To Regain What You Have Lost

It wasn't his place to question what she'd said. So he'd agreed to meet up with her at this spot. He sat down, Oppy on his back as usual, and waited for them to show.

'Suzume, I'm bored of waiting! Make Ciel and Ethril come sooner!' Oppy chimed.

Suzume chuckled and shook his head, 'We haven't even been here a minute, give them time.'

((oh man XD well I suppose I'll let her know this is happening!))

Ciel kicked at something on the ground as he and Ethril made their way to wherever they were supposed to be meeting with Oppy and Suzume. ((Idk if you guys talked about it when I left ;-; )) Ethril had told him about it, so he was honestly just following her. It felt a bit weird, what with her conceding dominance to him not that long ago. His chest burned a bit thinking about being led around by what his core considered to be someone 'inferior' to him.

It was a bit sour to think about, so he did his best to push that aside. He figured it would settle down if he just held her hand. He saw he was right after reaching out to take her fingers in his. He could feel the edge melting away already. His core and heart were quite different after all.

A small smile managed to grace him as Oppy and Suzume came into view.

((NOTE: Ethril and I have this thing-- she's not supposed to be caught up on her magic yet, so this will be set somewhat in the future I imagine. After she's learned that stuff. Can we agree to that?))

"We shouldn't be too far," Ethril said with a smile as she lead Ciel towards the spot that they were meeting Suzume and Oppy. Her heart felt a little strained for some reason and she couldn't pin point what it was exactly. Ever since she'd accidentally challenged Ciel for dominance sometimes situations were just a tad awkward between them. The pressure on her heart lifted though when she felt Ciel take her hand and twine her fingers with his. But that brought up the question as to why had she backed down so easily to Ciel? She should have been able to hold his gaze, but something had forced her to look away.

Ethril shook the thoughts out of her head and waved when she saw Oppy and Suzume. Apprehension squeezed her heart as she considered what it was she was about to do. Contacting and asking the goddess for assistance was fairly simple, it just could have some repercussions later on. All knowledge has a price after all, and she was going to ask the Mother Goddess for control over an aspect of her power that she should have already mastered at her age.

"Hi Oppy, sorry we're a few minutes late!" Ethril said as she hurried up to her two new friends. "I had to grab a few things from home." She patted the strap of her shoulder bag. "just tell me what you want to do and we can get started!"

(( maybe not too far in the future. Just far enough that she's been trained enough to control her power, but not far enough that we end up revealing certain...plots ))

((lol plots? XD cuz it would eff mine all up if we were too far >_> ... I actually don't know all of yours! D: ))

(( I was talking about your plots. I'm just making it up as I go along really so that things fit with your plots. Ethril's story doesn't really take off until she's 50 years old and meets Shuyin ))

((Well yeah, it'll've taken Suzume a few weeks to get back to normal after what happened at the cinema XD))

'Yay! They're here!' Oppy chimed, waking Suzume from as close as he could possibly get to a slumber. Seriously, being unable to sleep because of ten spirits rattling around inside you, often fighting it out, kinda took its toll after a while.

'Oh, hey guys,' he commented, 'Good to see you.'

((cool beans. I feel like I have to have things all planned out now XD thaaaaanks~ lol jk, I love you Ethril <3))

"And you, Sir Suzume," Ciel said as cheerily as he could. "Hello, Oppy-dear!" He figured that since they'd arrived, things inside of him had calmed down and let go of Ethril's hand. Nothing bad seemed to happened, so he just took it back up again. It was only a test after all.

"Now... what are we to do first? I'm rather excited to get started, honestly." A small chuckle escaped him as he thought about it. He hadn't been part of something important in a very long time.

Ethril glanced at Ciel in question as she felt him let go of her hand and then take it back again. She tilted her head curiously before turning back to Suzume and Oppy. She adjusted her shoulder bag and thought about her training so far. Thanks to Patrick she had an easier time using her light magic, but she doubted she would be able to work seals at the level that Suzume had indicated back at the cinema. She was going to have to ask for help from the goddess.

'I've located the seal,' Suzume replied, 'So I don't know what happens next really'

Ciel furrowed his brow. "That... seems to be a bit inconclusive... Do you really have no hint as to what we should do? Or... do we just wait?"

'Well, the rest is up to Ethril,' Suzume replied, 'I have no idea when it comes to sealing magic, so...'

"W-well if you've located the seal then just tell me where it is." Ethril said with a blush. "Once I know I can start meditating and I can ask for help from the goddess." That was the easy part. The hard part was going to be controlling herself once she had the power and knowledge. She'd take care of the seal, but who knew what else she would do in the process?

And then of course there was the price that she would have to pay to the goddess when everything was done and over with. It wouldn't be big or life threatening or anything, just something that would probably inconvenience Ethril some. Then again when the goddess had saved her from insanity the only thing the goddess had asked for was that Ethril come to Earth. Everything had turned out nicely so far.

'Alright,' Suzume replied, before turning so that his back was to Ethril, taking off his waistcoat and running a hand down the center of his back, revealing a black seal that resembled a hornet trapped in a spherical jar, 'That's the seal. And you have no idea how hard it is to empower the right location.'

"We best get comfortable then!" Ethril said as she sat down on the ground. Carefully she reached into her bag and began pulling out the things she would need to meditate. She pulled out a bowl for water, a red candle, A piece of granite, and a beautiful white feather. Ethril also pulled out a palm sized crystal. Carefully she set up her objects in correlation with their elemental directions and then sat in the middle. The crystal she kept in her lap to help her focus.

"I don't know how long this will take, sorry." Ethril said with an apologetic smile. She'd only ever done this once before and it had been an accident last time. After getting as comfortable as she could she closed her eyes and began to meditate. After a few minutes of just relaxing her markings and forehead jewel began to gently glow.

~~

'What is is that you want my daughter?' When Ethril opened her mental eyes she found herself in a what looked like a beautiful white palace covered in clouds. Ethril turned and looked upon the blurry visage of her Mother Goddess.

'I need help unlocking a powerful seal.' Ethril responded, her voice echoing slightly in the ethereal place.

The goddess looked at Ethril for what felt like an eternity before she nodded. 'I will grant you this request. You will have the power and information you need until your work is complete' The goddess floated over to where Ethril was standing. The closer the Mother got, the clearer her appearance became.

The Goddess was a tall woman with long flowing hair that changed between gold and silver constantly. Protruding from her back were 3 pairs of wings, each a different color to represent earth, fire, and water. Ethril could have sworn she also saw a swirling mist around the wings as well.

The goddess reached out with a very pale hand and she very gently touched Ethril's forehead jewel. Ethril gasped as she felt a wave of power surge through her, power that she would have when she was much much older.

'When the time comes my daughter, you will know what payment I want.' The world around Ethril began to fade as she returned to her physical body.

~

Ethril gasped and her eyes shot open. Her eyes had changed to silver from their normal gold and the color filled even the whites of her eyes. Her hair swirled slightly around her shoulders. A ghostly image of a second pair of wings appeared against her real wings as the power that she was momentarily gifted spread through her body.

Ethril reached forward quickly and touched the seal on Suzume's back. In her minds eye she could see the depth of the seal, every nuance of it. She could see the power that surrounded the seal and slowly she began working the seal loose. Minutes passed slowly for her as she continued to release and remove the seal until finally she sat back with a sigh.

"The seal is gone." Ethril said, her voice echoing slightly. Ethril turned her head then to look at Ciel.

The silver of her eyes began to glow brighter as she stood and went to the sprite she was bonded to. She cupped his face in her hands and pushed down with her power. Ethril didn't know why she did it, only that her momentary powers were telling her too. She growled at Ciel, her instinctual language telling him that she was his equal. What had happened last time had been a fluke, she should not have turned her gaze away. Now, she felt the strength needed to hold Ciel's gaze.

(( :: skips around in circles :: ))

((Whyyyyyyy~ Why noooooow~~ You awful, awful woman XD))

Ciel watched, a bit worried, as Ethril did her meditation. It had taken her several minutes to even move again after her various parts had started glowing.

Her new appearance troubled him somewhat though as she seemed to be working on the seal that adorned Suzume's back. Ciel tugged at one of his curls, carefully watching just in case something went wrong. True, he wouldn't know what to do if anything did happen, but he could at least be ready to assess the situation.

He had an awful time trying to swallow past the lump that had grown in his throat as this strange version of Ethril moved towards him. He froze when she took his face. He felt a pressure around him, a horrendously uncomfortable feeling rising in his stomach. He could feel his breath coming harder as Ethril's gaze bore into his eyes. He tried to constrain himself, but he could feel the curling at his ears already. And try as he might, he couldn't look away even if he wanted too. This sudden challenge threw his core into a rage.

Ciel grit his teeth as his ears painfully snapped back against his skull. He fought with everything that was still him to keep his hands from going to her face, his fingernails taking on a demonic edge. He failed though as they managed to clasp at her, his fingers dipping into her hair slightly. This wasn't good. This wasn't something he wanted to do again. A lone whimper escaped him before his eyes began to fade into a ghastly white, glowing fiercely as he returned Ethril's challenge.

A sharp cry tore itself from his throat as Ciel's hair whipped into a fury. His clothes rippled in the incessant assault from his currents as they clashed this way and that. He knew, somewhere, that he wasn't himself anymore, and he could feel a tight ball of power building up in his abdomen as he uselessly prayed that Ethril would give up again. Something told him that she wouldn't.

(( because I love the drama llama! ))

"Acknowledge me!" Ethril cried out in ancient draconian as she slid her fingers into Ciel's hair. She would not give up this time, she would not look away. Ethril was the daughter of two royal blood lines, she was the child of the Mother Goddess, she had trained hard and long to earl Ciel's respect. Ethril was his equal and she would not give up until he acknowledged her.

Silver strands of light began to appear in her hair as she forced her power to press against Ciel. This was her chance to prove to Ciel that she was strong enough to be his equal! She didn't want to dominate over him, just show him that she could protect him and care for him. Ethril wanted to show him that she wasn't weak, that she could help him with whatever he did. This was important to her; Ciel was her bonded and that meant they were supposed to be equals.

Her tail whipped out behind her and the spade tip hardened and then sharpened as Ethril felt her rational mind fully release her instincts. Her wings puffed out around her and the claws in her twos extended to dig into the dirt. Gold scales spread across various places of her skin as she partially transformed in order to sustain the amount of power that surged through her. "We are EQUAL!" Ethril yelled in ancient draconian as she struggled against Ciel's own raging power.

Something inside of Ciel snapped when he heard someone he'd already dominated try to assert such an authority over him. He took a few more sharp breaths, his chest ever expanding. There was a sharp pain at his back as four strong jets of air released themselves, tearing his clothes and jutting out in a petal-like manner. He ignored it though and pressed back at this crazy woman, a crease forming over his nose as he tried to keep the pent up energy inside of him.

"Naa!!!" he rapidly snarled, his own ancient language taking him over. His voice had taken on a booming quality that reverberated before it even left him. The Sprite still held on to the enormous power that was inside of him. Doing all that he could to avoid using it. "Galojk os... SOJN WOO NOAT!!" He managed to breathe roughly three more times before he couldn't hold back his rage any longer.

Ciel tightened his hold, knotting his fingers into Ethril's hair as a monstrous shout forced itself out of him. The white substance poured out, blasting at her face, regrouping after it passed to wrap around her body from behind. As it built, the raw magic squeezed against Ciel's opponent, harder and harder as he released more of himself into it.

"OK BAN KUNONG! JI ZIL BEOGEN... VURR MOJ!!"

((Unts-unts-unts!! Ragin like a damn beast! ..... but how should this be stopped? XD We've already decided on how it will end, and I don't want him phasing on her-- it shouldn't be happening yet.))
((Translations: "No!" "Equal.... WE ARE NOT!!" "I AM KING! YOU WILL BOW... TO ME!!"))

Ethril didn't even wince as she felt his fingers grip her hair even harder. She didn't blink as she felt his power press painfully against her. She couldn't back down from him, not now! Not when she had the power to stand up to him! She grit her teeth hard and used all her physical strength to keep her wings open even against the force of Ciel's power.

"And I am your BONDED!" Ethril shouted right back at him in her own ancient language, light flaring up around her brilliantly. The ghostly second pair of wings seemed to become more real as she called up every last shred of power she had within her. Ethril snarled and her ears stood straight up as she fought to keep up with the amount of power that Ciel was encasing her in.

Ethril blasted her light at Ciel, her second and third eye lids closing to protect herself from the force and brightness of her light. Her hair began to lighten to a more golden color and her horns began to appear around her forehead jewel. She wouldn't fully transform, that would make this impossible to control. She wouldn't be able to properly stare down Ciel in her full dragon form.

"I am the Child...of the Mother goddess," Ethril said as she pressed her body closer to Ciel, her power pulsing with her words. "I will be...leader of the Northern clan!" Her eyes watered from trying to force the words out. "You are my bonded! No other would be strong enough for me!" She screamed that last part, tears in her eyes as she brought her face extremely close to Ciel's. She stood on the tips of her toes to accomplish this.

(( oh I have an idea! A kiss to seal the deal? ))

Ciel's core power didn't like this closeness. It went against the openness that it represented, and this irritating being was already being squeezed by most of its energy. A frustrated growl mixed with the blasting powers as the angry core receded. It knew that its host wasn't ready to support the final transformation of its power, and there was no use wasting it on someone they'd already beaten. This didn't matter.

Ciel cringed as he came back to his senses for the most part. He felt completely drained, and there was a horrible light shining in his face. He could just make out Ethril's distorted face through his power-surged eyes. They gave him enough protection to not be completely blinded. He manged to clamp his mouth shut, the rage of his rebellious core no longer controlling him. The Sprite felt tears prick his eyes as the veil of his own magic began to lift. Ethril had changed herself considerably just to be able to hold off against his assault.

He could feel her hurt, and he could see tears working their way down her face as she shouted at him in a language he couldn't understand. This was his fault.. It was his fault for even attempting to just show her what it was like in the first place. If he hadn't don that, she never would have lost to his gaze, she never would have felt the need to do this again... She would never be hurting so badly...

"I... I'm so sorry!" His voice still boomed, and his unruly power still exploded from him every time he opened his mouth, but he had to tell her so. She'd been able to endure it until then, so he was sure it wouldn't be so rough if it was toned down. "I never should have even shown you, Ethril!"

She still seemed to be raging, and he could feel the pull that she created in his hair. He couldn't think of anything else to do... Everything that he was fought against his decision to look away, to even blink. He couldn't give in to her, but he refused to let her hurt herself any longer because of his own stupidity. Ciel clenched his teeth as tightly as he could before pressing his lips to hers. Amidst all of the power, all of the rage, he was still able to give her at least that gentle touch.

((take iiiiiitttt~~))

The instinctual rage within Ethril could feel the shift in power as Ciel's own rage seemed to dim some. Something was off about it though and that made Ethril angry. It felt like he wasn't really accepting her equality, it felt like it was dismissing her. Ethril snarled at that thought and ignored the tears that rolled down her cheeks. "Why can't I be equal to you?! She yelled at him, trying to bring back the rage that had understood her and had fought against her.

She dimmed her light as she felt Ciel's power lighten it's hold on her. Ethril was starting to feel tired and she could feel the power that the goddess had given her start to drain from her. 'Not yet!' she begged the power as she tried to hold on as long as she could. Ethril refused to look away, she couldn't look away, not now after all of this! She needed Ciel to accept her and acknowledge her! He was her bonded and she needed him to acknowledge that fact!

Ethril felt a strain on her body as she fought to keep hold of the power she wasn't ready for. Her wings trembled and her tail tip began to lose its edge as she tried to focus her power into other areas just to stay strong. Her eyes were glossed over and her battle with Ciel turned into a battle over herself. Her focus broke suddenly when she felt Ciel press his lips to hers.

The light that had been around her faded to a dim glow, her eyes slowly returned to their golden color and her hair darkened. Her horns receded and the second pair of wings that had manifested with the temporary power faded from existence. Tears were still rolling down her cheeks and her body shook. She felt completely drained and it was an effort to even stay standing. Even still, she refused to look away from Ciel.

Apology shown in her eyes as she leaned against Ciel for support. Her power was gone now, and she felt in control of herself again, but she could feel Ciel's sorrow and regret in her heart. This was her fault, she should have never asked to see his rage in the first place. She should have been stronger before. And now he was hurting because of her.

(( dramadramadrama duck ))

Ciel did his best to untangle his fingers from Ethril's hair. There were still a few strands stuck to his beastly nails, but his hands were free enough. He smiled at her sadly as he placed his thumbs just over her eyelids. His own irises had returned and he was mostly back to his normal state. Slowly, using all of his concentration to time things right, he closed her eyes in unison with his. The torrid feelings ceased, and he could tell that her own spirit had calmed at well.

Ciel wrapped his arms around her, supporting the weary Dragon in her weakened state. He could tell that she was still completely miserable though. "Don't be sad, mon cher..." He rubbed at her back to try and ease her aching heart. "I promise you... we're equals now, dear. Truly... My core refuses to admit defeat, but it retreated for some reason, and that left me in charge. You don't have to try and prove yourself to me..."

((Past the drama!! ;D .... though this is some time in the future XD We'll still have these dominance issues at certain points during our trip, dear))

(( oh there will be plenty of chances for that! Heck you can have fun getting angry at Pyronim ))

Ethril winced slightly as she felt Ciel untangle his fingers. Now that she was drained and they weren't fighting with the powers, she could feel an ache spreading through her entire body. She wasn't sure if it was because of the sudden absence of her power, the after effect from Ciel's power, or just plain exhaustion. Maybe it was a combination of all three. She sighed softly when she felt Ciel close her eyes, she didn't fight it, she couldn't fight it. Ethril was just too bone weary.

Her heart lifted as she heard Ciel tell her that they were indeed equals. She felt tears in her eyes and she would have wiped them away if there was any strength left in her arms. "Equals..." Ethril whispered. Her voice cracked and she coughed softly. Her throat was sore too now that she thought about it. How loudly had she been yelling?

Ethril looked up at Ciel and then weakly kissed him one last time before she collapsed in his arms. She was asleep in an instant. What little glow there had been dimmed till it was gone as Ethril fell into a deep sleep. She'd need to sleep for a long time to recover all the energy she'd spent today.

(( Sorry Jy! Have fun reading! ))

Suzume had watched the entire scene, and had accidentally split into all ten Spirits when the power started to surge. It was all he could do to keep his body from gettinmg crushed both inside and out.

When it was over, the green-eyed one (Koro) blinked twice, wide-eyed.

'Woah,' he said simply.

'I'll never understand dominance fights,' the purple-eyed one (Jadine) commented, for once not being his overly cheery self.

'That's because you died young,' the orange-eyed one (NOL, DUDES, NOL! 8DDDD) drawled, winking at Jadine, 'How's about I show ya what dominance i-'

He felt a sharp blow to the head and fell to the floor as the pink-eyed one (Aegri) who was sitting behind him lowered his hand back to where it had sat just before.

'That's enough from you,' he growled, his voice more effeminate than the rest of them, 'Just be glad we weren't all crushed.'

All of the others chatted amongst themselves, except for one.

The extremely muscular one (Seigrein) was fast asleep.


Oppy too had watched everything, from her hiding place behind the original Suzume. She didn't understand what was going on, but wasn't quite sure if she should go over and help.

Ciel sighed as he scooped the now slumbering Ethril up into his arms. He carried her back over, bridal style to where eleven people now sat. He just stared for a moment, not understand at all how it had happened. It didn't help either that his ears and fingers were still hurting since they would be stuck in their overlord forms for a while either.

"O-oh my.." He scanned the tiny crowd for a different face and managed to let out a breath of relief when he spotted a Suzume with Oppy. He got to them as best as he could before sitting on the ground and cradling Ethril in his lap.

"I'm..." Ciel looked away for a moment, more than embarrassed at his lack of control. "I honestly, do apologize for that.. I don't know what made her come over there and challenge me again... Please tell me no one was hurt??" he asked, chewing of his lip in concern. He wasn't able to reign things in until after the whole ordeal had nearly been over.

'Takes more than that to hurt Suzume!' Oppy chimed.

'Though I did have to split in order to avoid being crushed by that power,' Suzume added, 'I'll fuse again in time.'