Take My Hand

[Tree]

" You know, I don't like you."



Marina informed him mater-of-factly, setting down and looking to Ephriam, taking the offered breakfast without hesitation as she casually ate it, now having a appetite simply to keep herself distracted from present company.

[Sushi]

Jethro gave a pout.



"Oh, why not? I like you." He leaned forward on the counter, watching her. "Well, probably not as much as Eph likes you, but as much as I can share the taste of my best friend." Ephriam growled under his breath as he washed the dishes.



"My name is not Eph. Eph is a letter of the alphabet."

[Tree]

Looking over the man before her, Marina chose her words carefully, glancing to Ephriam only once before she left her words slice the man before her down to the mouse she saw him as....



" You can not like someone you do not know, therefore, your not only intolerable, your a liar, and I'll bid you both a good night if your going to insist on playing such tomfoolery kind of games."



Marina purred smoothly as she spun upon her heel and stormed right out the front castle doors and into the rich moonlight.

[Sushi]

Ephriam watched her go, once again. This time, he didn't temper himself as he turned to Jethro, who was rather unaffected by her words.



"I swear that though I befriended you so long ago, I will turn against you if you bring even another single incident here." His face looked flushed. Well, flushed for him was not flushed like a regular person, but there was a difference. Jethro looked at him and his smile faded to serious. There was a silence for a long moment.



"I see..." He stood up and straightened his shirt as he walked to window, staring down at the girl.

[Tree]

Setting outside, graceful silken gown and all, Marina was pulling on, and tying up her leather boots without worry. Ephriam had learned by now her temper flared sometimes, or so she figured, and having new company always around was something to adjust to. Especially when you suspected something abnormal going on, ontop of all that. Then add in normal female mood swings.... and well, here they were as Marina stood, boots on and started walking off towards the mountains, no worries concerning the wild life.

[Sushi]

Jethro watched her taking a path that Ephriam could not see. After all, that man was standing across the room. The guest's voice for once held no air of laughter.



"You continue to be oblivious to the understanding I am trying to provide for you, Ephriam." One could almost see the flashback, imagine the room as it was centuries ago, envision the two clothed in the fineries of the period, and hear the speak of an olden and learned tongue. Ephriam lifted his chin and his shoulders rolled back.



"What do presume to make you wiser at living than I?" Jethro sighed with exasperation.



"I do not think myself the wiser! Comrade, I am merely trying to show you the mistake you are making. Do you not think that once upon a time I was so unlike you? I made the same decisions... Or thereabout the same, at least. Look where that got me." And then Ephriam was quiet.

[Tree]

Standing at the foot of the mountain, Marina looked up, then down at her dress and sighed as she moved to find hand holds on the mountains' bare surface, starting to make her way up the stoney wall.



It wasn't the best spot to start a climb, as on this side, no form of paths had been worn, or made, so she was scaling bare unworked rock, soon sweating slightly from her efforts as she climbed, not caring the time, or the fact that the sun would rise and fall a few times before she made it to the top, and she had no provisions with her.

[Sushi]

Jethro stood at the window, speaking again.



"I also think that you need to take the time to see what you are missing." He stepped away from the window and Ephriam moved to it in a manner much like a page to a knight, like a monk who suspected there was yet more knowledge hidden. But what he saw only caused him to swear.

[Tree]

Soon up the first level, and pulling herself onto her stomach ( Dress ruined), sweat pouring down her back now, Marina looked up at the tall rocky beast that still lay above her, merely grabbing her next hand hold, continuing to climb.

[Sushi]

Ephriam immediately walked out of the car, Jethro in close pursuit. Ephriam was somewhere between a brisk walk and a jog. Jethro just sighed and shook his head, speaking softly over his friend's shoulder.



"That is not safe at all." He paused. "You know you can catch up to her easier than this..." Ephriam just scowled as he stalked across the lawn.

[Tree]

Reaching the small little second plateau, catching her breath, panting softly as she looked up through the sweat pooling all over her face, letting her hand run over the rock face, snagging her next hand hole.

[Sushi]

Ephriam was standing at the base of the mountain looking up. Jethro stood there too, his previous manner seeming to return a bit.



"Oh, I do approve! Nice ass." Dress plus really high height... Ephriam turned and punched him before trying to decide what to do.

[Tree]

Unaware of the comments bellow, Marina was easily ten stories up, if not higher, and was now laying on her most recent ledge, panting and holding her eyes closed, fist closed tight, heart racing from her work out.

[Sushi]

Ephriam pressed his lips into a tight line before pushing his sleeves up and then (as strange as it may have seemed) pulling off his shoes. Jethro spoke.



"I think that she's going to have a heart attack. Nice strong pulse, though." Ephriam didn't reply, starting to climb up the rock. Then, suddenly, the rock that Marina was laying on crumbled, falling off the side of the cliff.

[Tree]

Feeling the ground move slightly, Marina went to move just as gravity took effect. she couldn't help the screech that escaped her lips, starting to fall, face down towards rock, and rapidly nearing grounding, mind racing as bits of earth fell about her, a few catching her face.

[Sushi]

And then suddenly Ephriam was no longer standing in the same place he just had been. His voice intoned with a certain calmness in the air beside Marina as she tumbled.



"Take my hand." Just as before. Except this time she didn't have much of a choice as the man gripped one of her hands with his and wrapped his other arm around her, drawing the woman completely against himself. And then he dissolved again, this time with Marina. It was kind of like removing the suction in the core of the body, and the molecules spiraled apart, drifting through the air before rematerializing on the ledge. Ephriam sat knelt there, looking unfaulteringly at the woman. The moon bounced off his pale skin. His washed out eyes now held no color in the iris and the flesh around them was red as though he had been crying (though not inflamed). He didn't say anything else.

[Tree]

Looking over Ephriam, she swallowed slowly, heart rate through the roof, shaking as she slowly sat up. A small bead of blood ran down her cheek from where she'd been cut by the falling debris, currently blinking the dust and sweat out of her eyes, Marina took in her rescuer in a whole new light, uncertain what to think right now. She wasn't dead, this felt too real, but she wasn't sure what she was, and Marina wasn't a big fan of this.



Looking about for a few more seconds, Marina chose to let her mind settle in the silence as she continued to pant, heart rate never slowing, leaving ephriam to his own thoughts.

[Sushi]

Ephriam didn't say anything now. He didn't try to explain anything away. It was kind of a little too late for that. The man's washed out eyes snapped to the small cut, to the blood edging down her face. There was a certain intensity about him at the moment, something that he normally didn't have or else hid. The man leaned forward slowly, and he felt a hand on his shoulder as Jethro materialized next to him - the same redness in his eyes and intensity about his figure.



Ephriam paused for a moment before licking his lips and then leaning forward. But he didn't sink his teeth into her flesh. Instead he gently kissed the wound, taking the blood away on his lips leaving a slight moisture behind. It was a coagulant.

[Tree]

After a while, Marina looked Ephriam in the eyes, not really a fear there, so much as a near demand for answers, even before her gentle, but rather ' your have no choice but answer' kind of tone came out of her mouth, words barely above a whisper, throat sore from screaming.



" Explain."



She wasn't a fool, but confirmation to suspicions always helped. Not to mention, the way she'd nearly died just then kind of stole her fear of dying now away from her.

[Sushi]

Ephriam released her and stood up next to Jethro. He looked down at her with serious and unblinking expression.



"The world around you never posed any real threat to you. Even when you were surrounded by flames, danger could not exist." He paused for a long moment as though thinking things through.



"Lord Ephriam Timothi Dimmura." He grinned at her, the glint of his elongated eye teeth very prominent. And there she had it. His full -real- name.

[Tree]

" Everything has always posed danger."



She contradicted smoothly as she looked him over as if she'd never seen him before, simply not comprehending why he had to hid something more from her. he'd kid napped her and kept her prisoner, he'd already cut her off from everything, so why not start off honest? It made no sense to her why he didn't just do it and get it all out of the way.



As to her statement, well, to fool someone into thinking they are safe, when your a life sucking sapper of a liar, well, in her mind, it simply felt like luring prey in for the kill. To be honest, the worst part was, she felt more betrayed then fearful.

[Sushi]

Ephriam's grin, his attempt at humor, dwindled away. He didn't say anything, looking down, something unidentifiable in his face making it seem like he was sad. The man looked at his friend, who had a slight smirk on his face. Jethro's expression was somewhere between a laugh and an i-told-you-so. Ephriam sighed.



"Do you imagine..." And then he caught himself and his speech pattern adjusted to the more modern one he normally used. "When you think about conversation starters, how does the 'By the way, I happen to be an imaginary monster' rank?"

[Tree]

" Considering everything else, I kind of figured, that being the case of our situations in the first place, it really wouldn't have hurt things that much. I started out terrified of you, if you remember right."



Marina reminded him, looking to Jethro, then to Ephriam before standing on slightly unsure legs as she now dusted off her tattered and ruined dress, treating Ephriam exactly how she felt he'd now treated her, ignoring Jethro and starting to walk away from the situation before she broke out in tears from how she was feeling right now. Death wasn't what she was so worried about right now.

[Sushi]

Ephriam watched her go, not following after her. His eyes grew sadder as she turned away from him. It had been a very very very long time since he had felt anything like this. And he couldn't even explain it. He was in control - the chess pieces belonged to him - but he kind of wanted her to like him. Jethro looked at him for a long moment before gripping his shoulder. Ephriam's words were a whisper.



"I had forgotten..." Jethro's smile turned into one with a bit of pity as he finished his friend's sentence.



"How it felt to have a heartache?" Ephriam didn't move, staring down at the dusty ground. Jethro gave him a slap on the arm, one of those friendly gestures. "And you didn't believe that we still had hearts! I told you so, but you were all 'No, Jethro, you don't know what you're talking about.'." But then the smile faded. Ephriam didn't change at all.



Jethro sighed and left to catch up with Marina. He stepped beside her silently as he searched for the right thing to say.



"You know, you shouldn't be so hard on him."

[Tree]

" And you shouldn't interfere with matters that are above your juvenile comprehension."



Marina replied softly, barely holding back her tears at the moment, not in the mood to cry infront of this annoyance.



" I didn't make the choice. I'm still his captive, he still has control. Simply not trust. It's not like alot of captives trust their captors anyway."



Marina reasoned simply, her own hurt obvious as she continued to walk slowly, body not permitting her to walk any faster, given her exhaustion. Not caring what Ephriam's abilities made him able to hear, or do, simply unable to care at the moment.

[Sushi]

Jethro ignored the malice, walking along with her, whether she wanted it or not. As before, it was like words bounced right off of him. He didn't even feel the need to point out the flaws in her theory. That would do no good.



"No you didn't, but you were the very first human he tried to relate with for..." He paused for a moment as though counting, but then he changed his mind. "...since he lost his own humanity. And believe me, he isn't wet behind the ears or anything." Jethro paused, considering that maybe this wasn't helping.



"He would probably let you go if you asked."



What neither of them knew was that Ephriam was gone.

[Tree]

" I have nothing to go back to now."



Marina replied softly, looking to him, tears clearly visible in her eyes, hurt still coating every word that left her lips.



" It's not like much has changed. Just trust. Possibly his likability went do a bit, but you can't blame me... aren't you his friend? Go do your leeching together, and lemme be."

[Sushi]

Once again: I'm rubber. You're glue. Whatever you say bounces of me and sticks to you. Jethro looked at her with almost a sense of pity.



"You know, just because we aren't human doesn't mean that we're animals." Jethro sighed and shook his head, shoving his hands in his pockets.



"He probably wouldn't go with me if I asked. He wouldn't last time because he was too mad at me - he's very protective of you, you know." Jethro didn't look at her directly, instead watching her out of the corner of his eye as he spoke carefully.



"And as repayment you're breaking his heart. I mean, I know that as men we don't have feelings and as our species we don't have hearts, but I've been around too long to care about those stigmas. I'd rather just tell the truth." Turns out that Jethro was a little more complex than just comic relief.

[Tree]

" He's not the only one that's hurt, you fool."



Marina replied, unable to keep her tears back any longer, the small drops of pain cascading down her cheeks in waterfalls, burning her cut slightly as she cried.



" Your speaking as if I don't know what's happening. 20 minutes ago that may have been true, but everything is painfully clear right now, okay?"



Marina informed him softly, all malice gone now, simply raw pain.

[Sushi]

Jethro looked at her for a long moment, and, as this entire time he didn't seem to have any offense. He seemed to pity her. By now he looked completely normal again, except for that fact. His eyes were unreddened and the intensity was long gone. As he pulled an old-fashion handkerchief out of his pocket, it was easy to imagine him as normal when he offered it to her.



"I know, Sweetheart." He reached out to gently touch beside the wound.



"You know, Eph could go ahead and fix that up the rest of the way for you." So could he, but he really didn't think that sounded like a good idea. Neither did explaining the why or how. Saying something along the lines of 'there are healing agents in our spit so that we don't destroy our food source' just didn't have the right appeal to it.

[Tree]

" He's not even here right now, if you hadn't noticed. I'm not a big fan of the idea of chasing him down right now, either."



she replied softly, wiping the tears off her face, gingerly, biting her lip lightly as she tried to calm herself down. This was a bit of information to comprehend all at once, and everyone seemed to expect her to take it and roll with it or something.



" I don't want to be out here. I don't want to go back. I don't know what to think right now, I just know it hurts, and your simply standing her defending him... I really don't need to hear that."

[Sushi]

Jethro sighed, looking out away from the mountains. He could see Ephriam's castle, and from here it seemed lonely, almost forgotten.



"I defend you too." And that was all that he said this time. He didn't shift his gaze back to her, but he didn't move away from her either.

[Tree]

Marina simple shook her head, swallowing as she continued to cry softly, tears having slowed a bit, looking over Jethro. Looking over him slowly, she sighed inwardly.



" talking to you won't solve anything. do you know where he went?"



She asked gently.

[Sushi]

Jethro stared out at the castle, taking in a deep breath. It was a long moment before he said anything.



"I don't know. I can't see him anywhere, and, speaking from experience, he's bugger when it comes to hide-and-seek." The man turned around. "We could try the castle."

[Tree]

" Alright."



Marina purred, moving slowly to Jethro, looking him over a bit oddly, sticking close, simply because she didn't like some of the wild animals out here, mind turning over what to do with ephriam.

[Sushi]

Jethro began to walk down the mountain path without much ado. For a fleeting moment he thought about offering a little hop, but then he decided that was even worse than offering to fix her face. A: Ephriam would kill him. B: Marina might blow up at him again. C: It would be weird. After all, it was his best friend's girl. When he noticed her hovering close to him, though he chuckled softly.



"Afraid something's going to eat you?" Of course it was a tease, but then he realized the poor word choice. However, instead of being awkward he emphasized the joke, sucking in his lips to a thin line and leaning over her with his eyes all wide and buggish.

[Tree]

" Oh, do it and get it over with if you wanna, I don't like wild animals."



Marina replied softly. Certainly she loved animals, and she was normally very sweet and gentle to all, but at the moment, she wasn't in the best mood. However, he did earn a faint smile from her tear streaked face.

[Sushi]

Jethro's face returned to normal (complete with a grin) and he shoved his hands back in his pockets.



"Well, you're in luck. I'm a party animal, not a wild one." If she was in the mood to appreciate strange humor, then she was also in good company. He chuckled softly and continued on down the path. Damn, this is really far up.

[Tree]

Marina looked to him and smiled.



" I'd race, but you'll cheat."



She purred, Jethro's personality rubbing off a bit.

[Sushi]

Jethro looked her over, a fake contemptuous expression filling his face as he stuck his nose up and crossed his arms.



"I wouldn't have to cheat to beat you." Joking. Of course.