Teodor's Exit

[00:03] Fighting against the very air itself.

Rarely had he been forced into a corner, and Teodor was doing an extremely good job at doing so. The air around him forcing itself upon his body, completely constricting his movements and giving the Warlord ample time to approach.

Blood spilled, his arm impaled by the spear he had only recently requested as payment, and then came the kick. So freely fracturing the leg, bone revealing itself for all to see.

An escape of air left his lips at the injury, form sent flying backwards to skid across the ground, it only further irritated the injury he was inflicted.

Eyes staring up towards the sky as he was laying down upon his back, and then he was moving to get up. Constant stabs of pain filling his mind as he raised to a leg, his other leg tentatively pressing against the ground.

"Backed it up finally huh."

A short mutter to himself, eyes narrowing over towards Teodor as he mourned over the corpse, slow steps leading him towards the man, his fractured leg dragged across the floor.

Finally he arrived behind him, head leaning forward with another breath of air escaping his lips from a stab of pain, a whisper soon following when he was in suitable range.

"Demon got her. Snake-eyes and all, didn't get a name."

Pausing for the slightest of moments by Teodor's side, before moving to head towards Lucia, eyes pausing on the jar that held a heart, thoughts appearing in his mind before a shrug cleared them. Hand extending for the jar, for the coin.

"Can't train right now. Another time."
(Proteus)
[00:11] The two were fighting. For why? Lukas couldn't really tell. But were Teodor threatened in any way they'd join in quickly to defend the man who felt like a brother to them all these years.

Narrowed eyes watched carefully, so much so that they didn't notice a blonde haired corpse on the ground. They stared, eyes widened. Was that.. It couldn't be, right?

But it was, Holly Hargrave.

She died? How? Why? In the same circumstances that landed Cameo injured? They had far too many questions but as Teodor collapsed over the woman's body, they joined him, crouching beside the man as he screamed, mourned. The other one injured.

"Teapot I- What the hell..?" Lukas couldn't really find the words. Their hand hovered over his back before panting him gently. Lukas never liked Holly. In fact, such a fact was wished by them for years. Yet they never considered how Teodor would feel as a result...

Lukas sat there, comforting the man quietly.
(Lukas)
[00:15] Teodor stares down at the body of Holly. Only now, after the fact, does he allow himself to grieve some.

Lacerations, bruises, freshly-bleeding wounds covered his body. The aftermath of battle. Some of his own blood spills onto Holly's body. He covers one eye with a stained hand and chokes back something.

Proteus finally speaks.

Demon. Snake-eyes. Demon.

He looks back at Proteus. There's no more rage in his eyes. There's only sorrow. A silent apology. How could a warrior say 'sorry for breaking your leg'? However, he doesn't try to stop them. A moment ago, he was attacking Proteus like he was trying to kill them. And now, he was just letting them walk away scot-free. No further attempts to pursue and attack.

Perhaps he would, if he knew what exactly he held. But Teodor was never a smart man. He couldn't just put two and two together like that.

He looks to Lukas with helplesseyes.

"I'm-..."

He offers a sick smile.

"I'm dead."
(Teodor Hargrave)
[00:22] As Teodor's eyes met theirs. Lukas placed their hands on his cheeks, thumb tracing along his cheek. The smile of his odd as the corpse of his sister was mere feet away. Or did he force it? Attempting to stand strong?

Lukas shook their head.

"You aren't dead. You're alive and here. You're okay but..." Their gaze briefly shifted over to the woman. "She's gone. That we cannot argue. But you're here and you have to live on for her and others you care for. Your wife..." Lukas' brows furrowed yet their hold on his face remained gentle.

"Maybe for me but... There are people here.. All you can do now is mourn for those who aren't." Lukas' face inched closer, their forehead resting against his.

"You aren't dead, Teapot..."
(Lukas)
[00:28] "If-... If I'm not... dead..."

Teodor stares incredulously at Lukas, not reacting much at all to the hands on his cheeks.

"Then that means I have to kill-... everyone who... threatened her? Her enemies? My enemies? I'm-..." He looks down at Holly with his idle, silly smile. "I don't think I was ever... Teodor. I was Holly. I was Molly. I was Lukas. I was-"

He stops himself and clenches his teeth in pain. "Holly's dead... Teodor's dead... what am I? I wasn't ever-... real. Not me. Not Teodor. Maybe that's fine. Maybe that's fine-!"

His voice raises and he stands up abruptly. He shivers. Cold? Not likely. He'd long ago acclimated.

Fear?

"Do I have to kill them all? After I said I wouldn't kill again. Do I really have to-?"
(Teodor Hargrave)
[00:39] "You're Teodor Hargrave!" Lukas' hands left his cheeks, arms extending out to pull the man into a hug. They squeezed him tight. These fits of disconnection he often had were nothing new but still something they feared every time it happened. Would their comforts not work? They always feared such.

"Her enemies aren't your enemies. You're not me, nor your wife, nor your sister. You're you. Teodor is dead but you, Teodor, are not. Teodor Hargrave, Thunderlord... A husband and father. A leader and someone I love and cherish."

Lukas' hold on him grew tighter, their face buried into his chest.

"You don't have to kill anyone. You don't need to fight her battles. She has no one to kill. She has nothing left to do. Teapot, she's not here anymore but you are." Pulling out of the hug, one of their hands smack firmly against his chest and stays there, right where his heart is.

"You're living and breathing and you need to keep doing so. You're real. This is real.. You feel it, yes?" Lukas did. The frantic push and pull of his blood as it coursed through his body.

"You're real... Teodor..."
(Lukas)
[00:44] You're Teodor Hargrave.

You're living...

You're real...

Teodor violently shoves Lukas away. He uses a bit of his magical force to do so; a blast of air shoves them away. He turns around, back to Holly. Then, he looks at El. Ororo. Sarasha. Tanya.

He leaves Holly's cold body.

"Tanya. Sarasha," he says, calmly. "Maybe, perhaps. We should talk about the demons again."

Electricity runs through his body, occasionally arcing onto the ground underneath him.

"If an official decision hasn't been made yet. It's time, now."

There's an idle smile on his face. Odd, since his own sister in law was right behind him.
(Teodor Hargrave)
[00:45] Sarasha Fenrir says, "Teodor, we do need to talk. About you, however."
[00:45] Teodor Hargrave says, "..."
[00:46] The blast of air knocked them away but never really. Lukas rose to their feet, following behind the man as he directed his attention to the other two Warlords. Their words- Sarasha's, piquing their interest. A talk of Teodor.

They dusted themself off as they stood beside Teodor now, ocean hues shifting between all present and in front of them.

"Don't just push me away, damnit. I'm right here." Their hand smacked against the back of Teodor's head.
(Lukas)
[00:47] Idly, a hand raises in Teodor's direction. The Warlord was listening, yet she did not look in his direction. Above him in stature, yet below him in height.

"I believe it is a two to one decisison. They are allowed in our little kingdom. They bring peace, prosperity, and glory to our comfortable little abode! If you have a problem with this, please bring it up now!"

She spoke regally, yet a bit off-kilter. Her mana was just off, far stranger than it was before.

Darker

"Now please, stop with your incessant disruption of the public peace! The council has made it's choice."
(Tanya Weiss)
[00:55] Teodor doesn't react much to Lukas' smack. He does lean forward, some, though.

His eyes are focused on the two surviving members of the council.

"One by one..." he says, his eyes forming something approximating a glare. "We drop like flies, don't we? Our council was so big. Now, it's just us. Funny, that, isn't it?"

Teodor was covered in blood. Some his own. Some Proteus'. Some, Holly's. It was a grizzly image. His breathing was ragged. He was still injured from his life-or-death tustle with Proteus. Yet, still, he looked like he had fight yet within him.

"A demon killed my sister." He clutches his head with one hand, staining his hair with blood. "A demon killed Teodor Hargrave. They have to pay. They have to..."

He steps forward carefully.

"I swore a vow to never kill another man. I'll keep that vow until another man finally ends my life. But-..." He looks to El. The horns on his head weren't subtle. Nor the disgusting, terrifying aura that emanated from him.

"Demons aren't men. Dueling with a demon... avenging my sister. Avenging myself. There's no honor in that. I'm-..." His eyes water. "I'm dead. I don't have honor. I have nothing. What did-..."

He looks to Sarasha, now, only. "What did you want to talk about, then?"

He sounds so far out of it.
(Teodor Hargrave)
[00:57] The Loa chuckles, seeming to ignore Teodors presence entirely as she now looked at her perfect nails. A light tilt of her frame reveals the black talons of ink upon her waist that seem to suddenly curl, adusting their hold upon the beauty they were painted upon.

Starry hues turn towards El before she adjusts her stance, not looking towards Teo but to Lukas and then Sarasha and her apprentice.

The Loa exhales, wisps of golden mist escape her breath. She shifts her bare feet on the cold stone, unaffected by the weather in her glowing corona of beauty and allure. The Loa tilts her frame once more, her shawl wrapping around her folded arms, a finger presses against her finger.

She exhales once more, golden lines of ink slither against dark flesh, animated in her corona of beauty and horror.

"Sad.. Really." Was all she spoke, as if addressing Teodor though she did not bother to address him. No, she knew her presence was sure to render him Irate. The fact that she was always around when devices turned ire for the Hargrave.

The Loa continued her game in silence.
(Ororo Boros)
[01:07] The surrealism of Teodor's persona was one of her main concerns. Hopping to and from subject while mentioning himself in third person. They fell to the void of their mind even further with each passing day.

"Just a moment Teodor."

She glanced to El and then back to the dishonorable Warlord. Perhaps there would be mercy, but as fate's whim it would not be by her hand. He was given his answer by Tanya. She'd need not to comment on the Demons. Sarasha knew where she stood with them.

�

For some moments she turned to Cameo. Their nature drove them to act like this. Her beloved hated being belittled or mocked. To be made feel like this send him into a dark past. Trauma perhaps? In truth she never really wanted to hear the stories, but she understood.

"Cameo, a lesson. Nothing more. She doesn't understand. Go easier on Lucia." Her eyes then went to Lucia. Obviously the little scuffle had them both feeling some type of way. "Lucia, you do have a right to your body. I know you hate having your head patted. Don't attack people for another reason than that if it comes to it. Cameo would respect your more that way especially if you don't mock him."

A nod given to her and hand extended out to clean her face. Quickly brushing fingers off her cheek to rid the rubble and snow.

�

She then took another moment to look around her. Her shoulders slumped and she sighed. Never a day she wouldn't stop working, but secretly she enjoyed this. Her attention went back to Teodor.

"We need to speak about who and what you are. Why your mind splits under pressure and how you act. Your position as warlord and why th'fuck you attacked Proteus."
(Sarasha Fenrir)
[01:12] Lukas' gaze shifted about. They've been left completely in the dark. The decision the council made, though obvious, earned a cocked brow. Peace wasn't guaranteed with literal Hel spawns. Even though they've encountered ones generally curious, they were demons. Bonds with humans should be the same as that of ants. It didn't mean anything. An ant was an ant.

Though unsure of anything in particular, they heard some things. Mahraj withdrawing from the council, the apparent death of the Black Knight. All that remained was Sarasha, Tanya, and Teodor. However, Tanya differed from before. She feared the demons now she welcomed them? An entire one-eighty. Suspicious.

Their arms folded over their chest. A demon killed Holly? Demons roamed about freely, mingling with Therians.

Lukas sighed heavily.

"Sarasha." They began, that ocean of theirs staring at the woman. When it came to Teodor, they put up a guard. Sometimes that guard could be offensive.

"His position as Warlord? Why should that be discussed? Our guild has been accepted and he's done nothing wrong. So what if his mind can be weird. Things like that happened. I don't know what happened with him and that other dude but people fight and die here all the time and it isn't a issue. Glass? How many has he fought and killed?"

Lukas glanced at Teodor.

"But is it a problem with him? Do you care when Glass attacks people?"
(Lukas)
[01:16] Teodor looks down at the ground. His limbs slump, somewhat. He looks defeated. The topic of 'who' was always a touchy thing. He lets Lukas finish, smiling at them weakly.

Who am I? What am I?

"In truth..."

Teodor sighs, and rubs one eye. "I'm not Teodor. I never was. Hear me out- what I mean is that I literally, was not born Teodor Hargrave. I was born Kristen Siren, Crown Prince of-..." He stops. Shakes his head. "It doesn't matter. Teodor is a name I took. A person I tried to become. I won't bore you with my life story. You wouldn't believe most of it, maybe."

He looks back at the battlefield he shared with Proteus. Holly's body...

He smiles at her again.

"Proteus insulted my sister. Disrespected her body. I didn't mean to attack him. Kristen took over. Kristen's a mean guy. If defending the honor of my family threatens my position as Warlord, then I hope you find a better person to fill that seat."
(Teodor Hargrave)
[01:23] Her hand went out and she shook her head. Finding a better person to find the seat was unneeded, but she did look to Lukas for a moment. Perhaps Teodor could use time off to figure himself out. Sarasha wouldn't force this, regardless.

"I think you need time to figure out who you are entirely. Fighting Proteus because he mocked deceased family?" Her eyes trailed off to the remains of his sister in law. "Acceptable. I can't ridicule you for this because I would do the same."

A crowned prince. Likely a touchy subject if she pushed it. Though her mind could only ponder of what land he hailed. Though with a name, Sarasha could easily find out.

"We need you on your toes now. You can't be split in your own mind and heart. You cannot have your allies in front of you second guess just when or if you're going to snap keeping a fa�ade up."

It worried her that Teodor acted that way, but with a bit of insight maybe she could provide a medium for him to stand. Empower one side for his practicalities.
(Sarasha Fenrir)
[01:32] Lukas once heard that name. 'Kristen'. They never knew who that person was but Teodor said it before. It was him, a him who died there. Their mouth hung open slightly.

He was also the remains of someone dead?

Those thoughts pushed away. The topic at hand taking more precedent over long dead feelings. But a prince?

"It shouldn't threaten his position at all... Theria is full of some scummy characters. A place of mercenaries and such... People with no morals, those who could turn on one another for the smallest of things, right?"

As Sajid and the other Fenrirs were so quick to turn on Black Knight over words. No discussion occurred, merely a clash of steel.

Though at the end of the day, those were conscious and controlled decisions. Teodor's not. The mind can't be so easily controlled yet they rather his mind not tampered with. At least not with those who mingled with practitioners of occultic arts.

That defense returned.

"What are you getting at then, Sarasha?" They question with a bit of venom laced on their tone.
(Lukas)
[01:36] Teodor covers both eyes, as if he were going to sob violently before the lot of them.

No tears come.

He sighs, again. Removes his hands from his eyes. Stares at them for some time, as Lukas says what they say. He looks somewhat disappointed.

"No..."

He keeps his eyes focused on his hands. "No, Lukas, she's not wrong. She sees what you... try to ignore. I'm fucked up. I'm a liability... More than anything, I need time. I can't leave Holly there. I'm going to bring her to her favorite meadow, near Moonfall."

He turns around, heading over to her body. "She became a druid there. Simpler times..."
(Teodor Hargrave)
[01:42] Those beside her could see the slow rise and fall of her chest. A subtle deep breath of relief. The tides were changing of late and everyone needed to be on deck to pitch in where help was needed. She thought that if Teodor took some time for himself? Surely some stable ground would be found, possibly in mourning.

"Mourn your sister. Lay her to rest, but you don't have to forget. What you must do is come back after and tell me what your next move is."

Without expression on her face, but empathy in her voice. Her own past experience of burying family at mass letting the tone come to the surface.
(Sarasha Fenrir)
[01:52] Without a doubt, Lukas would defend Teodor. They'd defend his mind. They'd defend his behavior- So much so that it blinded them at times. He wasn't well, not in the shape to sit on a council and lead. Then who will? What would become of the council?

Teodor would mourn, then what?

"What the fuck are we even..." Lukas inhaled sharply. Were things to go badly, then Teodor wouldn't sit on the council. The years spent here would be wasted better elsewhere. But really? Their eyes shifted to Elias who stood there this entire time. Not a waste if they thought of what came from it.

"If you think he's not.. fit to do this then I will. This leader and political bullshit pisses me off more than ever. All the talking and then the lack of talking and the decision making- I hate it all but I'll do it."

The water magi took severalsteps forward, closing this rather uncomfortable distance. Fist clenched.

"I will not see our work go to waste. I hate that more than ever. Wasted time and potential. The only good thing has been Eli since coming to Theria. Our guild has been killed off. I will not back down. I'll claim a sit on that damned Council. I'll claim the title of Warlord in his stead." Lukas boldly declared as they stood in front of the woman.
(Lukas)
[01:56] Sarasha let Lukas step up, but she took the last step and put him face to face, looking subtly down to him. Apathy returned and her cold lifeless stare shot down through his eyes.

"I hope you understand what it means and what I expect of you. Be prepared to make calls you're not comfortable with. Understand what it means to lead people. I hope you know what you're getting yourself into, Lukas."

Her face only inches from his. The cold proximity of her person chilling him colder than what Theria had to offer atop the mountain. Her words came swift and harsh, but for good reason.
(Sarasha Fenrir)
[01:59] Teodor says nothing. He hears the plans being made behind him, but he doesn't react much. Instead, he walks over to his dead, desecrated, destroyed sister.

He tenderly picks her up.

"God... Holly..." He giggles under his breath.

"You're so heavy. You always did like cooking and food..."

He begins heading east, alone, holding the body close to his chest. He waits for nobody.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you. I'll... make things right. It's okay..."

He leaves muttering under his breath. Talking to the cold body.
(Teodor Hargrave)