The Dawn Before the Night
Log Info
- Title: The Dawn Before the Night
- Emitter: Andelena
- Place: Andelena and Dolan's apartment
- Summary: Andelena gets a letter from her younger brother, Seb, and is puzzled by its contents. Dolan awakens and what was promising to be a day of rest for a man who sorely needs it is spurred into one of preparation. However, before the two get too lost in the darkness, Andelena's blade, Deliverance, reminds them of the light--and the two rejoice in that and the gift that Dolan has been given in their own way.
It's a gray day, and mist clings to the windows of the Donnelly residence like someone has fogged them up with their hot breath. Even the colorful spots on Patches, who is sitting in Andelena's lap as she, herself, sits on the couch, can't fully dispel the gray and gloom that latches onto everything else. The steel-gray present in Andelena's eyes, however, is not so much gloom as much as it is... confused.
"What the shit?" she murmurs as she scans the words written in a fine hand on the parchment. Then, louder: "Seb, what is this?"
Patches looks up at dearest mother at the sound of her voice, then decides it's nothing and snuggles back in. Deliverance mounted on the wall nearby, however, sighs. "Language," she reminds in that maternal voice. "Is something the matter with your younger brother?"
"Yeah, I think his brain is broken. What the fuck is he talking about here?" Andelena converses with the sword, pointedly ignoring Deliverance's request for language. "Ten things? But then he doesn't bring it up again."
From the back room, there's a rustle, and out of the bedroom they share wanders a Brydion who has, quite clearly, just rolled out of bed, hugging his left arm close to him. He clearly has bothered with absolutely nothing - the right side of his hair looks like a rooster's comb, the socket where his artificial eye should be is an empty socket, there are dark circles under his eyes, and he is clad only in the trousers he hadn't had the energy to remove before collapsing into bed on return the previous evening.
"What are you swearing about, Andie?" he mumbles sleepily, scrubbing at his lone brown eye with the heel of his hand, the arm still hugged as close to him as he can manage. It's an improvement, at least, over the previous evening, so it's done some good.
"Shit, baby, did I wake you?" Andelena asks--right as Patches lights up at the sound of Dolan's voice, the calico cat waking up, stretching out of Andelena's lap, and then padding off the couch and over to Dolan to flop rather dramatically onto the floor before him. Andelena just offers the cat a quiet and brief look of betrayal before she gets up from the couch to follow, holding her arms out to Dolan for an embrace and a kiss.
"Seb, my baby brother--he sent me a letter," she explains, pulling back from the embrace enough to show Dolan the unfolded sheet of parchment. "It's... It's weird, though. It doesn't quite sound like him, and there's things he brings up that don't come up again."
"I don't mind." Still yawning hugely, Dolan leans down to tickle the belly of the dramatic feline at his feet, grinning lopsidedly despite himself. "Can't wait, can you?" he asks Patches, then stands again to accept and return one-armed the embrace and the kiss, picking up the catling in the process and slinging her over his good shoulder.
With that done, he cranes his neck to peer at the letter, then sighs and disengages the embrace. "I need my eye for this," he grumbles, turning back into the bedroom with the cat over his shoulder.
Cue the shuffle-rustle-shuffle and sad mew, and in a few moments, he emerges, the eye in hand, and pauses in the doorway, turning it right, left, and then right again to click it into place. Patches, meanwhile, follows him out of the bedroom and twines around his feet, rubbing against his legs.
He blinks a few times as he always does when putting in the eye, letting his vision re-adjust, and then picks up Patches again, carrying her over towards where the letter is. Now he peers at it more intently.
GAME: Dolan rolls sense motive: (9)+18: 27
There's a look in Andelena's eyes that brightens significantly as she watches Dolan love on Patches, even if there's a glint in her eyes that practically says, sure the cats aren't your cats, too? "Hey, she recognizes a good man when she sees one, too," Andelena replies.
She waits patiently for Dolan to return, holding the letter in her hand steadily for him to inspect, although of course she can't help but pet the calico that's been inadvertently invited to read the letter, too. "See what I mean?" she asks after a moment. "I... Do you feel like he was trying to say something else? I keep getting hung up on 'devil in the details'."
Dolan peers down at the paper now, scrubbing one last time at his flesh-and-blood eye and then, more roughly, at the melted flesh on his other cheek. He does so in silence for a moment, then scans it one more time. "Fuck. Andie, it's a code. Read down the page, not across, the first word in each paragraph."
Oh, yes, he's awake now. Very awake.
Andelena reads as directed. The comfort in her eyes from this happy little scene with her man and their cat is gone as she reads down the row of words. The steel-gray eyes read again. And again. Horror settles in on her face, and she actually shakes a little.
"For me," she says. "Not for you, Bry, for me."
And then, suddenly, the terror flares into anger. "That BITCH. I fucking ought to march to Selentia and lop her fucking head off--"
"Andelena." Deliverance's voice cuts through the air from where she rests on the wall mount. "You and I both know that's likely to be exactly what she wants. Please, take a breath. Collect yourself. Brydion and I are here to help you."
"I'm not surprised. It's probably fucking Jal'goroth again," Dolan snarls, by now completely and fully awake. He leans down to very, very carefully set Patches down on the floor, and straightens. In that moment, the sleepy farm boy has shifted into the focused, furious Corona. "You, me, and the Knight, baby. It was a matter of time before my enemies came after you. We've just got to be damned careful. We're both going armed, and we don't go anywhere alone, understand? We watch the cats, too. I can see if something is hiding in them, and I'll keep looking. I won't let anything happen to you, baby, yeah?"
The dark circles are there still, his hair is still a mess, but the lone brown eye is clear and focused.
"Yeah, I agree," Andelena responds in much the same manner as Brydion, her anger turning into a similar focus. She goes to embrace him, as though to make it into an accord. "I'm not gonna live in fear. I am, however, going to make it so those fuckheads will regret coming after me. Always armed, always ready."
She looks at Dolan, her hand going to rest on his cheek. "I know you've got my back, baby," she says. "Should I let the Temple know what's going on? I imagine they might give me leave from my duty if they know."
The embrace is returned, Dolan looking up into those steel-gray eyes as the hand comes to rest on his cheek. "Remember I'm not supposed to fight, baby. I'll carry everything, as soon as it's all cleaned, but we don't fight unless we have to. Devils have got a way of causing as much collateral damage as they can, yeah? We keep the cats close, and we let people know what's going on. We should talk to Verna and Auranar, too."
He has not, yet, moved to get dressed or restore order to his person. "Tell the Temple, but they might move you somewhere else. Somewhere devils can't get to."
"I'm not letting them move me somewhere else unless you're able to go with me, Bry," Andelena replies firmly, looking back into his artificial and natural eyes. "The only way they're getting me is if they're grabbing us both, as far as I'm concerned."
She lets go of Dolan. "Probably no damn time to waste, either. Where are we going first? Verna and Auranar? The Temple? Verna and Auranar's probably not a bad idea--someone needs to know what's happening in case we both disappear."
"Verna and Auranar. I need to get dressed," Dolan steps away when she lets go, looking down at himself and realizing suddenly his current state. "I missed morning prayers, didn't I. Blast it all." He starts to scrub at his face again, then immediately pulls his left arm close. "I still haven't cleaned my gear yet, baby. I've got to do that before I can wear it again." He turns and takes himself back into the bedroom, more rustling ensuing, but this time he moves at much greater speed.
"I can help," Andelena offers as she rapidly follows in Dolan's footsteps. "You needed that rest, babe, so I didn't dare for a minute of pulling you out of bed for the prayers."
"The Redeemer Brydion Donnelly earned his rest," Deliverance calls over from her spot on the wall. "The Knight will not begrudge one of His servants the opportunity to rest."
"What Livvie said," Andelena says with a jab of her thumb back in the sword's mounted position. "But we're kind of out of time for resting now. We're on the move now."
She realizes something. "Should we rent a new place?" she asks. "Just to throw them off our tail for a bit--no, it'd be a hassle and a waste of money and time, they'd probably find out about it in the span of a couple of days." At this point, she's just talking while she goes to start packing things in the event that they need to leave, immediately.
Most of the answer from the bedroom is more of that rustling, but before too long, Brydion emerges from the back room, dressed in shirt and trousers. "We go by the Temple on the way, baby. Most of my gear is being cleaned. We tackle the armor and weapons and then go by the Temple for the rest. I'm not leaving unarmed."
There's a deep-seated worry, fear even, written in the expression that he turns on Andelena. "I'm not going to let them hurt you, baby."
"I know you aren't," Andelena responds, looking up at Dolan with warmth in those steel-gray eyes again. She starts busying herself with changing into her own armor now that she has a sort of haphazard 'go-bag' assembled. "I know you'd do everything in your power to stop them. But I'm also not playing sitting duck for my bitch of a mother to pick up. Remember, it's not just your blade. It's mine, too--and Deliverance fucking hates demons."
"Hate is a four-letter word--which I know you are fond of, Andelena--but I am opposed to their existence, yes," Deliverance responds. "I am dedicated, much like Brydion, to their eradication. That is part of why I believe him to be a suitable partner for you. He would not willingly endanger you to them."
Brydion turns himself fully towards the sword on the wall, his quirk of a grin amused. "Good. Glad that's settled." His tone does not hint at reverence for the sword's opinion. Quite the opposite, in act. "The blade's right, though. I don't play at games with demons or devils. I fuck well know better, and I don't underestimate them, neither."
He picks up his half-buckled armor in one hand, drops it by the couch, then goes back for the weapon belt and does the same, and goes for cleaning rags, soap, and a bottle of oil. While Andelena gets into her armor, he sets to cleaning the copious amount of muck off of his own gear. It's a job, and a nasty one, but he sets to without complaint.
"It was never in question, Brydion," Deliverance replies to the 'settled' comment. That's... actually an amused tone coming from the sword. "The only question I have is why Andelena isn't dedicating herself more fully to memorizing the marriage rites when she has such a suitable partner--"
"This is not the time--wait a fucking second, are you flirting with my man on my behalf?--no this is not the time," Andelena manages to say rapidly within seconds as she finishes strapping together parts of her armor together, clearly exasperated and, well... the notion of being the target of a demon's hunt has her trying to focus and yet trying to cope with it all at once. She runs a hand through her waves in exasperation. "Ugh."
She closes her eyes, stopping in place for a moment. "Deep breaths, Andie," she mutters to herself, and does just that. Calm.
That gets a hearty laugh from Brydion, one that is perhaps just a little too forced, a little too loud. "Don't worry, baby, I've got all the sword I'm ever likely to need." He, too, is worried, frightened even, and he's not even bothering to hide it, but he keeps working on the armor, scrubbing with a good deal of energy. It's taking time, but gradually it's coming clean.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you in all the running about, baby. I figured out that passage you're struggling with," he goes on. Scrub scrub scrub. He leans the late against his left leg, steadying with his left hand and scrubbing with his right. "The translation Master Zein gave us isn't quite right. The word in the passage is witnesses, which renders as witnesses, not angels. Angels is a different word." His pronunciation of the word is, somehow, perfect, and rolls off his tongue, where just a week or two he'd been struggling as much as she was.
Andelena finds herself pausing in her efforts to suit up again as she peers at Dolan. "Well damn," she says, audibly and visibly impressed as she parses what Dolan just did. "You spoke that like it was the word of the divine, Bry. How'd you find out about the translation? I thought Master Zein's translation was as right as any you could ever get."
There's an amused sound from Deliverance. Andelena glares at her sword. "What. Do you know something?"
"I do not. But why is this surprising to you?" Deliverance asks. "You've always known Brydion to be an apt student. You're the one who feels and he's the one who thinks. Both are useful and complementary to each other. But I shan't say more than that."
Andelena looks almost peeved with her sword. "I hate it when she's right and is being annoying," she mutters before she looks at Dolan. "Seriously, though--how?"
"I don't quite know how or when it happened-" Brydion suddenly sounds just a little uncertain. "I think it was after Mortin, sometime." He's scrubbing at the oiled leather of the straps, and frowning. "I might not be able to save some of these," he mutters in annoyance. "I understand the language, somehow, baby. I can speak it, too. The eye's enchanted so I could read it, but that didn't tell me how to say it. Now I can say it, too. Lana thinks I'm something called Light-touched?"
He stops, and looks up. "I don't know, baby. All I know is it's like I was born knowing it, and I couldn't say the words for shit just a few weeks ago. I can help you."
Andelena looks thoughtful at the mention of Mortin. "Yeah, I remember we discussed the glowing blade--how we were certain it was a sign of aid from the Knight." Even now, her words are gentle and full of awe. "But..."
She looks at Dolan. "Fuck. Fuck, Bry. Light-touched? If you're talking the language of angels like you were born with it, and you're starting to manifest miracles--that wasn't just Him listening. That was Him blessing. Like you're carrying around a little spark of His favor."
This news visibly cheers up Andelena, her face turning into a wide grin. "No fucking wonder Livvie over there is trying to get me to marry you. You're the perfect fucking Redeemer."
"I believe you mean perfect Redeemer, Andelena," Deliverance cuts in. "His skill with copulation has nothing to do with his being a Redeemer."
"Like a little spark -" That's as far as Brydion gets, staring at the cleaning rag in his hands. The words are not lost on him, and he's about to say more when Deliverance chides Andelena.
He loses it. Completely loses it, in a peal of helpless laughter that sends Patches, who'd been sniffing around the belt, streaking for the back room with her tail down. The rag drops from his hand, he throws his head back, and laughs from the belly until tears stream down the mobile side of his face and he's gasping for breath.
Dolan's laughter and joy is infectious, because it gets Andelena, too, similarly doubling over in belly-shaking laughter. Two Daeusites on the edge because of a letter with an ominous warning--yet reminded of the humor and joy in life by a rather maternal-sounding sword. Eventually the redhead makes her way over (slowly, as she's holding her sides in laughter) to Brydion, and she just wraps an arm around him in embrace, wheezing as they're both trying to breathe.
"I could tell both of you needed that," Deliverance says in a voice that is unusually smug compared to her normal tones. "You two must remember that you cannot be weighed forever by the dark seeking to undo all that you do for the light. That means finding time for joy. I do believe that is why you were blessed, Brydion, but that is only a guess--for after the night comes the dawn."
Andelena wipes tears of laughter from her eyes. But a wicked grin still spreads on her face. "Yeah, we know, we used to go all night until the dawn," she says, before she cracks up into laughter again. Just holding onto Brydion. Just holding onto him in this blessed moment.
All Brydion can do, even as Andelena comes over and embraces him, is keep laughing, his belly shaking, tears streaming down one side of his face, slumped backwards until she pulls him close. Them he leans forward, stands up, and pulls her close in turn, both of them barely managing to breathe with laughter. He clings to her until the gales of laughter subside, a chuckle now and again threatening to overtake him. "I'm multi-talented, baby," he manages, between chuckles. "Maybe we should make sure dawn still comes after night, yeah?"
Andelena stands with him, and she leans in to kiss him on the cheek before she tries to wipe the tears off his face for him. While trying to do all of that in the middle of catching her breath is a process, it's one she manages. Much like what they're about to do regarding demons. They'll manage.
"We'll get through the night together, baby," Andelena murmurs, still grinning widely. Tears are on her cheeks, too, but she doesn't bother to wipe them, because part of her knows that Dolan will just to keep being close to her. "I know we will. Now let's get our act together and try to get out of here? Unless Livvie has another killer of a joke for us."
"I'm fresh out, for the moment," Deliverance responds. "I'm sure an opportunity will present itself soon, however."
Dolan does exactly that, looking up at her and wiping the tears from her eyes with a gentle, if dirty, finger, still grinning. "Help me with this? If we both get this clean, we'll get out of here that much faster." The brown eye is warm with joy, affection, and lingering amusement. "We'll get through baby, and someday soon we'll check on that dawn, yeah?" His wide grin is wicked, tugging the melted flesh into something resembling amusement.
Andelena's never minded Dolan getting her dirty--but if she points that out now, they're never gonna stop laughing. Instead, she just offers him a wicked grin. "We will, babe," she says. "Now, lemme help you out."
There's a moment before Andelena realizes what she's just said. "Godsdamnit," she mutters--
And there's more laughter. Only a little, but it's a further reminder of what they have. What they have to defend. What they're not letting the demons destroy. Them, the Knight--and their love.