( @aeritria @sorenspath )

Alex puffed on his lit smoke as he leaned back against the pillar and closed his eyes. By the gods his body still hurt like hell despite the healing Cotoka had done. More then that his pride still hurt too. Then again Soren had tried to gut him and slice him into ribbons.

He grimaced as the smoke got lower. Damn… They had been on him during his fight with Soren. Now they were partially dried with his own blood. He chucked the rest off to the side with a heavy sigh.

Aeri had come to save him when he called for her to help him. Even had her precious pet healer, Cotoka, fix him up. He should have been dead. Would have been had it not been for the two ladies. Soren had been enjoying taking his time slicing him up. The poison on those blades causing him as much agony as each blow itself.

Mongrel. That was what Soren had called him. Goaded him into a blind rage by preying on his hatred of his family. Of the things that had happened to him. Alex hadn’t even needed to say anything. Soren had either done his research or gotten lucky with that word punch.

Alex hadn’t felt this low in years. Though the naive nature of the younger healer had greatly amused him for a bit. He was going to have so much fun explaining slang terms to her.

Shouldn’t be out of bed. Yet he needed space. Needed solitude. The night in this part of the Goblet was good enough being that he couldn’t go very far with his injuries.

He had ripped open old scars in talking to Aeri and Cotoka. Not physical ones. A slight snarl on his face at the thought of the old wounds.

Yet Aeri suggested finding a different way to walk his path. To demand more then survival from life. To find more then vengeance. Could he really have what Aeri had found? He wasn’t so sure. He couldn’t even have Aeri as she had found another. There was no one to blame but himself. It had been so much easier to be hated and despised. Something he had grown so used to. What he had done in the past…

Kill the people who created monsters like himself. He could manage that. It at least gave him something to start with. A path for now while he decided what exactly he wanted. More then survival. More then getting the name of the shite of a father that denied him all those years ago.

He stood up with a groan at the aches and pains. Perhaps he’d go soak in the water again. Aeri was allowing him to stay for now while he healed. While he decided where to go from here. He couldn’t change everything but maybe it was possible to teach an old dog a few new tricks.