Blasted Luck

[saerwen]

Jaedon watched as Neron struggled within himself. It looked that he was having trouble with a headache and Jaedon knew exactly where it was coming from. The dragon had been set free and she knew that sooner or later she was going to have to fix this if Neron couldn't do it on his own. Something struck her as strange about this though. Neron was different than the way that he had been last time. Something was off. She felt uneasy and she knew that if she started to actually think seriously about it then she would probably become depressed and things would only go downhill. It was hard. She hated that it was her nature to pick the dark side of things to focus on, but that is just what happened. It was like a mental hurdle that she had to jump over every other thought.

She realized now why Neron had pulled himself out of his own troubles before. When you realize that there is someone else that needs you, you find yourself more willing to do the hard things in life and suffer for their sake. She was not going to let her own thoughts drag her down. Neron needed her. For once, she realized that she had a purpose other than killing things. It actually felt kind of good, but Jaedon wished that there had been another way for this feeling to come other than the utter demise of Neron's peace.

As he spoke to her about not meaning to worry her and so on, she was still wary. He looked fine. In fact, it looked like Neron was back to normal, but there was still something wrong with his voice. There was something wrong with the way that he was carrying himself. There was something wrong with what he was saying. Jaedon would never be able to pinpoint it, that she knew for sure, but she knew that it was there.

She watched him silently as he looked at the blood from his lip that had been left on his hand. What on earth was he doing? Suddenly Jaedon wondered, " Surely he is not enjoying the sight and taste of his own blood..." Her mind went blank after this thought as she realized that it was something that the old Neron would have done if he was really in the mood for it. She couldn't take the idea of that. She reached out and grabbed at his hand, trying to wipe the blood from his finger tips with her sleeve.

"Leave it alone and it will stop bleeding and hurting so much." She sounded agitated with him, like she was on the verge of giving him a lecture. Jaedon herself suddenly felt very exhausted. Perhaps it was the stress of what had happened, or maybe it was her constant worrying.

Even Neron's smile looked unnatural to Jaedon, but she still couldn't put her finger on what it was. She shifted her eyes away to the small sliver of a moon that was up in the sky, not wanting her skepticism to become plain. "Yes actually. I was walking through the woods for some fresh air and I eventually stumbled upon your scent and came to find you." She sighed and crossed her arms in front of her as she cocked her hip for a more relaxed pose. Her eyes met his as she asked, "What about you? What caused you to start wandering around at night?" She studied him intensely, eyes on the alert for any other signs that the real Neron had come back. She knew she was probably hoping for too much but she would never stop hoping because the second she did, she would stop trying completely.

[»Míríel«]

The girl was studying him closely. It was as if she didn't believe his act, but didn't know why. Better to keep her guessing, perhaps she will just accept it. Time heals all... Still she was quiet, to quiet. Sure she had a lot to process, but at the same time, Jaedon was usually someone to snap out of things.

Suddenly she grabbed his hand with the lovely blood on it and started wiping it off. Everything within him wanted to snatch it from her and go away. The fact that the good side perked up a little didn't help the matter. The urge couldn't be subdued and so he yanked his hand from hers as his eyes started looking more serpent like and his voice hissed, "Don't touch me!" The angry glare turned sad and he faced away from her with his hand on his head. "I..." His hand shook slightly as he pushed back the bangs on his forehead, a trademark of his. Even his dark side couldn't get rid of his subconscious, or his little quirks. "don't want you to get dirty." Her paused and his hand left his hair and lightly touched his lip. "Or hungry."

He was silent for a bit, not knowing how to respond to gloss over what he just said. He just stood there, as still as the trees about him. Letting this little jab slip from him was frustrating. He must wait, wait for the right time, gain their trust. IT would be especially hard with this woman. She was going to be the most critical and she would be paying close attention right now to everything he did. Neron could tell by her look and manner. If he could pass this, he could pass it all, he was sure of it.

Still once she asked the question, the aggravation had not subsided. "Why do you care?" He shook his head and bowed it. Not now...this isn't a good time Silence reigned for a moment before he answered in his normal voice and tone, "I was seeking the fresh air, and enjoying the wood. There is a lot of memory in this place. Last time I was here, I remember a tree getting a beating it did not deserve." Neron shrugged slightly and faced her. " I was reminiscing I suppose." A characteristic smirk came to his face, ' It's funny that we met and that you eventually found me. That always seems to happen doesn't it?"

[saerwen]

Jaedon narrowed her eyes at him when he pulled away from her. All hopes that she had that Neron might be coming back died with that single incident. It only got worse when he tried to cover it by telling her that he didn't want her to get hungry. It felt like someone was stabbing her through the heart. She had shown that side to Neron in a way that she wished she hadn't, still very ashamed of what she had almost done. This side of Neron was playing on that. Even though she knew that it was not Neron, it still hurt to hear what sounded like his voice coming from what looked like him saying that. She looked away from him as she choked back the quick reply that came to her mind. It was one of anger, but she knew that she could not give that nasty black lizard the joy of having made her angry. She would not let him see how much it had hurt her.

She swallowed hard and looked up at him, a firm and penetrating gaze trained on his form. "Neron," she sounded very serious. Not angry, but very serious. "You know that I would never knowingly hurt you, whether I was starving or insane. I didn't think about my stomach when you were bleeding buckets after Ares attacked you, so don't you dare think for a moment that I can't control my stomach when it is just a little trickle."

Jaedon was loosing her patience with Neron. Why did she care? Why did he care? It was obvious to Jaedon this was all just an act. Neron was lying straight through his teeth. She clenched her teeth and her anger towards Aeryn burned like a raging fire. He would pay for this.

She narrowed her eyes at him, her voice becoming tense and harsh, unable to hide the fact she was angry with him, even if it wasn't really Neron, she was angry with this side of Neron for taking over and trying to lie on top of that.

"What, you aren't going to call me 'little stalker' this time?" Her eyes were slowly growing darker, but she forced herself not to fall too far. She gave a bitter laugh, "Don't think you are fooling anyone, Neron[/b]. I know exactly what you are and what you are doing. If you hope to become Neron long enough you better try a lot harder. It'd be better if you just stopped playing your stupid little games and came out with the truth. You are nothing like the man I love. You are nothing compared to him. Nothing." With that she turned around and walked away. Her anger caused her pace to quicken. By the time she was far enough away from Neron to not be able to see him, tears were streaming down her face. She needed to find Damion. She needed help.

[»Míríel«]

Her words, they burned, the stung like a whip across his heart. The black dragon had left the green dragon exposed just for this very thing, so he could hear and feel Jaedon's words being spoken to him. Every word she said was true, but he could not speak, he couldn't do what he wanted to. Instead he was a prisoner in his own body, only allowed to see and feel the pain he was causing others, while his darker side sat aside, gloating.

Jaedon was angry, he had seen the signs of her growing full of rage before, and these were the beginning steps. But she fought against it and restrained those feelings. That's my girl.. The good side though, but still the satisfaction in seeing her control herself was short lived as she turned and left. If she had turned and looked behind her, she would have seen Neron, her Neron looking at her. Tears standing in his eyes, hand slightly outstretched. His mouth was slightly open and mouthed her name, but no words came out.

Jaedon! JAEDON! I love you and need you right now! Come back... please. Come back. His hand fell to his side as she disappeared. He knew it was useless, even if she did come back, the dark side would take hold again and scare her away. The dark side hated her, she was the only one who could change him, she was the only one that had more hold on Neron then "Mr. Hyde". Turning to a nearby tree with a yell of anguish Neron put all of his anger and despair into one punch. The sound of wood cracking filled the air. When Neron pulled his hand back a large dent in the tree was revealed. Pain coursed through his hand like needles and his eyes fell to it. The hand that had struck the trunk had transformed, growing dark and scaly, with fingernails longer and curled like talons. The scales, they were black as coal. A single tear fell from his eyes as he uncurled his hand. Pain screamed at him. Even though his bones were stronger than humans, especially in this half dragon form, they still had damage to them. The "scales" one his knuckles were gone, and blood started to gather and his hand began to swell. Leaning against the tree with his energy now spent he slid to the ground with a pant of exasperation. Hopelessness started to set in, as did the darkness.

She's gone, forever, if not now, she soon will be. So forget her.

'Never.

HIs eyes shifted to snakelike eyes as pain racked his head. Fine, choose the hard way, your pain. Resting his head against the trunk, Neron slipped off into the realm of restless sleep.

END