Corvayne did not think he was impulsive for a very long time, and now was becoming aware that this blind spot concealed a dangerous facuet of himself. On some level he knew he was, he begrudgingly admitted to himself, very prone to self-endangering action when presented with the right circumstances, usually related to heroics and now, he was beginning to understand, always in the presence of women he found attractive.
He had also thought of himself as a perpetual passive party in relationships... because he was. The reason might be external still: His quest was to undo the magic that had totally dissolved parts of himself was ongoing and he still had only a few measures of how much was lost in memory, possibly all of whoever he was or was meant to be. He could remember at least being angry and surly and how he channeled that energy to try to act better... no act like he was above it to people around him, like he was immune to every avenue of pain. Being lonely, he had also spent a lot of time carefully locking away lust before, and while he certainly had fixed some of that, he had up to this point only really let the girls come to him.
So some of why he had impulsively kissed Princess Bell last night was an attempt to do away with the endless waiting, to embrace what everyone around him had been pushing him towards, and to test the waters with someone who he had grown closer to over a few months but hadn't really defined his relationship with after they moved past the initial angry hostage and unflappable jailer dynamic.
He had thought she was pretty, her fiery and haughty demeanor switching to moments of extreme need... he wanted to feel needed. He needed it, and she gave it to him. Maybe that's what everyone was seeing: that Bell kept asking of him and he would keep delivering because his own desires and quests were abstract. He should be finding his people and undoing his curses and unraveling his past, but it all was off on the horizon. Bell was a woman who had immediate problems and she struggled, sweated, cursed, swore, cried... it was the opposite of how Corvayne had tried to conduct himself.
He hadn't really had time for these thoughts in the morning when he had pulled her into a kiss, then another, and then took turns pushing and pulling to the bed. Her top had come off almost instantly from his memory, but where his armor was discarded was harder to trace. What followed was something like a wrestling match puctuated by bouts of equally furious lovemaking. The kind where she snarled and raked at him when he tried to skip any steps Bell must have thought important, then bit him when he was going too slow.
He had expected she'd be furious once they had worked everything out, but instead of anger she had pushed herself into him and locked one of his arms around her, still stinging and burning hot even with the cold damp air that was coming in from the door. He could not remember which party had opened the balcony to pattering rain, nor lit a fire that was now embers.
Possibly Spears, who had fallen asleep on a platter of fruit in the far corner of the room and was snoring.
Bell sensed in shallow sleep that he had lessened his grip around her and tugged his arm to cover her shoulder, clearly using him as a blanket. She was much smaller then he had tagged her in his mind once she was out of armor (and clothes) and curled up with him.
She was also smaller when she wasn't trying to draw blood out of his arms. Vitality had mostly fixed it, but he could still see teeth marks his ability seemed to just ignore. Curious.
He heard knocking at the door and felt the princess stir, and so he carefully began to extract himself and this time her wakefulness was not in question as teeth found his thumb. With a hiss Corvayne used his other hand to reach behind his back and in, what may not have been his most impressive display of dexterity, found blankets to cover his ass before calling out, “Who is it?”
Nyx barged in, fully suited up with some newly fitted armor, trailing his cape as he was walking rather then floating. “Sorry to bother you, but I have need of your little-”
“Out!” Bell searched for something to throw at him and her hands found Corvayne's wood-stone chain mail, hurling it like a lump at Nyxion who rolled his eyes as it thunked against his shield then squirted a single stream of water.
“Oh what a shocking scene!” He put a set of lockpicks away and placed a hand on his forehead, pulling his face down as if in great shock. “I had NO idea you two were an item!” His voice instantly dropped to be completely level. “Corvayne, be a dear, where did you place your other girlfriend? I wanted to ask Spears something that might help us with Diamond.”
Corvayne grabbed Bell and pulled her into a bear hug and got an extremely satisfied squeal of outrage from her as he did. “She's on the tray of fruit.”
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“Ah, I should have known...” He swooped in and put the tray on his hand with perfect balance. “As much as I hate to wake her after you two no doubt tired her out... I'll let you two know what I find out.”
Bell took a deep breath in and out right near his ear as the door slammed. “You had better not get up to go immediately run off for work.” [[Unity]] alerted him to danger and passion. She must have subconsciously put points into strength too, as her grip on his arm was impressive. He tried pushing it off, and as he started overpowering her he saw a flash of a smile before she schooled herself into simmering anger and started biting his arm.
Before he could decide if it was a battle or an invitation to continue where they had left off, another intruder threw the door open.
“Mom! Corvayne Dad! Get dressed, some more of your friends are here!”
Bell grabbed the blanket and shot up. “Hylal! I was-”
“Working on a little brother or sister. I know! Anyway, Uncle Brines told me to go wake you guys up!”
That made Corvayne worry that Bearer was rubbing off on the man. That or his allergies were going to kill him.
“Wait outside, we'll get dressed in a few minutes.”
As the door shut, Bell took a deep breath and crossed her arms. “I thought that Brines was just your manservant.”
Corvayne shook his head. “No, he's just like the rest of us trying to find his place in the world. That being said I'm worried that Bearer might be influencing him.”
“Where's her dad?” She got up and started dressing. Corvayne helped her into her gear and let her tighten a few straps on his own chainmail. She gave him a little kiss, and Corvayne took a deep breath and stepped with her from a cozy bed to a world dealing with a rampaging monster.
In the common room, he saw that Undine was sitting with Brines, writing down details that Brines was reporting about the ruins. Seru was there, and instantly locked gazes with Bell, who responded by wrapping her arm around Corvayne's tighter. Seru for a moment glared, then looked defeated.
Lady Blood Claw was there too... showing Hylal her spells by making butterflies. Nyx came in and set another plate of fruit by Spears-Like-Water. She was a slightly larger blob now, with more color after eating. Perhaps a real feast was in order to get her back to fighting strength. She didn't seem too bothered as she leapt onto his shoulder and settled in, giving Bell a friendly poke. It seemed like Bell didn't mind Spears, which was odd because he had been certain they had a fight at one point. He didn't understand women, so he focused back on Nyx, whom continued.
“So Spears was semi-awake during her long stint as a dungeon boss. She had feelings, many of which you spurred into high gear.”
Corvayne nodded, and what Nyxion was after clicked in his head. “You think you can lock her down and want me to try to uncurse her?”
Spears spoke up. “When she was moving, she rarely would strike back at Bearer even under a full assault, and she never attacks scouts. All the random beams were misses.”
Lady Blood Claw took a deep breath. “I know you want to save her, but if this city is her goal, told to us by a paragon of reliable info, as in the mysterious woman you saw in the ruins who was awakening this natural disaster... we are still risking our lives for bricks. The emperor might have his pride, but people who have the news are leaving, and tomorrow Kirae is warning the people, Emperor or not.”
Corvayne hadn't thought much of their budding merchant since he started the journey. “I would ask if Mosh or Wick could help with evacuation... there's going to be a run on beasts of burden and wagons.”
Lady Blood Claw was thinking. “We don't know what's going to happen in the next few days. I still say if you are serious about your quest, we go into the dungeon under this place and see if we can get through the portal.”
“We can't leave Diamond Behind!” Spears said. Nyx started nodding.
“Corvayne, just like I helped you when you were at your absolute worst, I would be flabbergasted if you didn't rise to at least the pitiful standards I set.”
Corvayne felt [[Unity]] telling him Nyx was trying to butter up Spears as much as he was also fishing for compliments or admiration. On the other hand, even if his motivation wasn't entirely genuine, Nyx didn't steer them wrong, and he was there when Corvayne needed him, and had risked his life fighting Argyle.
“I will not leave the empire.” Bell stated stiffly, meeting Corvayne's eyes.
Lady Blood Claw looked at the wine, and poured herself a small glass of bright purple liquid. “If we can't save her, can we kill her? With Shatterstorm?”
Spears nearly knocked Corvayne over. “We can't!”
“If you have to choose between innocent lives and Diamond who's a berserk monster...” LBC said, sipping her wine.
Corvayne finished. “... Diamond broke someone's legs once when they tried to say the hunters who patrolled the desert were worth more then the people they were protecting.”
Spears wiggled on his shoulder. “That wasn't your curse talking that time, I think.”
Undine seemed to be waiting for a moment to speak. “I think all your talking is moot. If you want to see how the creature reacts to mere mortals, the Emperor, the fool, is going to try to stop it at the inner defensive line.”
Bell went rigid. “Father is not such a fool. It's own power against it... it won't work!”
Corvayne looked at the room. “I think we go as witnesses. Lady Blood Claw, we will not join up with the Emperor or whatever guards he takes. If the weapon works... well that's that.”
He looked to Spears. “If it weakens Diamonds-in-Passing, then we will try to get to her before she recovers and see if removing the curse fixes her behavior.”
He looked over to Bell. “If neither happens, then we must rethink our plans elsewhere. On some level, the Watchers are responsible for Diamond's actions, and between me and Spears, I will not see us ruin this empire. If I once protected it while asleep, I will do so awake.”
Undine snorted. “You say that after already ruining it once... if you go by what the empire says. I have my own doubts... but we can speak of that en route.”
On that, everyone finally agreed.