Ghost

[Drankathar]

He looked across at her as she shivered and hugged herself. The effects of the drug abuse clear to see, she had gotten worse over the last few days and he'd been there each day to watch her and talk to her. It was amusing to him, he had seen these effects on many of his former friends before but never before did he truly wish to save them. Was he changing? Was she changing what he was? He thought to himself as a slight moan escaped her lips. "Not pleasure but pain," he thought, yet how odd that they where so similar in this case. She bit her lower lip and looked away from him trying with all her will to hide what was happening to her. "Why?" he thought, "why should she care that I see her this way?" he thought back to why he was here.

It was a few months ago as he sat in Sembia in the temple of Sorrows. He had heard of her before, lots had in his profession. Some called her an assassin, others a slut with no morals. It didn’t matter to him, none of it did. A reputation was one thing, actual skill was another. Even so, he could tell that with the stories about her some of it was true. She was a ghost to him, nothing saw her unless she wanted things to, she would appear where she wanted and when she wanted. She had skill and she could shadow walk with the best of them. He had seen her fight once before, long ago, against some undead. Not much of a challenge but it gave him a glimpse at her abilities. The mistress demanded her, shouted that she must be one of her children. Dark Heart's lover wanted her as another bedmate, or so it seemed to him. "Amusing" he thought, "Dark Heart must have changed since I was with her". That hardly mattered though, if his mistress wanted her as one of her children she would have her. Another ghost child in her army of servants. So he would watch her, and wait for his moment to confront Ghost in person.

It happened a few weeks later. He found her in her home, broken and drugged up. A first he thought he was to late, that oblivion had already clamed another victim, but she breathed a shallow breath. How easy it would have been to give Ghost to his mistress, right then he could have hefted his axe and ended her once and for all, but no, nothing was that simple. He walked over to her and kicked her in the ribs. Ghost woke up and fumbled for her sword at her side. "Far to amusing" he thought as he stepped back casually from her. He looked at her, his black eyes burning into her own "If I wanted you dead you would be, get up we need to talk". A vial of moon dust was in her hand in an instant as she inhaled and seemed to relax. And so the dance began, it may have been the first time they had danced but at this they where both skilled. One would speak the blunt truth, the other would lightly taunt before replying. A different dance then the one of weapons, but just as deadly. One slip and any chance he had of turning her to his mistress would be lost and that wouldn’t be acceptable. He left a few hours later when Dark Hearts lover appeared and wanted to talk to Ghost alone. Though a few days later he found himself at Ghosts side traveling to her home in the Pirate Isles. From there they traveled to Shadowdale where the dance continued. He watched over her as she came down from another one of her highs. One would taunt lightly, the other would complement then the roles would switch. One thing about this memory rang true; she had asked the one question he didn’t have an answer to. "Can ye love?" Ghost had asked. All he could reply with was a simple "I don’t know… Perhaps" His feelings for Ghost had changed as well. Where as once he saw her as just another convert, now he saw her as a possible friend, something he lacked and needed. They parted ways in Shadowdale, both headed for Waterdeep but he needed to get there fast, and Ghost wished to see to something else before meeting him there.

"Can ye love?" the question echoed through his mind. Was it a sin to love? His mistress preached loss and suffering, but what of love? So far all love had brought him was pain, suffering, and loss. Perhaps love was just another test that his mistress put before him, after all loss and suffering brought him closer to her. Or perhaps love was a sin, but the end of love, the final loss, was a blessing to his mistress's followers. Perhaps love was just another emotion to use as a weapon against the unfaithful and the faithless, a tool to bring loss and suffering to all. He didn’t know, he couldn’t know until he met his mistress face to face and asked her himself.

He thought about Ghost over the next month, always when he was alone he would think of her. So far the dance had gone well, she was willing to learn, but so far unwilling to forget other so called gods. Such as the god of beasts, it seemed she was attached to that one strongly. He didn’t mind though, he would turn her eventually. One thing he wouldn’t do was to bind Ghost to his mistress as he was bound. He wouldn’t do that to another person, he hated the one that did it to him and he didn’t want Ghost to hate him just yet, if at all. More then a month had pass since he had seen Ghost, until one night she appeared in the tavern where he was drinking. Ghost herself was being shadowed by a man, he had seen him before though and knew he wasn't a threat to her. "He's me bodyguard" Ghost later explained, though he thought differently. Perhaps Ghost already had a lover, or perhaps they where just friends, either way it made the dance more dangerous. He followed them back to their room and waited quietly in the shadows of the corridor until he could no longer hear the other mans voice. He then knocked on the door to be greeted with a few prompt questions before being allowed in. They slipped out together and went to the baths. Ghost leading the way with him trailing behind her keeping an eye out for anything odd. "Hard ta have a bath in ya leathers" Ghost said, "Ya shy?" He shook his head and was about to reply when she slipped her leathers off and wandered to the bath. "A test?" he thought to himself as he removed his leathers. As he joined her in the bath the dance continued, a joke here about her killing him whilst basically naked, Ghost responding that perhaps it was all a test. "Ye and I are like Lions. Testin each other out" It was a test, but more of a test of their friendship. If one of them wanted to now would be the time to strike, whilst the other was without protection. Neither did. Instead the dance started to change, from casual threats, to personal revelations. A sign that they where both getting use to each other's company. Ghost made a promise to stop the drug abuse, but her heart wasn't really in it. They left later, each separately to avoid prying eyes.

It was a few days before he saw Ghost again; he visited her room and found that her bodyguard was keeping her locked up to break her drug habit. He happened to have a bit of moondust on himself that he was going to sell on the streets but he gave it to her. So the dance continued, he asked her questions and she answered. Slowly he was building a picture of her and what she was. She got up and started pacing, the drugs making her want to move, until she stopped and wandered over to him "Can we just talk without ya tryin ta get me soul? Just you to me?" Ghost asked. He nodded "If that’s what ya want lass" a slight smile from ghost as she moved over and pulled back his hood. "I hate not seein someone's eyes" So the dance had changed once again, perhaps they where to be friends, he still wasn't sure. They moved to the fire and Ghost made a promise to end her addiction and threw the last of his moondust into the fireplace. Ghost then looked to him, a nervous look "will ya come ta see me in the mornin? I aint gona be very personable, but id still like ta see ya" He was shocked, he didn’t expect this. "Get away, this leads to pain, flee" he thought to himself "maybe lass, if not in the mornin then mayhaps the arvo, aint sure" he said slowly. "Not this… I cant do this again… mistress help me" he thought as he said his goodbyes and left. However he did return to her. He wasn't sure why but he needed to see her, to make sure she was ok. And so the dance continued, it had changed again, from personal questions to slight flirting and as much as his mind said no, he couldn’t stop.
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[Misty]

you poor poor fool....