Havoc in the Heart

[saerwen]

Damion sat on the grass, looking over the the nearby cliff with dull blue eyes. He was miserable. He hadn't seen Miriel, he hadn't seen Jaedon, he hadn't seen Neron...He had avoided them all, as well as the rest of all creation but for today. He was on a quest to right his twisted thoughts, but there was no hope for him. Or at least that was how it seemed. He knew that there was a way for him to change but he couldn't find it.

Staring at the stormy waves that crashed and beat against the side of the cliffs didn't seem to help him. It was devastating. It reminded him of what it felt like under the assailing thoughts that pulled him down. For once, he had a fear of drowning beneath his own hatred. However disturbing the waves were to his eyes, he just couldn't pull away from them. They had a way of making you listen to them, even when you didn't want to. It was heart wrenching. Angry beating, crashes, how could this allure? Then he thought of the beach and how it soothed him. What was the difference? Perhaps it was his own fault that he couldn't enjoy the usually calming sound. Yes, that was it. Just like everything else, this sound was turned sour by his thoughts.

As though the dark water was turned into a magic mirror, he began to see his past rise up. Particularly the past that haunted him now. It was back in England, not long ago. He had been with his friend in Edward, a brilliant chemist that had been friends with him for a long time. They had just been introduced to a "new acquaintance" when something unthinkable happened. Their new acquaintance killed him. She had been a sneaking little creature and Damion had been pre-desposed to think well of her until he had awoken from a dream in a dark alley without a valuable thing on him and his friend lying dead beside him with the girl bending over him, pulling his silver pocket watch away from his cold corpse.

She had used an illusion to lure them both there, but because his friend could see through illusions fairly easily, she decided to kill him and Damion both, not wanting to take a chance. She had done well on Edward, but Damion had survived because of his low body temperature and slower heart rate. The loss of blood hadn't affected him as it had his friend.

Damion fought with the girl and easily won, but was over thrown when something that still gave him night mare's happened. The girl, who had been a necromancer, brought Edward back to life as a mindless machine, bent to her own will. He was used as a tool to fight Damion and chase him off so that he never got to bring the girl to justice or bury his friend. All of his firm beliefs about death had changed that day...He no longer saw death as peace but hell. There was no saving him from those images, but he knew that he had to find a way to move forward. He just didn't know what that way was.

[»Míríel«]

Two figures were seen on the island. They were a strange couple, one with dark hair and the other with a stark blond. The female had a lovely figure, black hair pouring down around her, moving with the playful wind that surrounded the two. Green eyes adorned her face like jewels and were glistening with tears of frustration. The man beside her was tall and solemn. His blond hair seemed to be made of light itself. Blue eyes studied the girl's face carefully and intently. Their lips moved but their voices didn't carry far. If you were right next to them you might have been able to hear their hushed voices.

"I just don't understand." Miriel looked out at the sea. "When I looked at his eyes they were like the sea, rough and unpredictable. You don't understand but before, all that I have known him, they were gentle pools. One that invited you to dive in and feel the warmth and comfort within. Even though he may seem cold, he really has a fire within. A lovely blazing fire." She turned and faced Tarian. "I just don't understand his change. I can't. How can someone change so abruptly like that?"

Tarian's quiet gaze ran over her face. It was so distraught, worried. She was so in love, yet so confused it was rather pitiful. Poor girl. HE didn't let this come through his face. HE had learned that sometimes pity was the last thing people wanted, they wanted comfort, they wanted a listening ear, not someone to treat them like starving dog. "I believe." He paused for a moment and turned to Miriel. "I believe that your pal Damion has a lot of his mind of late. After all the poor chap had a friend almost die. Perhaps he is struggling with that."

Miriel shook her head. "No, he wouldn't be like this, there is some sort of anger and..." She sighed and looked back at the ocean, "Memory about him. I've seen the look on Neron, the hurt man's, face not long ago. No something is haunting him but what?"

Tarian reached out and took her hand. He faced her toward him gently. "Miriel, perhaps you should talk to the fellow. He is after all your lover. You of all people would be the one to comfort him and brush away his fears." He smiled slightly. "I don't know your friends as well as you but I am sure that this would be the best course to take. I know that if I was upset having someone I loved be by my side would be bloody splendid. " A caring look came across his face at her.

Miriel looked down and blushed slightly. She placed her free hand on top of their clasped hands and looked up at him with a true smile. "Tarian, you are a true friend. Thank you."

Tarian's smile grew. "Jolly good." It was then he noticed a stray hair out of place on her face. The wind seemed to have pulled it away from the others with its mischievous fingers. The OCD side of Tarian took over and he smiled crookedly. "Forgive me, but you have a strand of hair and you must look spiffing before you go find this chap of yours." Gently he tucked it behind her ear.

Miriel laughed and took a step back, "Now how do I look?"

Tarian stepped back also and dropping her hands put them on his hips. His eyes now held a scrutinizing gleam. "Hmmm. Quite splendid if I do say so my self Miss. Miriel. "

Miriel laughed slightly as a renewed hope showed on her face. Things would be ok, Damion would be fine she just needed to find him.

[saerwen]

Damion had not noticed that there were two other people on the same island. He was too deep in thought to notice. However, he could no longer stand to look at the waves, or hear their horrible crashing, so he rose to go for a walk. Walking always made it easier for him to think, and he didn't know why. It was strange to think that simply moving could change thought process, but it could, at least for Damion it could.

As he walked he surveyed the scenery around him. It was bleak and uninviting in his eyes. The sky was blue enough, but it seemed a dull shade with no appeal to its appearance. The green grass was fairly pretty, but it was so often splotched with moss, a large stone, or some other slight imperfection that Damion was dissatisfied with the whole. Nothing was pleasing to see.

He was sure that nothing would be so displeasing as the angry sea until he caught sight of two other people. At first the sight was a welcome one. From a distance it appeared to be a pair of lovers. The man was holding the hand of his counterpart and apparently caressing her face with his hand. It reminded him of Miriel and how he longed to see her, but he was afraid to. He knew that there was a possibility that he might hurt her in some way since he was so very unpredictable when he was angry.

As he neared the couple the pleasant sight turned sour. It didn't take long for him to recognize the familiar form of Miriel. He narrowed his eyes, hardly able to believe that Miriel would let another man touch her like that. Then, as clearly as before he saw the man reach out and push a stray stand of hair behind her ear, not to mention the fact that they were still holding hands.

Because Damion was not in his right mind, he didn't even stop to consider that this might be some sort of misunderstanding. All he was saw some other man trying to steal the woman that he loved away from him. She was what he was holding most dear right now, and he would not let anything breach their relationship. He hadn't even stopped to consider how his own anger was breaching their relationship. All the anger that Damion had ever felt before plus a bit more came welling up and without even giving it a second thought, the weather took a drastic change for the worst. The wind became harsh and biting, as though it's frosty fingers could were stinging your skin with each horrible gust. If it had been raining the precipitation would have landed on the ground in an icy state. However, the light flurry that blew swiftly in was enough to notify anyone around that things were only going to get worse.

The only thing that Damion did that showed there was still a piece of him left was the action of him turning away. He turned away from the scene that gave him such an angry feeling and began to leave. However, the whole island was covered in his furious storm, the flurry turning into a full fledged blizzard.

So help me, if I see that man again I am going to kill him. I don't think even Miriel's pleading would be able to stop me, and that is my greatest fear. I know that I would kill him. If I lose her, I lose my life. Some might have called it obsession, but whatever name you pinned on it, there was no denying that Damion's love for Miriel outweighed his anger enough to make him walk away. He would never admit to himself how much that sight had hurt him. Not only that it had even happened, but also that Miriel seemed to do nothing to stop it. He hadn't lost faith in her, but he was very confused. He hoped inwardly that she just didn't see anything wrong with it in her own innocence. However, when a man did something like that to a woman, it was highly flirtatious, even if he wasn't consciously aware of it.

[»Míríel«]

Miriel gave Tarian a nod before she walked a little while away. Her eyes were faced down, so she didn't notice Damion at first. The temperature dropped around her. He was near, she knew it. Picking up her green gaze she spotted someone white, but then the wind kicked in, throwing her hair across her face. The wind, which had just been warm and sunny was now clawing at her skin. Just the force of it caused her to stumble back a step or two.
"Damion?" She tried shouting over the wind, but it was very powerful, she doubted her voice carried far. Grabbing at her hair she tamed it with one hand and looked for the white figure she saw before. There he was, his white figure looked colder than usual, it was so lonely and forlorn looking. She couldn't see his face, but his posture was speaking his emotions loud and clear. Damion wasn't happy. "Damion!" She came closer. Her arms were wrapped around her as she bent forward to fight the wind. Her eyes were running due to the wind and her nose and cheeks were flushed a bright pink.

It took determination to make it to Damion, t seemed the closer you got the colder it grew. Reaching out her slender hand she touched him on the shoulder and applied pressure to let him know she wanted him to face her. "Damion? What is wrong? Why are you acting this way?" THose cheerful eyes were now gleaming with confusion, worry, and fear. This wasn't the Damion she knew.

Tarian watched the whole thing from where he had been. He seemed to be rooted to the spot. Miriel could be walking into a deathtrap. Not knowing Damion's usual temperament he was beginning to believe that this was normal. How could such a sweet, kind spirited girl like Miriel go for such a moody fellow like Damion? So his eyes watched the two carefully. He felt bad for this though, he had set Miriel up in the wrong spot by accident. Tarian could only imagine what Damion though of the two being so close to each other and holding hands. Tarian knew it was nothing more than a friendly meeting and talk, no romance was mixed in. Sure if Miriel was ever single he might be interested, but Tarian had rules about this sort of thing and if a girl was taken he would never dream of taking her away from her lover. He took a step towards them, perhaps he should apologize and try to clear things up. Then he stopped, he should give them some space, apologies could wait for the moment.

[saerwen]

Damion knew that the storm was probably not the best thing seeing as how Miriel was out in it, but then his heart hardened slightly. She was a phoenix, the very heart of fire, and if she really was cold, she could warm herself up. The wind grew even colder. Not any harsher, just colder. Soon, his miniature blizzard soon became nothing more than a snow storm that covered the already icy ground with large flakes. By the time that Miriel got to him it was already past his ankles.

He hadn't heard her the first two times because of the wind, but now that she was so close, he heard her loud and clear. He felt her hand on his shoulder and heard her questions. Both were very reasonable to ask, but the jealousy in his heart made him angry with her. I knew this would happen if she came around. There was nothing stopping me from getting angry with her at some point over this. He had to wait for his anger to subside before even thinking about turning around. This isn't worth it. Can't you just forget it again? Why does this keep coming back up? You've been holding this in for a few years, why can't you go back to the way it was? One friendship isn't worth love. You love Miriel, who is alive and well, but Edward is beyond your reach now. Why stumble over this when you have someone alive and well in your arms? It doesn't make sense, Damion. He knew that this had to stop but he didn't know how to do it and that was his problem. The thing that hurt the worst was that he couldn't get anyone to help.

He turned around slowly and looked at Miriel. He really was in a sad state. His eyes were dull, despite the fact they were currently glowing, and you could tell that he had gone at least two nights without sleeping very well. His skin was very pale with the use of his power, almost a pure white. He looked slightly angry and slightly confused, but more than anything, he looked very sad.

When he saw Miriel he knew that he had to turn things to right. The snow was almost up to their knees now, and it wasn't in the habit of melting quickly. He let out a small sigh and began to call his storm off. It didn't take long for the flakes to cease. He then decided to answer her questions, "I don't really have an explanation for you, Miriel. I am guessing that it's just because of my own faults at the moment that I have found some with others." He noticed her flushed cheeks and nose. He had made it pretty cold apparently. It felt good to him, but not so much to others, "Sorry for making it so cold."

[»Míríel«]

Heat coursed through Miriel's veins, warming her body, yet this heat did not warm her soul. The man she loved was in some sort of anguish and she could do nothing to help. All she could do at the moment was counteract the cold by heating up. It was a survival tactic, one she could regulate to a certain extent, but not fully control. If the temperature grew to cold for her human body her skin would shed and her true fiery form would emerge, something that she couldn't do around Damion.

Miriel lifted her hand from Damion's shoulder and let it hang by her side as he turned toward her. Why was he moving so slowly, he seemed to be having trouble controlling his emotions something that she didn't know was in Damion's nature. When he turned fully Miriel's heart broke. Those eyes of his which were usually full of glad tidings and cheer were pouring out waves of sadness. This problem was deeper than she had thought and didn't look like it was going to pass any time soon. Her temperature rose with her distress and the snow at her feet was starting to melt.

Miriel longed to throw herself at Damion, wrap her arms around him and draw him close. She wanted to smooth away his fears and sorrows by a simple kiss. That is what he needed, she was sure, but her temperature was was only increasing by the moment and her distress was allowing her hold in it to slip little by little. Instead of taking a step closer to him she took a step back.

The storm had slowed and by the time the flakes had stopped there was a small circle of water at Miriel's feet and snow surrounded her m though the closest snow was slowly melting as well. "Don't apologize Damion." Miriel attempted a sad smile.

Tarian had his arms wrapped tightly around him. The temperature had dropped suddenly, sending his body into a sort of shock. Now that the flakes had stopped falling he knew it was time to move around a bit. Perhaps he could raise his body temperature. "Bloody snow." He smiled slightly as he briskly brushed the snow from his body. It was awkward standing in the distance away from the couple. Either he had to go or he had to join the two. Due to Miriel's step away Tarian chose the latter.

"Hello Damion, that was quite a storm you brewed up. Even the English winters can't hold a bloody candle up to that one. Two feet of snow in only a couple of minutes! Astonishing I tell you." HE seemed like the only happy one in the group, the mood around these two was very confusing, it was almost a bit tense, tense with a kind of longing, yet also filled with sadness and confusion on both parties. His smile faded slightly "Pardon the intrusion ol' boy. I hope I have not be too forward." He held out his hand for Damion to shake. The two men of the party were actually quite alike. Both of them had lighter features. Damion sported a colder wintry look with white hair and icy blue eyes whereas Tarian had more of the warmer blond hair and welcoming blue eyes.

Miriel looked at Tarian with a brighter smile. She was glad he was here to bring some stability and sense to the situation. Perhaps he could help Damion out a bit, after all he seemed like the wise sort of guy and his temperament and manners were much like Damion's, well the Damion she knew.

[saerwen]

Damion was angry that Miriel was backing away at first, but when he felt the heat start pouring off of her body in waves, melting the ice at her feet, he began to understand why. She had done it so that she wouldn't hurt him in the process of protecting herself. He had definitely made it far too cold. He let out a sigh and began to pull all of the cold out of the air like a vacuum. It wasn't long before the sun was almost scorching. It was extremely uncomfortable for Damion, but there was no helping that. It was better this way. He could freeze up his immediate surroundings and still keep Miriel warm.

It surprised him that doing this rather harmful thing had lightened his mood a bit. He let out a little smile, a sliver of his usual personality popping out, like a daisy after a harsh frost. However, it died when he heard Tarian. He held no ill will against that man for being an agent of death, people couldn't change what they were and shouldn't be stereotyped as failures simply because of that, but because of the scene that he had had with Miriel, Damion found it hard to look the fellow in the face without having a strong feeling of hate well up in him. It didn't help when Miriel gave him a rather bright smile.

Although he was trying not to jump to conclusions Damion was getting angry with them. It was even more discouraging to him that the person he was the most angry with was Miriel. He kept trying to tell himself that she was just innocent and didn't know what she was doing, but surely she was old enough to know that certain things are very attractive to young men, and certain things can get girls in trouble. Miriel was sending off some very confusing signals right now and what was driving him nuts was that none of them were directed towards him. What was she thinking? Or was she thinking? But surely she knew...she had to!

He pushed these thoughts aside when he heard Tarian start talking. It was hard to be angry with a happy go lucky Englishman, but Damion was close to managing it. He gave Tarian the same slight smile that he had given Miriel a second ago, another small glimmer of the man he really was. He would deny Miriel that smile though, seeing as how he was still battling some serious anger with her. He was still blaming it on ignorance at the moment. It would only take one more thing to set him off on her.

"It's no intrusion at all," he was not cold in his words, but neither were they as warm as they usually were. It was more like a gentleman's words and not a friend's. "Sorry if I froze you over. I am not very comfortable in heat, and I often don't know when the cold that I find comfortable is too much for others." He took Tarian's hand with his own in a firm handshake. He was not going to let his anger with Miriel make him uncivil towards this one.

[»Míríel«]

Tarian nodded at Damion and released the handshake. "A nice firm handshake. Been a while since I have experienced that sort of thing in a while. Men now and days only give you a sort of limp thing, like a dead fish. Handshakes tell something about you." He shook his head. " Don't worry about the cold ol' boy. It's nothing, I can understand. Obviously you have a powerful connection with ice in you or something like this would be well nigh impossible. You should come to England in the winter some time, it'll freeze your bloody toes off." He nodded his head in a signal of playfulness, "You'd like it." His blue eyes sparkled with laughter.

Miriel smiled from Tarian to Damion. These two seemed to be getting along quite well. It was good. She would hate it if Damion disapproved of her new friend. She really liked Tarian, he was a gentle-man and he seemed wise. Here was someone who didn't seem to have tons of problems heaped upon problems, like Neron for instance.

As Miriel looked at DAmion she noticed that he seemed to be ignoring her slightly. Was he mad at her for some reason? The reason was hidden from her. Was it because she left him out of Cecily's house, or tried to force him to enter? Surely he couldn't be mad at that, could he? What if he was jealous of the attention she was giving to NEron or Cecily? She was confused, but then she saw a smile, though slight. Maybe he would be ok, maybe. Turning to Tarian, trying to keep the mood happy she asked him, "Oh tell me about England! IS it as beautiful as everyone makes it out to be?"

Tarian smiled at Miriel and got a dreamy look on his eyes. "Oh yes, even more so. Castles and streets of times past fill the air with mystery and richness. As your feet go along those paths your mind tends to wonder who else has walked here, what queen or king looked down this way just as I am doing, what did they see? Though there is much beauty in the cities the really beauty if in the wilderness, the English country side. Rolling green hills and meadows with wild flowers waving their flamboyant heads in greeting. Oh and the best of all is this little shop in the harbor of the English Channel. Best fish and chips known to man in that shop... yes my friends.. the best ones. How I miss those blasted things."

Miriel had cocked her head and her eyes grew far away as she tried to see herself in that place that he described. "Wow, Tarian, you have a way of words. Is this how you see everyplace? With such wonder and amazement?"

Tarian shrugged and brushed his hand through his hair. "I supposed. Though I swear it's just the English blood in me, perhaps I am related to William Shakespeare or something like that. Who knows." His gaze turned toward the sky, "Or perhaps the world has shown me to look at the better things in life." He looked down at Miriel, "You should do that, you know. It's important."

[saerwen]

"Thank you for the invitation, but I have already tried the English weathers. I have to say that, though they are quite comfortable, they are like my summer. Winter would be in the mountains of the East or Northern Russia. However, I have always liked summer much more," his eyes were finally back to normal as he had finished reversing his rather frightful cold spell. Their color was back to its natural, brilliant blue. It was strange to think that just a moment ago, he was on the brink of exploding into his original form. This Tarian fellow had a talent for cooling down people's heated anger. Damion wished that he could find a way to go back to being that kind of person, but the more that he looked at his thoughts, he found himself quite hopeless.

As rays of sunshine pierced through his dark thoughts and anger with Miriel, the clouds came to cover them again. Miriel was probably trying to help, but Damion didn't want that kind of help. She was such a friendly little creature, but he could tell that this was going to be their worst quarrel. Best to get the worst fight out of the way so that we won't have to fear it in the future. Damion listened silently to their conversation with only a cold glare for Miriel, and a rather suspicious one for Tarian. The more that Miriel complimented Tarian, the tighter that Damion's fists were clenched by his side. There was no way that he could stay here without doing something to them.

You should just talk it out with Miriel and explain the situation to her. If she knew what the problem was then she would be a bit more careful. She woud never mean to hurt you. Those were the only rational thoughts coming from Damion, all of the rest were telling him that Tarian had encouraged this kind of behavior in Miriel, and her being to friendly to notice otherwise, had begun playing along. There was no way that he was going to let this Brit take Miriel away from him. As much as he liked the British, they had a nasty habit of being women magnets.

The atmosphere began to get colder, but only around Damion this time. If either of them asked though, he would credit it to counterbalancing the hot weather. However, from the position that Miriel was in, she probably could have seen the light glaring off his skin, which was turning into icy scales that glittered slightly in the sun. He was now looking at her with a gaze that would have been impossible to read. It could almost have been called cruel.

[»Míríel«]

Tarian was glad to see the sun piercing through Damion's eyes. It seemed like he was returning to the Damion everyone seemed to know. This didn't last long. It seemed that when Miriel talked to him it turned on the cold spell. Things seemed only to get colder. Even though he didn't know Damion that well, it was surprising that he picked up on this. Indeed he wouldn't have if he hadn't caught the look Damion gave Miriel. IT was a look that no one in love should have given to their lady. It was time to leave the scene. "Well, as delightful as this meeting has been I really should go and leave you two alone. I believe my presence has intruded long enough. It was delightful to meet both of you. Farewell Damion." He smiled at Damion and nodded at Miriel with more of a tip of a hat motion. He didn't show any difference of emotions to the two. He had a feeling that Miriel would need someone to pour out her feelings after this little meeting... hopefully this wouldn't be that bad. HE was growing to doubt it a bit. He hating leaving her with Damion like this, but there was nothing to do.

Miriel frowned at Tarian leaving, but she couldn't ask him to stay. He had a way to support people and smooth things out. As soon as he started to leave she felt her support falling from under her. Damion had scared her before, he was acting very strangely, and she hadn't known what to do, so she had been relying on Tarian. Now, once again he was gone. With ever step he took away the more away that she noticed Damion's cold gaze. She froze for a moment and her hair stood on end. Those green eyes of hers widened slightly and she turned. Surely this feeling couldn't be coming from Damion, surely it must be someone else, behind him, an enemy. Yet when she faced him she found no one but Damion and it frightened her even more. His gaze held something she had never seen on his face, a cruelty, something that she hadn't even seen on NEron's face. "Stop it..." She muttered as her gaze turned confused, "Stop looking at me like that!" What did the gaze mean? What was he feeling? " Did you not like Tarian?"

[saerwen]

Damion did nothing more than give a nod to Tarian as he left. He was glad that the man had a sense of propriety that Miriel didn't. Or maybe she just didn't understand it yet. Either way, now that they were alone he could clarify things with her, and maybe this was the medicine that he needed. Maybe he really did just need to vent on someone and then receive the comfort that he longed for so desperately. He just hated that Miriel was the one that would receive the worst end of it. He had reason to be angry with her now, but he also had a reason to long to protect her from himself. For a moment he felt like running so that he could vent his anger on some poor abandoned field of flowers of something like that. Miriel didn't deserve this. She should have had more. The dark veins of jealousy, bitterness, and hatred had been aroused in Damion's soul and they were tainting every part of him. His protective side that was devoted to Miriel at the moment had become possessive and controlling.

When Miriel started talking to him, his cruel gaze became a little more intent. It was like her words only urged him on. When she turned the subject to Tarian his gaze drifted from her to the ground.

"I liked him just fine. But less than you do, of that I am almost sure," Damion then let out a sigh as the side of him that was still a gentleman came out, "Just tell me Miriel, is what I just saw really as bad as what I think? My ill thoughts are generating from one memory, and now are being fed by one awful sight that I saw just a moment ago. I think I would be less upset if I knew that it wasn't because you knew..." His thoughts dropped off. His gaze had returned to her. It was softer now, but it still held a dangerous element that seemed to show that something within him was fighting.

[»Míríel«]

Miriel opened her mouth slightly at Damion's words. There was a slight hint of the old Damion. Miriel felt the fire within her start to spark in resistance and her eyes glowed slightly. "Less than I do?! What is that supposed to mean Damion?!" She shook her head, trying to clear her head from the heat. "I don't know what you saw Damion I really don't know? Tarian was just trying to comfort me. He was trying to be a gentleman. Nothing bad happened, that I can assure you. Despite what you seem to think Tarian is a great guy. He was just trying to help me..."

Miriel stared at Damion for a moment as her mind whirled within her. Could she tell Damion that she was worried about him, worried about how he was acting and what he must be feeling. Not only was she worried for him but she was worried for Neron. Everything seemed to be crashing down on her for the moment and she didn't know what to do. It was frustrating.

She had to finish the sentence, "Feel better." HEr head bowed for a moment in thought before it lifted and looked at him. " Listen all he did was tell me that it would be fine, that I should just grasp my courage and take the step I was nervous about taking. HE said everything would turn out fine and that I was beautiful and ready to face what I feared. That's it." She paused for a moment as her eyes grew side as she realized what she had said. Would he think that..."No wait, that sounded..." She paused. Her mind was so congested, how could she tell Damion that she was upset and that she didn't understand and that he was frightening her to a certain extent, it would just make matters worse. Wouldn't it?

[saerwen]

"You don't know what I am talking about?" Damion narrowed his eyes at Miriel, about to take a step forward, "You don't know what it means when a man tucks a girl's hair behind her ear? When constant attention is given to him?" Damion was almost hurt by this. At least she didn't know what she was doing, but it was hard to swallow any ways. "Do you think that I enjoyed watching that? It hurt, Miriel. Now I am not going to be able to talk to Tarian without wondering how he is thinking of you and if your affections are in any danger of being captured by him. Do you know what that does to me?!" It was hard not to shout at her, and he was doing a very good job of it, but it was quite close. "I have already had to watch one woman that I loved grow old and die happy with another man. I can't do that again, I just can't. Not with you, not with him."

Damion paused for a moment to cool off. He was gentle when he spoke, and even more than this, he was understanding, and calm, "I understand that he was trying to help you, and I know that I haven't been very supportive for you lately, and I do appreciate it on his part. It was kind of him, but Miriel..." He paused and swallowed hard as he tried to shove the words out of his mouth, "Miriel, I am going to admit that, in my weakness, it makes me rather eaten up with jealousy to watch some other man paying attention to my girl. I am not strong enough to handle my problems and yours at the moment, so I know that I can't help you in this situation, but it is hurting Miriel. It's hurting both of us."

Damion sighed and turned away from Miriel. As he did he muttered to himself, "At least the Brit knows beauty when he see's it. I can't blame him there." His fist was clenched at his side, his skin suddenly exploded in snow. It wasn't long before his dragon form emerged. He sat down on the ground, his wings folded close to his side, and his tail wrapped around him. He stared out at the sea and yet again, let his internal thoughts become external words, "That bloody woman is going to kill me yet."

[»Míríel«]

Miriel couldn't say anything as Damion reacted, she couldn't. Confusion and fear were now at its peak and it was falling into a sort of rage that is born from frustration. He had been in love before but the girl had deserted her. IS that what he thought of her, as a girl deserting him? "No you don't understand. You don't." Her eyes were glassy with tears. She bowed her head as her fists balled in an attempt to hold them back. She felt ashamed.

"This bloody woman is going to kill me yet."

The tears dried in her eyes when she heard this. So that's what he thought of her, being a nothing but a bloody woman who was going to rip his heart out. The fire within her lashed out and consumed her heart in flames, burning away the softness that was there. "So is that what I am? I'm glad your feelings are clear to me now. I thought you cared for me, but thank you Damion for letting me see your true side before this got any more serious." She turned away and stopped.

Damion had transformed. That meant he was loosing control, just like her. For once, Miriel didn't think about others, the flames within had clouded her senses. Let him loose control if he must. I don't care. When she turned to face him, eyes livid with anger, she looked on his beautiful form with a gaze so filled with fire that it almost seemed to be burning you. " Well Damion, incase you were wondering Tarian was comforting me because of you. I was worried about you, no I was scared. You were showing a side I had never thought possible and it shook me to the core. What do you expect when the man I loved suddenly turned to a raging beast and fled? I didn't know what to do, I didn't even know if I could trust you. IT was a good thing Tarian was there, you should thank him. He was encouraging me, telling me that if he was worried or angered about something that he would want the woman he loved by his side. That ear tuck that you seem so annoyed by was because my hair was a mess, you know what he said? HE said'You need to look beautiful when you see him.' He wanted me to look my best for you Damion, for you! HE didn't think about himself at all this whole time. Tarian knew how nervous I was and he was here to make things went smoothly. Looks like that didn't work because you let little innocent actions hide your judgment. " Her eyes glistened with tears now. "He is just a friend to me. I thought you would have understood that I loved you, that I would never look on another man the way I looked at you. You can't trust me though can you? When you look at me you see that other girl don't you? DON'T YOU?" She held up her hand to stop a response and bowed her head, gathering herself. "Damion this whole thing is, like you said, is hurting me and you, so let's just stop. We need to stop." She shook her head and turned away from him, "Farewell Damion, farewell. I hope we can meet better next time." She turned and started to walk away. She gazed at her hands, fire played upon them, leaping around like some sort of morning dance.

[saerwen]

Damion had never been so harsh, and he realized it now. He should never have gotten that angry with Miriel. He regretted it the moment that he heard her speak. It was strange to think that they were arguing. He knew that hard times would come for them, but he hadn't thought that the problems would be between them. Their love was so pure and simple that it should have been flawless, so where had things gone wrong. Suddenly Damion realized what had gone wrong. He had been over possessive. He was blinded by the anger that drove him from the inside. This disease was damaging the way he thought, it was ripping him apart from the inside out. He now knew that he had to get away from Miriel before he did anything to her that would hurt her. He was beyond not thinking clearly...he could almost hear an alter ego telling him that he should lash out at her...after all, she had no right to be so indignant.

Damion had not meant for Miriel to hear what he said, and she completely misunderstood him, but it was too late now. He listened to her tirade with quiet regret, knowing that it was going to take some explaining to get out of this mess. He was most afraid of having to explain what he was thinking. As he listened to her, he almost flinched. It was like her words were physically harming him. It was coarse and so unlike Miriel...The MIriel that he loved. This must be what she had felt like when Damion was treating her so coldly. It was a frghtening and harmful feeling that neded to go away as soon as possible. However, as long as anger was getting the better of them, it would stay quite comfortably. This was its detructive power, he had seen it all before. It would make sure that Miriel and Damion never trusted each other again. Right when Damion was about to apologize, Miriel held up her hand, stopping all hope of conversation.

Damion knew that whatever came next would hurt, but he didn't expect what she said. How could she really want to leave him? She was just angry...It wasn't meaning anything, it was just raw emotions and angry feelings that was driving this madness, right? Damion slowly lost grip on all that had made him want to apologize. There was no hope of it now. Instead his fear made his irrational behavior go to its max. Even more prominent than the anger, the fear drove Damion to lash out at Miriel. He watched as she started to leave and that was when everything faded away. Why was she leaving? He couldn't let her leave, she just couldn't leave. It was like watching Rachel walk away from him all over again. He just couldn't let it happen.

Without thinking, Damion did something that he shouldn't have. Letting our a roaring, "No!" he jumped from his spot and landed almost on top of Miriel. He was close enough to feel the heat from her body melting his icy scales, making him want to shy away. It was surely enough force to have knocked Miriel over. Although he did no more, it was quite clear that the ice dragon was not about to let his love walk out on him again. He couldn't stand it. He wasn't strong enough.

"You can't leave, Miriel!" His deep voice was pleading and desperate, the icy blue of his eyes was glowing fiercely, like a storm. Then, as though a change had taken place in a matter of seconds, those eyes turned slightly darker, "I just can't let you walk away."