#whump galore muahahahaha

[tenmillionwhumperflies]

Cloudwalker Series Part 30

OKAY, finally. I’d been trying to think of things to include before I went onto the next arc so that’s why things have been so slow. I ended up giving up and after this chapter I’m going to write the big whump- the whumpening if you will.

Warnings: Mentions of slavery/death, overexertion, horn whump, touch starved characters, heartache. Contains magical exertion/losing control of magic.

Masterlist: Here

Approx WC: 2400

Taglist: @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi @thegreathowdini

A few days had passed. Though Dyan was still somewhat distant, he had settled more, and after seeing Blue once or twice, Avizon decided now was the time to teach him how to find his magic. To use it. He hoped he was doing the right thing, but if cloudwalkers could yield… perhaps it would be the key to saving them from all the misery they endured. Maybe they could fight back? Maybe it would only make things worse? No. He wouldn't let that happen.

Dyan swallowed hard from where he sat on the floor, cross legged, hanging on his every word, looking so afraid of making a mistake before they'd even begun.

Avizon sat down in front of him and smiled. "Don't be frightened. Today is going to be nice and easy. We're just going to go over how you find your magic, maybe use it, but that all depends on how confident you are."

Dyan nodded. Avizon kept smiling, fear and magic were a terrible combination. It was important to avoid that within the first few lessons.

"I'm going to go over the basics with you, the rules we're meant to abide by, the dangers and what you have to be very careful of when wielding."

"Yes, master."

Avizon used his powers to bring a history book closer to him from the table beside him. “The first thing you have to know… magic in this world is no blessing. For most of us, it leads to servitude and misery- but I will protect you. Still, you need to know our history." He clicked thought he book, finding images to show him, of mages bowing at royals, leading armies. "For hundreds of years, people with magic have been taken by those in power, royalty usually, and have been forced to serve… not too unlike cloudwalkers, I suppose. Royals used us for a long time, some still do, but I believe I… shook things up somewhat. By turning on the kingdom, it meant other kingdoms fear a repeat… I did explain this to you, didn't I? Why I attacked the castle?"

"You said they took something from you, master. So you took over the castle."

Avizon sighed softly. "That's… close enough. The king killed the man I loved and tortured me… he was a terrible person, so I killed the royal family and took over. But you must remember, Dyan. I use dark magic, and it's bad. You will only use light magic, and you won't struggle like I do. But I need you to know, once you tap into your magic, there's no going back, and you will be a target, even more so than before. You'll be the only cloudwalker in the world with magic. You change everything, little bird. I will protect you, I swear, but you have to understand there's always a chance I'll fail. It's your decision, and you must be sure. You can say no, we'll stand and walk away from this. I wouldn't be mad. I'd be unsure what to decide myself in all honestly."

Dyan was quiet for a few moments. Avizon was patient. "But having magic would mean I could protect myself too… wouldn't it- if you'll let me, master?"

"Yes, it would."

Dyan rubbed his arm nervously. "Then… if I could be safe from Erix… I would like to learn, master. I want to be strong, like you, and I could protect you too!"

Avizon stroked his hair softly and smiled. "Do this for yourself, Dyan, not for him or me. But, if you want to learn, close your eyes, focus on that darkness… be patient, let it wrap around you… until there's nothing but my voice, and the gentle dark. It's a nice dark, trust it."

Avizon waited until the tension began to leave Dyan's body. "Good… just relax… There is magic inside you, Dyan, power. But it is not to be feared, just as you don't fear your wings. The magic is part of you, it belongs with you, and can be used as easily as wiggling your fingers with practice."

Dyan's brow furrowed ever so slightly and Avizon saw him moving his fingers, but then he relaxed again. "But just as you're responsible for your own actions, you must be responsible for your power. Light magic is part of you, not just an entity inside of you. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes," he murmured.

Avizon nodded to himself. So far so good. "Try to feel the magic inside you, you might feel it buzzing or pulsing or flowing like water. Imagine it inside you, a soft glow… I suggest imagining a well or a glass, a container that can be added to or taken from. What do you see? What comes to mind first?"

"A bucket… t.there's a big tap above it, drawing water from the ground- like the water pump you have in the castle…"

"Good… good, that works nicely. Now, all of your magic resides in that bucket, waiting patiently. You can take magic from it. You can pour only a tiny bit out, perhaps keeping it as a steady flow, or you can dump it all at once. Your emotions usually influence that, they influence how much pours. It's important to master your emotions. Even when I am angry, even though I have dark magic, I do my best to never let it mix with my emotion. I keep them separated. If not, things can end badly, but you don't need to worry about that just yet. Imagine your power, little bird, feel it."

Dyan concentrated hard, and Avizon was surprised when a gentle light emerged in Dyan's fingertips. His smile widened. "Good, very very good. You've found it. Spend some time with it, get to know it."

Avizon waited and watched as Dyan explored his newfound power, but he frowned when Dyan's hands got brighter.

"Easy… don't pour so much. Just a little trickle…"

But it only got brighter. Avizon wasn't too concerned, he simply put his hands on Dyan's. "Open your eyes, Dyan. Close the door in your mind to the power."

"I… I can't…" he whimpered, even after he opened his eyes.

Avizon studied him softly and saw how his broken horn was glowing, getting brighter and brighter. The power grew and despite Avizon's gentle attempts to ease Dyan away from it, the power was only getting stronger. "Try to calm it, ease it back. Don't be afraid."

It happened so quickly, Avizon wasn't able to prepare. He was thrown back against the wall with a worrying amount of force. He hit the wall hard and dropped to the floor, stomach lurching, head spinning. He groaned and looked up to see Dyan floating in the air, magic swirled around him, bright white and fierce. Stray pages of paper went flying, documents Avizon had been working on were scattered. Paintings swung on the walls and some fell. The fear was clear to read on Dyan's expression, and his magic was responding to it, wrapping around him, protecting him. Avizon grimaced. He'd never seen or heard of anything like this before. It needed to be contained. "Master!" Dyan yelped.

"Sleep!" he ordered, sending a powerful wave of magic out at him. Dyan yelped, but the magic jerked outwards, batting his spell away and Dyan remained awake.

"Don't be frightened, Dyan. You're safe, I swear," Avizon said quickly. "You just need to contain it. Don't be afraid, trust me. Calm down, be brave."

But Dyan was struggling, though he was trying to take deep breaths. It would take too long and he'd get too drained before he calmed. This wasn't natural. Avizon dug deeper, concocting a perfect attack, a sleeping spell perfectly wrapped in an attack to get through Dyan's defenses. It was clear Dyan was naturally good at resisting, but he hoped this would work.

"Close your eyes!" he called out. Dyan clamped them shut, giving Avizon the chance to hurl the attack at him without him being prepared. The attack hit, struggling for only a moment before breaking through the defenses and knocking Dyan out cold. He fell to the floor and Avizon barely managed to catch him with his magic.

Avizon wasn't sure when Ihuka had rushed into the room, feathers up and teeth bared, but now he only stared, greatly confused… and afraid.

"It's alright, Ihuka. It's alright."

Avizon frowned deeply. This shouldn't have happened. Certainly not on the first lesson. He brought Dyan closer to him and carefully carried him to bed, settling him down under the covers. Then he went to get his mirror. First of all, he needed Orrien. He had no idea how he was meant to explain this.

Orrien appeared within a few minutes, bringing Blue with him who immediately scurried to Dyan's side. He lay by his side and gently nudged him with his head, frowning deeply.

"He's just sleeping, Blue, he's alright," Avizon promised him. 

Ihuka was content curling up at the bottom of their bed, and so Avizon decided it was safe to leave them all be. He and Orrien sat in the room next door, making use of the two chairs and the table, where board games were usually placed. For now, the table only carried their cups.

"Explain to me then, from the beginning, how Dyan lost control as you say," Orrien said softly.

Avizon did so, leaving no detail out.

"It's… odd. When I asked him to calm, he said he couldn't. It was like something was stopping him. You told me magic was a like a sapling when you first found it, but that… that was like years of practice."

Orrien's gaze had wandered down to his hands where Mouse the dragon was weaving through his fingers. They stopped once or twice, stuck their tongue out at Avizon, and then continued on their way.

"You said his horn was glowing… was it just the broken one?"

"Yes and at the source of the break. I can't help but wonder if that was why he couldn't stop his magic- almost like his little bucket has a hole in it."

"If that's the case, I can advise against teaching him to produce magic. Spells like using the mirror should still be possible… perhaps. I think Rhix would be able to help him with his horn, but, well, that solution has its own set of problems."

Avizon grimaced. "I'm not sure if I like the idea of the circle knowing Dyan has power, especially if Erix should hear. I fear how he would react to such a thing. I don't want to put Dyan in any danger. Besides, so long has passed I don't even know if I can trust Rhix. I should be able to make something myself, I wasn't awful at containment magic, Rhix is just better."

Orrien inclined his head. "Yes… I think you could manage such a thing. But I imagine you'd have to replace the tip of the horn or cap it. That's no simple feat."

"I have the time. But I need your help, I want you to try to teach him, see if you can find a way or if it's just my presence- the dark magic." "I don't think it will make a difference, lad, but I can try." Avizon pursed his lips. "Maybe this was not the best idea."

"One failure does not make something a bad idea. We need time to learn this to understand. Dyan is strong hearted. He can learn. He can do anything with the right help."

Avizon smiled softly. "Aye, you're right…"

"Master?" a soft voice came from next door. Avizon raised an eyebrow and stood up. He made his way next door and Orrien followed. They found Dyan was waking up, but his horn was beginning to softly glow again. Ihuka, who had called for them, pointed at it with concern. Blue was hugging Dyan's arm, pressing his head against him and softly pleading that he calm down.

Orrien stepped forward quickly and began to murmur magic under his breath, holding his hand out over Dyan's broken horn. He kept murmuring until the glow faded away. Dyan whimpered and carefully reached up to touch his horn.

"That should be the end of it for now. I used a simple but strong containment spell for now, so you can use all of your magic in making something for him. I'd hate for you to burn out, Dyan.

Blue raised his head and smiled softly at Dyan. Dyan let out a happy cheep and hugged him tight, which brought a lump to Avizon’s throat. He could only guess Dyan had only just realised who was beside him.

“How are you, Dyan?” he asked gently. Dyan pulled away from Blue and tried to bring himself to look at Avizon, but his nerves were clear. “I, I’m fine. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to-”

“It’s not your fault, but we will find a way to mend this little problem. You don’t need to feel guilty.” “But I hurt you...” Dyan whimpered.

Orrien’s attention shot back to Avizon, looking him up and down for any sign of injury. Avizon waved it off as nothing. "It's alright, I promise. It was an accident." Though he’d bumped his head, he was sure he was fine. He hadn’t lost consciousness, and the bump was very small.

Yet still Orrien checked his head when Avizon finally confessed what injury Dyan was referring to. Avizon closed his eyes and relaxed a little as Orrien looked through his hair and he couldn’t help but lean into it. He sighed softly, realising how much he’d missed people over the years, how much he missed being held by Ro, by anyone. He hoped he'd be able to ask one of the birds to cuddle with him later, to ease that need for physical contact. 

Avizon, once Orrien had deemed him well enough, ruffled Dyan's hair. "Get some rest. Using your magic the first few times can be tiring."

Dyan snuggled with Blue and eventually faded off to sleep. Ihuka looked to Avizon with big sad eyes. Avizon wasn't sure what was wrong, but he sat down and patted his lap to encourage him to come closer. Ihuka cautiously climbed up and rested his head on his chest. Avizon smiled and held him close, taking a moment to savor the company. It helped him more than he expected it to. He wondered if Ihuka was just missing the contact, if the the changes to Dyan’s behaviour were beginning to affect him too. He wasn’t sure, but at least Ihuka was brave enough to come to him for help.

"Good bird... We’ll get this sorted, you don’t need to worry." He’d do everything in his power to make sure they never had to worry.

[notasapleasure]

Sunday(+1) six

Oh my god I’m so sorry, I’ve forgotten how to write and how to answer messages, and my queue is a mess, and I still haven’t read @kissinglessons’ fic or replied to any of their lovely lovely comments.

Did the day used to have more hours, or could I just get away with slacking off at work more? Rhetorical questions galore...

Anyway. The writing problems may also possibly be summarised as:

Me: *spends eighteen months emotionally (and occasionally physically) whumping Irakli* muahahahaha I could do this forever. Me: *prepares to deal with Merab’s emotional whumps* No, no, I can’t do this 😭😭

Or maybe Merab just assumed this was the case because Irakli seemed to walk on eggshells around Elizabeth - it was Irakli's manner that Merab knew better, and he knew that Irakli had spent the best part of the week waiting for someone to inform him that he and his boyfriend were not, in fact, welcome in his childhood home. The days had been fraught with the sense that everyone was trying their hardest not to say or do anything too genuine, in case honesty would put too much pressure on the trust Irakli and his mother were trying to restore.

It made Merab miss his own family, with an intensity that he felt almost as a corporeal shadow over all that he did. It wasn't, after all, his family as they now were that he missed, but how things had been with them in some semi-imagined past, when he had never lied - apart from those tattoos, apart from the rehearsals that had finished early, following which he'd gone for milkshakes in the park instead of going home - when his grandmother had never been displeased with him - apart from when he hadn't left his dance kit out to be washed, apart from when he had let David spend cash meant for groceries on cigarettes instead - when it had been easy to believe it every time his relatives said how much they loved him, because, after all, they knew him so well.

The sense of fractured trust was all too familiar, though in Irakli's home it was something concrete, it related to things that had already occurred, and not to things he lived in fear of happening. And still, despite all the suffused awkwardness, all the deliberate politeness, it was something akin to a best case scenario.