Bound by Honor

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The blond elemental nodded without looking at his friend, knowing she'd see the lie of it in his eyes. No, he was not all right. He was far from it, but there was nothing he could do about it. Nothing but push it down into the shadows between the darkness of the amnesia and the light of his conscious mind. He could focus on what he could do and make himself function. That is what he knew how to do and that is what Anrar would do until the time came when it was safe for him to fall apart....if it was ever safe for him to do that.

He was so afraid that if he did, he'd shatter completely and no one would care enough to clean up the pieces, much less put them back together again.

He looked to the faerie then to see Bluebell approaching, crouching down before him and Anrar moved back into the couch instinctively, something the faerie noted clearly. She looked a bit saddened by it, but didn't comment either and instead spoke on a different topic. "Pretty Evel said your head hurts when you try to remember? How often does that usually happen in a day?"

Dark green eyes grew wary, glancing to Evel and then back at the blue faerie. ".....I don't know. I...I lose count."

"Hmm...that severe. Have you tried Hessa Root? If you chew on a small piece, it will help relieve head pain." Anrar nodded slowly, never having tried it and willing to remedy that if it might help. Bluebell smiled at his compliance and then looked to Evel. "And you make sure he takes it. I'm sure his stubborn self will listen to you above all else, yes?" She gave Evel a warm smile before standing, Evergreen flying back in, a large vial clutched in her arms. It was about half her size, small for human fingers but not impossible and Anrar rose, reaching forward to take it from her for no other reason than that she was stumbling.

The green faerie gave him a grateful smile and then huffed out a sigh. "Well, there it is. Three drops and viola, it will cure any sickness."
 
"Alright, I'll be sure to do that. Thank you all for your help, we'd love to stay but we have to get back to the king and queen." Evel said with a smile and looked over at Anrar. She gave him a soft smile before asking, "Ready to go?" She was sure that the king and queen would be very happy once they were better and their daughter was back in their arms.

Speaking of the daughter, Evel wondered how the princess was holding up. Was she just as scared and shaken as Anrar was? Maybe even worse considering she was with the enemy territory and away from her family. Could that have been how Anrar felt at one time? It was hard to think of and extremely hard to imagine being taken from your home.

Evel hoped that Anrar would be alright. She was hoping a lot lately. Hoping that the elemental would be alright, hoping that the kingdom would be fine, hoping that the war would end... how did she get this much hope? What made her be this optimistic when she was always so insecure and second guessed herself? She wasn't quite sure... maybe it was Anrar. That would be a good explanation in her mind. Having the friend by her side always made her feel a bit more powerful, a bit readier to face the world. With Anrar by her side, she felt that she could do anything. She often wondered if he felt the same for her. Did he feel better with her near him? Did he truly like having her around? Those questions could be answered later as they had a king and queen to save.
 
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The Kingdom of Chalice came back into view far later than Anrar would have liked. It had taken them almost twice as long to get back to the elven Kingdom with the bridge gone, but no matter how long it took, Evel had made the right decision in shooting it down. They'd seen that clearly enough when they'd caught the activity of the centaurs on the other side of the ravine, hard at work constructing another bridge. They were still in charge of the forest at this time and Evel and Anrar would have never made it back through.

No, better to go down further and find a way down and then back up. And that's exactly what they'd done, pushing the horses to their limits after that through the forest and onto the plains, racing for the palace and the King and Queen. Their horses were exhausted as were they, but they all had one last gallop in them as they raced through the town and toward the inner walls of the palace.

When they came into the courtyard, Merrick and Calen were there to meet them, having heard the announcement of their arrival before they'd even come in the gates. Anrar didn't even bother to dismount, handing the vial to the Captain. The man smiled, clapped him on the leg - something Anrar was far too exhausted to react to - and then rushed for the palace itself. The blond Knight nearly sagged in his saddle for the moment.

One half of their quest was completed and they were in time.

He just wanted to sleep now.
 
Evel was glad to be home as they rode back into the castle. She wanted to sleep as much as Anrar did. She dismounted and took her horses reins. "If you want I can put the horses away and you can get a head start to the quarters to sleep." Evel said, looking up at Anrar and his stallion. Epona nudged Evel slightly, wanting to hurry up and get to the stables so he could rest. Evel just brushed the horse's snout, smiling slightly.

She knew they were going to leave again in the morning so they had to get as much rest and sleep now. She was going to take a shower before heading off. Normally she'd ask Anrar to scout her, but she was sure that everyone was training right now. What could possibly happen while she was in the shower? She was sure she would be fine, even if someone came in, it wasn't like they would purposefully look in on another man showering.

So Evel waited for Anrar's decision, keeping her tired and impatient horse at bay as she awaited his answer. She kept a hand on Epona's snout, making the horse calm down after all of the excitement and adventure the two had been through. Hopefully the next morning would be better for the both of them.
 
Anrar smiled at her just a little at the offer, but shook his head, dismounting as well with a small groan. "Thank you, Evel, but no. I promised this bottomless pit a rubdown when we got back and we both know you can't reach his back." It was a slight tease, his red stallion being at least three hands taller then her Epona. It would take Evel a stool to reach all of Firekicker's back and his horse wasn't exactly compliant on a good day. There was a reason people kept away from him, even when horses were often rotated between the Knights when things got bad enough that they needed fresh mounts, even if they belonged to another Knight.

He reached out and ruffled Evel's hair gently as he passed her, Firekicker in tow. "Come on, let's get these two comfortable and then wash the grime from ourselves." He gave her a knowing glance, having guessed exactly what she was going to do after the horses were done and he'd be damned if he was going to leave her alone on their day back. Laro would know they were both tired and therefore far more vulnerable, and the other man wasn't above taking advantage of that.

Besides, Anrar had not forgotten in the least what the male elf had done to Evel's face. He wasn't going to get near his friend again without feeling the power behind Anrar's own punches, that the elemental swore. He didn't care what kind of trouble it got him into.
 
"If I would just grow a bit taller then maybe I could reach it!" Evel said with a small smile, glad her friend wasn't too run down. She walked to the stables with him to get Epona clean and in her stall. She took her horse to the washing area and grabbed the needed materials to wash down the horse. Epona enjoyed it greatly and was happy that Evel had cleaned him and brought him to his stall.

After the two were finished with their horses, they walked to the showers. Evel was extremely happy that she was home again as she grabbed her clothes to get started washing. She quickly got in a shower stall and got undressed. The hot water relaxed her muscles as she washed herself.

She was extremely relaxed as she took a little bit longer to wash herself, wiping away the grime and sweat that had accumulated. She stretched as she finished up, wrapping her bindings and putting on her fresh clothes, ready to just hit her bed and sleep.
 
Anrar let the water wash away the dirt, sweat and salt from the ocean, his muscles loosening of their residual tension before he shut the water off and dried himself before starting to dress. He'd gotten everything but his shirt on when the elemental realized the article of clothing was missing. He knew he'd grabbed it. Maybe it had fallen? He opened the curtain to look and instead came face to face with Naronar, a smirk already on the redhead's lips, Laro and another elf called Ticor.

The very latter held his shirt.

Naronar let out a low whistle as he looked Anrar over with cold black eyes, taking in the scarring on the elemental's torso. A few were obviously battle scars from a sword slice or an arrow, but there were others that looked far more deliberate, cruel patterns etched into his skin, circles and symbols that had been carved out with a knife, intended to cause pain. Burn marks littered his upper arms, places on his chest and stomach. His back was covered in whip-marks and a few of those cut-out designs that were now marked over by the longer, silvery scars.

It was something Anrar never showed anyone, not even Evel and now his body tensed, immediately moving in a fight or flight response as his eyes dilated and he felt fear curl in his torso. "Give it back." His voice was barely steady and Ticor laughed, moving a bit to try and get a better glimpse of Anrar's back. "Oh, come on, Anrar. You're a Knight, right? There's no shame in battle scars!"

Naronar made a clicking noise with his tongue. "Ah, ah, Ticor, you forget. Dear Anrar hasn't gotten all his scars in battle. It's a bit shameful."
 
"Leave him alone, you three. He's done nothing to you and he just wants his shirt." Evel said, walking out of the shower fully clothed. She was lucky the shirts were high collared otherwise the three would have seen her bindings.

Laro smiled as he looked over at the elf before turning back to the others. "Well looky here, boys. The little dog is trying to stand up for his boyfriend. Whatcha going to do about it dog? We were just having some fun." Laro smirked as he laughed, enjoying the little games he played with the two.

"Why don't you just go away and give Anrar his shirt back? And don't act like his scars are shameful. They're just like battle scars. They show he's survived. So if you want to bug somebody then bug the cockroaches, they're more on your level." Evel said, surprisingly calmly as she reached to grab the shirt out of Ticor's hand, more than just tired of their behavior. She wouldn't fight though. She wouldn't sink to their level.

Laro chuckled as Ticor moved the shirt out of Evel's reach. "So the little dog has some bark to him, but how is his bite? If his scars are really not as shameful as you claim then why don't you show us what's under your shirt? There are probably scars under there to, huh?" Evel hesitated on that, not wanting to lift up her shirt. Laro smirked. "Come on then! Lift it up! Or do we have to make you? Show us that Anrar's scars aren't as shameful as you say!"

Evel bit her lip before taking off her shirt. The bindings made it just look like she was wearing bandages, but there was a long scar reaching from the lower end of her stomach to the tip of her collar bone. It was a clean cut and one of the only scars that was really noticeable.
 
Fear turned to anger very quickly.

Anrar didn't always know how to react to abuse directed at him, sometimes fighting it and other times feeling like he was a child again, scared and vulnerable. But he always knew how to react to abuse directed at someone he cared for. Evel's defense of him had provided him with some stability even as he knew she would have questions for when they were alone and when the other males started to pick on her he started to see red around his vision, but like always, he tried to let Evel make her choice.

And when she did, he felt an even deeper anger at the males around him for having scared her so thoroughly that she didn't think she had any choice in the matter. It was only when Naronar moved toward Evel, though, sneering, that Anrar's body started to coil. "And what are these for, you weirdo?" His hand reached out, fully intending to pull the bindings away, but his hand never reached its target. A bloodcurdling snarl left Anrar's mouth and his form sprang with lethal fury, hitting Naronar squarely. They went down in a tumble of limbs and fists, but soon Anrar felt other hands grabbing him and suddenly it didn't seem like fists were enough.

But Anrar had never scorched anyone - the Knights, not their enemies - in front of Evel and that was not a way he wanted her to see him. So he stuck with fists, but somehow he seemed to lose his intelligent mind, something feral in his movements as he took on the three elves. It wasn't long before Ticor dropped back, clutching a broken arm and cursing powerfully and then Naronar gave a cry of pain, Anrar's teeth latched on his shoulder before the elemental was forced to release as Laro got a hold on his hair and pulled him back by it. The leader of the bunch found himself facing Anrar alone then and he finally caught a good look at the blond's face.

Fangs had grown in Anrar's mouth and his eyes glowed an unearthly red, fire literally blazing in their depths, a growl rumbling in his throat. He looked like a demon possessed and Laro abruptly released him, Anrar's skin nearly scalding to the touch, scrambling back as the elemental crouched down slightly in his stance, teeth bared and ready to fight once more should he or Evel be threatened.

They'd crossed a very dangerous line.
 
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Laro looked between the two before running away with his two lackeys, cursing as he promised the two that they would find out what those weird things were on Evel's chest. The small elf looked over at Anrar before carefully reaching out to take his hand. She handed him his shirt back, grabbing her own. She put on her shirt, letting go of his hand only to put the shirt on then holding his hand again.

She had never seen Anrar so... so feral before. It almost scared her if she didn't know that he wouldn't hurt her. She trusted him. She would be damned if he did anything to break that trust. He was the most trustworthy person she knew.

Evel looked over at the door, wondering why Laro seemed to hate them so much? She never really understood. He was nice around most of the other knights, he even was more polite and sweet around them. Why hate her and Anrar? It was just insane to think about.
 
Anrar watched them go with the seething rage much slower to depart and it was only when he felt Evel's hand in his own for the second time - his hand had automatically taken the shirt from her without even looking at it - that he finally blinked slowly and seemed to start to come back to himself. He looked down to her after a moment and the red started to seep out of his eyes, the flames dying down there as his fangs did the same.

Looking into her green eyes calmed him and the elemental gave a shudder as if something was being released from his mind, going dormant once more and he looked around almost as if he couldn't understand what had happened. Actually.....he really couldn't. Anrar looked down to the shirt in his hand and then back at Kaulu, swallowing hard before he put it on, covering the horrendous scarring, wishing she'd not seen it.

Why...had he not put his shirt on before getting out of the shower anyway? And why did he feel so bruised and beaten? Evel...he felt like he should embrace her, ask her if she were all right, but he didn't know why. Still, he turned to face her and gently titled her chin up, searching her face as if he were trying to find the answer to the sudden hole in his memory. "Are you...what happ- ....are you all right?"
 
"I'm perfectly fine, it's you we have to worry about... You really did tear into those guys... I've never seen you fight like that." Evel said, looking over Anrar for any bruises or possible injuries. "I mean you broke Ticor's arm! I just hope you don't get reported for it..." She noticed that he seemed confused as she looked him over.

A thought popped up in her mind. He seemed to not remember what happened. She thought about how he felt before he got to the town. Maybe there was something connected with him not quite remembering what happened and his amnesia. It would explain at least part of it. Though he seemed to remember all of the years leading up to the events.

Evel chewed on her lip as she checked for forming bruises and possible scratches. She knew that when Anrar fought hard, so did his opponents. A sigh started to bubble up in her throat as she thought about the possible consequences of this little encounter. Maybe she could try and convince them not to punish Anrar...
 
He'd....broken Ticor's arm?

Anrar looked at Evel with growing confusion and now the first curling edges of fearful panic. He'd...fought? More than one person? Tore into them? What....when....why couldn't he remember that? He would almost not believe Evel but for the discomfort he could feel, the sensation of bruising and pain that only ever came when he fought with someone. And he could feel that he was bleeding, a trickle of red leaving the corner of his mouth. His entire body felt like a massive bruise.

There were plenty of forming dark spots on his skin, but not severe damage. Not yet. Anrar shut his eyes at the thought of the punishment that might come. He'd broken Ticor's arm. He didn't remember doing it, but Evel wouldn't lie to him. But why...why did he not remember? That scared him more than anything else and he looked to Evel again, his dark green eyes lost and pleading for an answer.

"I didn't...I don't...remember. I...I was in the shower, dressing...that's the all I can remember."
 
Evel wiped away the red from his mouth and started to explain. "Well Laro and his two lackeys had come in and stolen your shirt while you were showering. They taunted you, I told them to knock it off, they told me to take off my shirt, I did, one of them reached for my bindings and you got angry. Your eyes were red like the flames you make and you had fangs. It was almost like watching a bear protect its cub." Her teeth chewed on her bottom lip after she was done explaining.

The small knight was quick in getting a small vial of potion. She handed it to Anrar and ordered, "Drink it. It will help with the bruising." She made sure he drank some before putting it away. She then had him bend down a bit so she could check on his lip to see if they did something to it.

"I think you didn't remember what happened because you were in some beast form, like the werebeasts. They often can't remember what they did when in their animal form." Evel thought, not quite sure what was going on, but she was sure that this was a possibility. "Maybe Elementals have that same sort of sense except its triggered when they or someone they care deeply about is in enough danger and enough stress has been put on the body. But I could be wrong..."
 
As she told him what had happened, Anrar tried to remember and at times he thought he caught a flash of an image, but it made his head start to hurt in a familiar way...and that scared him, too. What if this kept happening? He followed Evel back to their quarters, feeling at any moment someone might come out and tell him he'd been summoned the Captain, but it didn't happen and he let his friend force the potion on him, drinking it as commanded and grimacing at the taste. It would take affect in a short while, he knew, but right now he still hurt as he sat on Evel's bed instead of bending, letting her check him over as she wished.

His lip was split, but that was hardly his worry right now as she spoke of her hypothisis and Anrar stared at the short-haired blond as if she'd just said the most important words in all of creation, his hand moving up to wrap around her wrist gently, stopping her examination of his lip as he spoke in a whisper. "Con Dar."

He felt pieces snap into place, not a memory, but information and Anrar drew in a ragged kind of breath, gasping a bit as his eyes refocused on Evel's paler green. "Con Dar. Blood Rage. It's...it's as you say. We're...we defend those we care about, but...if we don't have control over it, training, then it...we don't remember." He almost mumbled the last bit, coming to the same kind of realization that Evel had.

His memories.

Had something so horrible happened, had he gone into a Con Dar so deep that he'd forgotten everything of his life?
 
"Well that might help explain a whole slew of things. Right now though, I need to fix your lip and all the materials I need are in the hospital wing of the castle so I will be right back. Don't move or leave the room, alright?" Evel said before leaving the room and closing the door. This left Anrar alone in the barren room with really nothing to do.

Evel sighed as she knew that the hospital wing was all the way on the other side of the castle. It would take her a while to get there. In the meantime though, she hummed as she thought about the new things they learned about Anrar. She wanted to know more about his race, about him, but so much was lost in shadows. She felt horrible for leaving him alone, and felt nervous herself for being alone in the halls, but what else was she going to do? Let him keep his busted lip? Fat chance. She just hoped she didn't meet up with Laro and the gang.

After the short knight left, a small book fell from underneath her pillow and landed open on the floor. Inside was a bunch of scribblings and some drawings of weapons and what looked like to be designs for both herself and Anrar. Some were swords while others were bows and arrows. There was also a lot of writing near the drawings, thoughts and different ramblings from the mind of the young elf.
 
Any protest he might have given was lost as the door closed and Anrar sighed. He didn't understand why he couldn't come with her, but at the moment he knew he wasn't entirely stable. He could feel it, something lurking beneath his calm exterior, something that had liked the taste of freedom after so many years. Con Dar. He didn't know how he knew that and could only assume that he'd heard about it from his own people, somewhere in his past. But was it the cause of his amnesia? He'd forgotten the fight he'd just been in...so what might have something more dangerous, traumatic and if he was younger...what might it have done?

The thoughts buzzed around in his head and Anrar brought his skull into his hands, the movement of his body causing the book to fall out. His dark green eyes snapped to it and the elemental reached out to pick it up. He was about to simply close it and put it back - it was personal and he didn't feel right reading her thoughts when Evel had not shown this to him herself - but he couldn't resist looking at the drawings, smiling a little at her creativity before he closed the book and put it back.

He would have to ask her about it later.

The thought was a tired one, everything about him was tired, and Anrar wasn't really aware of when he curled on the cot, his eyes growing heavy and eventually closing.
 
When Evel came back she was surprised to see Anrar asleep on her cot. She hesitated before smiling and gently working on fixing his lip. She was extra careful not to wake the man up, knowing he needed his sleep. She managed to fix his lip mostly and now had to deal with the elemental laying in her cot. She needed sleep too and wasn't sure if they could share.

A part of her wondered why they couldn't share a bed. They were both technically men by the eyes of those around them. It wasn't wrong if it was just between friends, right? Nothing too bad could happen to them unless they wanted to be teased a bit more, but damn it, Evel wanted to sleep in her bed!

So the stubborn little elf crawled into the cot as best as she could and curled up, covering both her and Anrar with her blanket. It wasn't too much later that she found herself off in dreamland as she fell asleep against the warmth of her friend. She smiled in her sleep and curled up a bit more next to the elemental, enjoying his body heat extremely.
 
Anrar woke sometime in the night in habit alone as for the past three weeks or so he'd been getting up in the middle of his sleep cycle. He promptly remembered that he didn't need to get up tonight, though, and he curled back around the small body in his arms.

Wait.

Dark green eyes blinked in the darkness, looking around at the room that was not his own and then down at the form of Evel wrapped securely in his embrace, his arms around her waist, keeping her close. He continued to watch her for a long moment, something very strange stirring in his chest as his fingers moved up and he brushed her hair back behind her ear. He'd never had her so close before like this, had never slept near her before, but...he liked it. He realized that very suddenly and Anrar moved his hand back down to where it had been before, a smiling curling his lips slightly before he laid his head back down.

His nose nuzzled into her hair then, inhaling Evel's scent and Anrar relaxed once more and he drifted off once more, not entirely knowing why he didn't let her go, didn't leave. What he did realize as he drifted off was that his nightmares had been kept at bay.
 
The next morning Evel woke up fully refreshed and ready to go get Anrar and get going on their next mission. She moved to get out of bed only to find a pair of arms keeping her tightly against the back of a familiar man. Evel blinked before realizing what happened last night. She blushed and quickly tried to find a way to squirm out of Anrar's arms. She was sure he would be just as embarrassed as she was when he woke up.

Alas, Evel's struggles were for naught. She was stuck until the elemental woke up. This was quite the predicament. She then looked up to find that Anrar's nose had been in her hair. She blinked, wondering just what exactly put them in this situation. She was just curling up next to him for heat and then all of a sudden she's in his arms like they were mates or something!

Evel blushed at the thought. Mates with Anrar... She felt her heart strings get pulled as she thought of what exactly would happen if Anrar found a different girl, maybe some elemental girl who caught his eye. Would she be replaced? Tossed aside for this new person? She almost hated the thought. The girl was too deep in her thoughts to even think of trying to wake Anrar up to let her go.
 
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