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tamingthemuseTitle: Questing
Fandom: Original
Prompt: Meli
Warnings:
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Jolokia bites off more than he can chew.
So this was where the magic was.
Jolokia peered through the vines and narrowed his eyes at the source of the light. There was a jewel in there with great magic powers. It had been giving the beasts in this forest powers and making them turn violent. Too much magic can be a bad thing.
He ducked through the vines and careful surveyed the ground before him. It wouldn’t do to be impatient and stumble into a trap. There was a bit of natural light spilling through the foliage, lighting up the moss and little plants trying to grow in the darkness. There were no monsters nearby, but something was off.
He carefully made his way through the dark, dank cave and followed the beam of light. His feet sank in the moss and made a squelching sound every time he pulled up his foot. His wand felt heavy strapped to his back, and the magic runes on his robes were thrumming with energy. He was almost to the jewel when he finally realized what was setting off his senses.
There was a powerful magic here, not the jewel. He reached out and hesitated just before he touched the jewel. It was glowing green light and making the air in the cave shimmer with refracted light. The jewel’s magic was pure and innocent. There was nothing malicious in the magic of the stone.
The magic controlling the monsters was something different.
Evil.
Jolokia dropped his hand and stepped away from the jewel. The cave was wet, bright with the light of the jewel and eerily quiet. He pulled his wand from his back and held it before him protectively. He hadn’t been stealthy on his way into the cave, thus he knew he had been noticed by the monster with the powerful magic.
And it had to be a monster.
Jolokia turned his back to the jewel and faced the walls of the cave. Where was the monster? Surely it wouldn’t leave the jewel so unprotected? Surely, if it had, someone else would have returned with the famous Mali Jewel long before now.
Well, it was him that was here, wasn’t it?
He spun on his foot, reached out and snagged the jewel and tucked it into his satchel. He hesitated a moment more; waiting.
When nothing happened, he turned toward the exit and rapidly made his way toward it. Four steps away, a vine snagged his foot and he tripped. Cursing loudly, Jolokia turned around and finally found the monster. It had embedded itself in the ground, growing vines and dragging its victims toward its gaping maw. Jolokia was being slowly dragged toward said gaping maw, large teeth and dripping salvia.
Jolokia aimed his wand and shot a blast of fire toward the thing. It stopped pulling him, but didn’t release its hold on his legs. Growling, Jolokia fired a bit of ice, freezing the limbs, before he slammed the thick magical wand against the frozen limbs. They shattered and the monster howled with rage.
Jolokia scrambled to his feet and took another step before more vines reached out and snagged his arms. One heavy vine twisted around his wand, breaking it out of his hand. It fell to the ground, landing with a squelch in the moss.
Jolokia watched it tumble away from him with the feeling of defeat. There were only a few spells he knew without his wand. Most of them were self inflicted spells, and none of them would help him out of this situation. He struggled against the entangling vines, but he knew the effort was futile.
This monster was powerful and he had been an idiot to think he could face it alone. He should have listened to Alan.
He was suddenly dropped to the ground. The vines didn’t loosen though, and his whole body shivered with pain. He felt dazed and could feel blood begin to drip from his nose. He felt his face begin to swell where it had collided with the ground, and then he was being dragged back toward the monster’s mouth.
His head was swimming, and his vision was tunneling, and the vines were growing tighter. His chest was aching, and he felt his ribs cracking.
His one condolence was that if he lost consciousness, he was sure to wake up in the magical city that was his home. One of the perks of being a magician.
As his vision went black, he heard a shout, then the squelching sound of feet running through the wet moss.
~*~*~
All Jolokia knew, was pain. His head was pounding, and his whole body ached. There was a burning sensation somewhere near his abs and he thought perhaps he couldn’t feel his left leg. Before he woke, he knew he was in pain, but he also knew he was warm. Very warm.
He was in a bed, being held against something that was soft and hard, warm and moving. He cracked open one eye and found himself looking across a bare chest that was steadily rising and falling with every easy breath.
And then there was the pain. His whole body was stiff, and he swore he never wanted to move. Ever.
He closed his eyes for a moment longer to soak in the peace and quiet. There was a cool breeze from an open window, and somewhere a wind chime twinkled. The room was silent and beyond the room there was only the low murmur of many people busily going about their business. For the moment, Jolokia was allowed to simply rest and relax.
He hadn’t been able to relax for quite a while, he realized at that moment. And that break from his questing was nothing like this. It was peaceful here, in this lazy out post. Waking up like this, warm and secure in a strong embrace, set his body into a easy laxness that left him as docile as a dormouse.
He must have fallen asleep, for when he opened his eyes again, it was dark outside the window, and the body pressed so close to his wasn’t so steadily breathing. He looked up into a pair of eyes he hadn’t seen in months and sleepily gave a smile.
“I don’t remember how I came to be here,” he confessed.
Alan shifted Jolokia to the pillow and leaned on an elbow to look down at him. His smile was soft, and there was something in his eyes that Jolokia couldn’t put a name to.
“You were injured. For a while there, we were really concerned for you.”
Jolokia nodded, his head still tender. If he thought about it, he thought that perhaps he could remember what had happened. There was a monster he had been fighting, and losing against it. He remember a touch of poison and lots of blood. So much blood.
He closed his eyes and snuggled into the pillow, trying to forget about the fight and recapture the peace of a few moments before. A warm heavy hand landed on his hip and Jolokia opened his eyes to see Alan resting his head beside his own, staring at him.
“Jolokia, I was really worried. I’ve never seen you so beat up before. What happened?”
Jolokia frowned, “I don’t really remember. I was in the Mali Forest, where the walking trees are. There was a message I was supposed to deliver to a researcher there.” He tried to sit up, but Alan’s hand moved to his shoulder, pressing him back to the bed.
“Researcher Boen was the one to bring you here. He has your message.”
Jolokia breathed a sigh of relief. “How long was I out?”
“The clerics released you to my custody early this morning. You’ve been sleeping all day.”
Jolokia nodded, then pressed deeper into the warmth of the bed and closer to Alan’s warmth. The journey he had been on had led him to some of the coldest places in their part of the world and it had been so long since he had felt warm. And now, it felt as if there was a warmth built up inside him. He tipped his body closer to Alan’s warmth and sighed.
Alan’s arm slipped around him, pulling him closer until his head was once again propped up on his shoulder. For a while, they just laid there in the nice quite of the room and dim light. Jolokia was almost asleep when he felt the soft press of Alan’s lips to his brow.
“I don’t know how you came to mean this much to me, Jolokia. I don’t want to see you hurt like that ever again.”
Jolokia struggled to wake up and blinked tiredly up at Alan. “I’m a quester.”
“I know. I also know that you work alone. Why won’t you form a party?”
Jolokia wrinkled his nose. “I don’t make friends very well.” He tried once again to retreat from Alan’s inquiries and sat up. Once again, Alan pressed him down to the bed. He moved closer to Jolokia and was all but breathing the same air.
“Its dangerous to be a lone quester. Jolokia, I want you to form a party. Or, at least join one.”
“Alan, you’re not my keeper. You can’t just tell me how to live my life.”
“Maybe you need one. Then you won’t be coming back to me like this. It was terrifying, Jolokia.” Alan brushed his knuckles over Jolokia’s high cheeks, smoothing away the hair that had fallen over his face. “I don’t like seeing you hurt like that.”
Jolokia looked up to Alan’s face and felt his lips twist into a frown. “Just saying that means nothing. I am a quester, and I work alone.”
“I know a few fighters that can use a magician in their parties. Let me introduce you to them.” Jolokia rolled his eyes, but then nodded.
He was starting to come across things that he had never faced before, and it would do him good to have a party to back him up. “All right,” he conceded. Alan smiled and Jolokia suddenly felt a flush come to his face. He had never seen a smile like that on Alan’s face before.
Sure, Alan smiled a lot, it was part of his charm, but this smile was large, sweet, and once again held that something that Jolokia just couldn’t name. Alan leaned in and kissed him, softly at first, but then with more passion. His arms came around Jolokia’s waist and turned him so he was laying on his back and he had greater access to Jolokia’s mouth.
Between kisses, Alan whispered against his skin, “I don’t want you hurt, Jolokia. I want to know that you’re safe when you’re not here.”
Jolokia threaded his fingers through Alan’s hair and pulled his face up so he could look into his eyes. “Alan, why does this mean so much to you?” He shook his head. “I’m just a man that comes and goes and we rarely ever meet.”
Alan pressed a kiss to Jolokia’s lips. “I love you.”
Jolokia’s eyes went wide and he didn’t react when Alan returned to his lips, pressing his tongue in and laying claim to his mouth. Alan pulled away and looked down at Jolokia.
“You look scared.”
“I,” Jolokia started. “I am. I don’t know how to react.”
Alan found his hands and threaded their fingers together. “You don’t have to be scared, Jolokia.” He kissed his chin, then his lips. “Don’t be scared. Let me love you.” He pressed kisses down Jolokia’s bare chest. Jolokia was shivering under his touch. Their hands were still tangled, and Jolokia wanted to pull away, but he couldn’t force himself to lose that contact.
Alan’s touch made him weak, turned him into jelly. It was like nothing he had experienced before, and he didn’t want it to end.
He did pull his hands free, but only to card his fingers through Alan’s hair and make him look up at him. “Alan,” he breathed, “I can’t not be a magician.”
“I know.” Then his eyes went wide and he sat up, breaking their bodily contact. “I have an idea.” He smiled down at Jolokia and there was a sparkle in his eye. Jolokia blinked up at him, bemused.
“I’ll turn in my commission. I can join you on your questing.”
“Alan! You’re a solider of the crown. You can’t just give up everything you’ve worked for.”
He was shaking his head. “No, I’ve been thinking that I’ve grown tired of being merely a sentry for this outpost. I did a few quests when I was younger. I wouldn’t mind going back to it.”
Jolokia shook his head. “You’re insane.”
Alan looked down at him, a soft smile curving his lips and that look back in his eyes. “I’m in love. I’d give up everything to know that you were safe. You won’t form a party, then I’ll make one for you. I’ll be your questing party. I’m pretty handy with a sword, if I do say so myself.”
Jolokia stared up at Alan a moment before shaking his head. “No, you’re insane, and princess help me, I’m going to take you up on your offer.”
Alan’s grin was full of happiness and excitement. Jolokia gave a short laugh before he reached up and tugged him close. “Now, I believe you’ve started something that I would like you to finish.” Jolokia captured his lips in a kiss, this time finally participating fully.
Fandom: Original
Prompt: Meli
Warnings:
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Jolokia bites off more than he can chew.
So this was where the magic was.
Jolokia peered through the vines and narrowed his eyes at the source of the light. There was a jewel in there with great magic powers. It had been giving the beasts in this forest powers and making them turn violent. Too much magic can be a bad thing.
He ducked through the vines and careful surveyed the ground before him. It wouldn’t do to be impatient and stumble into a trap. There was a bit of natural light spilling through the foliage, lighting up the moss and little plants trying to grow in the darkness. There were no monsters nearby, but something was off.
He carefully made his way through the dark, dank cave and followed the beam of light. His feet sank in the moss and made a squelching sound every time he pulled up his foot. His wand felt heavy strapped to his back, and the magic runes on his robes were thrumming with energy. He was almost to the jewel when he finally realized what was setting off his senses.
There was a powerful magic here, not the jewel. He reached out and hesitated just before he touched the jewel. It was glowing green light and making the air in the cave shimmer with refracted light. The jewel’s magic was pure and innocent. There was nothing malicious in the magic of the stone.
The magic controlling the monsters was something different.
Evil.
Jolokia dropped his hand and stepped away from the jewel. The cave was wet, bright with the light of the jewel and eerily quiet. He pulled his wand from his back and held it before him protectively. He hadn’t been stealthy on his way into the cave, thus he knew he had been noticed by the monster with the powerful magic.
And it had to be a monster.
Jolokia turned his back to the jewel and faced the walls of the cave. Where was the monster? Surely it wouldn’t leave the jewel so unprotected? Surely, if it had, someone else would have returned with the famous Mali Jewel long before now.
Well, it was him that was here, wasn’t it?
He spun on his foot, reached out and snagged the jewel and tucked it into his satchel. He hesitated a moment more; waiting.
When nothing happened, he turned toward the exit and rapidly made his way toward it. Four steps away, a vine snagged his foot and he tripped. Cursing loudly, Jolokia turned around and finally found the monster. It had embedded itself in the ground, growing vines and dragging its victims toward its gaping maw. Jolokia was being slowly dragged toward said gaping maw, large teeth and dripping salvia.
Jolokia aimed his wand and shot a blast of fire toward the thing. It stopped pulling him, but didn’t release its hold on his legs. Growling, Jolokia fired a bit of ice, freezing the limbs, before he slammed the thick magical wand against the frozen limbs. They shattered and the monster howled with rage.
Jolokia scrambled to his feet and took another step before more vines reached out and snagged his arms. One heavy vine twisted around his wand, breaking it out of his hand. It fell to the ground, landing with a squelch in the moss.
Jolokia watched it tumble away from him with the feeling of defeat. There were only a few spells he knew without his wand. Most of them were self inflicted spells, and none of them would help him out of this situation. He struggled against the entangling vines, but he knew the effort was futile.
This monster was powerful and he had been an idiot to think he could face it alone. He should have listened to Alan.
He was suddenly dropped to the ground. The vines didn’t loosen though, and his whole body shivered with pain. He felt dazed and could feel blood begin to drip from his nose. He felt his face begin to swell where it had collided with the ground, and then he was being dragged back toward the monster’s mouth.
His head was swimming, and his vision was tunneling, and the vines were growing tighter. His chest was aching, and he felt his ribs cracking.
His one condolence was that if he lost consciousness, he was sure to wake up in the magical city that was his home. One of the perks of being a magician.
As his vision went black, he heard a shout, then the squelching sound of feet running through the wet moss.
~*~*~
All Jolokia knew, was pain. His head was pounding, and his whole body ached. There was a burning sensation somewhere near his abs and he thought perhaps he couldn’t feel his left leg. Before he woke, he knew he was in pain, but he also knew he was warm. Very warm.
He was in a bed, being held against something that was soft and hard, warm and moving. He cracked open one eye and found himself looking across a bare chest that was steadily rising and falling with every easy breath.
And then there was the pain. His whole body was stiff, and he swore he never wanted to move. Ever.
He closed his eyes for a moment longer to soak in the peace and quiet. There was a cool breeze from an open window, and somewhere a wind chime twinkled. The room was silent and beyond the room there was only the low murmur of many people busily going about their business. For the moment, Jolokia was allowed to simply rest and relax.
He hadn’t been able to relax for quite a while, he realized at that moment. And that break from his questing was nothing like this. It was peaceful here, in this lazy out post. Waking up like this, warm and secure in a strong embrace, set his body into a easy laxness that left him as docile as a dormouse.
He must have fallen asleep, for when he opened his eyes again, it was dark outside the window, and the body pressed so close to his wasn’t so steadily breathing. He looked up into a pair of eyes he hadn’t seen in months and sleepily gave a smile.
“I don’t remember how I came to be here,” he confessed.
Alan shifted Jolokia to the pillow and leaned on an elbow to look down at him. His smile was soft, and there was something in his eyes that Jolokia couldn’t put a name to.
“You were injured. For a while there, we were really concerned for you.”
Jolokia nodded, his head still tender. If he thought about it, he thought that perhaps he could remember what had happened. There was a monster he had been fighting, and losing against it. He remember a touch of poison and lots of blood. So much blood.
He closed his eyes and snuggled into the pillow, trying to forget about the fight and recapture the peace of a few moments before. A warm heavy hand landed on his hip and Jolokia opened his eyes to see Alan resting his head beside his own, staring at him.
“Jolokia, I was really worried. I’ve never seen you so beat up before. What happened?”
Jolokia frowned, “I don’t really remember. I was in the Mali Forest, where the walking trees are. There was a message I was supposed to deliver to a researcher there.” He tried to sit up, but Alan’s hand moved to his shoulder, pressing him back to the bed.
“Researcher Boen was the one to bring you here. He has your message.”
Jolokia breathed a sigh of relief. “How long was I out?”
“The clerics released you to my custody early this morning. You’ve been sleeping all day.”
Jolokia nodded, then pressed deeper into the warmth of the bed and closer to Alan’s warmth. The journey he had been on had led him to some of the coldest places in their part of the world and it had been so long since he had felt warm. And now, it felt as if there was a warmth built up inside him. He tipped his body closer to Alan’s warmth and sighed.
Alan’s arm slipped around him, pulling him closer until his head was once again propped up on his shoulder. For a while, they just laid there in the nice quite of the room and dim light. Jolokia was almost asleep when he felt the soft press of Alan’s lips to his brow.
“I don’t know how you came to mean this much to me, Jolokia. I don’t want to see you hurt like that ever again.”
Jolokia struggled to wake up and blinked tiredly up at Alan. “I’m a quester.”
“I know. I also know that you work alone. Why won’t you form a party?”
Jolokia wrinkled his nose. “I don’t make friends very well.” He tried once again to retreat from Alan’s inquiries and sat up. Once again, Alan pressed him down to the bed. He moved closer to Jolokia and was all but breathing the same air.
“Its dangerous to be a lone quester. Jolokia, I want you to form a party. Or, at least join one.”
“Alan, you’re not my keeper. You can’t just tell me how to live my life.”
“Maybe you need one. Then you won’t be coming back to me like this. It was terrifying, Jolokia.” Alan brushed his knuckles over Jolokia’s high cheeks, smoothing away the hair that had fallen over his face. “I don’t like seeing you hurt like that.”
Jolokia looked up to Alan’s face and felt his lips twist into a frown. “Just saying that means nothing. I am a quester, and I work alone.”
“I know a few fighters that can use a magician in their parties. Let me introduce you to them.” Jolokia rolled his eyes, but then nodded.
He was starting to come across things that he had never faced before, and it would do him good to have a party to back him up. “All right,” he conceded. Alan smiled and Jolokia suddenly felt a flush come to his face. He had never seen a smile like that on Alan’s face before.
Sure, Alan smiled a lot, it was part of his charm, but this smile was large, sweet, and once again held that something that Jolokia just couldn’t name. Alan leaned in and kissed him, softly at first, but then with more passion. His arms came around Jolokia’s waist and turned him so he was laying on his back and he had greater access to Jolokia’s mouth.
Between kisses, Alan whispered against his skin, “I don’t want you hurt, Jolokia. I want to know that you’re safe when you’re not here.”
Jolokia threaded his fingers through Alan’s hair and pulled his face up so he could look into his eyes. “Alan, why does this mean so much to you?” He shook his head. “I’m just a man that comes and goes and we rarely ever meet.”
Alan pressed a kiss to Jolokia’s lips. “I love you.”
Jolokia’s eyes went wide and he didn’t react when Alan returned to his lips, pressing his tongue in and laying claim to his mouth. Alan pulled away and looked down at Jolokia.
“You look scared.”
“I,” Jolokia started. “I am. I don’t know how to react.”
Alan found his hands and threaded their fingers together. “You don’t have to be scared, Jolokia.” He kissed his chin, then his lips. “Don’t be scared. Let me love you.” He pressed kisses down Jolokia’s bare chest. Jolokia was shivering under his touch. Their hands were still tangled, and Jolokia wanted to pull away, but he couldn’t force himself to lose that contact.
Alan’s touch made him weak, turned him into jelly. It was like nothing he had experienced before, and he didn’t want it to end.
He did pull his hands free, but only to card his fingers through Alan’s hair and make him look up at him. “Alan,” he breathed, “I can’t not be a magician.”
“I know.” Then his eyes went wide and he sat up, breaking their bodily contact. “I have an idea.” He smiled down at Jolokia and there was a sparkle in his eye. Jolokia blinked up at him, bemused.
“I’ll turn in my commission. I can join you on your questing.”
“Alan! You’re a solider of the crown. You can’t just give up everything you’ve worked for.”
He was shaking his head. “No, I’ve been thinking that I’ve grown tired of being merely a sentry for this outpost. I did a few quests when I was younger. I wouldn’t mind going back to it.”
Jolokia shook his head. “You’re insane.”
Alan looked down at him, a soft smile curving his lips and that look back in his eyes. “I’m in love. I’d give up everything to know that you were safe. You won’t form a party, then I’ll make one for you. I’ll be your questing party. I’m pretty handy with a sword, if I do say so myself.”
Jolokia stared up at Alan a moment before shaking his head. “No, you’re insane, and princess help me, I’m going to take you up on your offer.”
Alan’s grin was full of happiness and excitement. Jolokia gave a short laugh before he reached up and tugged him close. “Now, I believe you’ve started something that I would like you to finish.” Jolokia captured his lips in a kiss, this time finally participating fully.
