right about his condition being so poor.

Whatever the reason was, something could not bring the weakened Valmont to fight against her. As he stood there, silently thinking over how he would phrase his response, he could not help but feel a part of him want to hold the hand she had stroked his cheek with against his face: it was soft, comforting, kind...

true comforting was something he had not seen in a long time, and that is why the sudden and rather profound effect of her seemingly simple actions put Valmont at ease. as he tried to speak, he managed to say some of what he felt, but also keep his true feelings within his thoughts.

"okay. Ill stay. I'm sorry, I just have a lot on my mind right now and...."

I'm really afraid that me just being here will hurt you.

"You see a lot has happened, so..."

I discovered I am a walking disaster: a living breathing lie.

"I'm Just a little bit on edge, because..."

Everything I am, were and will be is cursed. My touch brings destruction, my dreams foster hopelessness in others, my choices have hurt so many.

"Because I'm sick, I guess." he said, finishing his series of rather confused statements. his final thought to himself was not such a statement, but a rhetorical question to himself.

Am I really what "that man" said I was?

Valmont sat back down slowly, bringing the palm of his hand to his own forehead, gripping it as if he was trying to grasp the confusion within his own mind. So many feelings, yet he felt like he understood none of them.

"A-anyway, could I have some of that water now, please?" he asked as he looked back up to the young woman, removing his hand from his forehead and changing his expression to a slight, rather fake smile. He was obviously trying to change the subject off of himself and his own somewhat confused nature to something a little more mundane.

((Sorry if its kinda slow ^_^;; hopefully I can keep my posts interesting, by the way, stuff in italics is Valmont's thoughts for clarification.))

[Anonymous]

Shilo watched him speaking and her eyes roamed over his face. He was hiding something, that much was obvious. It was all over his face, the little twitches, the way his eyes moved. Just because Shilo had lived in the forest for a few years, well most of her life, didn't mean she wasn't aware of the world. As a thief she had to be. She might not be aware of much outside Sevenwinds but lying always looked the same.

She handed over the water to him when he finally gave up. That's better. She was a little wary of him though, someone who found it necessary to lie either was trouble, or trouble followed them. She knelt down next to him and moved herself rather close to him. She didn't really understand the terms comfort space.

"Alright Mr." She poked his chest. "I'm Shilo, you can stay as long as you need to. However, you may only stay if you don't lie to me. Tonight I'll give you a pardon because you're beat up and need time to arrange things in the mind. If you tell lies tomorrow though...well I'll...figure out your punishment then." She stood back up patting him on the head.

"Understand?"

[Anonymous]

Valmont quickly gulped the water down: he had not realized how thirsty he was after being unconscious for so long. the cool, refreshing taste of the water seemed to flood his senses temporarily, and when his focus returned to the woman, he saw that she was extremely close to him. He could smell her rather clearly, and saw the smoothness of her green skinned face as he looked into her eyes.

"Alright Mr., I'm Shilo, you can stay here as long as you need to. However, you may only stay if you don't lie to me. Tonight I'll give you a pardon because your beat up and need time to arrange things in the mind. If you tell lies tomorrow though...Well I'll...figure out your punishment then."

Shilo then stood up and patted Valmont on the head.

"Understand?"

Valmont paused and considered what to say. He somehow felt he could trust her, but had no idea how to explain his situation. He was having a hard time wrapping his head around everything that had happened to him recently. What was true and what was not. And the Idea that everything he feared most was true had partially taken hold of his heart.  

"...I'll be honest as I can be in the morning. I'm not sure of whats true and what isn't anymore. If your willing to listen, Ill tell you my story, and maybe you can help me find some meaning in it."

He looked up at Shilo, his face rather neutral, yet his eyes would make his true inner confusion apparent to someone as skilled at reading faces as she.

"That's a promise."

((OOC: after the next post, can I skip to the morning?))

[Anonymous]

Shilo smiled at him as he looked up at her. He seemed like he was being honest now, promising to her. He had something dark about him though, or something where he was lost in the dark. She crossed her arms looking at him for a moment trying to figure him out.

"That's a good promise." She smiled and then gestured around the room.

"Feel free to go into the kitchen and get water, or whatever I have at any point. I have a mostly full fledged kitchen." She was always rather hospitable to people, unless they were in her house because she found them unnecessarily hurting the trees. Then she hurt them pretty good and made them nervous. That was about the only time Shilo felt she was scary.

"The couch is free for you to use. I gotta get some sleep though, and I'm sure you need some time alone." That need was written all over his face. How could someone end up so confused about what they are? Sevenwinds was rather simple. People didn't get involved in all sorts of drama or dangerous adventures. Well occasionally, but it wasn't really the way here. It was relaxing.

She liked living here and hoped she never had to leave. She heard so many stories about the rest of the world being choked with metal and technology. No, Sevenwinds was the place for her, and always would be.

She waved to him as she walked to her room and shut the door.

[Anonymous]

"That's a good promise."

She smiled at Valmont as she gestured around the room. "Feel free to go into the kitchen and get water, or whatever I have at any point. I have a mostly full-fledged kitchen. The couch is free for your to use. I gotta get some sleep, though, and I'm sure you need some time alone."

Valmont nodded at her and smiled as much as she could as she waved: now he was alone, and he began steeling himself. He would have to tell her everything in the morning. his actions, his reasons, his beliefs.

He moved over, and quickly sat down upon the lone couch in the room. It was soft and comfortable, but he knew he would not be able to sleep: he had too much he had to go over in his mind. Too much he had to learn how to tell another person he hardly knew, yet felt he could trust so well.

Valmont was certain of one thing: Shilo, tomorrow morning, would know his story.
-------------

The lukewarm, morning air outside Shilo's home warmed Valmont's skin slightly as he sat beside the river, staring out into the early morning sky. The stars of the night sky still held firm in the early morning. While Valmont did not have a clock, he estimated that it was about four-thirty in the morning or so.

He couldn't sleep: he had so much he needed to say, yet no idea how to say it. He knew he wanted to tell Shilo, but did not know where to begin. Probably the most startling thing the young nymph would have noticed was that Valmont's arm had, somehow, regenerated in the few hours that she had not seen him, and below his bandages his wounds had completely healed.

His dark power had grown in the week he had been resting, waiting to awaken, yet somehow he felt different: more in control. His black aura, which once had been like a ominous glow, now surrounded him like black ethereal flames, visible to those around him, even Shilo should be able to see the somehow majestic black flames.

What had changed? the six hours had passed like seconds, yet Valmont had not fallen asleep. what had conspired in those lost hours? It might never be known, but one thing was for certain.

Shilo would know the truth about Valmont, and ultimately decide his fate.

(I can add in more detail if need be, sorry if its bad.)

[Anonymous]

Shiloh slept dreamlessly, half awake, half asleep. She didn't feel anything wrong with her guest, not very tangible but there was something about him...an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach and on the back of her neck. It kept her from falling to deeply to sleep, it kept her from dreaming.

When she woke up she crawled out of bed slowly, she strained her ears to listen and see if he was awake. There wasn't much noise in the darkness of her tree, but that didn't mean much at all. She slid the cover off of herself and stepped out of bed the tips of her toes touching the ground first. She then let her feet drop and she moved around the room, putting one of her leather outfits back on and brushing her hair. No matter what she did it always looked a bit unruly.

She peeked her head out of her doorway and looked into the living room. She could just barely see him on the couch. She righted herself rubbing the sleep from her eyes. The sky outside was brighter than it had been when he had first woken up. She normally woke around six or seven. She was certainly a morning person. In every sense of the word.

When she got halfway down the hallway she started to hum and a little bounce returned to her step. She thought morning was so pure, it hadn't been tainted by the troubles of the day yet. The sun rose and eradicated the night before. When she got to the living room it looked like Valmont didn't quite view morning the same way he looked a little bit more dragged down...

"Good morning Valmont!" She smiled and stepped further out into the room then froze. His arm...it had been gone the night before she was sure of it...she had bandadged it herself, and while she was fairly talented with first aid...she didn't think she could grow an arm back.

"You...your arm...." She walked over touching it with her hands gently, as if she was expecting her hand to just slide through it.

[Anonymous]

Valmont had returned to the living room soon after his episode of reflection outside: the morning air had done him some good, and he had decided to come in early to steel himself for the difficulty to come.

Around six or seven in the morning, Shilo awoke. Valmont's sharpened senses heard every step, smelled her scent, and he swore he could almost feel her heartbeat from a distance: He never had this ability before, the ability to so accurately feel the presence of another. Soon after, Shilo walked into the room.

"Good morning Valmont!" She said, sounding somewhat cheery at first. Valmont turned to face her, and tried to smile as best he could. "you...your arm..." She remarked. Walking over, she touched it lightly, acting as if there was no possible way it could have (or should have) healed and regrown so quickly. Valmont almost did not believe it himself.

"I...I don't really remember it regenerating. Even though I thought I was awake all night, Its like I looked away and it was there."

Valmont paused, then chose his next words carefully as the fingers of his renenerated hand slipped between her fingers and held it. It had been the first time he had ever held the hand of another person in a very, very long time. It felt...good.

"I can't promise you that my story is a happy story thus far, but I can promise you that I know what to do now. I think I know what I am. That being said...

"Do you still want to know "the truth?"

((Sorry for the color change to his text, but I'm trying to get into it more for my writing style. Is that okay?))

[Anonymous]

Shiloh could barely believe her eyes, or her ears when he said he didn't know it had happened. Who doesn't know they can do things like that? Isn't that one of those things you should know about since birth? She bit her lip as he slid his hand into hers. It was in fact real, or it at least felt and moved like it was real. She sat down next to him slowly.

"I think I want to hear it even more now." She looked at his face completely enthralled with waiting for this story, the anticipation. She could barely believe it, she'd seen lots of weird things...but growing back a whole limb that was unheard of.

((Tis short, but nothing much she can say. If you wanna use colored text ya can I suppose. I don't really see the need but feel free))

[Anonymous]

"I think I want to hear it even more now."

Valmont hesitated for a moment before sitting down next to Shilo. Would she believe him if she heard his story? Would she actually accept what he told her, or would she brand him a monster like so many others did. He did not want her to hate him like that. However, she deserved the answer.

"Alright..Ill tell you my story. Its a...complicated one, since understanding this story requires that you know it from the beginning. And in advance..." Valmont paused for a moment to swallow a lump that had formed in his throat.

I'm sorry if you think I'm a monster for what I've done.

---------------------------


It began about five years ago, as that was when I first woke up. That is, to this day, the earliest memory I have. I don't remember the city, the exact date, or the exact time I woke up, All I know is that it was about five years ago at some time at night, I woke up and became aware of the world around me. The world that was trying to kill me.

It was dark, probably some time at night or in the early morning before the sun rose. As I became aware of my surroundings, I was approached by a man, whom at the time I only knew one thing about.

He wanted to kill me.

Looking back, he probably wanted to do so for my clothes or my weapon. Either way, he was going to try to fight and kill me for it. In the end it did not matter, because He was the one who lost.

He was the one who died, as I killed him with my "power"

After that, my memory is rather fuzzy until recently: I remember random places and events, times and dates, all out of order, like an impossibly complex jigsaw puzzle. While I don't remember the specifics, I do remember the feelings up until now.

They were feelings of confusion, anger, loss, sadness. I knew I lost something, that something had been taken from me, but I didn't even know what had been taken. I buried these feelings under a sense of duty: that it was my responsibility to hunt the wicked.

Since then, I've felt that my function has been that of a hunter: people and beings that wanted to hurt others I hurt back. Those who abused the system to their own dark ends I brought to swift justice. It was my job to do it, since it seemed like no one else could.

In retrospect, I guess I should have remembered an old saying:

"Those who hunt monsters should take great care in not becoming monsters. One should always be wary about looking into the abyss, for if one looks into the abyss too long, the abyss shall look unto you."

Yeah, looking back, I felt indestructible. Like a force of nature beyond reason or understanding. I thought I was an absolute, akin to life and death.

However, that was before I met "him"

It was in that vast wasteland that I encountered him: dressed in some kind of strange black armor, I fought him like so many others. I got some pretty bad injuries along the way, but It felt like any other battle, and ended like almost every other battle I had ever fought: with me standing tall and my opponent dying.

It was after he died and a got a look at his face, beneath his black armor that I was granted the terrible curse of knowing the truth about myself. As below that helmet he wore, that man...

Had my face.

He looked just like me. down to every last detail. I couldn't believe it at first, but as I looked into his eyes, I had these visions: visions of his own memories. they were fleeting, and I do not remember them, but I do remember one fact, one thing that was like the culmination of everything I feared...

---------------------------

"...I am a "Product". I was not born, but "Made". A prototype for some kind of mass-produced weapon. Even more then that, after all I've done for what I thought was justice, I've simply added more bloodshed to the world around me."

Valmont stood up, and took a few steps away from shilo, his back facing her and his head low.

"I'm monster..."

He knew his story did not seem to make much sense, but he didn't know any other way to describe it. Would Shilo understand? would she care? could she look beyond it, even if she did not understand it?

[Anonymous]

Shilo listened closely, her expression changing slowly from happiness, to intense interest, to worry, and at some points fear. It was a story like she had never heard before. She lived in a world of nature, of beauty. A place where things like this didn't happen. She was naive in some ways. Someone making people to be weapons was almost beyond her comprehension.

She reached out trying to touch him when he stood up and turned away from her.

"I don't believe that." She said almost like a child complaining, being stubborn. She stood up following him and touched his shoulder slowly. Her movements showing a little of the fear and worry her voice refused to shed a light on.

"No one is made to be something, you can change." She took a deep breath. She wasn't positive she was right. Her small world was growing bigger by the second. It was overwhelming to her, and terrifying.