kidnapped by Demons: the rescue

[slayers_desire]

after finding Clark Kent in the Nexus, the Lister demon returned to the castle in the Black Forest Mountains, guiding the hero to a servant entrance. It was out of the way, and notice of the dozens of The Scourge soldiers on parade in the main square.

Once inside the castle, the Lister demon took Clark to the kitchen, where other Lister demon servants were working hard at a feast.

From the kitchen, the Lister demon opened a dumbwaiter and gestured to Clark to get in. "This will take you to the dungeon. Where Miss April is being kept."

Comments

[kalel-ofkrypton.livejournal.com]

"What should I think about to help you heal, then?" He says it in that same sort of teasing tone, but at the core there's a kernel of sincerity. His thoughts flit across a dozen topics in the blink of an eye, and he settles on none of them.

[slayers-desire.livejournal.com]

"Something nice. Something that is just for you and me and has nothing to do with either of our destinies." April returns her arm around his neck.

[kalel-ofkrypton.livejournal.com]

Clark thinks about it for a moment, then settles on the memory of the day they sat on top of the windmill in Chandler's field, looking out over the town and the miles and miles of farmland around and beyond. "How about the past?"

[slayers-desire.livejournal.com]

"I always cherish the past that you and I created." April senses the memory that he had chosen. And smiles.

[kalel-ofkrypton.livejournal.com]

Clark wraps his arms around her, floating in the water together, looking up at the sky. "I wonder how it is you can read my mind and other people can't." He's not upset by it - never that - but very curious. Whether she's just naturally attuned to him, or whether it's a random, special fluke of their natures.

[slayers-desire.livejournal.com]

Floating in his arms, feeling the water below her, and visualizing the scenery of Kansa in her mind sets her at ease. It completely erases any lingering thoughts of her time in Germany.

"Psychics normally can't touch your mind?"

[kalel-ofkrypton.livejournal.com]

"Not most of the ones I've met so far. There was this kid I knew, Ryan. He was like the kid brother I never had. He was always reading people's thoughts and couldn't always block them out. He liked being with me because it was quiet, peaceful." There's a faint undertone of sadness - grief - under his words, but an overall fondness of the boy.

[slayers-desire.livejournal.com]

The grief from Clark is familiar, like the one she felt when he mourned Alicia. "Oh Clark, I'm sorry."

"It could just be the power of my abilities, in comparing mine to his. It sounds like he had no control. While I do. And touching a person's mind is not all I do. It is also sensing your emotions from your aura."

"And sometimes I know I can do more. So much untapped."

[kalel-ofkrypton.livejournal.com]

Clark's grief for Ryan is not one for an enemy, but one for a dear friend. But it hurts all the same. "It's okay. We did everything we could to help him, but the brain tumor wasn't operable." Ryan, at least, died with what dignity he had, with those people who loved him at his side. And Clark, the beacon of blankness, soothing in his silence. His own personal Warrior Angel.

"It could be an issue of power," he agrees. "He was really young. Maybe he would've grown stronger as he got older. Is that how it's worked for you?"

[slayers-desire.livejournal.com]

"I first experiences my gifts at 16 years, and they have grown stronger in the last two years or so. So I would imagine so."

"I am not the strongest psychic I know. So your mind might not be totally safe from others." April cautioned him.

[kalel-ofkrypton.livejournal.com]

It's good to know that now, instead of assuming his mind is as invulnerable as his body. "Are there ways to protect myself? From attack, or casual reading from people I don't want in." There's an implicit sense that he doesn't mean keeping her out.

[slayers-desire.livejournal.com]

"I can teach you how to create psychic walls in your mind."

[kalel-ofkrypton.livejournal.com]

He smiles, touching the curve of her jaw with his fingers. "You teach me so much." So many things that he's integrated into his trained consciousness. Pressure points, fighting stances, throws, feints, and now psychic shielding. Things that have helped him end fights quicker, with less damage or injury to his opponents.

[slayers-desire.livejournal.com]

"I enjoy teaching you." April softly admits. In some small way, if it helps Clark become a better hero, she is glad to be that influence in his life.

[kalel-ofkrypton.livejournal.com]

His smile widens. "That's good. Because I enjoy learning from you." He's managed to find a handful of mentors in the Nexus. His older counterpart, who shares wisdom and experience. Victor, who teaches him how to be spontaneous and gives him a boot in the ass when he needs it.

And April, who teaches him combat, strategy, and love.

[slayers-desire.livejournal.com]

"And even if you don't see it, you have taught me things too." April gently caressed the krypton-strength symbol on his chest.

[kalel-ofkrypton.livejournal.com]

Immersed in water as they are, it's like a baptism, cleansing away the darkness in both of them. And when she traces the symbol on his chest, he no longer thinks of the time that Jor-El seared it into him, scarring his flesh with the mark of his ancestors. Nothing but the meaning of the symbol.

He reaches for her, his own fingers tracing out the symbol for soul, the two interlocking circles framed with dots, patterned out in the length of his hand just below the hollow of her throat.

[slayers-desire.livejournal.com]

The baptismal reference would be very accurate, especially considering the fact that April feels completely cleansed from everything that happened.

Her body shivers in excitement at his touch. April would totally blame his attention at her throat. It is an erotic zone for her.

[kalel-ofkrypton.livejournal.com]

Seeing her reaction, the pleasure in her demeanor, he's completely reassured that his worst fears weren't realized. And he finds himself almost involuntarily tracing out a diamond symbol, one line bisecting it vertically, a dot on either side. And then encases it in a circle. "I love you."

[slayers-desire.livejournal.com]

The new symbol is almost instantly memorized, especially when April understands the meaning behind it. It draws a soft moan from her.

"I love you too."

[kalel-ofkrypton.livejournal.com]

He hesitates only a brief moment, before he puts his hand on her once more. A spiral, drawn from the inside outward, and eight symmetrical rays coming off like a cartoon sun. "Forever."

[slayers-desire.livejournal.com]

This is nice. It is him teaching her Krypton and at the same time telling how much she means to him.

April feels totally entralled by the moment. She moves to duplicate the two symbols on his chest. First the love you. Then the forever. "Always."

[kalel-ofkrypton.livejournal.com]

He did promise her another lesson. Even though this one is unplanned, unstructured, and relatively brief.

He draws her into a kiss, gentle and soothing. "You're a great student, too."

[slayers-desire.livejournal.com]

Anytime he wants another lesson like this one, she would be a willing student. And welcoming the kiss, April feels a pleasant tingling floating over her body. The natural desire for her boyfriend flashes briefly.

"I try."

[kalel-ofkrypton.livejournal.com]

Clark, for his part, shows only the barest flicker of gold in the depths of his eyes. Using his heat vision so much today in defense of her has given him a greater control over his body's reactions, although he is glad that he is still wearing pants.

"In the words of the great Master Yoda, do or do not. There is no try." He smiles at her. "And you do."