[BA] Atonement (open)

[Legion]

All this guilt, it was overwhelming. Legion felt every bit of guilt for his actions at this school. For his disdain of the lives of the students here, his casual disregard that had allowed him to use them as cannon fodder in Azura's brother's attack on the school. His use of them as playthings otherwise that had allowed him to maim them as if it were nothing, to kill them, torture them. All of those actions weighed heavily on his heart. Demanding that he atone some how. That he do what he could to make it better, even if he couldn't bring back the dead, he couldn't make the lame walk, all of that guaranteeing that this would be a life long process, unless whatever it was that had broken in him was fixed, allowing him to feel no guilt again. Did he want that now? No, he wanted to be able to hear their screams at all hours, to remind him of all the wrong he had done, to keep him from doing it again. Then again there was a very real part of him, somewhere deep down that wanted his darkness back, the demon that he truly was, the one that was chained away and it was even the mention of that had Legion closing his eyes sighing in pain, that there was that very real part of him that felt that.

As Legion was walking through the halls he was dressed in a pair of khaki cargo shorts and a black tank top. Ever since the attack on the school everyone knew what he was anyway, so he saw no need to hide that tattoo of "demon" on his right arm in Japanese characters or that "1432". That and the collar that had kept Legion in line, and now kept him in line, whatever that meant, across his neck, poised to kill him if he crossed that line. Its really what he deserved, death, making him wonder why hadn't that collar gone off.

Legion turned out into the courtyard he would walk out into the middle of it, closing his eyes and inhaling the scent of the grass, the trees, and the smells of the school. Taking in one last whiff of all those scents before the inevitable. What he knew was coming, and while it was entirely preventable he would allow it, it was what he deserved. Though Legion knew the truth even this would not be enough for him to atone for what he had done. Sighing he'd let the small crowd that had been following him for quite some time now speak, well, at least the most vocal of them.

"You Monster! You killed my brother!"

Yes, the boy he had used as a shield when those men attacked him in the classroom. He had tried to stab the man with a pen but ended up stabbing the kid instead and while that hadn't killed him, the shadow sword he had stuck through him to stab the other man certainly had.

"You forced my friend to crawl like a dog as you tortured him!"

Yes, Legion remembered that too. What the kid had failed to mention was how he used that kid as bait to cripple, maim, kill or otherwise savage the others that tried to help him. Legion spoke up in a solemn tone, "Yes, I did. I did all of that and more. And while there are no words I can say to make up for what I did I truly mean it when I say it, I'm sorry."

Another yell from the crowd, "Not sorry enough!"

And with that they descended upon him like a pack of wild animals. Legion felt the fists, the feet, striking him from every angle and while he was physically capable of dealing with them all, he chose not to. This is what he deserved. The blows not hurting at first, as these were not your best of fighters, but they added up. After what felt like forever Legion found himself swept off his feet, back on the ground looking skyward, blank look of nothing but remorse on his face as he felt the kicks and the stomps raining down. Not moving, not making any effort to curl up as blood now flowed freely from his nose, mouth, some other areas on his face. Just letting the blows fall as they would...

[Kazumi O'Connor]

Kazumi stood off to the side watching all this unfold. Her hood pulled up, she leaned into the shadow cast by the building with her arms folded over her chest. Slowly, her tongue would trace over her fangs and a twisted little grin would curl onto her lips. Oh, she saw what was going on, she just....didn't necessarily care to stop it....yet. If anything, she was pretty sure that the asshole deserved much worse than what he was getting, but a beating was a beating and she found it amusing none the less. "Rallegratevi sua non me stronzo..."[Be glad its not me asshole...] The words leaving her lips in a soft mutter as she tilted her head a bit to the right to get a better view, seeing as how one of the boys had moved into her direct line of vision.

For a few minutes more, she would continue to watch, a bemused chuckle passing her lips as she shook her head. Those kids really couldn't hit worth a fuck, at least nowhere near as much as Legion deserved. Her nose wrinkling slightly as she sneered the word within her mind, nothing but contempt and hatred for it at this point. Yes, deep down she loved Patrick, but Legion...well Legion could take a running jump off a cliff for all she cared. True, she had her own demon that had haunted her in the past, that he had stood by her through...but it was different...She had at least tried to hold onto his memory...he had just let her go.

Well that...and Kazumi was a little on the unstable side. She had just put up a good show of sanity in the past.

Eventually, one of the boys would start to get winded and the frustration she felt over this beating not being bad enough rose to a new level. A frustrated little growl rolling from her throat as she shoved herself away from the building and pushed her hands into her pockets. Slow, steady strides would take her toward the little tussle, her head down, features concealed within the darkness of her hood. The only thing indicating it was her, being her size and the long raven locks which spilled forth down her chest from beneath the hood.

"Enough!" Her voice ringing out loud enough to reverberate off the surrounding buildings. As her head lifted just slightly, amethyst eyes would seem to glow lowly from beneath the darkness of her hood for a moment before her hand would remove itself from her pocket and push her hood back from her head, letting it fall away and allowing her hair to spill more freely about her face.

The boys beating up on Legion would pause, eyes of the crowd turning toward her as she stood there now, about as casual and relaxed as possible. She wasn't really worried about this getting out of control, even though the other pillars were M.I.A at the moment. People tended to shy away from the girl that thrived on drinking blood. "Stay out of this Kazumi!"

"Yeah! You should be just as pissed off at this guy! Didn't he leave you?!"

Amethyst hues snapped upon the guy as her posture straightened and a little smirk turned up the corner of her lips. "Idiot." Pretty much the only thing she had to say, the crowd taking a slight step back as they began to whisper among themselves. Her anger, which she was already having issues managing, was through the roof right now. The fucked up part...it wasn't directed at the boy who had said that to her...No, it was toward Legion because of the fact he would open her up toward this kind of humiliation.

Still, she would shake her head and slowly start to pace forward. The boy who had spoken second guessing his words and taking a step back for every one she took forward. "Look, Kaz, he didn't mean it. We just want to give this fucker what he deserves." Again she would chuckle as she lowered her head for a moment, shaking her head a bit more.

"Ah, the voice of reason." Her right hand shooting out and wrapping fingers about the boy's throat as she jerked him toward her and lifted her head, nose brushing slowly along the side of his throat before growling lowly against his ears. "Yet that would imply that I can be reasoned with." Tongue slowly dragging along his jugular before she would shove him back away from her as hard as she could, watching as he toppled over...Her fangs throbbing with a desire to bite into him, though she resisted....for now.

"I suggest you get the fuck out of here before I decide to have a little snack." Threat clear in her tone as both hands now settled at her sides, fingers curling and uncurling as she shifted her gaze from one to the other and then back again. The boys thinking it over and slowly holding their hands up and starting to back away, getting a little nod of approval from her as she paced closer to Legion looking down at him with a mild hint of curiosity and contempt.

"Pathetic..." Her foot slamming into his ribs as hard as she could manage before she would step back, shivering in delight at the act, and using all her will power not to deliver more. "Get your ass up..." Waiting impatiently now and once again folding her arms over her chest.

[Legion]

Blows rained down and down and if there was an evil that could make it out of his lips at this point he'd probably make some sort of quip about dying of boredom before he was beaten to death. The blows were light, weak even, but he would weather as many as they could deliver. Live or die he wouldn't be able to atone for his sins with this one beating. He had many more, more important ones too. He had to atone for things he didn't fully remember, but was becoming clearer in this unstable state. The lack of stability in his psyche made it harder to hide things away from him. Made all of that work the doctors spent hiding his memory some what less of value. You see, while Azura's good side didn't bring back any of the memories that she had lost, Legion's was, because Legion felt the guilt of what memories of his past life that he had. Spurring him onward to make amends, and as fate would have it, what he considered his or Patrick's, he really wasn't to sure at the moment, worst victim's voice ring out.

Ceasing the beating he was receiving his head would turn towards the woman's voice, though he wouldn't look her in the eyes. Blood covering his face as he looked towards the situation that was unfolding. Anger clearly in her voice, though Legion was sure that it was not directed towards the students, at least not fully, or mostly, but mainly towards him. As she started threatening the other the students Legion felt guilt. The guilt, knowing that it was his fault that she was like this. That she was so angry, so enraged. It was all directed at him, because of what he did to her.

His eyes would avert from hers as she walked towards him, seeing the kick coming and though he would normally be able to stop it, or avoid it, after a million paper cuts, even those took their toll. An actual "OOPH" coming from his lips as he heard a few ribs snap. Though as she commanded him to get up he would slowly roll onto his stomach, fighting his way to his feet. Slowly making his way to his feet He would look at her feet, guilt clear in his voice, "I'm so sorry for what I've done to you."

Honestly expecting to get hit again, but he'd take it without moving, without flinching. Nothing could make up for what he had done, at least not in this life, probably not in the next ten...

[Kazumi O'Connor]

She kept her eyes on him, not sure why he was being such a fucking baby, letting those prissy little dick heads beat the shit out of him, but she really didn't care either. Yet what he said when he stood up got her anger to a new level even she didn't know was possible. Oh, how badly she wanted to hit him, to just tear into him and make him suffer for every bit of suffering her and her child had gone through over the months since he was taken...

He went willingly....

Her own personal demon growling the words within her mind as it prowled the darker corners of such. No amount of blood, pain or torture could sate it and for the time being Kazumi was fine with that. However, she did not attack him. He wasn't looking at her, and he wasn't going to defend himself, which made the entire act of wasting energy on him a waste of time. She would step foward though, growling lowly as she looked up at him, still able to see into his face given her small stature (compared to his)..."You don't get to say you are sorry to me....Understand?"

Her tone low as she felt her fangs aching within her mouth, though a soft brush of her tongue would sooth them for the time being, allowing her to finish what she had to say. "Words don't mean shit...You taught me that." A soft hiss of words, that lilac scent emanating from her and filling the air between them, though just as soon as it came, it was gone...her foot sliding back to pull her into a backward retreat. Distance being placed between them and her arms once more crossing over her chest.

"Now, why are you being such a fucking pussy? Things in your new life not exactly going like you had hoped?" Her brow arching slightly, she would slide her foot forward and allow her hip to cock to the side just slightly. Did she really think he had wanted all of this? No, she knew why he had turned himself over...but a part of her resented him for not having faith that she could have defended off whatever threat was coming at their home. He had felt her weak, and she was going to spend the rest of her life proving to him and everyone else that she wasn't that weak, pathetic little bitch that she had been...that they had believed her to be.

[Legion]

Legion felt her anger rise as he said those words. Not sating her blood thirst in the least. But Legion knew why. Words were empty. Words were hollow. The memory of his past life, lying to that girl, telling her that she was going to see her mommy, like it was anything more then what he intended. Though at the same time he felt like he had to say those words. Regardless of how she felt about them. It was the truth though. He was sorry, so very sorry. The guilt near crushing him. His body, now bearing the brunt of one life time's guilt. One death, one death atoned for. Many more to go, and many more after that. If he could take it back he would, but unfortunately that was not how life worked. He couldn't take back the murders, and he couldn't take back what he had done to Kazumi.

"Understood," He nodded, eyes still averted from hers, though he looked at her mouth instead. Hearing her words about him, about what he taught her causing to close his eyes, a tear and a sigh of guilt coming from him. That lilac scent bringing back that memory of that little girl, the one he lied to. The scent forcing himself to try and bring back other memories, ones he assumed that she had in mind. Where he had lied to her. Wanting to apologize for those too. Or at least show that there was truth behind his words, weight perhaps. Quietly saying, "Patrick told a girl once that she'd get to see her mother if she was good. If she worked hard. And she believed him. Right until she walked into that empty room. That look of betrayal on her face. It didn't bother him, didn't slow him down from tearing her eyes out and anything else of use. Why? Why did he do that? Why was he such a liar?"

Wanting to, but not daring to ask why she had fallen in love with him when he was such a liar, according to her. But knowing that that question would only anger her further. That it would not help, even if it was burning in his heart right now. Though in his questions it was clear that his memory was still very far from being the full thing. That Legion still wasn't quite associating himself with being Patrick, that all he knew of Patrick was the bad, save for one memory. Still not sure what was so redeemable about him for that one memory that he had.

Her question gave him pause, especially with that rhetorical question of a guess. A sigh given as he shook his head. Not sure exactly how to explain it but giving it a shot, "A vow was broken. And now I am paying the cost. My darkness gone, left only with what little light remained. Leaving me only with the desire to atone. For everything I've done, for everything Patrick's done."

Quite certain that that would be unsatisfactory, but it was the answer all the same...

[Kazumi O'Connor]

She listened to his story about the little girl before narrowing her eyes upon him just a bit more. "I know..." He had told her everything about her past, he had left nothing out and she had not judged him for that. She had told him that it wasn't the sins of his past that mattered to her, but what he did now. Well, now he was just fucking up all over again, and she hated herself most of all for actually believing that her life could be more than what her Mother's was.

"Now, let me tell you a story hmm?" Her arms falling away from her chest and resting at her sides once more. For now, his question went ignored as she stepped forward, making damn sure he was looking at her. That tear and sigh of regret lost on her as she began to speak. "I once told a little girl that she would get to see her Daddy again. The very same Daddy she asks about every night when I tuck her in. Finally, I had to tell her that Daddy wasn't coming home. The look of betrayal on her face, the look of complete and utter heartbreak...That is what pain really looks like. That is what betrayal looks like." The whole time, her hand had been moving into her back pocket, fishing out her phone. A simple swipe of her finger bringing up the screen saver, which was a picture of their now toddler daughter. "That is the face I have to look at every night and try to figure out how to explain to her that her Daddy is too fucking busy for her. Too wrapped up in his own self absorbed world to spare a moment to try and remember her."

She pushed a button on the phone and it went dark, shoving it back into her pocket as she stepped away and shook her head in utter dismay that he would try to compare murder with the girl he continued to hurt every single day he was away. "So spare me this 'poor me' bullshit about the shit you have done in your past. I told you once before...that doesn't matter to me. What you do now matters and what you are doing now is so much more than tearing some kid's eyes out."

Leaning in, she would growl lowly, a hushed whisper.. "Seems you have upgraded to repeatedly ripping one's heart out..." Oh, she didn't bother to mention the pain she had been through because that didn't matter to her anymore. She had dealt with her dad never being there, and she knew the torture it would put on her Ruth growing up, for that, she could kill him. But then, that would be far too merciful in her opinion.

"My husband was a good man who just so happened to be led down the wrong path. But he was good person...or so I believed." Finally getting around to answering his question. Yet when he told her why he was behaving the way he was, she had to laugh, shaking her head as she ran her fingers slowly through her hair. "D'aww...Poor baby." Laughing for a moment longer before sobering and rolling her eyes slightly. "Stop whining and suck it up. My Gods, you have a demon in you, fucking use it and quit being such a brat. Self pity is not one of your most flattering features."

[Legion]

There was a slight bit of venom hidden in her acknowledgement. Why? Probably because she knew. That it was old news. News that she didn't care to hear again, but news that was still oh so new to him. The way she looked at him made him wonder if Patrick had already dealt with his demons and moved on. That one good memory telling him that he had. But that one wasn't the one that seemed to fit with the rest of his memories. Still though it made Legion quite curious indeed.

As she began to tell her story Legion listened, knowing that Kazumi had been pregnant with a child, with Patrick's but he didn't actually remember the girl. Didn't remember the emotions. But as she told him that story Legion listened. All that was inside of him listened. It stirred something inside of him. Something that didn't feel right, but at the same time it did. Something that felt foreign now, and oh so right. Something that in the emptiness was beginning to fight it's way to the surface. No, that was incorrect, it had been trying to fight its way to the surface since day one, but now, in the emptiness, there was nothing to fight back. And with nothing to fight back, it had no intention of letting go of what it took a hold of. Not after that story. That story that had given him such a guilt, and pain. Guilt and pain that didn't belong to Legion. That face of that little girl he had seen once pulling on that other thing inside of him.

A whimper escaped his lips as that screen went black. A whimper that wasn't his. Wasn't Legion's. His face blank as she turned to berate him. The "poor me" spiel. Legion wasn't listening. Or maybe it wasn't Legion. Whoever it was that stood in front of her wasn't listening but trying to deal with the absolute pain that he was trying so hard to understand. Pain that didn't belong to Legion.

When she growled that whisper in his hear he would close his eyes and inhale her scent softly. Though there would be nothing more. Desperately wanting to touch the woman but knowing instinctively not to. The man feeling pain for causing this woman pain, not because he had to but because of something else. Something that was so familiar but he couldn't quite put his finger on it...

Those words, my husband, striking a chord in him. Helping the man remember. To assimilate what memories Legion had with his own being. But there were so many holes. So very many holes that made it so difficult. Her comment about having a demon making sense, the man knowing it to be true, knowing it's name was Legion. He remained there, seemingly ignoring her for a moment more before collapsing to his knees inhaling before standing up slowly.

Green eyes looking at her softly, clearly not the person she had been talking to. Pain in those green eyes, and guilt.

An Irish accent coming out as Patrick said, "Daddy is trying so desperately to come home to his baby girl...."

Pain clear in his features as he was reaching for something. fighting so had to remember that it literally hurt, "Ruth Leigh. And he wants to return to his wife. To ye. Fighting so desperately against whatever it was that was done to him. Of how tightly things were bound."

"How do I free myself Kazumi? I'm chained so tightly, I'm trying to get out... But I don't remember how."

The implication that there was a way he had made, in the beginning, it was just lost, somewhere inside.

Fear was evident in Patrick's face. Not sure how long he could hold on. But not wanting to let go, a hand reaching to cup Kazumi's cheek, desperate to hold onto this first legitimately free hold he had had since he had been locked away. Since the Demon had taken control. Knowing from what had just happened he was likely to get slugged or worse, but Patrick had to try...

[Kazumi O'Connor]

Kazumi was beginning to become irritated with him. She didn't care that he was feeling pain, or regret, or sadness. Some things just came a little too late to make a difference, at least in her mind. What irritated her more, was the fact that he didn't seem to be paying much attention to her. Oh sure, she had given him a lot to think about, that whimper of his heard but again falling upon deaf ears and a very hardened, cold heart.

Then he looked at her, and for a girl that spent her entire life dealing with a demon, she knew what...or more appropriately who she was faced with here. It was not that pathetic excuse for a demon that he harbored, but instead the man she had married, the one who she had loved with so much of herself that when he left, it felt like she had absolutely nothing left to give.

To be honest, it took her off guard for a moment, her breath lodging in her throat as she struggled to wrap her mind around what was happening...her heart...well that was lost for now, so consumed by pain and anger that nothing much could touch it save for the small red headed girl in the photo she had just showed him. Listening to his words, she found herself hanging onto every single one of them, wanting so desperately to feel something, to say something to help him, to just...take back her husband. After all, he was right there, standing not a foot and a half in front of her and yet he was a million miles away..this being the first glimpse of Patrick she had seen since this entire nightmare began.

She tried to think of what to say, since she knew that she should be saying something. Yet her mind was a blank. Nothing came to light. Nothing sparked inside of that empty void she had inside of her. In fact, even the demon inside of her was silent for a moment. But then, she felt his hand upon her cheek, the warmth of his touch something that she could never forget, regardless how much she wanted to...tried to.

For a split second, her head tilted into his touch. Though if it was from familiarity or from a sense of longing for that which she could not have, she didn't know. But a half second was all that he got before the amethyst disappeared from her gaze and black consumed them, her hand coming up to slap his away as hard as she could before jerking herself back and out of his reach. "Don't talk to me about demons and being chained away within your own mind. Not when I fight that very same battle time and time again...Not when I have struggled before to find you through all the shit that people have done to me."

After she had collected herself, had calmed her heart and once more found that comforting darkness to surround her soul with, she would step forward, her small hand coming out and index finger pressing into the center of his chest. "You want to know how to break free?" She stepped forward once more, her hand going flat against his chest as she pressed into him, rolling onto her tip toes so that her breath now fell in heated waves over his lips when she whispered. "You really, really want to know?" Her nose ever so slightly brushing against his before she would growl and shove him away from her with both hands. Kazumi herself stumbling back a few steps due to the force she had used to achieve this.

"You find whatever memory of her you can and you grab onto it and you fight. That's what you do. You don't let her go just because its hard, or because you are tired, or chained too tightly within your own mind. If you love her, you fight for her and you don't stop until you are free." She would feel her anger again rising and within it she found the comfort that she was incapable of feeling any other time. "I don't care if you don't love me anymore. I made my peace with that...But you stop sulking in your own goddamn misery and you fight for that little girl because if you don't you can guarantee I will spend every waking moment of my life ensuring that you never find any form of peace."

Oh, she was lying about having made peace with him not loving her...clearly..but she wasn't going to give him that satisfaction, to know that she still loved him, still needed and wanted him. It was a weakness she had fallen victim to once, she wasn't about to do it again. She couldn't afford to. If she got knocked down like that again, she wasn't sure she would be able to take care of Ruth, and that was something she was not willing to risk.

[Legion]

Patrick grinned slightly when she was taken aback. Even in this dire of a situation he could appreciate that look on his wife's face. With his sudden appearance back on the scene, that breath lodged in her throat. His grin fading just as quickly as her surprise, knowing that he couldn't keep that on for too long, especially after everything that had gone on in his absence. Though it did Patrick O'Connor good to know that she still loved him. Like before. That she still needed him every bit as much as he needed her. Her continued love for him driving him to fight, his need for her looking for a way out of this situation that went beyond so much more then, fucking over the ones that did this to him. Doing this to be back with the woman that truly understood him. every part of him, even if he didn't know who he was at this moment.

Feeling that warmth of her cheek, even in his desperation Patrick hazarded a small smile. At the feel of her, so very familiar in his grasp. But as he had guessed as quickly as the moment of pleasure of her skin's feel lasted it was over. Feeling that hand slapped heavily away, not even flinching or showing pain because he knew it had been coming, though he would have done it again in a heart beat if he could.

When she talked about demons and chains though, berating him, Patrick didn't see scolding, well he did, but he didn't see just that, he saw opportunity too. She was standing here with experience, something he had likely known about before, before all of this. But now he didn't and in typical Patrick fashion when faced with a problem the wheels started to turn. Nodding, not out of apology but an acknowledgment of an experience he didn't have, or at least didn't remember having. Ignorance as clear as his determination.

As she came forward an intent look fell onto Patrick's face, serious. As that finger pressed to his chest and she asked him he wanted to know how to break free he would let out a low growl. Yes, he knew he wasn't in a place to be making demands, but that growl was more of a confirmation, one that sought to push past the taunting to get at an answer. Her hand pressing flat against his chest as her nose brushed his, breath washing over his lip, another growl given at her repeated words, more determination, impatience and perhaps a little lust too.

Another louder growl issued as she pushed on his chest, especially with his broken ribs, taking a single step back at the force, but refusing to back away now. Wanting his wife back, wanting his baby girl back, wanting his life back.

As she began to speak, his attention to her words couldn't be clearer. Hanging on to ever word as if it were his life itself. The kind of life that he didn't come back from if he lost it. Desperately scouring his brain for any memory he had of her. Doing so until it hurt, but the only thing he came up with was that day he returned from detoxing himself. That day he felt his daughter kick inside of Kazumi. It wasn't much but it would have to do. A smile crossing his face at the thought, determination slowly setting in as he committed it to memory, driving it deep into his heart. With another memory that had yet to surface, yet. But he nodded, that fire and determination that so clearly defined him in his eyes.

That last part though, that was what gave Patrick pause. With everything else that she had said that made him stop and think, just because what she said was false on so many levels. He saw the love in her eyes and he, Patrick never stopped loving her, not once. He had just been locked away for awhile, and while he wasn't out of the woods he didn't intend on letting go. Fire in his eyes again as he remembered lying in bed with her one night. In a hotel, his drive to not let go pulling another memory to mind. The flood of the memory coming back to him causing him to pause, inhaling a bit and blinking. A determined grin on his face, momentarily before he spoke with absolute certainty, "I remember telling ye once that I'd always find ye if ye were taken away from me. That I would come for ye, no matter what. Even if it means tracking through this muddled mess of a mind, that I would find ye. I'm not going to lose this fight. I'm not going to lose ye or Ruth. I've never stopped loving ye and I've fought too hard for the both of ye to throw this away. I'm taking back my life and I'm not letting go."

And he meant every single word....

He wasn't sure if he'd be able to hold on for now, but he had a foot hold now. Patrick had a broken relationship to fix, but he would, because the truth was, even through everything, Patrick still loved Kazumi. That wasn't going to change, ever. He would remember his daughter Ruth. And he'd remember the love he had for them both, fully. The look in his eyes said very clearly, failure was not an option for him...

[Kazumi O'Connor]

Oh she heard that growl and it took every bit of strength she had not to shiver and give in right then and there. She knew it was out of frustration, but she could feel the lust in him, however small it was starting to grow. Hence pushing herself away, to give herself and him room to breath as she ran her tongue dangerously slow over her fangs. She wasn't going to succumb to him that easily, despite how much that part of her, buried away deep down inside desired to do so.

Then he began to speak, and for the first time during this whole nightmarish mess of a life they had found themselves in, she saw the determination and the certainty in his gaze. Enough so, that the corner of her lips even twitched into a little grin, before quickly being wiped away. His words stinging on a level she had thought obliterated by this point by all the pain she had suffered at his loss.

Though, instead of tearing up and crying over it, she grew colder, more steady in her posture. She forced herself to remain still, to listen to every damn word that he had to say, hanging onto it with bated breath and praying to whatever non existent god there was that this was some sign that things were going to get better.

When he was done, she would tilt her head to the right slightly, eyes running over him as they began to fade from black to their usual oceanic blue color. Slowly, with sauntering steps and a steady, seductive sway of her hips, she would approach him. Only when she got near him this time, she would stop, just a few inches away from touching him.

Looking up into his eyes, she would tilt her head the opposite direction and then slowly raise her hand, a single digit tracing that scar across his eye. "Now...that sounds more like the man I married." A soft little purr of her voice, Italian accent hanging heavy on every word. Slowly, as her hand finished its path, she would rise up onto her tip toes and once more allow her breath to wash against his lips as she closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath of that scent that she loved so very much...the one that no longer lingered in her home, or on her bed. The one she missed more than she could even possibly put into words.

"So, get off your ass Patrick O'Connor, and come back home where you belong." The slightest brush of her lips against his own tongue daring to slip forth and trace slowly along his lower lip, head tilting a little more to purposefully allow her hair to fall away, that scar on her neck visible for the first time during this whole conversation. "Before it is too late..." The final part the only thing she had said this entire day that had any sort of emotion in it other than anger and rage. A hint of pain, longing, need filling her tone, though there was also something else... a sense of foreboding. She was warning him, in the best way she knew how, that time was not a luxury in this matter.

[Legion]

He caught that grin, no matter how quick or slight that it was. The only reason that his lips didn't curl into a grin of his own was because of that look of pain that quickly replaced it. Though Patrick wanted to frown he covered that up. Watching her stiffen up as he continued he wondered what that meant. Was she preparing to give him the boot? Was that what this was all about? He couldn't be sure, but like he said, he was back and he wasn't going to lose her or Ruth again.

Watching her eyes fade from that black to that ocean blue Patrick couldn't help but be taken aback by the beauty. Be couldn't remember why her eyes changed color, but he thought it was beautiful none the less. As he watched her slowly walk over to him, hips swaying he'd grin, completely attracted to her in his moment. A grin on his face as he asked, "Have I ever told ye how sexy your eyes are?"

Fully meaning the compliment, but at the same time there was a joke there, because he didn't remember if he had ever told her that. But he meant it none the less. A grin upon her as she stopped, tilting her head that other way, a slight shiver send down his spine and the appeal of that. Grinning softly as her hand came up, that single finger running across his scar, eye closing instinctively until another memory came back. Of him being tortured. Of them trying to make him forget and that being the memory he hid away, along with another. But for the life of him he couldn't remember what the other was.... But as those words rolled from her lips he whispered softly, "Mmmm that was one of the memories I locked away when they made me forget."

Patrick remembered loving the feel of that touch. So much, something that was unique to Kazumi. Loving her soft touch at and that thick italian accent, it was quite sexy. As she made her way to her tippy toes he grinned, shivering at her breath at her lips, smiling as she inhaled his scent, closing his eyes and doing the same. Taking in her lilac scent. Grinning at her words about getting home as her lips pressed against his, feeling her tongue graze across his lower lip, a hushed, yet excited moan given. As she tilted her head he saw that scar, that he knew instinctively to be his. Not sure why but he did. His hand slowly moving, two fingers tracing the scar as she spoke. Hearing everything in her tone. The pain, the longing, the need, but it was what he heard last that concerned him. That warning in her tone, now that, that concerned him. Greatly. Palm now on his scar on her neck, fingers lacing behind her head and in her hair as he looked at her questioningly....

[Kazumi O'Connor]

Kaz could not deny that he tasted good. Her entire body set on fire with the desire and longing that came from being this close to him. She missed him so much it hurt, even still, even with all the darkness swarming around her heart and begging her to forget him, to let him go. Gasping softly as she felt his hand touch upon her scar, she would tense up and instinctively lean into him, her front pressing against his chest as she allowed herself to get lost in the feel of his body against her own for the time being.

As she finished speaking, her eyes would look up into his, feeling his hand clasping her and holding her there as his fingers laced through her hair. She couldn't help but shiver, loving the way he touched her...even now. Yet those blue eyes he loved so much could not hide the pain and the regret she was feeling, a light film of tears forming in her eyes. Slowly, almost hesitantly, she would open her mouth to speak before being cut off by a voice from somewhere behind her.

"Kaz?" A guy standing there, with a little red headed toddler in his arms, looking at Kazumi and Patrick with a hint of concern and confusion in his gaze.

"Mommy!!" The little girl giggling and squirming to get down while Kazumi froze where she stood. She couldn't breath in this moment and yet her eyes instantly flashed back to amethyst as she pried herself away from Patrick and steppe back, clearing her throat to turn and lower herself down, arms open.

It took awhile from the time that Lucas was able to put Ruth down for the little girl to somehow toddle her way over to Kazumi, but as soon as she did Kaz would scoop her up and hug her tightly. All that cold, anger filled persona she had been carrying falling away in an instant.

"Um...are you ready?" Lucas taking a step forward as he pushed his hands into his pockets, eyes going from her to Patrick and then back again.

Casting a glance over her shoulder at Patrick she would give him a very apologetic look before it fell away and was once more replaced with the emptiness she felt inside. "Y..Yeah..I am ready."

Though as she rose to stand, Ruth would catch a glimpse of the man standing behind her Mommy and would instantly reach out for him, "Daddy!"[/b] Trying desperately to get away from Kaz to get to him, though the girl held her daughter tight and turned away, shaking her head slightly.

"No baby...That's not Daddy...." One last glance cast over her shoulder toward Patrick as a tears ran down her cheek. "Not yet..." And with that, she would turn and walk away, heading to wear Lucas stood and forcing a smile as he slid his arm around her waist and pulled her against him for a quick hug before turning to head toward the parking lot.

She just hoped that Patrick could do this like she believed he could...cause if not...she really didn't know if she could keep this up much longer. [/font]

[Legion]

As his fingers traced her scar Patrick felt her press up against him, causing him to shiver softly, closing his eyes and slowly inhaling the lilac scent. His arm wrapping around her, behind her shoulder pulling her closer to him. God, Patrick had missed this, missed her so much. Holding her close to him as she pressed into him Patrick never wanted to let go, he didn't want this moment to end to be perfectly honest. Though as he opened his eyes to look down at her, to look into those deep blue eyes he'd frown. Noticing the tears welling up in her eyes, feeling concerned once again about the foreboding nature of her earlier tone. Though that new voice drew Patrick's attention before she could say anything to him.

Though it wasn't the guy that his eyes stayed on. While that was concerning, it was the little girl that drew his attention. With that fiery red hair and that bright smile, causing Patrick to smile as well, not really sure why, he knew who she was but he didn't remember her other then that one time he had been taken to see her. Feeling Kazumi pry herself from him, he didn't fight it. In fact he couldn't help but smile as the little girl waddled her way to Kazumi, a warm look on his face as she scooped Ruth up, watching every bit of that anger fade away.

Patrick's eyes turned to the man who had brought Ruth here when he asked if Kazumi was ready, the presence of him, holding his daughter and coming to pick his wife up very concerning. But since he didn't know anything for sure and the demon was locked away he didn't make an effort to harm or interrogate. But that apologetic look that Kazumi gave him confirmed is inner most suspicions, though he did well to hide the pain, only registering a confused surprise. Though Patrick wanted to defend her reasons for doing so, and knew that she had some valid ones, he couldn't help but feel hurt. It just hurt. That was the best he could describe it right now. Maybe it was the light inside of him, maybe it was what humanity in him remained, he wasn't quite sure.

Though when that little toddler reached out for him, calling for him he forced a weak smile. Knowing that now was not the time for this. Kazumi wouldn't allow it, shouldn't allow it. But all the same there was a paternal instinct that stirred inside of Patrick. He wanted to hold Ruth, his baby girl. He wanted to remember her. He wanted to be her father again. That one last look from Kazumi causing Patrick to close his eyes and sigh in some pain. As hurt as he was he couldn't bring himself to blame her. Never. He just watched as she walked up to the that guy as he wrapped an arm around her waist and hugged her. As shoved away as he was right now the demon growled in the anger that Patrick couldn't feel on his own, one side of his lips raising in an angered disgust, before his eyes fell on Kazumi again, softening instantly.

Patrick was just left to watch them walk away, left alone in the courtyard as he was left with one thought that seemed all the more pressing in the midst of this pain and confusion.

What next?

[Alistair Warden]

For Patrick
[center][size=3]Book of the Foresaken[/size]
[img]http://www.eastgate.com/catalog/ItalianJournal.jpg[/img]
[i]A handheld diary of the tactical warrior Nathaniel Beauvais, once an exhonorated father himself, writes his diction of a life of torment and guilt riddled with the pleasures of his own demon.[/i]
[b]+3 Wisdom, Upon three observations of an opponent's attacks. The reader of this book may mimic its effect at equal quota.[/b]
[/center]

For Kazumi
[center][size=3]Vial of the Hunter[/size]
[img]http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j00HPTQtsaCVgZM/Tubular-Glass-Vial-for-Antibiotics-8mlPT-610081-.jpg[/img]
[i]An unbreakable vial with the transcription 'Big Bad Wolf' on the side of it. However empty as it is the vial does provide its side effects.[/i]
[b]+3 Charisma, Mixing any liquid in this vial and left to sit for 5 posts grants a small healing and ability bonus. For three posts the consumer gains +5 Str and Dex, however each following post the consumer suffers -3 of all stats until passing out.[/b][/center]