Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

It was just the trial after his horrific expenditure of ether. While fighting the Lurkers with Aeon, Fridgar had landed himself in some deep shit on the verge of death. He'd only barely managed to use Chrysalis to save himself. After that, his spark coursed real pain through his body, likely screeching in protest as he overstepped his boundaries. other than that, nothing had gone wrong. Except... he couldn't use his Trachadon totem anymore. It wouldn't summon and it wouldn't allow him to become it. All he could imagine was that he'd somehow managed to piss it off.

This was distressing, it saddened the Lothar. This next to Finn deciding that he needed to leave and the obvious events with Halden... Totrial had been a stressful trial. It was now nearing its end; the sky had darkened with the orange suns lowering over the horizon, casting its last rays over the sky and the fields that he and his beloved traversed. They were on their way to Kaer Jeger. Now that they were hounds, they were due their first mutagen and had to undergo the dance of the graces.

The walk had been quiet mostly, both were exhausted from the shitstorm that had been the eighty third of Ymiden. The atmosphere was already starting to burn Fridgar's skin a little and Saun wasn't even in full effect, but would be in a few breaks. "What a trial..." Fridgar spoke from the blue, appearing diminished and about ready for a good night’s sleep. "Ugh, I can't believe how hot its gotten. Is it just me or does Saun get hotter every arc?" He hadn't yet told Alistair of his dance with death, how Aeon had saved his life just yestertrial. The human didn't need that sort of stress on his mind.

But, his troubled spark was starting to get to him. Something wasn't right with the Trachadon totem, something was very wrong. The wise thing to do would be to inform Alistair and seek advice... But if he'd known that Fridgar went off to fight a high-exceptional monster without him, he'd probably be upset. He just didn't want Alistair to get hurt; the human couldn't selfheal after all. That, and he didn't want to risk having to Trachadon bomb and accidentally kill his beloved in the process. Not only that, but over the past two dozen trials or so, Alistair had fought his battles for him. The Llewnos, the Albion, Halden... Fridgar needed to prove himself, and he had. But at what cost?

Fridgar reached into the side pouch of his bag and felt around his totems before collecting the Trachadon figurine. it was heavy in his paw, hard, cold. If it wasn't pissed at him, it had a strange way of expressing so. Fridgar shut his eyes as they walked, remorse rampant in his sigh. "Alistair, I've got to tell you something," he spoke suddenly once more, dread heavy in his voice. "You know how I went out hunting with Aeon yestertrial and the trial before? Well-" He was cut off with a bellowing roar. He recognised the roar, it was the Trachadon's.

Fridgar stopped in his tracks and looked about the immediate area. The roar quaked again, shaking the earth beneath their feet. Suddenly, the Trachadon figurine flew from Fridgar's grasp and hovered a good ten feet in the air. Around it grew the skeletal structure of the Trachadon, then the muscle and organs, then the skin. It was as though he'd cast Totem guardian; except he hadn't. "I'm not doing that, Alistair..." Fridgar warned, taking a step back and readying his broad axe.

When the beast opened its eyes, they weren't greeted with the usual emerald hue of its large iris. Instead, they met with fully crimson eyes, almost glowing in their sockets. the beast would roar in rebellion of the damages it had suffered at the hands of its master. Now was the time for revenge. Without further, pause, the creature swung its massive tusks for the pair. The beast was without adapted traits and was at default speed, but taking a hit would likely kill either of the still. Fridgar leaped backward, rolling across the floor and all. The beast only rushed forward to close the gap before slamming its tusks down where the Lothar had once stood. It wasn't holding back and seriously sought to destroy Fridgar. Only just escaping, Fridgar blinked atop the creature's back, panic rampant in his head.

How did he fight this thing without killing it? Could he fight it? was he meant to? Feeling its master's presence on its back, the beast dropped to the floor and rolled, throw Fridgar off its back from twenty feet up. Fridgar hit the ground hard and rolled, absorbing some of the impact and taking the rest with his strengthened bones. His ankle exploded with pain, heralding a sprain, but Fridgar was more than capable of enduring a minor wound with his level of endurance. The beast rolled onto its feet once more before turning to Fridgar and charging again...

Less cuddling? Please... no... "Alistair, this heat is hardly worth it without your cuddles..." But the noble did have a good point, cuddling in a lake of sweat sounded rancid... but it didn't need to be sweat necessarily. An idea came to the Lothar, an idea that allowed for cuddles and even... "My rose, we could just take our clothes off... Fridgar offered with a sly grin, "I know from experience that it'll make us cooler, but if that's not enough..." Fridgar paused, licking his lips. "We could always visit the river where the waters are still and... You know..." Fridgar began to blush.

The thought of making love to his Kindal in the cool waters was exciting. Suddenly, Fridgar was looking forward to the coming Saun. "The season of swan... Just before the season of the snake. Vhalar comes after, right?" Fridgar reminisced of the trial that Alistair had taught him of the order of the seasons. "I love you, my rose" Fridgar spoke wistfully. He was only half conscious in the searing heat of the setting suns, but was soon roused to full consciousness as the Trachadon manifested.

The fight had begun, he and the noble were separated from each other’s sides, but it only took interest in him, thankfully. The Trachadon was mad and for good reason. Fridgar had subject that form to such horrors during their fight with the Lurkers, it wasn't fair but he hadn't considered his totems feeling on the matter. Now, it rebelled. It wanted revenge for the brutality it had suffered just yester trial. Its master would know just how bad he'd hurt it.

"No!" Fridgar pleaded, hysterical. "Don't kill it! Please don't-!" Fridgar blinked once more as the charging Trachadon ran through his previous position. The ground shook with every step from the colossal beast, it turned up mounds of earth as it skidded through Fridgar's previous position. Very blatantly; it wanted him dead. "Don't kill it, Alistair! Please don't!" The Lothar whimpered. This was terrible, it was as though a member of his family, akin to his sister or brother, was trying to kill him. Worse yet; he deserved it.

Fridgar couldn't afford to keep spending ether though, he needed a more permanent solution to dodging the monster’s attacks. Very quickly, he cast unleash and became a Llewnos. having overstepped this severely the trial prior, he couldn't imagine having very much ether to spend. In this form, he was fast, agile, stealthy and lethal. he would be able to out manoeuvre the Trachadon until it either tired or Alistair somehow subdued it or... killed it...

fearing for the life of his beloved and his beloved totem, Fridgar collected his bag by the strap with his feline jaw and broke into a sprint in the opposite direction. he would kite the Trachadon away from his beloved while he thought of a plan. Sure enough, the Trachadon took the bait and chased after the relatively small feline across the fields of Gauthrel, roaring and snarling like a beast possessed.

"You're still thinking about that cabin, huh?" Fridgar asked with a dopey smile. He then shut his eyes and wiped the sweat from his brow, sighing in the discomfort of the sun. "The monsters are going to be a problem... But I've thought of a fix for that," the Lothar nodded and looked his beloved in the eyes, full of hope. "If I can get Thetros to notice me, even more than he already has, he might mark me. Then, I can set a sanctuary, just like Ganren did for Kaer Jeger..." Fridgar wiggled his eyebrows, apparently impressed with himself. "And I've got just the plan to turn some heads..." He spoke, suddenly bitter. He looked away from Alistair in that trill and set his eyes on the east.

...

As Fridgar ran off at speeds the giant hulking beast simply couldn't keep up with, he kept looking behind him to make sure that the Trachadon was following him. For the most part of the journey, it was. Then Alistair blinked atop it and jabbed his spear in a couple of feet, halting the beast with a roar of pain. Then, after his beloved had jumped from his kin's back, he used the nail to drop a pillar of earth on the second blade of his spear and pushed it all the way into one of the Trachadon's hind legs.

Fridnos had long since stopped running and merely watched the display. Even after the Trachadon's leg was immobilised, it continued on three legs. The Llewnos couldn't even as why, he knew why. He'd been a terrible master and subjected what he believed to be his family to atrocities that no living creature should have to suffer, let alone survive through. Now he understood, he needed to treat his totems better.

As Alistair ran at the Trachadon, he drew bear whisperer and cut through the Trachadon's side. Having already lost the ability to run on four legs, now losing part of its core muscles, the Trachadon collapsed into a heap of stone skin, muscle and tusk just a couple dozen feet from Fridnos. Its front paws tried to drag itself forward, only succeeding in ripping up the earth with its tremendous weight. Saddened and heavy of heart, the Llewnos turned and made his approach to the fallen beast.

As he drew closer, the more vicious the growls and roars of the beast became, the more frantically it tried to claw itself forward. Such a visage was scarring. And to think that he'd made it hate him, that it was his fault... He considered giving up all his totems, he wasn't worthy of them. Fridgar dropped his bag as he approached, echoing the voice of Fridgar. "Fridadon..." he addressed his totem, stinging as he realised that he hadn't even given it a real name. The beast continued to roar and thrash, trying desperately to claw its way closer to Fridnos.

If Llewnos' could cry, Fridgar would be. But thankfully, the echo covered up most of his emotions and didn't relay any of his sadness. "Fridadon, I'm so sorry!" The Llewnos bellowed with a roar, "I had no idea what I was doing to you!" To hear that its master hadn't even realised the suffering it had put it through enraged the Trachadon even further. The beast roared with enough intensity to shake the ground. Then Fridgar remembered the Soranaar, the Jeger. All of the punishment his beloved totem had suffered and for what..? Because he was careless.

"But I understand now!" He roared in return, the echo quaking his voice. The beast quieted, falling to an odd grunt. "I constantly threw you to the jaws of danger, I didn't recognise your consciousness, I didn't feed you, I never let you have any fun, hell, I didn't even give you a real name!" Fridgar confessed, forcing his comparably small voice over the Trachadon's. "I treated you like a fucking tool and I'm so, so sorry!" it wasn't fair on Fridadon, it really wasn't. Fridgar really was the worst Becomer in existence, no one else would treat their family like he'd treated his totems.

The Trachadon was silent, glaring down the Llewnos with its red eyes, the Llewnos stared back, its violet hue a lot softer on the edges. "Please, Fridadon... I'm so sorry. I'll be better from now on, I swear it to you and every other totem." He looked back to the bag he'd dropped, within it were all his totems, all would have heard his vow, his promise. "I'll even give everyone real names, starting with you..." he spoke, looking the Trachadon in the eyes. The red temperamental hue began to fade, filling out with the white of its eyes.

"Fridadon is not your name anymore. If you choose to stay with me, I will name you Boomer and I will treat you as my brother, like you deserve. I swear it to you," the Llewnos offered, looking up at the emerald green of the Trachadon's eyes. It groaned after a pause, its usual low-volume roar as its body began to withdraw, collapsing back in on itself. Alistair's spear soon fell free of the Trachadon's flesh, landing in the soil and standing erect. So too did the Trachadon totem, landing softly on the grass.

Fridnos let out a shaky breath and approached his fallen totem. Once within distance, he fell to his front and laid on his chest and belly. His large violent eyes settled on the totem while his feline head rested between his paws. His poor totem, it had dealt with his bullshit for so long with no word of gratitude, only now was it speaking out? His poor loyal beast. The totem no longer called to him, it was silent. Perhaps it needed time to think about it? Even if the Trachadon chose to leave, Fridgar would change. He owed that much.

A bit or so would pass with just the Llewnos staring at the totem. Then, he would rise and gently collect the Trachadon figurine with his maw. The Llewnos would pad over to his bag and put the Trachadon totem back with difficulty before collecting the bag and approaching Alistair. "Alistair, I overstepped," Fridgar confessed.

"Yestertrial, me and Aeon went out hunting Lurkers. We bumped in to two and I get wounded pretty bad. After we killed them, I used Chrysalis and pissed off Boomer," Fridgar explained, hanging his head. "I was going to tell you, but then Boomer decided to make it known that he was pissed..." Fridgar explained, trying to lighten the blow. "Alistair, I'm so sorry, I should have asked you to come with me. I just thought I could handle it..." It was true enough, he had originally thought that killing two Lurkers would be a cake walk when in truth it was the hardest fight of his life to date. If he'd known just how dangerous it was, he might have reconsidered his pride.

His violet eyes looked to Alistair's nebulous ones. What was he thinking?

Fridnos hadn't had the chance to collect the totem and put it away when Alistair decided to climb on his back. The sudden warmth atop him was enough to help him forget about Boomer for a trill. His mate's presence was so comforting, he could overcome any sadness when the human was with him. Then, the contact of his mate's fingers along his neck, under his ears, over his head... It felt... good. Even if he didn't want to, he fluttered his eyes closed, raising his head toward Alistair, coaxing more of his beloved's petting while unknowingly purring a deep rumbling through his form.

"Alistair..." the Llewnos purred, still oblivious to his own reflexive reactions. He then explained the story of the Lurkers and the overstepping before relaxing into the loving pets, sinking his head blissfully between his paws as the pair lay there. Alistair revealed himself to be impressed, which Fridgar couldn't help but tilt his head to, confused, before returning his head to Alistair's hand and relishing in the contact of his mate. Why didn't Alistair pet him in totem forms more often?

"Impressed?" he purred. If Alistair really was impressed Then he really didn't have anything to feel bad about other than his totem's happiness. "My love..." he purred, still thoroughly enjoying the administrations of his beloved. If Alistair didn't stop, Fridgar could very well try his luck with spending the whole trial here, purring under his mate's hand. "Of course I got the totem, I'm going to use it to pull off some sick stuff to become Jackal. Maybe clear out the east of all its Lurkers?"

By now, his whole body was limp beneath the human, achieving maximum relaxation levels. "But..." Fridnos started, sinking a little further into the grass, guilty. "I haven't made it into a totem yet... I’ve just got its severed finger in my bag, It's as big as the Lothar totem's whole leg!" Fridnos continued to purr, failing to realise what he'd called his self-totem for a trill. His head then jolted in realisation, raising from the floor with uncertainty. "I mean my whole leg..." he corrected himself.

"My rose... If you have the ether..." he began to ask, though Alistair probably knew what he was beating around the bush about. He then shifted his body, getting his blood pumping again before pushing to his feline feet. He bent down and collected the Trachadon totem before advancing to his bag, where the Lurker's finger supposedly rested. In the side pouch, he placed the Boomer totem with all his other unnamed kin. Very soon, he'd need to find names for the lot of them. He then bit into the lid of the bag and lifted, revealing the Lurker finger. It had been severed at the knuckle and folded by the two remaining joints to fit more compact in his bag.

"Could you please make me a figurine, my rose?" he asked, turning his head back around to face his mate, violet eyes pleading. "It needs to be a pretty big totem though, I won't be able to walk around with it... Or assimilate it, probably," it would have to be a totem he used with plenty of preparation, not for unleashing on the fly.

But, Alistair wasn't done with the whole Lurker discussion, he had some things he needed to say. "I will, my love. Though, if this Lurker totem works... I'm gonna be capable of handling them myself. Still, I'd feel a lot better if you had my back... " The Llewnos purred. They did brutalise me, Aeon saved my life again, he almost said, but thankfully held his tongue. Alistair didn't need to know that part or the state he was in after the fight. "I understand, my beloved, I'm sorry," His monotone echo came through, though softer.

Fridgar couldn't help but blush beneath his black fur as Alistair spoke, if Llewnos were even capable of that. "Alistaaaair!" he purred again, even if Alistair wasn't petting him anymore. To be showered with all this praise, all this affection. Warmth coursed through his veins, radiating in his chest. He then turned over and dropped Alistair to the floor beside him. Then, he quickly pounced atop the human and lowered the weight of his large feline form atop him, licking all over his mate’s face and neck, purring to an extent that his mate would feel the vibrations deep in his chest as they rumbled.

Holding the human below him, completely trapped, Fridgar continued to pour out his affection despite being confined to Llewnos form. His tongue was textured strangely, rough to the touch as it dragged across his beloved's bare skin, likely tickling him accidentally. "That's a lie! You're the greatest man you've ever known! Alistair, I love you so much, my Kindal! My husband! My rose! The light of my life!" His purring and kissing did not cease, only grew in intensity as he coated the male below him with his love. All his petting and compliments had taken their toll, Fridgar had been reduced to naught but a loving cuddly kitty in desperate need of his beloved's warmth.

Once Alistair got too hot in the insulation of his fur or the burning hot atmosphere though, he'd have no choice but to step off his mate. "Alistair, get on my back. I want to carry you all the way to Kaer Jeger like a noble steed," he demanded. No way was he spending the rest of the journey without his beloved's strokes and pets, he needed his Kindal now, even if it was sweltering hot in the twilight.