The Gamble of a Djinni

[Summerchika]

The loud crack of a shoulder being jerked into its socket once more made Rajat wince. He cleared his throat and forced himself to sit up, the blasted gravity still in effect. He gave a loud, long-suffering sigh, then shifted into smoke and waited for a hot current to come along in the air. It was easier to fly on the currents in smoke. Once he was out of the circle, Raj shifted again to his humanoid form.

For the moment, he ignored Avalon and Buren to hunt for the irons he had flung away. They were of sentimental value to him and he really would like them back, even if they hurt him. Finding them no where on the ground, Rajat sighed again, looking up in annoyance. "Ah," he said in surprise as he glimpsed a glinting in the trunk of one of the trees. He had thrown them so hard that they had embedded themselves in the trunk itself.

Digging around for them, he pried them loose and replaced them on his ear. With a grimace of pain from the irons, he turned back to his friend and acquaintance. "Fine," he answered Avalon's question gruffly and belatedly. Pain and weakness made him grumpy. "Is your shoulder okay?"

[Avalon Silvasti]

Nursing her shoulder she looked up at him with a weak, grimacing smile. "Yeah, I'm ok. Its not the first time that had happened." She turned her eyes to the ground and thought for a moment before looking back up at Rajat. "Where did you send it?" She asked looking kind of concerned. She shook her head and waved her hand dismissively, "Never mind it's not important." She turned back to him and noticed that the earrings that he was placing in his ears were paining him. "Are you alright?" She asked as she stepped towards him, "I notice that those are paining you. If they hurt you why wear them?" She asked with kindness in her voice.

[Summerchika]

Shrugging, Rajat let Avalon dismiss the idea of where he had sent the werewolf. He didn't know if she would like what he had in mind for the beast. At Avalon's last words, Rajat flinched, then firmly controlled himself. He hesitated, remembering Buren's presence, but shrugged inwardly. Nin would just have to come save him if her opinion of the mage turned out to be wrong.

"They remind me of--" he stopped, then started again, "they remind me to never let my guard down." Rajat finished shortly. In complete truth, he had only just started wearing them after the incident of the binding. The mages had kept him and Nin from shifting and retaliating with iron chains. They had been quite informed. Too bad for them that they hadn't known about the twins' Marid blood.

Speaking of mages . . . "Mage," Rajat barked out harshly. "Is your blindfold on yet? If you see your reflection in my eyes, I won't be at fault," he finished in annoyance.

Now, Raj, don't scare the mage off again. Nin said disapprovingly.

If he gets scared from that, then he's hopeless. Rajat rolled his eyes at her mentally. Still, he worked to soften his facial features. He really couldn't afford another fight with the mage in his current state. Not if he was still going to help the two fight Avalon's past.

[Omio]

Buren had re-tied his blindfold, and with a wave of his hand, the field of intensified gravity eased back to normalcy. He spoke briefly after, and basically confirmed Rajat's view on the matter; "Yes, it's tied back on, and no, if I see my reflection in your eyes, it's my fault because I looked, despite knowing the hazards full-well. Also, can you please ease the tone a little? I understand that you have a great dislike for mages, but unlike most mages, I haven't had any formal training. We also haven't been anywhere where I can show my full potential. As to letting a guard down... ...I think I'm among the most unguarded here... ...for all I know, someone could be behind me with a dirk ready to cleave my spine in twain, and you both could neglect to tell me. We all are weak in our own ways, and yet we are also strong in our own ways. Let the fact that I'm demonstrating my weakness to you be sign enough that I'm trusting you to keep an eye out, both for yourselves and I."

On the plus side, it was clear that Buren had a bit of a thick skin.

(( Random trivia: Buren doesn't appreciate 'your mother' jokes, it'll do more than just offend him. ))

[Summerchika]

Rajat listened to Buren's speech and fought the feral urge to growl at the mage. It wasn't until Buren had finished speaking that Rajat realized he had stalked toward the mage, intent on what he couldn't say. It took him considerable effort to stop himself before he could reach the general vicinity of Buren. Raj took a few minutes to control himself, closed his eyes, and reached toward his twin for support. She knew him, and she shared her current calm with him.

Finally, Rajat spoke with Nin's presence strong in his mind. “You may be fine with being unguarded,” they both said without inflection. “But I won't do that to my sister again.” Those words, though, were his own. For the first time since he had set foot in the human town, Rajat felt only coldness, and it showed in his voice. In contrast to his angst earlier, Rajat felt only old and tired. His strength being drained may have something to do with it, though. "Regardless, I will watch your back for you."

“Avalon,” he said tiredly, holding the bridge of his nose between two fingers. “Earlier, with the werewolf, I fulfilled his wish and sent him to 'a better place'.” Rajat laughed darkly, adding in his mind, no matter that I planted the faulty idea in his head. “I have two more wishes I can grant this week before I lose all strength. So what would you wish first?” he asked her solemnly, raising an eyebrow in question while attempting to smile warmly. “To find your sister, or to short cut to the source of your home's infestation?”

[Avalon Silvasti]

Avalon looked at Rajat hoping for some kind of glimpse he may have been telling the truth about wishes. "I honestly want to believe you that you can grant wishes." She placed her hand over her heart and felt the shudder of the sadness in her heart. "I could wish all I like but I doubt I will ever see her or especially him again..." Her words grew softer at the end of her sentence as she turned with a tear in her eye and she went to go lean on a tree with her back to the duo. She didn't want to lash out or cry she wanted to show she was just as strong as them. So she chose to stay quite as she leaned on the tree.

[Omio]

Buren nodded to the sound of Rajat's voice, and turned solemn. The words he spoke smacked of bitterness that was much unlike him. "At least you have a sister to protect..." For the next while, Buren would likely be in a rather dark mood, reminded horribly of his past once again. He made little effort to conceal the fact that his mood descended, and Avalon's current state wasn't going to help. Somewhere, in the corner of his mind, he half-expected Rajat to lash out against him, and he wasn't about to defend himself.

[Summerchika]

Blowing out a frustrated breath, Rajat mussed up his hair in a guilty sort of motion. “Well, damn,” Rajat muttered, not liking the mood that had beset the three of them. And really, he had started it all. The unexpectedness of a solemn and bitter Buren had startled Rajat of a mood. Yes, he was still moody, and yes, he still felt old and tired. But with both of his companions in bitter sorts, somehow it made him only slightly less bitter than he was a few moments ago.

Rajat gritted his teeth in a little snarl and stalked toward Buren first. Carefully Rajat grabbed hold of Buren's arm just above his elbow. His carefulness not to hurt Buren was probably not needed since his strength wasn't on par with a proper Djinn's strength at the moment, but he still didn't want to risk it. He was not used to being in this weakened state, and so he didn't know the true extent of his left over strength.

Wordlessly, Rajat pulled Buren behind him toward Avalon, who was really only a few strides away. When he got within arms distance, he grabbed her just above the elbow, a bit gentler than he had done to Buren, and attempted to turn her toward him. Rajat tried to make eye contact with her as he asked her seriously, “Do you trust me?”

In hindsight, that probably wasn't the best question to ask her. To put it quite plainly, he was evil, a man fashioned after his own twisted father. But hopefully Avalon hadn't seen too much of that, yet.

[Avalon Silvasti]

Avalon looked at him and smiled weakly. "Yeah I guess I can trust you. You haven't given me a reason not too." She looked down at the ground then back to the two. "What about you two? Do you guys trust me?"

[Omio]

Buren's bitterness didn't fade one bit, though he spoke in earnest. "I have little choice but to trust you both, currently. The angry one, you're the most stable of us three. The lady, you've told me of something I'm obligated to at least check out. Once my blindfold is off, Rajat... ...I will wish to keep distance, as I'm aware that you dislike my very existence." The next thing he said was just plain dark; not even bitterness would express it properly. "But right now... ...you certainly have plenty of opportunity to silence me - permanently, too."

For Buren to suggest killing the necromancer just showed how morbid his view went, but at the same time, it could be justified with such ease; he was certainly ostracized enough as was seen earlier.

[Avalon Silvasti]

Avalon looked at Rajat and then to Buren. "Mage, why would we want to silence you permanently. You just helped us a great deal. If anything I am thankful I met you and Rajat." She smiled at them shaking the bad feelings she had only moments ago. She looked at them. "Your magics help Mage. And you Rajat, your easy on the eyes a charmer and not to forget to mention your powers! Both of you have magics that are way beyond mine. I was hunted and now wanted to the Draklore army to awaken some nasty beast to bring about the end of the world.... You two though, you guys must have had some amazing adventures!" She smiled a bit and laughed. "I was a sheltered shut in princess."

[Summerchika]

Heaving a great sigh, Rajat let go of both of them. He listened to them speak, and he gave Avalon a chagrined smile at her words. “I wouldn't call you a shut-in princess, Avalon. We all have our own problems. It is of no use to compare one trial with another.” Rajat shrugged, then sighed again, preparing himself to face Buren.

“Buren,” he began solemnly, using his name purposefully. “My problem with mages is my own. You have no need to carry that burden. I do not hate you. I hate mages, but I do not hate you. Just recently,” Rajat paused, loath to tell his story so openly. He was not one to give intimate details about his past, but Nin was all but mentally kicking him to do so, so he really had no choice in the matter. “Mages we djinni call sahir tried to bind my twin and I to them. They ultimately failed, but they had already done their damage. What they did to Nazanin--” he stopped himself, nauseous at the faintest memory of what had happened that day. He could live with what they did to him, but he would never forget or forgive what they had done to Nazanin. He contorted his face in a terrible grimace, fighting the memories with all of his strength. “You are not them; I know that. It is just not something I can let go so easily. But it is my problem to deal with, not yours.”

Rajat clenched his hands into fists, then unclenched them in an effort to rid himself of the tension building up. “I could not silence you permanently if I wanted to,” he admitted reluctantly. “My twin likes you too much.” Rajat told him, still solemn. He pointed to his temple delicately, though Buren could not see the gesture. Nin agreed wholeheartedly at his statement, making Raj smile unexpectedly. “If you could make some djinni you have not even met like you so much, I'd say that there is some hope for you yet.”

[Omio]

Buren shook his head slightly. "Rajat, no... ...it is my burden to carry because I am a mage nonetheless. I may not be the same people that were the heralds of destruction, but I am still ultimately of the same ilk... ...and I accepted that along with other things when I first took up necromancy, sixteen years ago. I am wanted dead for what I am, and to turn me in will be greatly smiled-upon by most... ...as to your twin, I haven't met the person, so I can't say more on that.

Oddly enough, in the dark mood he was in, he proved to be strong in a rather eerie way. He didn't break into tears, or tension at all, proving to be strong even with such a dark mood. Perhaps, however, the dark mood was his strength. Either way, he didn't answer Avalon's claims at the moment.

[Summerchika]

Scoffing with disbelief, Rajat laughed bitterly. “Fine. You're wanted dead. It just won't be by me.” Rajat promised with a growl. He turned away from the mage, not bothering to mention just what he thought of necromancy. It wasn't as bad as humans made it out to be. At least, not among his people. In truth, it was child's play for the Ifriti, though the Djinn may not entirely agree with that assessment.

“Avalon,” he said, trying to soften his expression as he turned to her. “Remember that you trust me and why, then hold my hand and make a wish.” Rajat ordered, holding out his hand to her. With his other hand, he ripped off his irons again, wincing as he did so. He tossed them far away and then none too gently grabbed Buren just above the elbow again. He then added to Avalon, “Not to be cliché, but be careful what you wish for. It will come true.” And with that stern warning, Rajat closed his eyes, preparing for the wave of exhaustion that was about to hit.

[Avalon Silvasti]

Avalon watched Rajat take his irons off and she took his hand hesitantly. "A wish?" She said as she stood there dumbfounded. She understood Rajat's warning and thought about it. "I-I wish to know if my sister Kassandra is alive at least." She said closing her eyes. Just knowing she's alive would give her some peace of mind that her journey is not wasting her time.