untitled: Pieces of The Puzzle

 

As Gai finally got the much-needed hard lovin' she had been craving, Falcon was heading to find someone that could give him some information pertaining to the tremors. All over the castle, people were trying to clean up from the sudden explosion of power. There was shattered glass everywhere and servants scrambling to pick it up as architects stared at the various cracks that had shown up in the stone, wondering how to rework things. Death Angels were all abuzz, taking care of those who had been injured  and trying to fix problems, but it seemed no one could give him any information. Finally, Falcon headed towards the person he thought might know something - Exodus.

 

Exodus was cursing and kicking stuff in his room. The windows here had already been cleared and replaced, so there was no draft. Locke was sleeping on the bed, passed out from exhaustion. Whatever that had been, it felt much like the powers of a god. He was unsure of what type or even if it truly was.

 

Donovan sat worriedly beside Locke, the little one having been so frightened by all the crashing and the noise that he clung to him during it all. Donovan now settled up against him and nuzzled his beloved, seeing the other's peaceful face all serene and beautiful. He glanced over at Exodus, worry in his pretty blue eyes. "Is Master alright?"

 

"Yes, fine." He uttered softly in annoyance, pacing the room. He glanced at him thoughtfully, cocking his head and sighing. "Hmmnn... Are you ok, dear?" He asked softly, frowning more. He hoped that that everything was ok, it was not pleasing to him to think he'd have to deal with shit.

 

"Yes...I worried about Beloved, though...he is not very happy," Donovan whimpered as he cuddled closely against the sleeping Locke. How loving the Strange Angel was to his sweet Choir beauty. Exodus walked over and watched Locke sleeping too, knowing the other was rather tired. All of this malicious energy floating around no doubt made him very weak.

 

"No, he's not..." Exodus sighed softly. "I'd take him to Kika's place, but I fear for him as well... Stubborn ass won't leave his house..." He feared the war getting into the red-light distract where Exodus grew up, where his mate and friend Kika still lived and refused to leave.

 

"Kika no come to stay with us?" Donovan asks with a pout as he rather liked the young man he met once. He made Donovan smile and he was very pretty and charming. Exodus knew so many kind people, Donovan couldn't help but feel like he was loved no matter who he met. 

 

"No... He refuses to leave. He will not abandon his home." Exodus smiled sadly, caressing his beloved Locke's soft, blond hair. He sighs, sitting down. At least his other mates (all for Bane and Corpse and Kika) were in his possession and safe.

 

"Oh...That is sad...I like Kika," Donovan said sweetly as he watched Exodus look lovingly upon Locke. The choir angel was what commonly connected the two - Exodus knowing he probably never would have been aware of Donovan's existence if Locke hadn't paid attention to him. It's strange, but it seems Donovan was the one that started to drag them all into this...Yasunari, Doctor Liam, the Engineered Angels...is that really so far in the past? It makes Exodus sigh as he caresses Locke's plush pouting lips.

 

But Donovan was such a welcome presence. He sighed softly, smiling adoringly down at the two. They looked so cute, so very cute. He groaned and flopped onto the bed. "He'll visit, but unless we tie him down, he won't stay."

 

"But...isn't it good to be tied down?" Donovan asks, Exodus having just recently started teaching him about how to make Locke squirm and whimper using bondage. Donovan is so innocent, since his soul is still that of a little child, so it's a delight to slowly corrupt him. 

 

The shadowshifter snorted in amusement, grinning. "That's a different type of tying up, Donovan my dear." He purred and kissed the top of the young man's head fondly. He cocked his hips, putting his scarred hands upon them. He'd become leaner and harder in the last few years, since he'd not been forced to breed again and had gone back to doing mercenary business - for Death of course. It was hard, heavy work and Exodus enjoyed it. Even so, work could not keep his mind off the going ons in the castle.

 

"Will we have to fight, Master? ...I thought we wouldn't have to fight anymore," Donovan said after reading the look of worry in Exodus' eyes. He sat there and pet Locke's soft hair with a look of sheer sadness in his gaze. Donovan was a gentle soul. He had never wanted to fight. When he was ripped from his real body at the tender age of four, he didn't have any desire to fight. Perhaps it was his young age that prevented him from being overwhelmed by the Shadowshifter blood pumped into his system - he was young enough to adapt. "I hate fighting...it hurts me."

 

"I know dear, but sometimes one has to fight..." He uttered softly in response, peering back at the other with a sad, gentle smile. "Don't worry, I'll keep you out of it as long as possible."

 

"...I don't want you to fight either, Master. I know it hurts you too," Donovan says with his sad blue gaze. It was true. There were many parts of battle that hurt Exodus, for he was generally a fun-loving person. Still, there were things that couldn't be forgiven in the world without a little blood.

 

Exodus sighed and shrugged. "Depends on if the fight ends in death or not." He murmured softly, smiling down at the two on the bed thoughtfully. They looked nice lain out like that, it made him smile.

 

"No...I know Master would rather not be fighting. Master is kind and thoughtful," Donovan says as he looks up at Exodus. His long violet hair brushes over his warm mocha flesh. He is such a lovely creature and a rare find too. His body was created in the land of dreams, but his soul is at the junction between Heaven and Hell. "That is what Master's body tells me when he's inside."

 

The shadowshifter leaned down, hands causing the mattress to buckle a little under his weight and he cocked his head thoughtfully. "Does it?" He whispered, smiling upon the young man he had grown so fond of.

 

Donovan smiled back, looking to Exodus with such a purely innocent gaze. "Yes...and when I am inside Master, I feel all his warmth and all his love. That is how I know Master doesn't like to fight...Just like Beloved doesn't like to see Master hurt. That is how strong Master and Beloved's love really is," Donovan says as he feels the other press against him. Ashen white skin puckered with scars and smooth mocha flesh do look nice together. 

 

Sighing pleasantly, Exodus nuzzled Donovan's soft, warm skin. The young man always smelled nice, causing Exodus to sigh all the more and flop down against him and Locke. It felt nice having warm bodies pressed close. He could not always see his other lovers, but he could see these two just about everyday and the bond that grew with that was strong and comforting.

 

Donovan smiled sweetly and felt happy that Exodus was cuddling against him. He pet the other's wild black mane and nuzzled him lovingly as Locke slept beside them. Exodus knew he would have to leave soon to go and investigate a few things about the mysterious happenings at the castle, but, for now, he was content to caress Donovan's muscles and pet Locke's soft plump backside.

 

It was a very nice moment of comfort. While Exodus' whole world was currently in shambles, at least in moments like these, he could relax and enjoy himself. "Mmnn... wish I could stay a while longer." He uttered softly.

 

"We will be here when Master gets back," Donovan says with a gentle loving smile, leaning down and kissing Exodus' forehead as Exodus did for him. It was always good to have someone here when Exodus was away. Not only did it make his precious little Locke feel better, it gave him another pair of loving arms to return to. Exodus so did love being surrounded by people.

 

It was something he'd developed as a child. Being alone made Exodus agitated and unhappy when he was not working. The more he was around people, the happier he became. "Well, that is a very good thing, eh?" Exodus teased gently and gave them each another nuzzle before slipping lazily from the bed.

 

Exodus then stepped out of the room and headed down the hallway, almost hitting a darting black-robed figure quickly making his way towards the hall of records. Varun gasped and dropped some of his papers, as well as a small silk bag that contained something very precious.

 

Exodus grunted and peered down at Varun in surprise. Varun flushed, grabbing for his things quickly, embarrassed that he had been so careless as to drop all these things and especially to have run into Exodus of all people.

 

The abyssian, the small spherical Shadowshifter item that Rowan had entrusted to Varun slipped out of its silk bag and skittered a crossed the floor, causing Varun to cry out. He had been given two of them - one of them being Rowan's own city of memory that was to be the model that Varun would work off of. Rowan had taught the youth the trick to opening the abyssian with a silver key he had entrusted to him as well. The other abyssian - the black one nicely detailed with silver - was for Varun's to build. He already had a tower with a wall around it, but little else. Every brick was a memory and it was hard to construct so many, even with making new ones every day.

 

Exodus stopped one of them with his foot, peering down at it curiously. He'd seen one of these a long, long time ago as a tiny child. His mother had had one, though he'd never learned what it was or what it was for. Odd... he cocked his head and snatched them up, peering at them intently.  "M-my lord Exodus, please give those back." Varun uttered, gazing at his superior and elder with wide, startled eyes.

 

Exodus would do no such thing. These weird items were familiar to him, as he remembered chewing on the one his mother had as a baby. It left little sharp teeth marks on one side from when he was teething. However, these seemed completely new and finely detailed. The dialect of Shadowshifter on the sides was so ancient that even Exodus couldn't read it...not to mention the very boxes themselves seemed to have some sort of illusive purpose.

 

"What are these, Varun?" He asked curiously, his green eye pinning the young man to the floor with its directness. Varun frowned, shifting uncomfortably. He had not wished to have to tell anyone about them until he'd mastered his own enough to show others. "Well, umnn... " He closed his mouth with a snap and grumbled. "Do I have to tell you?"

 

The answer was obvious to that as Exodus frowned down upon the fidgeting Varun. Varun sighed, knowing that they would have to go to a more private place than this in order for him to reveal his rather puny tower of memory - for it could hardly be called a city. The library was just as good a place as any and that was where he had been heading. Something he had been looking at in Rowan's city of memory sparked something in him. He had seen this place once before in a book and wished to find out more.

 

Sighing in annoyance, Varun motioned with a flick of his hand for Exodus to follow him. Smirking some, Exodus kept a hold of both of the little boxes, touching them curiously. They brought back memories, sharp as they had been the moment they had happened, of his mother gently giving him a box like this to entertain himself with. He'd chewed on it so much, but his mother had only smiled.

 

Getting into the library, Varun locks the door behind them with a sigh and then pulls out the silver key he has rested against his chest on a black ribbon. This is the one that opens Rowan's city of memory...but...would it really be alright to show Exodus that? Rethinking it, Varun puts the key away and takes his own abyssian with embarrassment. He knows that his little tower is puny, but he can easily walk Exodus through its halls to show him the various parts of things. 

 

Exodus hands it over, watching Varun curiously as the young man fiddles with it. Just what are these things to make Varun so very nervous? He smiles though, excitement rippling through him.  Varun's dark eyes flicked to Exodus as he opened his abyssian and let his tower out. At least the thing was well built or he'd be too ashamed to look at it.

 

The great almost holographic tower stood as tall as Varun with tiny glistening stones of all colors. There were not any decorations on this tower, for it was small and didn't have very much to it. Varun had yet to learn what it took to make an emblem or flags, but what he had were several sturdy walls that could each be caressed with his mind to unlock a memory that played like a movie. Exodus was surprised and almost thrilled as this bright tower glowed before him. 

 

"Oooo..." He gasped and brushed his fingers across it, making Varun flush with pride. One could easily see how awed the scarred male was and it made Varun proud to have inspired that awe with so simple a tower and its walls. "Those are my memories, well, some of them. I am still working on it."

 

As Exodus' fingertips touched over one of the stones, a great big window appeared with some rather naughty images of Alpheus thrusting himself back onto Varun and moaning. Obviously, Varun still needed to figure out how to lock certain stones from being viewed at a touch, but...well...Exodus seemed to be enjoying the show. 

 

Varun blushed darkly and hide it from Exodus with an expression of dismay. The other male laughed with delight. "Ahh... so what is this little thing called?" He crooned, peering at him with wide eyes.

 

Varun quickly ended the lovely show of Alpheus moaning for more and closed his abyssian, telling the other how he came about it and that Rowan was teaching him how to build more. It's then that Exodus became curious about the other abyssian he was holding...These.......were Rowan's memories? No doubt Death would want to see this.

 

Exodus still had his hand wrapped about it and he grinned cheekily. Hmmnn... they could use this. He cocked his head. "And who does this belong to?" he crooned, making Varun tense a little and frown. "Why should it matter, Exodus?" Varun replied sharply.

 

Exodus still had his hand wrapped about it and he grinned cheekily. Hmmnn... they could use this. He cocked his head. "And who does this belong to?" he crooned, making Varun tense a little and frown. "Why should it matter, Exodus?" Varun replied sharply.

 

"Hey! Who locked the door?!" comes a rather disgruntled cry that breaks up any questions that Exodus might further ask. Varun knows that voice all too well and Exodus can easily recognize it as the voice moaning for Varun-cock just a few minutes ago. "Who is in there?! I need to get my books, damn it!" Alpheus snarled, jiggling the handle harder.

 

Taking his chance as Exodus was distracted, Varun grabbed the thing back and ran to the door. "Just a minute love, had to do something!" He called. Exodus grumbled, poking at Varun's thing more to replay that sex scene with a smug smirk.

 

Thus, when Alpheus opened the door, he could only give a scream of abject horror when he found the image of himself rolling his fine tight ass onto Varun's beautiful cock playing before him. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!?!" Alpheus cries out, Exodus giggling evilly. "Since WHEN did you TAPE THAT?!!"

 

  "I didn't!" Varun cried, turning in horror as well as Exodus grinned at the both of them deviously. "Its, eh, it's, damnit Exodus!" Varun cried and stomped over to stop the image. Exodus cackled and skittered away, snatching Rowan's little box back as Varun snatched at him. "Oh no, you won't be getting this back until you let me look at it." He purred, making Varun all the more flustered and agitated.

 

"What in the HELL is going on here?! Why is my ass on FILM?! And why are you showing it to EXODUS in a LOCKED ROOM?!" Alpheus snarls, Varun feeling the wrath of the mate from behind him as the young Angel glares all hell at him. Oh, Varun won't be getting any tonight...He's certainly got a lot of explaining to do. Damn that Exodus! But he can't just invade Rowan's privacy like that! Certainly not just because Exodus asked him too...Maybe he should consult his father on this.

 

Snickering, Exodus slipped out behind Alpheus with the box, coddling it as Varun was left to deal with the wrath of his lover and gods was it a terrible wrath! Varun would not be getting out of that without some rather large bruises and many stumbling, embarrassed explanations.

 

Meanwhile, Exodus tried to fiddle with the box to make it open. He turned it this way and that way, caressing one or more of the sides to see if it would do something. However, unlike with Varun's abyssian, this would not open with just mere words. And it looked a lot different too. There were different markings upon it, ones that seemed to be etched in over the old ones. This was worth showing to Death to get some answers...God knows Varun would be busy trying to calm Alpheus down - too busy to stop Exodus

 

Smirking some, Exodus was marching there right then. He peered at the box thoughtfully and than started to nibble on it, finding it did not have the same taste as the one his mother had. He pouted, flouncing along toward Death's den, searching for the familiar feel of the immortal.

 

Death could be found sitting and frowning heavily over Chaos' visit. The fact was that he was very angry with her and very angry with the situation he was in now. He tried to get his many lovers to comfort him, but even that seemed impossible. Everything was terribly wrong...and the idea that little Yoren was mixed up in it made him feel worse.

 

When Exodus flounced in and greeted him with a loud, shrill squeal, his head began to throb. The dark male flounced over, as if he was trying to make himself appear cute, which was impossible with those scars and the dangerous glint in his green eye. "Guess what I haveeee!" He sung and slipped into Death's lap like a slippery eel, wiggling the small box in the disgruntled man's face.

 

Death looked at the box and at first was about to smack it away, for it smelled of Exodus nibbles and Death really didn't need a chew toy just then. However, he became at once entranced with the ancient form of Shadowshifter that was written on the side. At once, his eyes got huge. It was an Abyssian!! One of Eve's intelligent daughters made these in order to record Shadowshifter history in the form of memories. Most of them - including Adam and Eve's abyssians - had been destroyed during the genocide. To see one now was a miracle! Of course...this one had been altered somewhat. The scrawling script etched in over the Shadowshifter spells were obviously of another, stranger language. What's more, the box itself seemed to be glowing in his God vision...as though something living were inside it. 

 

Cocking his head, Death took the absyssian and stroked it with his long, pale fingers. Dark eyes were wide in startled awe and he glanced to the smirking Exodus in shock. "Where did you...?" He whispered. Exodus smugly nuzzled his lord with a purr. "Varun had it; he has one of his own as well. This one is Rowan's." The smug purr turned into a gleeful purr and Exodus wiggled in Death's lap distractingly.

 

Death had found it. The one thing that would let him get an edge up on Chaos. Already, she seemed to know so much about Adonis. It was best that, in order to protect himself from both Adonis and Chaos, he would need to have whatever information this thing contained. Even so, it was quite a puzzling box in that it gave off a flickering aura - like that of a tiny soul. This bemused Death, but he paid it no mind. He was too excited with the possibility of being able to resolve this matter quickly. Surely, this abyssian contained all the secrets Death would need! But........how to open it?

 

Frowning, Death turned it over and over and over. He glanced impatiently at Exodus and raised a brow with a snort. "And how in the hell am I to open it, Exodus?" He demanded hotly.  The cheeky shadowshifter only grinned and shrugged. "Ask Varun? He was the one that had it, my lord."

 

Oh, indeed...that boy would be answering Death's questions or else he would have worse things to worry about than Alpheus' scolding. Still, there was the question of how Varun even got such a valuable thing in the first place? Obviously, Adonis wouldn't just give away his secrets...unless Rowan, in a dying act as his consciousness faded, gave it away. 

Could have been, but for now, Death was not going to guess. Frowning some, he tucked the box away and gave his pet a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you very much, my dear." He purred softly and caressed the others cheek. "Now than... you do have things to take care of."

 

 

Exodus sighed and went on his merry way, though pleased he could do something to make Death look so pleased. The box remained carefully in Death's care, but another piece of the puzzle was also being carefully scrutinized as Ceata stared at the silver locket Urius had given him. After sex, Ceata lay among his many lovers and stared up at the glinting thing in the pale light. He twirled it between his fingers and thought of what might be inside it. All previous attempts to open the thing had failed, but perhaps there was a trick to it. "Our Eternal Promise" was still etched on the front in a strange language. It made Ceata frown. Urius shouldn't be promising anything to anyone but him.

 

Ceata sighed, gazing at it with a slight frown, chewing his bottom lip as he looked upon the twirling, flashing silver locket. Why must these things be so difficult? Grumbling, the young man nuzzled into the softly rising bosoms of his lover Noel, trying to think. The female groaned and stretched out, passed out after all the sex. Such a pretty thing. Ceata smiled, watching her stretch. Hmmnn... just what was with this locket anyway...? He turned his attention away from Noel's gorgeous breasts and back to the shiny metal.

 

After the days' activities with Chaos and what happened with Yoren, Ceata was more bemused than ever about the little piece of jewelry. Everything that had been given to them by the Angels was now suspect and it seemed as though something in Urius was more terrible than even Adonis. This made Ceata's heart hurt and his mind fill with fear, for even he remembers that night of painful ecstasy...Even now, he can taste Urius' blood on his lips and longs for more. He feels like a monster, but isn't Urius the monster? And, if so, what does that make him?

 

Worse than the monster perhaps... He shivers, biting his lip hard to keep from dwelling on it. Foolish to have ever dealt with that creature. At least he had not seen him in over a week and with Urius gone, there was even less chance of the man showing up and seducing him yet again. Even so, Urius is one of his beloveds and he must find a way to save him. "But how....?"

 

That question hung in the air with a painful echo as Ceata sighed and got up. He covered Noel and gave her a loving kiss as she rolled over and grumbled. He then set to slipping on a robe and walking out onto his room's balcony where he could view the gardens. He was quite surprised to look down and see Stannis standing there in the moonlight, seeming to be heavily contemplating something. Perhaps Ceata should go down and ask what's the matter?

 

Leaning over the balcony, it was a simply thing to clothe in shadows and slip down into the gardens. He slipped up quietly, staying back far enough to keep from startling the man. "Stannis, you look troubled." he mused aloud, cocking his head.

 

Stannis turned sharply, having been so deep in thought that he didn't even notice Ceata as he appeared. Quickly, he shoved something into his coat and cleared his throat. "...Sir Ceata....What a surprise to see you here," Stannis said as he looked to the other whilst trying to regain himself. He was so stern. He looked so much like his younger brother and both had the same quality of emo that seemed to prevail in all Starc men. "I would think everyone would be in bed by now."

 

"Haha, hell no, my lord." Ceata smiled slightly, cocking his head. He sighed and rubbed his forehead thoughtfully. "Are you having trouble sleeping, Stannis?"

 

"One could say that...This place gives me troubling readings from the stars. Then again, there is no clearer sky than a winter sky...and it seems this place does not have winter here," Stannis replies as he stares up into the sky. His eyes pierce the heavens and read from the little glittering lights a terrible future. 

 

Ceata smiled faintly. "There is no need to read the stars when one can already see how fucked we are." He replied and tipped his head back to smile up at the cold night sky. "Urius gave me his locket... is there something special about it, Stannis? It seems so important to him."

 

Stannis frowns lightly and turns back, seeing Ceata holding up a glinting locket. Stannis' eyes seem to widen a moment and an expression crosses his face that is puzzling, but it is quickly gone. His gaze hardens and he looks to Ceata with such a firm expression that it's almost frightening. "NEVER let go of that locket, Ceata...No matter how Urius begs for it back or how much Lord Rowan asks for it, NEVER let go of it.........Do you understand?"

 

"I already know, Stannis." Ceata smiled and hid it back among the shadows with a slight sigh of agitation. "You know, hiding things only makes this situation worse... and some of the more powerful Gods are getting involved...."

 

Stannis said nothing, but Ceata knew very well that he had some information he was hiding. Was it ALWAYS like these Starc men to think everyone else was better off not knowing they had problems?! Ceata was liable to strangle Stannis if he thought Kite might let him. "They shouldn't. This will only make it worse," Stannis said at length, looking back to the stars. "I suppose they can't help themselves, though...the gravitational pull is too hard."

 

"Death is keeping them from interfering too much...." Ceata replied, glancing at Stannis with a frown. "They were going to kill Absinthe.... and possibly me." He shivered and rubbed the little locket about his neck thoughtfully.

 

"...I can't imagine why," he says as he feigns ignorance. Still he stares up at the stars and watches as the night sky shifts lightly and the moon lends it half-crescent glow to the world with its borrowed light. 

 

"You suck at lying." Ceata murmured softly and stretching, gazing with interest at the moon and stars. He cocked his head thoughtfully, peering thoughtfully at Stannis. "At least with me... you lie pretty good to everyone else, but not me."

 

Stannis frowns a moment and then turns to look at Ceata, his grey eyes almost looking blue in the low light...or are they really blue? Ceata can't tell. "I lie with good reason...I have no desire to catch the attention of the wrong sort of person," Stannis replies, narrowing his gaze. "Unlike some people." His tone suggests that he's directing his words at Ceata - words that would be true, since Ceata has slept with danger TWICE now.

 

"There's the right time to lie and the wrong time." Ceata replied calmly, smiling at Stannis as if his words did not sting. They did, but how did you possibly deny a creature like Sorrow? If he wanted something, he was going to get it. "Right now would be the time to at least give a little hint..."

 

"I can't tell you much of what you don't already know, Ceata...and, despite what you may say about dropping hints, there is always the chance that one of the two Gods can get this information out of you. That is why what we know is best to stay in our heads...there will come a time when my information will be needed. For now, it's best kept away from others," Stannis replies as he looks over at the sulking Ceata. "All I know about that locket, however, is that it holds a very important piece of something...Adonis and Sorrow have been fighting over these pieces for centuries. You had better keep it safe."

 

"Hmm...." Ceata replied, but managed to give Stannis a weary smile as the man looked upon him. He held the locket between his thumb and finger, tipping his head to the side as he looked at it. "Silly thing to fight over.... but I suppose they aren't exactly... sane."

 

"Rowan and Urius were never exactly sane...Though we are Angels, we are all susceptible to those terrible human emotions known as greed, anger, jealousy, lust, and hatred," Stannis replies with a look of deep regret in his eyes that look blue in one moment and then grey the next. It's quite striking.

 

"I doubt anyone is really sane, Stannis." Ceata chuckled dryly, "Though I must say, those two currently take the cake." He sat down in the grass with a grunt, still toying with the locket, eyes closed. "I just want this damn thing over with."

 

"Well, it's not going to be over with..." Stannis sighs. "This has been going on since Remalphia - I doubt there is any end in sight." This makes Ceata blink as he remembers hearing that name before...Just who was it? Oh, yes! That lovely girl! the one he saw in the locket's memories! She had dark curling hair and pretty silvery eyes. If she had black eyes, she would have looked as lovely as a Shadowshifter, but there was something dark about her covetous nature towards Urius and Rowan.

 

"That girl... she was in love with Urius, wasn't she?" Ceata mused softly, leaning back as he glanced up at Stannis with a frown. "She looked upon his with such desire in her eyes..." The young male did not say how he knew this, Stannis could make as many guesses as he pleased, but he'd have to ask to get an answer and Ceata was not in the mood to be a sweet, easily handled creature.

 

"Well, it's not going to be over with..." Stannis sighs. "This has been going on since Remalphia - I doubt there is any end in sight." This makes Ceata blink as he remembers hearing that name before...Just who was it? Oh, yes! That lovely girl! the one he saw in the locket's memories! She had dark curling hair and pretty silvery eyes. If she had black eyes, she would have looked as lovely as a Shadowshifter, but there was something dark about her covetous nature towards Urius and Rowan. 

"That girl... she was in love with Urius, wasn't she?" Ceata mused softly, leaning back as he glanced up at Stannis with a frown. "She looked upon his with such desire in her eyes..." The young male did not say how he knew this, Stannis could make as many guesses as he pleased, but he'd have to ask to get an answer and Ceata was not in the mood to be a sweet, easily handled creature.

 

Stannis obviously was questioning how Ceata knew that information with his eyes, but he looked back up at the stars and nodded. "Yes...she loved him...as much as her shallow heart could love," Stannis replied with a bit of a saddened tone to his voice. "But that's not exactly something you need to hear about. Or do you already know it?"

 

"I know enough... though not how she came to be with Rowan and not the man she wanted. I know Rowan loved Urius and... I believe Urius loved Rowan in turn." The pale young man shrugged slightly, shivering under the others gaze.

 

"There in lies the betrayal...but I hardly think I am the right person to be telling you this. If Urius wouldn't admit to it himself, perhaps he will never repent to God. It's no wonder Sorrow can consume his soul when he has so many sins he won't speak of," Stannis replies as he continues to stare at the other with this blue gaze. Ceata is certain now that it isn't the light of the moon...yet he's not terrified like he is with Sorrow. It's a sad feeling...a very deep sadness.

 

"Urius was taught to hide away." Ceata replied. "From his emotions, his desires. I had to force him to even except me the way I wished him to..." The young male bit his lip. "It is no wonder he never said anything..." A shuddering sigh left Ceata and he tipped his head back to look easier upon Stannis. "But why? Why did Rowan marry her?"

 

"Do you think I know? I've never been around Rowan, but I know my brother...and I know what he's done. Until he admits to it, there is nothing about it that's coming from my lips..." Stannis replies sternly, though the other's pitiful gaze does tug at his heart strings. He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "To know that, you're going to have to talk to someone else...though...I don't know if you should be traveling during these times of war. It's too dangerous."

 

"Everything is dangerous right now, Stannis." Ceata grunted. "I'd be in more dangerous staying here and waiting for that.... thing to come back." Ceata uttered softly, remembering the taste of blood, the arching of Sorrow's body and the burn of flesh.

 

"But you would be getting closer to him...The place you need to go is Tenshihana and I don't know if it's all that safe. I suppose if you were to disguise your aura and your appearance, perhaps it would be possible. After all, most Angels confuse Shadowshifters for Demons. You would be in trouble with the way you look," Stannis replies simply.

 

"My eyes would be the most important part. I could pull off an albino." He murmured softly, glancing at Stannis. "Just what would I need to find there, Stannis.... can you tell me?"

 

 "Not a what, Ceata, a who...You know him, actually. His name is Ganidrad Valen." At once, Ceata remembered the one-eyed relation to the curly-haired and pissy little Christian. Ceata had met him at the underground compound where Rowan kept his organization. The portal to that compound had since been reworked so that now anyone from Death's Castle could easily shift through it. 

 

Ceata smiled slowly and nodded. "Ahhhhh... thank you. I shall see about it."  He uttered. Ceata was not going to sit idly by and allow these things to happen. He would search out the knowledge they needed and would steal it away if need must be. Slowly standing, Ceata dusted himself off and looked to Stannis with a slight smile on his face. "Thank you, my lord."

 

 "You shouldn't be thanking me, Ceata...The more knowledge you gain, the more they can use it against you," Stannis said softly before turning away and looking back to the stars. Ceata then left there feeling a little better as now he knew that there was something he could do instead of wait for Sorrow to come back. Now he could search through Rowan and Urius' pasts and the link that held them - Remalphia.

 

"Gives me more leverage as well." Ceata murmured and gave Ceata a beaming smile. "Good evening, my lord Stannis." He purred softly and bowed. "You probably will not see me tomorrow, so good day as well."