genessia | [Closed]

Entry tags:

[Closed]

Who: Gellert, Lithium and Albus.
What: It's time to shift a curse.
Where: Fayren forest.
When: Early december-ish.
Notes: There might be mentions of blood/death and of course the nastier aspects of the curse. I will update if necessary.

He was ready. The shift will require a potion paired with a spell, which makes it a more convoluted process, but he is confident is will work. Still, to be cautious, he sends his Phoenix Patronus off to alert Albus. The bird will relay a simple message:

"I'm ready. Meet us in Fayren."

Once he has all he needs, Gellert ties his hair back and Apparates to the mouth of the cave. He peers inside and grins, knocking on one of the walls.

"Rise and shine, darling, it's time to free you!"

If it all goes well. It has to. He refuses to accept any other outcome. Lithium has suffered enough for ten lifetimes - if not more.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He closes his eyes and buries himself deep in his mind. Occlumency is useful and distracting, which is precisely what he needs at the moment. The barriers around his mind are stronger than steel; he has built himself a fortress to keep his secrets and his regrets. For now, this is where he resides.

Albus might want to look away. Gellert has arranged for a few...guests...to join Lithium while she swims. They are men - though they look questionable of nature (if not downright suspicious) - and they wait for her as if given specific orders.

Or the Imperius Curse. Either or. She has to eat and he promised her a meal when she was free.

Edited 2018-12-08 02:09 (UTC)

The look on Albus' face can be expressed very succintly as 'Are you actually fucking kidding me, Gellert'.

So the next spell he casts is a shield, a barrier that wraps around him and Li, like an orb over the surface of the water, keeping out anyone that might intrude. He'd meant to mostly be watching Li swim to make sure she was all right, but now his attention was split, keeping an eye on the men drawing nearer.

He does smile at Li swimming so happily, though. "Good to see you back in your element," he says, before pulling open an enchanted bag. Albus did prepare as well, though he had gotten artificial meat from Torchwood, and copious amounts of it -- which he dumps into the water in one fell swoop, staining the water pink as it sinks under the surface.

It didn't take long for Li to realize there were humans near her swimming and instinct took over as she started swimming towards the nearest one only to get blocked by a shield.

She slammed her hooves against the shield before turning her attention towards the scent of blood and meat being added to the water and took off. Pure predatory instinct drove her as she fed, churning the water as she consumed every bit of meat in the water quickly devoured.

Once she finished, she was back to swimming but, she was eyeing the humans beyond the barrier and testing it, looking for a way past it and to them so she could keep feasting.

He doesn't need to be with them to sense that reaction. Albus, she is a Kelpie. That questionable fake meat can never fill her! Not that Gellert can focus on their predicament for very long. As he pits himself against the curse, using spells on himself to support the dragon blood, he is feeling wretched. All of the color leaves his face and he is shaking, gritting his teeth against the inevitable.

The blood will come back up again. How lovely.

But not before the light around him turns chaotic, flashing like lightning and scoring the walls of the cave. His control of the men is broken in that moment and the men on the shore will blink, looking confused.

As much as he dislikes the sight of the Imperiused men, the sudden loss of their spell does not speak good things either. His stomach drops, knowing that it means Gellert must be seriously affected by the curse's influence. Albus glances at Li briefly, seeing her better now that she was in the water and fed.

He casts another spell, this one a barrier on the shore itself, before undoing the one on himself and Li, freeing them both. The new spell isn't a shield meant to last forever, but it should last long enough for the men to gather themselves and leave the lake.

And with that, he Apparates away, leaving Li to swim freely while he returns to Gellert's side. With the Elder Wand in hand, he immediately moves towards where Gellert is shaking and growing paler, looking him over to see how the curse is affecting him.

With the new barrier temporarily in place, Li was left swimming and exploring the lake, for now. She was still keeping an eye on a few of the men on the shore, wondering if it was possible to chase down one or two of them if the barrier ever dropped....

However, she did realize Albus vanished after casting that spell and felt worried about what might be happening with Gellert. How was he taking the curse? Could he handle it..?

Awakening from an Imperius Curse is like rousing from a deep sleep. The men won't move on terribly quickly; she might have a chance, but if she is unable to catch them, Gellert will see she has others. After he conquers the curse, of course.

That seems like an impossible feat at the moment, however Albus's presence gives him renewed conviction. He knows a way to make himself more potent.

"Albus." he stretches out a shaky hand, his gaze intense, "The pact. Join with me."

Their blood pact should give him the edge he needs to shatter the damn thing into pieces. Then he can rid himself of the dragon's blood and spend the evening feeling like a wet rag.

Albus nods, moving without thinking to do as Gellert asks, his entire mind wrapped around 'fix this' and 'keep Gellert safe'. The Elder Wand is a fine, clean way to slice open his hand, the spell cutting a clean line through his palm that quickly wells with his blood. Without hesitating, he takes Gellert's hand in his and does the same, slitting through his skin in a neat mark that darkens red and wet.

He grips Gellert's palm in his in a firm grasp, their blood mingling freely between them. With his free fingers, he holds the wand against where their knuckles grip each other, letting a silent spell work between them -- and quickly, he can feel its effects, with some of his strength ebbing out of him past his skin.

He inhales sharply and loudly at the contact; the pain of the cut is nothing compared to the hell going on inside of his head. But he recognizes Albus's power and his willingness to help and he seizes on both, siphoning strength through their pact to push the curse from his body.

The thing is black - like a parasite - and it is launched from his body in the shape of a foul specter. Gellert drags Albus into his arms, closing his fingers around the hand holding the Elder wand and utters a spell that will rip even something intangible into a thousand pieces. The spell is Dark, but it's the only one he could find that would do the job well and cleanly. Besides, who cares about the fate of a curse that has been feeding off the life and joy of someone undeserving for centuries?

The thing shrieks and then...the atmosphere of the cave seems to brighten and calm.

Edited 2018-12-10 04:30 (UTC)

Albus watches intently, one hand clasped with Gellert's on the wand, the other still pressing blood into Gellert's palm. He is ready to do more if the spell does not work -- but it does, and the cave seems freer as it vanishes, the air easier to breathe once it is vanquished.

When it's gone, he turns to Gellert right away, tugging him towards him so that he can lean against him while Albus looks him over. All the while, he mutters spells and lets the wand carry them out -- a charm for healing, a charm for vitality, a charm for stability.

While the spells are appreciated, the dragon blood is well on its way out. Gellert gently, but firmly, pushes Albus away and staggers outside to rid himself of the brew. Blood, strangely, cannot be digested by a human stomach, at least, and so it must come out one way or another. Once his stomach stops screaming in protest, Gellert waves a hand cleaning the mess away with an unspoken spell. He also uses a similar spell to wash out his mouth.

"Albus..." he stumbles back to the man, pale, shaky and looking feverish, yet triumphant nonetheless, "It's gone."

Albus politely stands off to one side, letting Gellert heave himself with some semblance of privacy. The curse does seem to be well and truly gone, and the rest is just cleansing -- Gellert's body ridding him of the toxins that had briefly aided him.

When Gellert is finished and stumbles back to him, he catches him in his grasp, looking grateful and still worried all at once. Still, there is a hint of relief in his expression as he pulls Gellert against him, holding him shaky against him. "It is. It's gone. It's all right."

What a gentleman. Gellert is happy that Albus won't have memories of him...doing that. When he returns to the man, he is covering his mouth with a handkerchief. It feels difficult to catch and keep his breath, but the minty spell he cast on his mouth is refreshing at least.

Albus's arms are a nice place to land and he leans against him, his heart thudding in his chest.

"That was awful. I can't believe she dealt with that so long." he hardens himself and holds onto Albus with all his strength, "Take us to her."

He nods slightly, gathering Gellert against him, arms wrapped warm about him. With a flick of the Elder Wand, Albus Apparates them both away, holding firmly onto Gellert until they arrive at the lake, hovering over it as he had before with Li.

This time, he casts a spell so that they seem to stand on the water itself, gently riding any movements of its surface. He kneels on it to look out for where Li might be, assuming she must be still enjoying her newfound ability to swim in her true form. Which he could not blame her for in the slightest -- it would be good to see her freely able to move about.

When they finally reappeared and went looking for her, they would find her swimming at the bottom of the lake, chasing schools of fish and catching some to devour easily before twisting around to gaze up at them.

Li floated at the bottom of the lake looking up at them for a few moment before lunging up and swimming towards the surface. She surfaced a few feet from them and tilted her head to the side to get a very good look at them. Though, it was obvious she's eyeing Gellert to see if he's okay.

He shakes off any dizziness caused by the travel, hanging onto Albus with one arm around the man's waist. He looks pale and exhausted, but desperate too. Gellert won't rest until he sees her.

A smile blooms on his lips as she swims to the surface and he has no shame in throwing his arms around her neck in his joy.

"Lithium!"

All of it had been worthwhile and in his relief, he feels his eyes burning strangely.

"I'll see you well fed with or without him." that part is whispered into her ear before he pulls back, "I can't believe you endured that damn..." his lips tighten, "It's dead. It can't touch you again."

Albus smiles when Li reappears, staying kneeled at the edge of their small platform as she swam closer. He watches Gellert as he embraces her, watching his joy with gratitude in turn -- while also careful to watch that Gellert did not fall into the water in his weakened state.

Looking at Li, he says, "It is good to see you in your true form. And able to enjoy it, as well."

Somehow, she wasn't surprised that she had Gellert's arm around her neck as she tread water before them. Though his comment did get a slight flicker of her ears as he mentioned getting her back to well fed. Somehow she felt they would have to do a little hunting without Albus around.

Still, she nudges her head against Gellert and perks up when they told her the curse was gone. Was it really gone? They defeated it? She whinnied softly and felt relief and joy at the news! She pulls away from Gellert's hold after a moment and swims around them, twisting and thrilled!

She stopped beside them again, shifting back to her human form with a look of joy on her features as her black hair floats around her shoulders and not even caring she was nude at the moment.

"It feels amazing to have my true form again." She hesitated for a moment. "Are you sure it's gone? Absolutely positive? I don't want to go back to that hell ever again."

He is soaking wet and feeling light-headed from joy and from expending all of his energy on breaking the curse. The water swirls from her activities and he has to close his eyes, clinging to consciousness by bare inches.

Then he isn't. Everything goes black and he tips forward, heading for the water's surface - and it definitely won't keep him afloat. He really is sorry. The effects of harboring dragon blood in his body and tapping into their blood pact has left him at his limit.

Albus moves fast, the wand still in hand, immediately leaning over the side of the little platform as Gellert tips forward. As Gellert hits the water, he casts a spell that lifts him back up next to them, where Albus immediately scans him and notes all of his signs of illness.

"I need to get him back to his house," he says, quickly casting a spell to dry him off. He'll understand if Li wishes to stay at the lake, but he needs to take Gellert somewhere where he can rest and be looked after, somewhere he can heal properly.

If Albus hadn't managed to catch him, Li would have. Thankfully, he acted fast enough. Watching Gellert pass out had Lithium really worried as she moved in closer to the platform.

"Then go. If you want, I'll come with. I owe you both my freedom from that nightmare.. and the lake's not going anywhere if you need help making sure he's okay."

The indistinct sound of Albus's voice begins to wake him - of course hitting the water had helped too. Gellert opens his eyes with difficulty, feeling drained of all of his energy and strength. It takes him a moment to remember and then he hears Lithium.

"Why 've you changed...?" he begins to feel panicked. Had he broken the curse? He had been so certain he had rid them of it. (He has also forgotten that she can change her shape as she wills. Forgive him, he isn't on top of his game.)

"Everything's all right, Gellert," he says soothingly as Gellert starts to unsettle, wrapping one hand around his wrist, running his thumb over the inside of his hand. Glancing at Li, he holds out his otherhand to her, saying, "Let me Apparate us all away, then. I'd ask you to look after him while I get some potions together that might put him at ease. Besides, I think he'll feel more at ease if he knows you're all right."

She shifted closer when Gellert started to panic and reached up to brush her cool fingers against his cheek. "Listen to Albus. I'm fine. I just can't talk to either of you in my true form." Next she glanced to Albus and nodded as she reached to take his hand.

"Yeah, you're probably right. I'm gonna need a robe or something when we get to wherever you're taking us. Unless you like a nude woman wandering around." At least she hasn't lost her bluntness. But, she was also willing to help take care of Gellert. Hell, she owed him as far as she was concerned.

He lets out a long breath, stumbling back a step to rest against Albus. His fingers curl towards the touch and he nods carefully, understanding that he might not be seeing things right. The cool fingers calm him further and he covers her hand with one of his own, giving it a squeeze.

"Albus can give you a robe." he smiles tiredly, "You can wander around in just your skin all you want, Li. It would be an interesting experiment."

His poor neighbors.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject