(no subject)

[bloodandflowers]

Kell almost expects it when they come.

He keeps to himself in Darrow, but even he's heard murmurs of people disappearing, and every name he recognizes is someone from whom he's felt power. Now, woundless yet bleeding in an alley, Kell thinks he ought to have been better prepared.

He doesn't fear fighting another being with magic, but this is something else, some perversion of science or birth, something more than simple human or magician. The first person to attempt to grab him had been able to summon storms in the air, not the individual elements of air and fire and wind as Kell can, but the very tempest itself. The next had seeming skin of solid metal, a material Kell is more than capable of manipulating, but the third seems to have power over blood itself, drawing it from Kell without a wound, as neatly as Holland ever had with the stone.

His own fault, no doubt. Kell doesn't hide that his power is best used when channeled by his own spilled blood, but his enemies now know it, too. It's clever of them to attempt to drain him, though Kell has no intention of letting them. He could place his bloody hand on the wall and travel safely home, but they might be waiting for him there, and regardless - Kell wants to fight.

Thankfully, his attacker's power seems to require that they meet eyes, and hidden as he is, the seep of blood from Kell's palms and mouth has slowed. He places a red hand on the ground and murmurs, "As Osoro," Darken, filling the air with an unnatural shadow that grows to fill the alley. "As Athera," he continues, Grow, standing as the darkness fills the alley's opening and beyond. "As Enose," Kell snarls, and steps into the growing black.

Find.

He dearly hopes this bloodletter isn't wise enough to run.

[this is an open post but i felt weird putting it in the comm, tag if you like. i don't know why i'm like this either 8D]

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[bloodandflowers]

Kell feels it the moment the magic changes, shaped not only by his own will anymore, but by an energy he's come to recognize as Sirius. The small, silent part of him that'd been as lonely as it was angry is comforted, but Kell looks nothing short of murderous when he speaks a new spell to make a hole in the darkness. "As Illumae."

The darkness doesn't disappear, but it does make room, billowing outward around a man bound now in a tangle of ropes. Kell summons a gust of whatever filthy detritus he can find lining the alley floor and throws the smallest elements forward, the effect not unlike having a handful of sand thrown into the man's eyes. He screams and closes them but, bound as he is, can get no relief from the sting.

With blood covering his hands and shirt front, staining his chin and the corners of his mouth where it had spilled over, Kell knows he must make for a sight, but he only spares Sirius a quick nod in thanks before he takes command of his attackers bones, dragging him like a broken puppet towards standing.

"Why did you attack me?"

[thebloodtraitor]

As impressive as it is, Sirius is wholly unsurprised by the way the darkness seems to bend to Kell's will with just a word, curving to let in a circle of light upon the man wrapped head-to-toe in rope, writhing and screaming, the sound only interrupted by a coughing fit as the man nearly inadvertently swallows a small bit of whirling paper.

A moment later, Sirius watches an utterly bloodied Kell pull the man to his feet without so much as lifting a finger. his eyes dark and dangerous as he approaches, voice dripping with venom.

It's a powerful sight and, if Sirius didn't know Kell better, he might be alarmed himself. As it is, however, he steps free of the shadows himself, wand at the ready.

The bound man coughs again before his lips curl into a sneer. He's either decided to stop fighting the hold of the ropes or Kell is controlling that as well. "You're valuable, sweetheart," he says. "Can get a pretty penny for you." His eyes dart to Sirius then as well and he adds, "You two, Scooby."

Sirius frowns, not sure what to make of that, any part of it, particularly if he's supposed to find offense at the strange name.

He nearly opens his mouth to question when there's a heavy thud just behind him, followed immediately by a hand clasped tight around his neck.

[bloodandflowers]

"You wish to sell us."

It come as more statement than question from Kell's bloodied mouth. He knows what he is, more thing than person, a symbol of the Arnesian Empire's might to be stolen or destroyed. That the same might happen here sits as well with Kell as it had at home, and his eyes harden even as the man in ropes gives a gasp as his bones grind together.

He falls to the ground like a puppet with cut strings in the next moment as Kell spins towards the sound of Sirius in pain. "Tac," he swears, finding the metal man has made his return and has one enormous hand wrapped around Sirius' throat, lifting his feet right off the ground.

Kell's mind races. His options are limited with Sirius in harm's way, and he drops to place a hand on the ground, uttering, "As Isera." Freeze. Ice spreads from his fingertips and races towards the huge man who holds Kell's only friend, and Kell rises, hoping that the suddenly slick ground will make him stumble long enough to let Sirius go.

[thebloodtraitor]

Sirius's breath and voice is stolen with one tight clasp, the enormous thing behind him large and strong enough to lift Sirius right off his feet. Immediately, Sirius reaches to grab at the hand wrapped around his neck, wand still held in one hand as he grapples at the hold, his legs kicking wildly.

Faintly, he's aware of Kell speaking again, another word Sirius has no hope of understanding. But between one second and the next, he's crashing to the ground, the enormous creature falling with him. The hold on his neck loosens just enough for Sirius to fight free, but his feet slip immediately on a stretch of ice he's certain hadn't been there seconds ago, sending him crashing to the ground, his shoulder colliding sharply with hard surface.

The pain is immediate, a bright flare of it shooting straight down Sirius's arm, intensifying as he stumbles to his feet. Weakly, he points his wand, growling a quick, "Stupify," to at least still the great beast's movements as he stumbles to rest against the nearest wall, looking toward Kell as he tries to catch his breath.

"Sell us?" he sputters, trying his best to cradle his arm. "You have any clue what he's talking about?"

[bloodandflowers]

Kell rushes forward, sparing only a second's awe for the spell that sends the metal man flying backwards with a flick of Sirius' wand. He pushes his hand past Sirius' collar to grasp his bare shoulder with his bloodied palm. "As Hasari."

The healing spell will take time, but at least he can be sure that Sirius' bones will reset. "All over Darrow I hear whispers of people gone missing." Kell looks back at the metal man, still unconscious on the ground. "They are not disappearing of their own free will. More will come."

Swallowing hard, Kell ignores the onset of his own exhaustion, weighing his chances at surviving through more fights. He doesn't like to turn and run, but Sirius is hurt. "We should travel away from here."

[thebloodtraitor]

"Bloody fuck," Sirius cries out when Kell claps a bloodied palm to Sirius's shoulder, the weight sending a brand new flash of pain straight to his fingertips and everywhere in between. Kell leaves a red streak in his wake and Sirius grimaces at the sight of it, still trying to catch his breath. "Still hurts," he says, though he understands enough now of how Kell's powers work to know it'll take sometime.

But it does still fucking hurt.

The spell on metal man will eventually wear off and, while Sirius isn't entirely sure what Kell's done to the one wound in ropes, he has a feeling it too, will fade. Arching an eyebrow at Kell, Sirius replies, "And you believe we won't be followed?" he says. "Or found."

Apparition is easiest, of course, but where to? If these men were able to track Kell here, there's certainly a decent chance they've discovered his warehouse.

[bloodandflowers]

"Perhaps," says Kell, watching the metallic man's prone form so he does not have to look at Sirius' pain face. "But for now, this is the first place they will look." Kell pulls Sirius along by his good arm, touching his bloody hand to the wall. He draws a circle and then a line and presses his hand to the spot. The wall ripples, and Kell pulls Sirius forward and through, stepping the pair of them into an alley near the tea house he favors.

Kell waits, but all is quiet. "I can only take us places I have been, but I can find a safe, empty place." The magic will likely drain him, but it will be worth it. "If I do, can you journey us there in your fashion?"

[thebloodtraitor]

Kell grabs him by the arm, dragging him to a wall that Kell immediately then paints in streaks of red. "I've a new goal, I think," he murmurs largely to himself as he cradles his wounded arm and frowns at the unfamiliar symbol on the wall. "Just once, I'd like to have an entire conversation with you wherein you spend not a single moment of it bleeding."

Between one blink and the next, he and Kell are standing in an entirely different alley, the unmistakable scent of tea leaves in the air. Sirius glances upward and then around, searching out the two bodies he and Kell had taken together.

"Oh, that is brilliant!" he says, his face breaking into a wide smile as he looks back to Kell. "Do you have to get a license for that?" It's much smoother a trip than Apparition, he'll admit, though he's quite glad he doesn't have to slice open his palm to make it happen. "I can transport us anywhere I can visualize," he adds, sobering slightly to answer Kell's question. "It helps if I've been there before. Otherwise, the chance of splinching is a good deal more likely."

[bloodandflowers]

Kell nods. Then it will have to be somewhere one of them knows. Fortunately, Kell does have a room that is not his apartment. It is small and cramped, but empty without his many treasures to fill it. It will have to do for now.

"No," he answers. "Only Antari can move in this way, and I think I'm done asking anyone's permission today." Sirius still holds himself like a wounded bird, filling Kell with new determination despite his fatigue. "I have a place," he says, and this time he paints an X on the wall.

At home, the symbol would have led him to Master Kieren and the quietude of his stone walls. Here, it leads to a new sanctuary. "Come," says Kell, taking hold of Sirius again to draw him through, stepping from the alley into a tiny room, perched at the top of a building where Randolph Street ends. From the little window one can even see the park, and Kell breathes in a sigh of relief.

"No one knows of this place," he says. "It will not be comfortable, but we'll be safe here until we find another."

[thebloodtraitor]

Kell takes him by the arm once more and, knowing what to expect this time, Sirius goes easily, stepping from the alley into a very small room. Judging by the view from the window, Sirius knows they're at least a few stories high. The view is at least familiar.

Unsurprisingly, but rather unfortunately, they're still in Darrow.

"And how did you find this place?" Sirius asks, glancing about the place. There really isn't very much to see, cramped a space as it is. "Is this where you're going to start hoarding new treasures?"

[bloodandflowers]

"There was a vacancy, and yes, that is the plan," Kell answers. His room at the Setting Sun had had a bed at least, and all Kell has now to offer Sirius to rest is a blanket. One he must destroy, he realizes, to make a binding for Sirius' arm.

"Sit," Kell says, motioning to the empty space beneath window. He takes up the blanket he'd bought on a whim, pleased by the realistic image of the kitten against an impossible setting, and tears off a long strip. "Can you remove your shirt or do you need help?"

[thebloodtraitor]

Sirius arches an eyebrow, both at Kell's easy demand as well as the utterly ridiculous blanket he's already ripping into strips. He doesn't argue, though, using his good arm to help himself down to the floor, legs crossed as he tends to the top button of his shirt with one hand.

He gives up soon enough and instead gives a quiet murmur that has his shirt disappearing entirely. Frowning down at the flaky, red blood still smeared across his shoulder, he says, "Are you planning to paint me further? If so, I'd like to politely decline the aid. I do have my own means of healing."

Granted, it means acquiring the right potion ingredients, but his point still stands.

[bloodandflowers]

The line between Kell's brows deepens. If he had the strength for it, he'd heal Sirius whether the man wanted it or not, but the fact that the effect has been so little thus far means that he is weakened indeed.

"At least let me immobilize it," he says, pressing his pale fingers gingerly against Sirius' shoulder to test the damage. It does not need to be set, at least, but it will be very sore. Kell takes the strips and winds them around Sirius, fashioning a sling to rest his arm.

More blood magic will be out of the question for a time, but Kell summons a handful of ice, wrapping it up in another strip of blanket to press to Sirius' shoulder. "I'm sorry you were injured because of me," he says quietly. "But this will help."

[thebloodtraitor]

Sirius grimaces slightly as Kell presses against the bruises, though no shot of pain is unmanageable. Still, he's relieved when Kell stops long enough to wind the strips of colorful fabric over Sirius's shoulder and elbow, each movement gentle and overly careful.

Seconds later and Sirius is flinching slightly at the feel of cold ice pressed to his shoulder. It'll help, he knows, and he's still grinning at Kell's magic so he puts up very little fight, instead reaching up with his good hand to hold the strip briefly and muttering a quick spell of his own to ensure it'll stay in place.

His eyes meet Kell's and Sirius realizes he's not sure they've ever been quite this close. Sirius can see how truly dark Kell's eye is, the fathomless depths of it, somehow unnerving and compelling in equal amounts.

"This isn't any fault of yours," Sirius tells him, his grin slipping away when he realizes Kell's guilt is sincere. "Unless you intended to attract those men to you, though I can't imagine why you would, particularly given the way you fought them off. And it was a wonder to watch, I'll confess." He smiles slightly then, head cocking to one side. "You are a wonder to watch. Do we need to stay here awhile so you can... replenish?"

[bloodandflowers]

But it is my fault, Kell thinks. He had not intended to attract those men, but his magic is a beacon. The closeness with which he can feel Sirius' eyes on his own is a reminder that he can never hide what he is. But Kell can be better at now allowing it to hurt others, and he should have found a better way to free Sirius from the metal man's hold.

He colors faintly for what sounds like praise, returning Sirius' smile, if only because Sirius' is so infectious. "If they are waiting, I must recover before I venture out again." It had only been a few fights, but Kell is exhausted, and he sits back, shrugging out of his coat to turn it to the red side and fish a pot of salve from a pocket.

Kell rubs it over his hands and arms to speed the healing of his many cuts, using a last bit of magic to fill a bowl with water for his face. "They knew to bleed me," he says, wiping the dried blood from his lips and chin. "They will exploit our weaknesses. Does your magic have any?"

[thebloodtraitor]

With his arm bandaged and ice held in place, Sirius relaxes against the wall behind him, watching curiously as Kelly slips out of his ever-present coat. His hands work over the fabric, flipping it in the blink of an eye and Sirius arches an eyebrow as Kell pulls from one pocket a small pot.

"Magical coat," he murmurs, grinning quietly. It's not like any coat he's ever seen before and yet, somehow seems to suit Kell impeccably. Sirius wonders how many tricks lie in the sleeves and hidden pockets of so lovely a garment.

The pot seems to hold some sort of salve and Sirius watches as Kell spreads it over the many gashes across his hands and arms.

"Weaknesses?" he asks, brow furrowing slightly before he shakes his head. "The only weakness is in not knowing how to cast as well as another witch or wizard, or not knowing the proper defensive spells. My magic... we don't bleed," he adds, a fact which Kell is well aware by now. "Our magic doesn't drain except if targeted and held by another spell. I suppose the method could be considered a weakness. You can conjure particles out of thin air with only a word where many of our most powerful spells require a wand to focus the energy. Only highly skilled wizards or those trained in different methods can cast by word or thought alone. If these men were to confiscate my wand, I'd have some trouble."

Particularly if they had the means to outrun and capture a dog, but Sirius keeps that last bit to himself for now.

[bloodandflowers]

Kell frowns, wondering how best to ensure that Sirius is never without his wand. "What of your Apparition?" he asks. Just removing himself from the danger might be enough to protect Sirius. "Can you do that without a wand?"

Kell pockets the salve, turning his coat another few times until he finds the side he wants. Kell shrugs into its newly large form, the gray fabric puffed like a cloud and the hood lined in fur. The air outside is still cold, and Kell's blood feels thin. He picks at his sleeve, pleased that Sirius likes his coat. Even magical, no side of it was ever quite fashionable enough for Rhy.

"This is a new side," he admits, for the make is unusual to him, and must belong to Darrow. "Each time I think I've found every side to this coat, I find another."

[thebloodtraitor]

"That I can," Sirius replies, still watching Kell curiously as he once again flips about the fabric of his coat, the fabric gray this time and puffy, a fur-lined hood emerging from the depths. "There are a few spells and things that don't require a wand," he continues, glancing up at Kell then and giving him a quick wink before adding, "including something I've yet to show you."

Without thought, Sirius is already reaching toward Kell with his good arm to feel the fabric of Kell's endless coat, testing the texture beneath his fingertips, and half expecting it to not feel real though, of course, it does. "How are you finding new sides if it's your own? Is it not of your creation?"

[bloodandflowers]

"A gift," admits Kell, with a warm smile for Calla. "Though I think its magic is increased by my own." He passes his hand over the fastener than runs from hem to collar - he believes it's called a zipper. "It seems to have its own mind."

He watches Sirius across the short distance between them, glad to see his spirits returned. "You mean to intrigue me," says Kell, and his curious expression says that it has worked. "What have you not shown me?"

[thebloodtraitor]

The style of this particular side seems a far cry from the few others Sirius has seen on Kell. Kell's smile is quiet and warm and Sirius wonders what it is he's remembering, though he doesn't ask. Not yet at least.

Instead, his smile widens as Kell takes his bait. Sirius only replies with a shrug of his good shoulder, however. "You'll have to wait and see, I'm afraid. Right now isn't the best time."

It wouldn't be the worst time either, of course. Shifting while injured is something he's done before, after all, the aches and bumps and bruises of a hard night spent distracting a werewolf with him into his human form. It isn't exactly a pleasant transformation is the thing and he's never taken bruises with him into Padfoot.

"But I promise to show you soon enough," he adds, still grinning. "Provided we aren't captured and sold before then, of course."

[bloodandflowers]

Sirius' smile becomes unrepentantly gleeful to make Kell wait, and Kell ducks his head to hide his own, wondering at Sirius' seemingly boundless good humor. What Kell worries and agonizes over, Sirius dismisses with a quip, and even if Kell thinks Sirius is more fearful of capture than he lets on, Kell won't let the man be taken.

"I don't fear capture," he says. "Are there others dear to you who might be taken? I will do what I can for them."

[thebloodtraitor]

The idea that the men who had cornered Kell, who had fought them both, might just as easily go after someone Sirius cares about hadn't honestly occurred to him. His smile fades instantly, replaced with a heavy drop of guilt and worry. The pain in his shoulder seems hardly more than a faint bruise in comparison as Sirius sits up instantly.

"Harry," he says, a dagger of panic slicing through him. Sirius is on his feet instantly, the spell holding both sling and ice to his shoulder. "I can take us," he says, grabbing for Kell's hand.

Harry could be anywhere, of course. Darrow is no London, but it's large enough on its own that Sirius can't often keep tabs on the daily whereabouts of his godson. But Harry's flat is the most obvious place to start and so Sirius pulls Kell there, landing them both in the familiar front room.

The familiar empty front room.

"Harry!" Sirius calls out, instantly hurrying for the back bedroom.

[bloodandflowers]

Kell has time for only a bracing gulp of air before Sirius is on his feet and tugging him through reality. He reels for a moment in an unknown home, but Sirius is off and running, calling into what must be Harry's room.

Kell stays where he is, stretching out his senses for any sign of danger or trespass. But the outer room is quiet, and he can feel no unkind power in the air. He follows where Sirius has gone.

"Any sign?"

[thebloodtraitor]

There's no sign of Harry in his bedroom, but noticeably no sign of struggle either. Everything is just as Sirius might expect of a seventeen year old boy, the room looking not so very different from his own. There are no shattered windows or flickering lights, no indication at all that Harry's been captured.

Yet Sirius can't say he feels much better.

"Nothing," Sirius replies, his heart still thumping as he meets Kell once again in the front room after stopping quickly to check the loo. "And you don't feel anything, do you?" he asks, though it comes out as a statement. Kell would've mentioned already, he knows. "If they've taken him, it's not been from here."

And there's Kieren too, of course. Would they know to look for him? Whatever good humour Sirius might have earlier possessed is entirely gone, replaced instead with mounting dread.

"Where can we look? How? Kell, can you feel them?"

[bloodandflowers]

"At present, I can feel no power other than your own," Kell answers, watching Sirius' face grow more agonized with every passing moment. It makes what he says next easier, even if Kell still dreads the act itself. "Once, in a time of great need, I was able to make a door to a person rather than a place. I could try again now," Kell offers.

"It will take everything I have. If we arrive in the midst of a fight, I won't be able to help you," Kell adds softly.