Virtues and Sinister Spells

Tria hadn't been completely oblivious to the strange aura around them. In fact she'd even taken a slight step closer to the man despite her disgust with them. His words were an unneeded warning as her senses had spiked as she had felt eyes start to fix solely on them. Foolishly she looked behind her like a scared woman with no skills what so ever. Quickly she looked forward again and started to stroke the golem ring around her finger, something that had started to sooth her.

"Would it not be quicker to teleport from this place? You can teleport can't you?" She hissed, "You could save yourself without having to worry about me at all." The last part was a stab at him, a dare, a question--all at once. He could. She knew he could have. It was the only explanation for how they had gotten so far away from the village the night that he had taken her. Why did he not try to lose her already? She wasn't 'necessary', just a hassle.
 
The girl was right: he could teleport. It would be so easy to imagine a safe location and abandon her in the darkness where she was likely to perish. With that injury of hers, how far would she hope to run? In all truthfulness, aside from his softness for her, he had this incredible desire to lay with her. Once Manduro had his sights on a woman, he'd go through some of the craziest things to have her. The years had been good to Tria; he wanted to explore that.

The warlock mentally shook the impure, lusty thoughts from his mind. At times, he frustrated himself with how scummy he was.

"I'm just interested to see if you'll change me back to good. It's been fun so far, even though you're obnoxious." He couldn't always be counted on for a serious answer. Smiling wryly, he urged her along because there was a shadowy tentacle wrapping itself around the girl's ankle. Some of the dark forces were gutsy enough to try and target her whether he was present or not.

Right then, he made the decision to just send them both to safety. The walk had been nice, but slow because of her gimping. She was putting him behind schedule! Well, if he had a schedule...

Thumping the butt of his staff against the dry soil, the two of them vanished in a flash of purple and arrived at the entrance to the village they were heading to. The man himself was feeling tired from walking all day. They might as well enjoy a stay at someplace secure, with food and a place to rest until the next day. Maybe he could convince her to heal her wound, too so he wouldn't have to waste magical energy on teleports...
 
Tria was about to retort to him about him not having seen obnoxious yet with her when she stumbled as he used his magic to shift them across lands to a village. She grabbed at him, hand wrapping within his robe as she steadied herself, bringing her closer to him than she'd been willingly since they were 'children' before his exile. It took her a few moments to catch her breath, eyes closed for only the briefest moments. She didn't trust him to keep her eyes closed any longer. When she was sure that she was stable she stepped quickly away with a glare at him. "A warning would be nice you know," she snapped before she looked around, hoping that she wouldn't see a child that might be dying if he changed his mind about the town.

"Don't--Don't tell me that you'll be killing anyone here Manduro. Not now, not tonight," she whispered, turning to him, not allowing her disgust or half-fear to appear. This village looked nice. She didn't want anything to die. She would get in his way if she had to to protect the town.
 
"Puh-lease. I came here to rest and be serviced, not kill everyone. I'll try that some other time." Manduro didn't know for certain if he'd ever come here for real to slaughter the place. He just liked teasing her with his very dark humor that only he found funny. In all honesty, he had no intention of mass murdering anything for a while now. The work he did on his own village more than satisfied that craving for power and domination. He'd soon move past those types of things and find something better. Once he learned more about it...

As they walked through town in search of a place to stay, Manduro noticed the wary looks some of the folk gave him. He could see the fear in their eyes beneath the glowing lanterns, while the more hot headed people just observed in the darkness. Eventually, he spotted an inn that promised lovely rooms for a reasonable fee. Manduro was not lacking in riches. He robbed some people more than once and did dirty work for others who were willing to pay here. Anything could be his, really.

"Good thing we didn't get a room upstairs," he said in an annoyed voice, wishing she would fix herself. He sacrificed his 'good' magic that could help people in order to become what he was now. The only healing he could provide was for himself.

After the settled in the room, he thought they could get something to eat. In the morning, he intended to restock their supplies for their travels. There were longer roads to come that would force them to camp outside. Manduro didn't like being in public areas every night, as he was a wanted man in many areas. Dealing with armed forces just made life more difficult.
 
"Despicable," she said as she began to follow him to wherever he picked. As they had walked through the town, she had noticed and angry faces of the men and the frightened faces of the women behind them. Her eyes widened when she recognized several of them and she had to give a hand motion to stop a young man that looked like he was about to come 'save her' in order to make sure that he didn't get hurt. She'd saved his leg not four or five months before the incident in her own village. After that she lowered her eyes and followed him without making eye contact with any of the people. She couldn't bare see their worried faces any more than she could bare to see any of them die in a vain attempt to save her from this man.

His comment didn't phase her later about the upstairs part. She would have climbed the stairs a million times with her leg if it was to slow him down just a day from his latest target. She simply went into the room and lowered her cloak onto the bed before turning to the door. She hesitated and looked back at him. "I am free to go somewhere if I wished to, correct? People here will feel better if I do a bit of healing here. I could sense someone with two broken arms on the way here. I'd like to look in on them, if you have no objections."
 
"Yeah, yeah." In a dismissive manner, he waved his hand at her and turned away to face the window. With a shake of his head, his hood dropped, revealing his blue-black hair. Once upon a time, his hair was a shiny golden like Tria's. The dark magic he embraced changed even his image, but luckily he looked no less handsome. In years to come, the magic would indeed age him faster than time itself. He didn't care, though.

Manduro looked to be in thought, his eyes fixed on the view of town outside his window. He wasn't worried about her, really. The golem around her finger would alert him of anything fishy, even if the creature liked her more than him.

A single glance was made over his shoulder, letting him see her briefly. "Remember, I'm always watching." There was an impish smile on his lips before he returned to his reflecting. Mostly, he just wanted to poke fun at her. Maybe he was watching, maybe he wasn't...
 
"As if you would watch good magic do it's duty," she scoffed. The woman sniffed at the threat before she turned and walked from the room. Out of the inn she walked before she was pulled to the side by the young man that had attempted to save her earlier. Unknown to her they were standing not ten feet from the very window that Manduro had been watching out from. "Skyler!" she said in surprise as the young man started to pat her down, checking for any wounds. When he found her flinching away as he touched her leg, he looked up at her with a burning gaze.

"Lady Tria, why did you stop me earlier? You know I would have done whatever it took to save you from that man, whomever he is. It is sure that he is no good soul. The whole village knows it, can sense it off him. If he is forcing you to stay with him, then I will fight--" Skyler said enthusiastically before Tria's hand came up and covered his mouth.

"Hush Skyler. You mustn't speak like that of him. He is far more powerful than I and if he were to hurt any of the people here, I would pay the price. Hush, and tell yer friends to hush. I am dealing with him in my own way," Tria said before she squeaked as the young man pulled her into a tight hug that from any other perspective might have been considered romantic.
 
Manduro spent his alone time doing nothing exciting. He got himself cleaned up in the bath that was provided and found himself spending more time there than he intended. There was a lot on his mind that, for once, wasn't wicked. Having Tria around was interfering with his focus. She slowed him down and annoyed him to no end, but... At the same time, her presence spurred fond memories. He'd buried his old self so deeply that he forgot who he once was. Being reminded of this was disgusting except for when he remembered his times with her. Manduro missed her.

With a sour look, he slapped at the water he sat in and got out to dry off. Hastily, he dressed himself in his plain white pants and tunic with the very nice robe over it. Looking into a mirror, he blinked at his reflection before making an exhale. With that breath came some warm air that instantly dried his shoulder length hair. Now, he could get himself a meal without dripping with water.

Staff in hand, he left the room to spend some time in the tavern. For the next couple of hours, he sat by his lonesome at a table with a plate of supper and a cup of ale while he studied a tattered looking book.
 
Tria stumbled in later that night, pale, tired, and in no mood to look around and find something to eat. She ignored everyone, even a maid that attempted to help her to her room. Sighing she opened the door to their room and tried her hardest to slip in without a noise only to slam her bad leg against a chair or something near the door. She cried out and fell forward, making several other noisy things clatter down around her, several landing on top of her.

For several moments she considered simply laying there for the night, eyes closing in defeat. It was insane how quickly things could turn around on a person. She'd went out to heal a woman with a broken arms. Instead she'd been dragged off by Skyler to heal not only the woman but several others, draining her of any magic that she'd had left over from her days of following Manduro around.

Funny thing was she had not once cried for her family or the people that had died in her village. Now, as she lay on the floor without an effort to move to the far more comfortable bed, the tears stung her eyes. She didn't cry completely though, simply let the tears sting for a few moments. She couldn't afford to cry if Manduro was around, and knowing him and his ability to show up right when she was at her lowest was more than likely.
 
Like the woman feared, Manduro arrived at the scene of her tears.

The alcohol made him tipsy, but that was all. He was able to make it back to the room with fairly decent coordination, however his entrance to the room was noisy. His staff clunked against the door jam before being set up to lean against a nearby wall, then the door was closed the opposite of softly. It took him a moment to notice she was on the bed falling apart.

Manduro blinked at her several times before looking away, uncertain of what to do. While he did want her to shut up, he also felt sorry for her. Now, he felt like he should have had more to drink so that those conflicting emotions could be numbed entirely.

With his head lowered, he walked past her to sit on the second bed. From there, he watched her, his hands folding over his lap. He maintained a straight face, difficult as it was to do so. What was the warlock to do? Ignore her? Try to console her? There was even the possibility that he could take advantage of her weakness and lay her.

"You've gone this long without shedding tears. Hm." The lame observation was spoken softly, his fingers tapping awkwardly at his knees. In truth, he was impressed. In their time spent traveling, he didn't get a weep out of her until now. Tria was amazingly strong.

"Is there more you need to say to me about the damage I've done? Do you want to hit me? Go on and get it out of your system."
 
Tria tried to stifle her sounds when he spoke, only to fail for a few moments. Taking a shuddering sob, she shook her head. "Even if I wanted to," she whimpered, "I have no energy left to do anything. I'm sure you can sense I'm wiped clean of magic and energy." She hated to admit it. She hated appearing weak to the man that had killed everything she cared about. She yearned for a kind shoulder, a kind embrace. There was only so long that someone could go without some sort of kindness. Skyler had tried to be kind and save her but that was with his own sense of trying to impress the lady and nothing about really caring for her. It had made her sick to see him try over and over to carry her to the next person that needed healing when it was obvious that she should have gone back to the inn. The idiot had no idea what draining a witch of her gift by giving her people to heal could do to a woman who was not used to being in the slightest bit without power.

But there was only one way to get a shoulder to cry on or arms to embrace her that actually cared. That was to end Manduro's reign of terror and go about finding a new place to live.

Or you could ask Him to hold you just this once? a small voice told her as the tears continued to fall. He might find himself nice tonight. He might even take away that longing, if you asked him to lay with you.

That her body or a part of her could think of such things only made her feel worse. What was she becoming to think of such things in a time like this?
 
A gruff sigh escaped him after hearing her words. Being nice was not his specialty. There was more upsetting her than what he did, it looked like. He wasn't aware of how she was taken advantage of outside of the inn, but he sensed enough to know that her healing charity didn't quite go as planned. She had nothing left now; she needed to rest for a while. In his opinion, feeling drained of magical energy was a worse feeling than, for example, breaking an arm.

Manduro stood from his bed, letting his heavy robe fall from his shoulders to land on it gently. There was no need for it right now, plus he didn't want her getting tears or nasal goo all over it. In a few steps, he was at her bed, sitting on an edge while he pulled her body towards him. Her head was laid on his lap, his fingers tucking some hair behind her ear. At the least, he could calm her so she wouldn't end up making herself sick. Needless to say, he didn't want her hurting anymore.

Idly, he tried to understand why she would sacrifice so much to help people who gave nothing in return. That's what made being evil so much easier, or at least something on the neutral side. People were selfish, greedy... She could suffer so much less if she were more like him.
 
At first the girl flinched away from the touch of the man until her head was lain on his lap and his fingers began to play with her hair. This almost made her cry harder at the kindness. She whimpered a little and curled herself around his legs. She reached out and tried to grip his pants leg, though her hand simply ended up resting against the leg.

This was the Manduro that she remembered. A young man willing to console her while she was sad and not blather on about how 'he knew how she felt' and such things. he had simply let her cry. Now however she wished he'd talk. She was too tired to ask though. She just wanted to find a way to forget everything for a little bit. Sleep wouldn't even bring that sweet oblivion. Only the companionship of another that knew how to distract could fulfill that wish.

The tears lasted maybe ten more minutes before she gave a soft, shuddering sigh. "Thank you" she whispered, not willing to repeat it if he hadn't heard. She slowly pushed herself up, barely able to accomplish that under the current situation.
 
Honestly, he had nothing to say. This situation reminded him of the past whenever he'd comfort her in times of distress. Back then he didn't talk much either, but he recalled knowing at least a few words to soothe her. Perhaps a warm sense of humor, too. Those fragments of his self were lost somewhere, though. He didn't know how to be that way anymore.

The meek words of thanks didn't go unheard. Manduro didn't reply to them either, though. He just continued to sit there, allowing her to do whatever she needed to so she could calm down. Tria still wasn't in good shape, though. She could barely sit up and he could still sense the overflow of negative emotion spilling from her. That was the type of emotional energy he fed off of, in fact. It made him yearn to touch her all the more while he invited those vibes to satisfy him.

The warlock looked down at his pants, noting the large amount of wetness caused by her tears. She was a wreck deprived of quality sleep, nourishment, and aid for her wounds. He wasn't a master in the arts of healing, but he did know a few tricks that might help her. To start, he glanced at his staff and stared at it until the eyes of the skull piece began to glow. In a matter of seconds, the room filled with a light purple smoke that smelled like jasmine and vanilla. He hoped it would at least relax her. The aroma tended to make people on the frisky side too, though. That was the main reason he created the spell in the first place.

"You've really become a handful," muttered the warlock, who had the girl pulled closer to him once more. Whether she struggled against it or not, she was seated on his lap and leaned down onto one of his arms. With his other, he dabbed at her tear stained face with his sleeve. He felt that he might as well be kind to her still, and take care of her. If he was lucky, she'd be more inclined to follow on his path to darkness as long as it meant they could be together. If not, well, he'd just have to kill her. As difficult as that would be, Manduro doubted that more suffering in his life would matter at this point.
 
The woman had shrunk away from the aroma at first, worried that it was yet another sleeping spell. She didn't need a sleeping spell. What she needed could not be given through any spell. But when she took a deep breath of the jasmine and vanilla she shivered and felt herself start to calm a bit. Her shoulders slumped a bit before she found herself being pulled onto his lap. She tried to pull away at first, looking up at him with unmasked mistrust. It was only when he began to dab at her cheeks that the mistrust faded and her eyes widened, surprise taking complete control of her.

Had it been any other time she wouldn't have let him even touch her. But just then, the small bit of kindness he was showing her was just enough. She felt herself seize the little bit. She let herself fly free if only for a moment. Up she leaned, planting soft kiss against his cheek, just barely a centimeter away from the corner of his lips. When she pulled back she averted her gaze, blushing before she rested her head back down against his shoulder, letting her hair hide her from sight. "Sorry. I didn't mean to do that," she muttered.
 
Manduro became tense when she kissed at the corner of his mouth. He could feel his cheeks get warm from it, which he very much despised. Blushing from bashfulness always made him feel silly. It also was uncommon. This girl sparked unusual feelings in him...

"I'm sure you didn't," he said sarcastically, making a smug smile.

The opportunity was just too great to pass up now. Manduro shifted a bit so that he could see her leaning there on his shoulder, a hand brushing away the hair she hid behind. With his arms holding her in place, he adjusted them so that his face in front of hers. His lips touched to her jawline before moving downwards, making scattered patterns in her neck. There was no hesitation in his affections. If she resisted, she'd only tempt him to tie her down and be rougher, which he was perfectly fine with. He'd get what he wanted either way.

Enjoying the way her skin tasted, Manduro let his tongue tickle at her flesh. The flavor of tears was mingled with her taste, which seemed to only excite him further. The scoundrel was turned on by the oddest of things.
 
The truth was she had been planning to kiss him for the first time after he'd passed the ceremony that long day in the past and the tears and his gentleness had brought up that long forgotten fact, making her want to do it just once to see if perhaps it might change him by some magic spell. As if.

The reaction she got was not what she had expected. He didn't hesitate in his affection, which both worried and oddly excited her a tad. "M-Manduro stop," she whispered, confused by her own desire to see how this would play out. A breathless gasp jerked from her throat as she felt his tongue move against her skin. She tried to pull away, pushing weakly at his chest. That he could jump at such a small opening so quickly disgusted her. Could he not have just remained kind for a time more? At the same time a deeper hidden part of her demanded she allow him to continue.
 
"You don't really mean that."

Manduro did not obey her, of course. When she weakly fought against him, he tightened his hold on her to make it that much more difficult to fight his attention. He continued to do what he pleased, pecking and tasting at her skin. Once, maybe twice, he teased at her with his teeth. His canines were particularly sharp, that being a result of his evil transformation. Not too long after that, he joined their lips together. He felt he might as well kiss her properly.

During the connection of their lips, Manduro's shameless hands roamed her clothed body. He let his palms absorb the shape of her waist, the size of her breasts, the flatness of her belly... This sudden moment of sensuality had him feeling possessive of her. He didn't want anybody else touching Tria, ever. So much as looking at her could get a person smacked in the jaw by his staff.

Between his legs, a bulge was forming. It poked at her thigh while he deepened their kiss, his mouth sucking hungrily at hers. The movements of his perverted hands did not let up, going from their fast paced caressing to grabbing and squeezing at whatever they came across. It was when one of his hands filled with her covered breast that he paused.
 
"I do--" Tria had started to say before their lips joined in their truest first kiss. In those seconds that their lips were met, she tried to fend off his roaming hands, fighting to remember just what she was supposed to be doing, why she had to stop him. It wasn't until his hand had found its way to sizing up her breast the first time that she let out a soft gasp and froze, the feeling of his excitement against her thigh clearing her mind of any protest. Men didn't get that around her very often. They thought of her as too powerful for their tastes, or too strange in her aloofness.

It wasn't until he paused that her mind flew back to her, her eyes snapping open, finding herself panting softly for breath, the kiss having stolen it completely. When had her eyes fallen shut to enjoy the kiss and the interest the man was giving her? It was as she stared at him that she realized that she was sinking into his world. Was it not proof enough that her breast was being weighed in his hand as he paused. She made a noise that might have been words before she stopped and then started again. "Manduro, you don't want me," she finally said, as if trying to convince them both that she was right. "You can't want me."
 
They were at a halt with everything because of her insistence that they not proceed. Slowly, his hand dropped from her chest and his face backed away from hers. This claim that 'he didn't want her' was nonsense to him. Why wouldn't he? Being without her had created a dark pit of wanting, but also she was highly attractive. She was to him, at least. Anyone who said otherwise was being absurd! He could even recall some times when the towns folk gazed at her with fantasies in their minds.

"Oh really?" Manduro didn't have patience for this discussion. Tria was removed from his lap to be set onto the bed again. Her back was put to the headboard with her rear sitting on the pillows, his body positioning in front of hers so that she was trapped between him and the wall. One of her wrists were then taken into his hand so he could pin it against the headboard behind her, his other hand sliding underneath the shirt of his that he lent to her. He helped himself to the breast he was playing with earlier, simply holding it in place as his fingers squeezed every so often.

With a playful grin on his lips, he lowered his face to one of her ears where he whispered: "You're wrong, Tria. So very wrong..." No matter how many times she tried to push his hands away and convince him he didn't desire her, he was going to persist. The witch was beginning to irritate him with this. Despite the mess she was from crying so much, he thought her magnificently sexy.