How Did It Ever Come To This?

[Iriah Caitrak]

He was right, she didn’t have to do anything she had today, but she had. Despite their multitude of differences and the space that seemed to keep them from each other there was just something about Malagen that she was attracted to. It wasn’t the façade of coldness he constantly threw against the world, there was more to him than that. Beneath eyes that never seemed to care and a face hardened into an expression that had lost all emotions there was something. She wasn’t exactly sure what it was yet or whether or not it would ever truly come to the surface, but she had upset the balance within him and he was beginning to open up to her. Her kindness had done that, not the harder parts of her personality, parts that he had not seen. Ira was not all soft; she had cold parts of her that she tried to bury deep within her mind, cold parts that had arisen during her training as a Calerian. Someone could only fight so much and train so hard until they steeled themselves against the emotions of those they are fighting. Much like Malagen had done, only he had blocked all of his own emotions. But Ira had not let that overcome her. She couldn’t bring herself to look coldly upon any living person; even ones that had done despicable deeds she couldn’t even begin to comprehend deserved some compassion.

When his hand came up and caressed her face she couldn’t help but feel a small surge of uncertainty. This was all so new to her. Like Malagen experiencing emotions for the first time and feeling blind to it all, she found herself in an ocean and without the ability to swim, floundering. But she didn’t want him to stop. When Malagen pulled his hand away she caught it in hers and brought it back up to her face. His touch felt right where no one else’s ever had before.

“I suppose you’ll have to test the boundaries of my kindness and see just how far they go…” Her heart had turned into the beating wings of a bird, fluttering in her chest, which rose and fell in quick succession due to her shallow breathing. She wanted to beat her nervousness back and feel just as calm as Malagen looked, but she couldn’t. This was too new to her. “I think if you don’t stay, you’ll leave one really disappointed woman behind.”

She couldn’t help the blush that coloured her cheeks after saying that. She felt like a little girl again, unsure of herself and the world around her. It wasn’t really unlike her though. Flirting was nothing new, but this was leading to something else entirely. It wouldn’t end with the words and a few sultry looks as she turned and walked away. This was something that was going to change her in a small or even large one. She didn’t know. Never before had Ira ever thought she’d find someone she could feel comfortable with in this sense. But despite how nervous she felt she was comfortable around Malagen. But she couldn’t tell him that…this was her first time. The words wouldn’t leave her lips.

“I…”

She looked away from him. She couldn’t keep looking him in the eyes without blushing even more and she didn’t know why. Reaching up, she placed her hands on his stomach, feeling the rigid muscle beneath flex ever so slightly at her light touch. Biting on her lower lip, Ira glanced up at him for a moment as she ran her hands up along his stomach and chest, slowly pushing his coat off his body as she did so. She pushed it from his shoulders and watched it slip from his arms and pool on the floor by his feet. Running her fingers along his shoulder and up the back of his neck, Ira buried them in the long strands of his black hair. Rising onto the tips of her toes, she paused a breath away from his lips, unsure of herself and searching his eyes before she kissed him.

[Malagen]

She looked like he felt; aflutter and uncertain, her cheeks flushed with a rosy hue. They were tiptoeing around each other; standing in one spot, but still moving around each other as if they were both made of heated steel that would burn then on contact. But despite this threat, Ira didn’t reject his touch. She took his hand – this hand that threatened her life several times already – and steadied it, recalled it, made it touch her blushed face again, made it feel welcome. But she didn’t stop on just a single touch. Her fingers crawled over the fabric of his shirt, her touch warm and almost sizzling, as she explored his torso with the hands of a sculptor and made her way up to his shoulders. The thick coat was an obstacle in this game of closeness, so she subtly removed it, made it slip off of his muscled form before her hands proceeded with their ascent. They wound up tangled in his hair and bringing their faces close enough for Malagen to inhale her unique scent.

His own hand wasn’t motionless either. Despite the initial reluctance, the brush on her cheek turned into a lengthy touch, his hand cupping the side of her visage, his thumb just passing over the corner of the full lips she nervously bit. His left was stubborn though, still latched onto the sheath of his saber, still refusing to succumb to this magnetism that was so prominent between the two. There seemed to be so much uncertainty between the pair, so much anxiousness that dried their mouths and robbed them of their words. Neither of them seemed comfortable in each other’s arms, but just as much neither of them couldn’t think of a better place to be right now then in this room, staring at each other’s eyes and feeling each other’s warmth.

The suspense was almost tangible, erasing the room, the crackling fire, the dancing shadows, the murmured voices of the common room, and leaving only the two of them in a standstill that Ira ultimately broke. Her lips covered his own, soft and sinfully tantalizing, and at first Malagen’s refused to return the kiss, stubborn just like his left hand, clinging to the callousness with which he usually responded to wenches that kissed him. But their coldness lasted for just a moment, losing the battle with her warmth, unable to resist participating in this moment of intimacy. His hand nudged her countenance with the gentlest of touches, making her mouth more accessible. Enticed by her taste, by the touch of her fingers, by the inevitable nearness of her body, Malagen closed his eyes and kissed a woman with more then just his lips for the first time in his life.

Time lost meaning. Neither of them could count the seconds with this surge of passion reigning in their bodies. The only thing of importance was that when their lips finally detached, they could read the desire in each other’s eyes. The muscular barbarian kissed her again, this time with just a bit more passion and haste, abandoning a portion of his serene demeanor. They took a united step backwards, their arms embracing each other, then another, their lips feasting on the other, and another, exchanging caresses more heatedly then they did blows. And before long, Ira’s leg touched the food of her bed. Malagen lowered her onto the sheets gently, looming over her with what might’ve been a notion of a smile on his face.

Both of his hands were on the move, but neither touched the purple-haired beauty. Instead, his right pulled out the saber, his left sending the steel sheath clattering on the hardwood floor. She inhaled rapidly, surprised by his uncanny action, and held her breath as he brought the cold metal of his blade to her chest. It moved slowly, dipping between her tanned skin and the velvety textile of her layered attire, cutting through it almost surgically. But even when the deed was done and he tossed his sword away heedlessly, Ira’s face didn’t completely relax. There was fear in her. She struggled to contain it behind her quicksilver eyes, but he could feel it, sense it in the touch of her hands. Malagen’s hand didn’t move to remove her torn clothes. Instead, his left supported him as he leant over her, his right cradling the side of her strained neck.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said in a whisper, landing another kiss on her almost shivering lips. “I promise.”

[Iriah Caitrak]

She lost herself in his touch. His lips on hers were a heat that beckoned more passionate kisses from her that left her feeling breathless and a little weak in the knees even. She didn’t know what she was doing but it all felt so natural in the end. Thought was lost to her and time was something she counted in the beats of her heart. But she couldn’t count so it was useless. Her mind could focus on nothing but the moment and what he was doing to her and how that made her feel. She wanted the clothes that separated them gone. She wanted to feel his hands on her skin and she wanted to do the same to him, to run her fingers across the hard muscles of his stomach and then up to his chest. She wanted to scrap her nails down his back again and even run her fingers lightly over the scars he had and softly kiss each of them.

Before she even realized it, her legs hit the foot of her bed and Malagen was gently lowering her onto the mattress. It sunk ever so slightly under her weight and then more so when Malagen balanced himself over her. But he wasn’t touching her anymore, instead Ira caught a flash of silver from the corner of her eye and the next thing she knew his sword was in his hand and his sheathe was clattering against wooden floorboards and sounding way too loud for her ears. Her breath was lodged somewhere in her throat and refused to come out, as she watched the blade balanced in his grip. But it never touched her skin. She watched the entire time, scared that he had tricked her in some way and really was going to kill her but he didn’t. Instead, he sliced through her shirt, cutting through the layers of white material in one quick motion before he tossed the blade aside and leaned down closer to her.

He could remove her now ripped clothing from her body and leave her completely naked before him, but he didn’t. He brushed his lips against hers instead, lips which quivered.

“I know…” she whispered back to him. “Do not think you’ll hurt me; I am not made of glass. I do not break. And…”

He was touching her neck, she could feel it and some of her unease and fear was stemming from that. She didn’t want him to touch her neck. She didn’t want anyone near her neck.

“And I trust you.”

She trusted him with her body. But still she brought her hand up and wrapped her fingers around his wrist and moved his hand down her body away from her neck. She wanted him to touch her but not there, anywhere but there. He would be able to see the scars now. But she didn’t want to think about it, she couldn’t. Looking into his eyes, Ira trailed his hand down the cut he’d made in her clothing. She let his fingers brush against exposed skin and push her ruined clothing apart ever so slightly revealing the tanned skin beneath. She guided his hand between her breasts and down across her stomach, which made her shiver. His hands were calloused and rough from handling weapons and she loved the feel of them on her. Ira also loved the look on his face at the moment. There was no coldness, only a passion there that she felt burning within herself as well. He looked more human now than he had in their entire time together and his eyes were just a little softer. The cold was not completely gone and Ira knew it may never be, but with the desire he felt for her clear on his face Malagen had never looked more handsome.

Running her left hand down the side of his face, Ira lowered his head closer to her so she could kiss him again. In her right hand she summoned a small dagger and taking a page from his own book she cut down the length of his shirt, starting from his collar and ending at his waist. After a moment or two of hearing the ripping cloth, he broke away from her and looked down at what she’d done. Allowing the dagger to slip from her fingers and disappear, she gave him the most innocent face she could muster as she was finally allowed to feel his skin under her hands and the heat of him. Breaking the look of innocence with smile and being unable to feel his eyes on her for too long without blushing, Ira kissed him. For the hundred time for the millionth, she didn’t care. She didn’t want to stop kissing him. Her hands didn’t want to stop touching him either, her nails lightly scraping down his chest and stomach, stopping only when they hit the waistband of his pants.

[Malagen]

Yes, there was the Ira he had gotten to know during their auspicious encounter, the woman that had coaxed him into submission in the illusion of the Citadel. Temptation and confidence dripped back into her eyes, taking command over her actions, steadily conquering the initial incertitude. Malagen welcomed the return of these traits with a smile; this was the Ira that so unreasonably attracted him, this self-assured woman that knew what she wanted and wouldn’t stop at anything until she had it within her grasp. And right now, it was him she wanted and his shirt was stopping her from getting just that, so she ripped through it with aid of her magical weapons. She offered a teasing smile as she witnessed the result of her act, the falsely coy apologetic kind that apologized for nothing. And then her hands began their roaming, touching, clawing, luring him nearer with each second.

She guided his own to do the same, but not over her neck. There was a tremble passing through her body when he touched her there, the disquieting type that was the murder of passion. Perhaps it was because the scar that marred her skin there or the story that stood behind that unique imperfection of hers. Perhaps they both had scars that ran deeper then just skin and stories that were more then just words. Malagen couldn’t know and didn’t have the time to deliberate on it, because soon his fingers were caressing the tanned smoothness of her torso, descending between her breasts, caressing their softness, brushing against the subtle muscles of her stomach. But they refused to stop their exploration there. After another lengthy clash of their lips, his hand proceeded, following the curvaceous line of her hips, down her thigh, making him back away from her just enough to allow his hands to move down her calf and take her shoes off. And then she lay completely revealed to him.

It wasn’t just her magnificent body that he beheld then, not just the way her perfect breasts raised and fell as her body fought with desire or the vague vertical lines that accentuated the muscles of her lower torso. This physical part of her was ravishing, but not as much as her eyes. They were speaking to him, whispering, singing the song of a siren, and even though Malagen couldn’t quite hear it, even though he was still unable to understand it all, they made one thing perfectly clear. There was two of them in that room, and despite all the pain and anger and hate, despite all his coldness and ruthlessness, she wanted to be with him. Even somebody as blind and heedless towards the subtle emotional signs was able to decrypt that message.

Conquered again by her allure in this battle of intimacy, Malagen had no choice but to yield to her and to the feelings he denied for as long as he knew. And the sounds of their battling went on throughout the night.

***

With its darkness paling, the sky witnessed to the fact that the morning was still at least an hour away. The night still struggled against the inevitable sunrise, spreading its chill in tendrils of breeze that swept across the land. One of these sneaked past the wings of an open window of a room on the third floor of the New Leaf Inn, wrapping itself around the naked body of a muscled barbarian, tousling his long black hair. He didn’t shiver though, didn’t even acknowledge the wind as he sat on the windowsill. His focus seemed to be on the blade in his right hand, the whetting stone in his left, the sound of one scraping against the other and the serene beauty that slumbered amidst the crumpled sheets.

She wasn’t dead though. She should’ve been. She probably would’ve been if Malagen was still Malagen and she wasn’t Ira Shinkara from the distant place called Astaka. Ira Shinkara, the disturber of his balance. Ira Shinkara, the defiant woman that had somehow managed to crawl underneath his skin. Ira Shinkara, the woman whose warmth he could barely stand away from. Last night was an undisputable proof of that; it was the first sensation of that kind for both of them, though in a different sense of the words. For Ira, it was the first time she had a man and Malagen knew it, felt it, saw it in the shiver of her body and the stifled whimper she locked behind her lips and the startle in her eyes. And he wasn’t glad. No, ‘gladness’ was too soft of a word to describe what he felt. He was honored that something so pristine was offering to share this unique moment with him. For Malagen, it was the first time he felt this emotion towards a woman.

This wasn’t good, Malagen knew, this turn of events that started an avalanche that wasn’t over even now when she was asleep and he could escape undetected. There was still a part of him that wanted her dead, that wanted to get back to that cold corner where there was simplicity and equilibrium. But those rigorous voices of the past that had been dictating his actions up until this point were getting more silent, muffled by something chaotic, something that defied reason, something that made a person weak, his teachings said. Something that, according to Ira, made a person strong.

Which of the two was true, Malagen didn’t know. All he knew, as his eyes looked over the calm of her sleeping visage, was that he had to stay with Ira if he wanted to find it out.


SPOILS: Hardiness – Despite the multiple wounds he took in the futile battle with the Fallen and the major blood loss, Malagen still managed to carry himself and Ira to a healer and get out of the bed before his wounds were properly healed, thus discovering that he is more resistant when it comes to injuries. He can take considerably more hits and lose more blood then an average soldier without losing ability to fight back.

[Iriah Caitrak]

Something cool brushed against the naked skin of her shoulder. Shivering, Ira snuggled more deeply into the sheets trying to stay warm, trying to cover herself as much as possible. She hated the cold and wondered why the window was open, as she never left it open. The more she awakened, the more her senses slowly returned and she realised she was beginning to hear the strangest sound. Like some kind of scraping but she wasn’t quite sure. Against the urge to just fall back to sleep, Ira cracked her eyes open just enough to see the empty bed. There was no one sleeping beside her and for a moment she wondered if he’d left while she’d been asleep, then she heard that noise again. Rolling over onto her other side she looked out towards the only source of light coming into her room, the open window. It was also where that cool breeze that coming in.

Smirking, Ira took the moment to observe Malagen as he sat on the ledge, holding his blade in one hand. He looked gorgeous and the light accentuated just the right parts of him while leaving the rest in shadow. But she knew what they looked like and felt like. She knew where every muscle dipped and how there was this one particular spot on his back that he really liked when she scraped her fingernails down it. He hadn’t even cared that she was a virgin. He’d been a little surprised when she’d gotten that quick look of pain and discomfort on her face, but that was it. Not to mention the things he’d done to her had quickly made her forget about that small nuisance and practically every else. She couldn’t think when he had his hands on her; he knew just where to touch her to make her lose herself.

One thing she quickly realised was she had no regret over what had happened. It was one of the many reasons she’d stayed a virgin for so long. She’d talked about it with her friends and many of them had shared regret over the first time they’d slept with someone and Ira could not understand why she would do something only to regret it a few hours later. But there was none of that within her. In fact she felt rather content at the moment.
Stretching and moving sore muscles that she didn’t know could get sore; Ira sat up in the bed, keeping the sheet wrapped around her body.

“What are you doing?”

He didn’t look at her; he paused only for a moment before going back to running what looked like a stone over the edge of his blade. She had no idea why he was running a rock over his sword, wouldn’t it blunt the edge?

“I’m thinking…”

She raised her brows. Thinking? About what? She wanted to know but had a feeling it was something a little too private for him to tell her. It was the look on his face. It wasn’t cold, it wasn’t smiling, it just seemed lost within his mind.

“Thinking, hmm? Well, I can think of something a lot more enjoyable for you to be doing than that, especially with those hands.”

Ira let the sheet fall from her body as he turned his head towards her. Even in the paling darkness she could see the change in his expression and the heated look that suddenly entered his eyes. Biting her bottom lip, she watched as he put his sword and stone aside before he crawled back into bed. His hands wasting no time as they ran up the length of her thigh and across her hip as he kissed her.




SPOIL: Fortify Me: This is the second time Ira has been close to death and able to hold on until the very last moment. Her will conquers the weakness of her body and allows her to push through until there is barely strength left in her and even then she may still be able to continue on only because she wants to. She can handle more wounds and more blood loss than the average person and can even push through the pain.

[Atzar]

One trend that I’ve noticed on Althanas is that threads start off strong when the idea is fresh, only to dwindle later on when the writer just wants to finish and get the EXP. It’s happened to me a couple of times.

This, however, was the rare opposite. When it started, it seemed like your average Althanas battle thread. Sure, Malagen was intent on getting into Ira’s pants, but since when does a guy battle a girl and not have that natural urge at some moment?

Once you guys got to the actual storyline, however, I got hooked. I was actually somewhat sad when the quest was over. Malagen and Ira, as unlikely a pair as possible, seem to be quite irresistible to read about.

Now… numbers.

Continuity: 7 Malagen belongs in the Citadel. He didn’t need a reason to be there. Ira’s reason, however, wasn’t quite good enough. She lives in the middle of the desert in Fallien. What reason could she have to find herself in Radasanth? I do, however, appreciate that you decided not to use the cliché “mysterious note” or other such overused excuses for battle. Other than that, I had as much backstory as I needed. Solid job overall.

Setting: 10 The setting in this quest was done well. Now that I think back on it, I always had a vivid image of where Ira and Malagen were and what was around them, but it didn’t overpower the story. You’ve found the perfect balance here. I don’t like giving 10’s – I’m a student of the “there’s always something that could be done better” school of thought – but I seriously can’t think of a single thing here that you guys could improve on. Marvelous work.

Pacing: 6 You guys did fairly well here. You know how to move a story along. I thought the battle in the first thread was a little lengthy (it was longer than the encounter in the graveyard, and I thought the latter battle was more important to the story), however. Also, sometimes things got a bit repetitive (more on that in Persona).



Persona: 8 Stellar, for the most part. Both of your characters had very strong personalities, and their contrast only served to highlight that. My only complaint is that your thoughts were repetitive at times. Whenever the situation reached a pause, Malagen or Ira would consider it, realize that what they were about to do probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do, and then do it anyway. It seemed to be a recurring event throughout the quest.

Action: 8 Good stuff. Ira was remarkably persistent, given how Malagen treated her through most of the thread… but if she hadn’t been persistent, there wouldn’t have been a story.

Dialogue: 9 Good. Just like everything else. Why can’t you guys do something bad every once in awhile? Makes me feel like I’m not doing my job when I have nothing to bitch about… *mutter mutter*… Oh yeah. Where was I? Dialogue. It was well-written, and I thought a lot of the conversation was imaginative and even humorous at times.



Mechanics: 7 There were quite a few missing words and minor typos. Ira, you tend to have a lot of run-ons and fragments in your writing. It doesn’t detract from the story, but it did slow me down in some places.

Technique: 9 Excellent styles and writing in general. You guys know what you’re doing; anybody can see that.

Clarity: 7 Like I said, a few grammatical things slowed me down here and there. I never had to reread, but it did slow me down, and that was a little bit of a nuisance at times.



Wild Card: Well now… all told, your score is 71 now. It’s mathematically possible for you guys to get a JC nomination out of this. All that stands in your way is my opinion. Now… do I feel like being an ass and scoring you low, or do I like you right now?

Do you feel lucky, punk?




…you should. Take a 10 here. Congratulations, guys. This was an absolute pleasure to read, and was well worth a JC in my book.


Total Score: 81

Malagen receives 2820 EXP and 650 GP.

Ira Shinkara receives 3490 EXP and 650 GP.

Requested spoils are awarded to both of you.

[Cyrus the virus]

EXP added!

Ira levels up!!!

Movement will wait until the Judge's Choice consideration is done!