Posted by Lieutenant Faye Calloway (Counter-Intelligence Officer) in Event Horizon - Two Sides To Every Coin

Posted by James Sinclair in Event Horizon - Two Sides To Every Coin

Posted by Lieutenant Faye Calloway (Counter-Intelligence Officer) in Event Horizon - Two Sides To Every Coin
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Stepping right up to him, her stormy grey-green eyes were soft in their affection but firm in her resolution. Stepping up on her tip-toes and bracing her hand on his shoulder, Faye placed a tender kiss on his lips. “I can’t pretend to say I know what this is like for you, or that I completely understand, but I can bear witness, Dag. Even if it’s hard, it’s important for me to see I think. I want to understand better, so I can understand you better. Whatever you need of me here, just ask. though I definitely agree one of the boxes is a good idea.” Bearing witness didn’t mean participating. They both knew that was not going to be okay to ask. Not with her own issues.

~Faye

Daggum nodded and soon Faye was looking down at the arena pit from about sixty feet up. Viewscreens in the box showed every angle of the arena, right now housing only Daggum. “You’ll be able to hear me but I can’t hear you.” and suddenly the bleachers were full of screaming and yelling Orions with a few scattered races looking on as well. Daggum put the helmet on his head and rolled his shoulders, the muscles rippling under the emerald green skin.

The noise was deafening and at first she was startled but she focused in on Daggum and everything suddenly seemed to dampen a little, even if it was only in her head.

An announcer began to broadcast “Friends and enemies, slaves and nobels… Welcome to the Pits!!!’ and the crowd went crazy. Daggumn simply stood like a green statue in the middle of the arena. “As you can see, we have the Bastion of Broken Bones… the Disciple of Dismemberment… the one and only EMERALD. TITAAAAAAAANNNNNNN!!!!!!!” and the crowd erupted in applause. “But what is it we have here, ladies and gents, eh? What monstrous beast or skilled assassin will the Titan face today? Why, none other than the Beast Tamer!” The crowd ooohed and ahhed for a moment before a gate near the side of the arean opened and another Orion male, maybe half the size of Hammor came walking out. It was obvious that new arrival was nowhere near as powerful as Hammor, but the figure walked out to the middle of the arena and raised their fist high.

Hammor stood frozen, like he was carved from stone rather than a living being. The smaller figure said something to Dag, and Dag looked crestfallen for a moment. The two figures separated and went to opposite sides of the ring. A horn blared…

It was strange. Faye watched and suddenly felt like there was something there that others weren’t seeing. Dag wasn’t easily stunned and the exchange between the two was too personal to be simple sportsmanship. If one could even call any of this such a thing.

And nothing happened. For a long moment the two stood motionless. Then the smaller one gestured at Dag and the crowd laughed. Then the figure yelled someting in a guttural and chaotic form of Orion and the crowd erupted in laughter. Finally the figure reached to their belt an drew out a wicked looking dagger, one identical to one of the one’s from Daggum’s bag, and they raised the blade above their head and screamed and ran charging at Hammor. The crowd erupted again and cheered…

The end was very quick.

Daggum flicked his wrist, and the blade on the end of the chain released and fell to the ground, on hand on the end of the chain. Daggum’s arm snapped back, and as the blade popped up in the air, Daggum whipped his arm forward, sending the chin and blade flying directly at the figure running at him. The blade flew like a arrow, sticking in the figure’s throat. Daggum took a few steps to the now stopped and surprised figure clutching at their throat, and he shook the chain, sending a wave along the length and then around the neck of the figure. A mighty jerk backwards by Daggum and the figure fell to their knees, clutching at their throat, their eyes fixed on Daggum. Another flick of the wrist, and a bone-crunching sound from the other figure and their eyes rolled back in their head and they fell to the ground. The scene froze. Daggum looked up and said something, and then Faye was in the arena. Daggum removed the helmet and looked at the fallen figure. He then looked at Faye.

She had winced and looked away, not because of Dag, but because she had seen enough dead bodies in her life that she didn’t need another visceral one implanted upon her memory. But as the space around her shifted, she took a deep breath and gazed deeply at Dag, sorrow etched in her features.

“That is Nox… my best friend. We grew up together. He had a knack with animals. Could tame almost anything… it was really something to see. Today, this day anyway, he had made the Pit Master angry. Nox was told to put his pet into the arena against me. Lyrexian tiger, Nox raised it from a cub. Nox refused. Said he had other animals that were a better match… and he was right. I came out expecting an animal fight, it was just a matinee. They saved the sentient fights for the marquee times. This was just a lunch time show, barely anyone here.” He looked at Nox’s form on the dirt floor.

“I was shocked when Nox came out. He wasn’t a fighter… at all. Just a slave. He was worth much more alive than in the fights. But they sent him in anyway. Something about sending a lesson to the other slaves, make sure they didn’t get any ideas about standing up against orders. I tried to not fight, but Nox told me they’d kill both of us… and they probably would have killed him. Me, they have just beat. But Nox… Nox told me before we walked to the side he’d rather have me kill him than the bosses.” He looked up at Faye, his green eyes red and a single gold tear falling down.

“All I could do was make sure he didn’t suffer.”

Daggum

Moisture pooled below her eyes and Faye stepped closer. “I’m so sorry, Dag. I don’t know this experience, but… well, Cameron.”

Daggum looked at her and nodded in understanding.

She drew in the rest of the way, gazing up at him, dressed as the gladiator he once was. Reaching out, she tentatively rested her hand on his forearm, wanting to lend him comfort, but she wasn’t sure if that’s what he wanted or how he’d react. She understood that this was catharsis for him, that the physicality of it all was about the processing of emotion that maybe on most days was too hard to touch. She understood that too. A part of her wished she could take away that pain, so this wasn’t necessary anymore, but he’d been handling this for a long time now and it wasn’t up to her to intervene.

~Faye

He put his hand on hers and exhaled slowly. “He didn’t deserve this, Faye… none of us did. We were kids. Children.” he looked at her and sighed. “I was thirteen when this happened. Nox was around twelve maybe. It’s just…” and he shook his head and looked down. He then looked at her and smiled. “I stopped trying to figure out what kind of people would do these kinds of things to children a long time ago. Now… now I just work through the baggage that those people left for me.” He looked at Nox for a moment and then back at Faye. “I’m glad you came, Faye. I was scared you’d think less of me seeing this… but its part of me. And I won’t hide any part of me from you. I love you too much to do that.”

Daggum

She looked around the arena slowly, and then took him in, really took him in, her stormy grey-greens peering deeply into his emeralds. “Oh Dag, I could never think less of you. I told you I wanted to understand, and this helps. I may or may not be able to witness it again- for reasons that are entirely my own- but just as you have been helping bear witness to the bits of my past, I wanted to do the same for you.” She slipped her arms around him, holding herself to his body, despite the gear he wore, and maybe a little because if it. She wanted to be his port in a storm, whenever he needed it. She’d never felt needed this way, ever, and knowing that she was, well, she was beginning to explore the depths of what it meant to be so deeply in love.

~Faye

Daggum nodded and wrapped his arms around her. Tell you what. How about you always can see this, but you’re never required to. And I’ll tell you every time I do this. I won’t hide it from you. Its a part of me, yeah. But that part is growing smaller and smaller. Even more so now that I have you in my life.” He bent down and kissed her softly. “Now what say we turn this off, I’ll change, and we can go back to the room, huh?” and he smiled.

Daggum