-A SECRET PLACE- [jagger]

[JAGGER ION KOHANA]

His heart had nearly jumped out of his chest when the goddess had suddenly lunged at him and took him up by the collar of his shirt. The sudden surprise had been visible on his face, though it didn’t look extremely fearful (despite his true feelings being fear). No, Jagger always seemed to look pissed off and even in fear his brows stayed furrowed his lips made the shape of a frown. And while she had him by his shirt and spat venom in his face, his muscles became and stayed very tensed, even more so than they had been earlier. But he couldn’t help but just glare back at her. His fear always seemed to be replaced by rage and that probably was not the best thing for him to do when facing such dangers but it came about from pure instinct and he didn’t even notice such a thing. But he could easily see it in her eyes.

Jagger’s heart pounded like thunder in his ears, making it difficult for him to understand the words that she was saying unless he put his complete concentration directly on her. It was a hard task since usually his mind was flying through all of the ways that he could get out of this. But, for the moment, he did find himself actually simply listening to her words. The possibility of the reason being that he was her child and he couldn’t help but stand at attention when she was threatening him in such a way crossed his mind. But then he reminded himself that this may as well been a complete stranger jumping from the sky and threatening his life. And how exactly was it that he handled strangers who threatened his life? Usually it wasn’t with respect and they never came out seeing things eye to eye. And Jagger usually made sure he came out of things getting his way.

“Then why don’t you hit me with everything you’ve got,” he dared her almost lazily. It was either the ignorant human talking in him or the cocky and confident god. He couldn’t be sure but the chances of it being a little bit of both were very good. She would really just have to blame herself for his rebellious mouth. She was the creator of life and, maybe less importantly, him. She was an easy scapegoat for him.

“Let me die a slow agonizing death then,” he continued while rolling his eyes back and putting on a mock expression of fear. “Send me to the horrid demons you speak of and let me forever be remembered as the son of a goddess who was far too difficult for her to handle in life so she sent him to death.” He then looked back at her, still looking irritated and a bit cocky. “It’ll remind all of your pretty creations who is in charge, you heartless wench.”

With that, he shut up and just stared at her with a plain, empty stare. It felt like his heart had stopped beating somewhere after when he had first started talking back to her threats. For a moment he worried that she had already started this slow agonizing death and everything he had just said to her was completely pointless. Yes a bit of panic set in his heart then but it was numbed a little by the realization that this really wasn’t all that agonizing. Sure he had to stare at her and wonder when she would be done with him and send him to wherever the bad dead went, but at least his face wasn’t being melted off with hot magma or something. It could have been worse than this, he supposed.

TAGS: ELEJEN
WORDS: 621
OUTFIT: CLICK THIS!

[ELEJEN]

Elejen wanted to break his neck or crack his skull or pound his ribcage in, but she didn't have a strong enough willpower to kill her own child. Most mothers didn't. In fact, only those without a conscience had the gall to do such a thing. She despised Jagger's hardheaded attitude, and she wanted to strike the fear that he should have for her into his thick cranium.

The grip on his shirt collar somehow managed to tighten, so much so that her fingernails scraped the fibers and caused holes. Her bottom teeth grinded against the top feverishly to conduct her anger into something other than her son. They were beginning to ache, but mortal pain was only temporary on Esune.

Elejen was seriously thinking about taking his advice and just beating him to a pulp. However, there was a small voice in the back of her mind telling her to let Jagger go. He was stupid and foolish, yes, but he had little reason to be else. After all, it was partly Elejen's fault that he was such a hellion. But even though she was absent in his entire life, he should still have respect for her for actually having him.

Elejen's hold on Jagger loosened, releasing his collar entirely. She even fixed it to seem as if she hadn't touched it - except for the holes, of course. Her eyes stayed fixed on the shirt, because she was unable to look at him as she spoke the following words. "You are a..." she started, realizing difficulty in finding the correct words to say, "stubborn child." Elejen furrowed her brows then, as if thinking deeply about what she was stating. "And, to be perfectly honest, I'm a terrible mother" - she choked on her words - "but that doesn't give you any reason to disrespect me."

Her eyes closed for a moment, allowing her to take a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again, they were fixated on Jagger's. Her expression was still cold and frustrated, but internally, she was fending off feelings of sorrow. Those would never get the best of her, though. Elejen had seen innocent babies die, watched animals defend their dead mates, and experienced the suffering of all of society. That was what hardened her, and perhaps Jagger didn't realize that she had seen that all of her life. He didn't realize that she had no heart because she gave all of hers to others.

"If you really want to upset me, then go ahead. You are my weakness, I'll admit," Elejen stated simply, "because you now know that I wouldn't hurt you. So, come, say whatever you want, but just know that Esune suffers on your behalf."

She gazed stoicly at Jagger, challenging him with her eyes. She crossed her arms over her chest in order to come off as even more serious. There was a warmth to her composure, though she was attempting to be stern with him. Some kind of mock-seriousness. Perhaps it was because Elejen never took life on Esune seriously. Why would this halfling be any different? He would die, eventually, like all the others.

No, that was a terrible thing to think. Being a demigod, he was immortal to an extent. He was prone to unnatural deaths, but decease from old age wasn't a worry. However, in time, there would be people who would want to kill him, or perhaps, there already were.

Elejen relieved her indifferent pose, letting her arms rest at her sides and softening her features. She turned away from Jagger and recrossed her arms with a sharp sigh. "Most boys are in love with their mothers. You're the only exception I've ever seen."

TAG!? jagger
WORDS!? 633
NOTES!? bad son is bad |:
OUTFIT!? kitty! outfit here(:
CREDITS!? This template is credited to OH IT'S SAPPHY! of CAUTION V.2

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[JAGGER ION KOHANA]

After he spoke Jagger was not really surprised to feel her grip on him tighten even more. He had made move to try and escape her grasp and his face showed absolutely no surprise whatsoever. The only thing that was showing was the fact that his breathing passage was slowly being closed up by his shirt color and he was clenching his jaw to make sure that he kept his breathing very steady. It was difficult to do with a panicked heart pounding inside of your chest but he somehow managed to keep himself from passing out with his lessened amount of oxygen. He had to keep himself conscious to say all of those wicked things, after all. And, for some completely insane reason, he would much rather see his doom coming than pass out and never wake up at all. So he held on, ignoring the raspy, tight feeling in his throat that was not only there because of her grip but also because of her looming presence and his not so significant life. If she were to vanish who knew what would happen to the lives here. However, if he were to vanquish by her hand everything would be unaltered… save for his life.

He was genuinely surprised when she let him go and even took a moment to fix as much damage as she could with his shirt collar. This behavior surprised (and almost frightened) him more so than when she was threatening him with demons and torture with her brother. It seemed to suddenly be very out of character for her to be fussing over his clothing after she had just crumpled it up between her own fingers. Was she possibly bipolar or had he managed to hit a soft spot in her? Or this could simply be a show to fool him into feeling guilt or safety. Well, that would not trick him and he kept himself somewhat tensed as she finished up, his eyes darting upward as she spoke.

She was right. She wasn’t a good mother. And maybe she was right about the second part too, but he took it passively and just jutted his jaw upward, turning his face away from her. Not a single ounce of remorse was felt in his body for the things that he had said to her. Had he considered her to be more of a mother (rather than just carry the title) then maybe he would have frowned and felt bad about it at least a little. But he didn’t. And that was what children were usually supposed to do. If they loved their parents as much as their parents loved them then the population wouldn’t being doing so well since children wouldn’t want to leave home.

His eyes were steady as they watched her. Once again their eyes had locked and he was not going to be the one to look away. At least, not until she was done speaking and he would bid her a farewell. If she wasn’t going to kill him surely the two of them wouldn’t have any interest in one another.

Jagger raised a brow and turned his face away from her, taking another step toward the forest. “I have nothing more to say to you,” he answered her simply, clearly. “Perhaps if your intentions weren’t to get me into trouble then….” He trailed off, unsure of where to go with that. So he just shook his head stubbornly and started off toward the forest once again. He could hear her behind him.

“I’m the only exception to a lot of things.”

TAGS: ELEJEN
WORDS: 602
OUTFIT: CLICK THIS!

[ELEJEN]

Elejen was unsure of how to speak to Jagger to make him believe her words. Whether she was sarcastic or sincere, he took both very harshly. He took everything very sternly. Was this even her son? Surely, she had the wrong one, because her son could never be so serious. She was the jester of Esune, and what was he? He was closer to being Desino's son rather than hers. Desino was very stoic and so was this kid, save for his acidic tongue.

She scoffed in his direction, as if she didn't care what he had to say. Honestly, she knew what he was going to say. And she didn't want to hear it. He was a stubborn, big-headed brat and he didn't deserve his arrogance. Elejen did, not him. He was the result of a little bit of fun; a mistake; an unpredicted surprise. Whatever one called it, he shouldn't have been here, but now that he was, Elejen wanted to steal what she gave him and take it back. He was just so ungrateful.

"Fine, don't speak to me then. Just listen," Elejen growled at him, "You're an unappreciative, trifling hellion, and I know you think I'm the same exact thing, but if there's one thing you can't say, it's that you hate me. You can't hate your mother, even if you want to." She pursed her lips smugly; she had won this battle. Getting him to admit that he didn't hate her would make this day a little better. "And if you go into that forest, I'll know that you don't hate me." A bit of reverse psychology, to keep him from going into the woods. With his hardheadedness, he would assert himself to stand right in front of her, probably to spout off how much he loathed her, but in reality, Elejen would know that he didn't. He was much like a small child, still, trying to make decisions for himself, but failing at it.

Elejen caught Jagger's last words and she nodded slightly at him. "You are, but I highly doubt that you're an exception to human nature. After all, you're one of them, right? You prefer to be called human rather than halfling or demigod?" she questioned, almost cynically, but she managed to push back her sarcasm. Instead, it was replaced with concern and sincere curiosity.

The goddess was a trickster, definitely, but when it came to her most beloved possession, she would never befuddle him. That was just too unjust; a mother who loved to dupe her child? That was unheard of. Elejen wasn't anything like that. She was a pure and perfect being. Or so she liked to think.

She spun around on her toes, facing Revko now. Her eyes peered up at the tall castle, examining it with a judging leer. Then a dastardly smirk appeared across her features. "So, what happened to your father?" Elejen inquired, looking at Jagger over her shoulder. The smile had disappeared somewhat, but there it was, still tugging at the corners of her lips.

She knew what had happened. She had watched it. But, did she feel for the man? No, not really. He was just a pawn, basically, and not someone she specifically loved. Of course, there was always a slight pang of remorse in Elejen when any of her creations died, but she had seen it so many times that it wasn't even half a second of sorrow.

Elejen had ruined that man's life and ended it all at the same time. But, in the end, he died a good person, because without him, there would be no Jagger. Whether that's considered good or bad to some, she didn't care, because Jagger was the only child between that either of the main gods had. He was privileged, though he obviously didn't feel that way.

TAG!? jagger
WORDS!? 670
NOTES!? a lot of rambling xP
OUTFIT!? kitty! outfit here(:
CREDITS!? This template is credited to OH IT'S SAPPHY! of CAUTION V.2

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[JAGGER ION KOHANA]

Jagger felt chills literally run down his spine when she spoke to him, claiming in all her goodness that there was no way in Esune that he could or would possibly have any true and deep hate for her. For a moment he felt his insides fire up, his tongue ready to lash out and give her a piece of what was going through his mind if not all of it. He felt like she was pushing him too far with this whole mother thing and how much he really did love her. He was also growing tired of hearing how much of a horrible little creature that he was in comparison. It wasn’t as though he had lived with all of that enough as it was. All of his life he had gone by trying to be unnoticed because of all of the foul names and treatment he had gotten for openly being something that wasn’t exactly human. Humans didn’t live in the forest with giant spirits usually, he found out very early on. He had lived his life like he was some kind of curse without having any kind of love thrown his way. Maybe he should have been used to it and not flared up whenever someone said something about him that he wasn’t happy with. But he wasn’t that kind of person. He had a constant fire burning in him and he had no problem letting it out.

Surprisingly he managed to hold his tongue and process her words for a moment, even managing to appear somewhat calm after hearing them. He quirked a brow at her while adjusting the way his jaw had set crookedly. She wasn’t stupid, that much he knew. Anything that could create life and see whatever she wanted whenever she wanted wasn’t stupid.

“You’re right,” he finally sighed, feigning defeat. “I don’t hate my mother. But, really, that’s because I’ve never had a mother to hate.” He offered her a sad grin now, half real and half being a jackass. And though his words were soft and slow his rage building in his chest was the complete opposite.

He tilted his head back and stared around her at the forest and then toward the city. There was nobody currently chasing after him…. “the thief.” What a wonderful title to add to the rest of his name. Jagger Kohana the thief. It had a horrible ring to it and didn’t even sound nice, which made it that much worse. He would never get anywhere in this life, would he?

When she asked her question he didn’t look at her. Talking about his heritage was not a comfortable topic around even her. He hated the word halfing. He came with so much more than just that and it sounded almost as ugly as Jagger Kohana the thief. He had dirty, mixed blood and nobody wanted to be associated with that. However, if they knew of hid godly origins then they were suddenly very interested in him, assuming that he could somehow better them and their luck. They were wrong. He wasn’t exactly on good or healthy terms with either side of his bloodline.

Demigod didn’t sound bad. But how many truly knew that he was even that? They simply knew he didn’t fit with the rest of them. He was too tall, his shoulders too broad, and apparently gave off an uncomfortable aura.

“Halfling isn’t the most charming of words,” he murmured back, sounding very spiteful of it. He finally looked back toward her at the mention of his father, a man that he couldn’t even remember. “I think you would know better than I what happened to him.”

TAGS: ELEJEN
WORDS: 616
OUTFIT: CLICK THIS!

[ELEJEN]

Elejen's patience had begun to grow thin with her child. She had come to him, hoping that he would be a playful sort, but she should have known better. She had watched him from her high perch grow up, and he didn't seem the least bit amusing then, so why would he now? If he only loosened up, he would see that Elejen wasn't so bad. Perhaps with time he'd see that life was not such a serious thing.

She paced around for a moment, curiously watching the wind in the trees and listening to the birds chirp their words. Even animals knew who their mother was and they respected that fact. It seemed like only people didn't.

"Never had a mother to hate? I was always there, and you knew it, so if you wanted to hate me, you could have," she said, suspicious of his tone and smile. He was a cynical brat, but so was she. So, honestly, she couldn't blame anyone but herself for his behavior.

So, Jagger disliked the word 'halfling?' Perhaps she shouldn't have been so callous with her words. But, then again, he didn't seem to mind that he was just breaking Elejen's heart with everything he said. It was almost torn in two by simply looking at him.

"Does being called a halfling hurt your feelings? I'm so terribly sorry," she spat at him as she moved toward him. However, she straightened her composure up and pursed her lips to keep from saying anything else hateful.

Elejen stopped advancing toward him as he replied back about his father. A twisted grin formed on her visage, one brooding and entwined with darkness. "I do know what happened to him. He was a bad man who got what he deserved. And he absolutely hated you. He didn't want anything to do with you, and, frankly, he was embarrassed by you," Elejen explained sincerely, shaking her head in disdain. "But I was there for you, whether you could sense me or not. I wasn't going to let you be alone."

Elejen, too lazy to walk to Jagger, ported herself beside him. She looked up at him, assessing his demeanor. She was going to try something that she had seen many humans, and other species, doing. It was a sign of affection, and Elejen wasn't above incorporating some human customs into her own.

She leaned over and wrapped her arms around Jagger's torso, pulling him close to her. She was unsure about how to choke out the words that were floating about in her head, but if she was going to make this situation any kind of legitimate, then she figured she should probably say them.

"You know, he didn't love you, but I do," Elejen commented softly, somewhat in disbelief. "And it's fine if you don't love me, because a mother's love is unconditional." After she said those words, she released Jagger. Her eyes strayed from him to find something amongst the forest to entertain her. It was incredibly awkward for her to say she loved anything. She wasn't human, so how could she love? But if she couldn't love, then what was the feeling in her chest that made her want to be recognized by her son? It wasn't pride or guilt. It wasn't sorrow and it wasn't anger. It had to be that human emotion, and it was instinctual, almost. She could fight it all she wanted, but it would remain there. As for him, well, he probably didn't possess the same kind of thing that she did. He certainly didn't have a problem with denying her.

TAG!? jagger
WORDS!? 629
NOTES!? aww :3
OUTFIT!? kitty! outfit here(:
CREDITS!? This template is credited to OH IT'S SAPPHY! of CAUTION V.2

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[JAGGER ION KOHANA]

By now he had gotten over the anger of her calling him halfing. For one, it was her fault that he was what he was. She had been the one who had gotten into some kind of affair with a human man and then just left him out on his own after she more than likely killed his biological father. She was the one who had a son who every other creature wanted to look down on because of his blood (not literally look down, obviously). None of this made him feel any better though. None of these obvious things brought him any comforts because he was still the halfing with no family and no home. He didn’t have anything that anyone else in this world had. One would think that having half your bloodline related to the gods would have some kind perk, like a life filled with amazing riches. He had no riches. He had no perks, really. He had a spirit that babysat him as a child and a mother who claimed that he was so in love with the idea of him having her as a mother. But, in reality, he was just the lost halfing with nothing.

The mention of his father almost went by him without any notice. He knew so little about the man that he could hardly catch on when the word father was said that it was meant to be his. Despite this it did make him somewhat angry to hear that she did have something to do with his death. She couldn’t have just left one person to be around for him whether they hated him or not? It would have been nice to have something. Part of him didn’t even believe that his father had really hated him. He hadn’t even had the chance to know Jagger since his life had been taken from him before he could have gotten to know him. And, somehow, he wasn’t sure if he should believe too much of what she was saying. She hadn’t proved to be the most trustworthy of goddesses. He of all people would know this.

When the goddess wrapped her arms around Jagger’s middle he was more visibly uncomfortable than he had been during their entire encounter. His arms stiffened and he held his breath as she clung to him. He didn’t move his head at all, not even to look down toward her. He didn’t want to see her there and his body did not want to feel her hanging onto him. It really wasn’t working for him.

Jagger forced himself out of her arms, taking a step away from her. He gave her a strange look with a half frown on his face. “Why should I even listen to you?” he asked her under his breath. “For all I know you would rather have me dead than alive. Everything you tell me could be a lie. You could have spared me from living alone, but you gave me up and then killed my father.” He shook his head at her. “I don’t know what to believe. At least from you.”

TAGS: ELEJEN
WORDS: 524
OUTFIT: CLICK THIS!

[ELEJEN]

As awkward as that hug was for Elejen, she couldn't say that she didn't enjoy it. Human interaction was something very rare for her, especially affection. But, seeing as how Jagger didn't return his affection, Elejen might as well have been embracing a tree or brick wall. That was perfectly fine, though, because she knew that she was sincere in her attempts to mend their relationship and she had no reason to feel guilty. On the other hand, the fact that he didn't hug her back was eating her up. She had went out on a limb like that, and he just stood there? He could at least humor her a little.

Elejen stepped away from Jagger, ready to just give up on him altogether. He wasn't giving her any reason to want to be around him or try to have any kind of friendship with him. He was just... her son. That seemed to be what he would always and only be. He would just be a person that happened to have her blood. In a sense, he was no different than any other halfling if he was going to deny Elejen.

Elejen shook her head in awe at Jagger. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had to bite her tongue to keep herself from saying any particularly rash words to him. "Why should you listen to me?" she began with a thoughtful tone. "I don't know, Jagger. I really don't. But I want you to know that I can't kill anyone, so killing your father is impossible for me. And do you really think I gave you up?" Elejen scoffed at this, shaking her head once more at him. "You couldn't live with me because you're half human. But, believe what you want, because I'm done. I've invested what little time I have on Esune into you, and you've only thrown it back at me." She took a few more steps away from Jagger. Across her face was a stern yet remorseful visage. It was very apparent that she didn't want to leave off there, but he really had crossed the line with her patience. He had even stretched the bounds a little, but that was ending here, because Elejen was not a fool to be taken advantage of.

She stared at him for a moment, her eyes full of stoic displeasure, but they slowly shifted to something softer. As her gaze became buoyant, she turned away from Jagger, trying as hard as she could to retain a tense and coarse pose. It was difficult when every fiber of her being wanted to say something to him, but she beat down her urge. She was done, and that meant she was done with everything: talking, helping, even looking at him. He was dead to her. But that was probably how he wanted it. She had, after all, killed his father, left him out to survive on his own, and just done him the utmost injustice that she could have possibly done: bringing him into this world. Well, now he had to suffer through a near-immortal life on his own, because she wasn't aiding him, and she would make sure Desino didn't intervene, as well. He wanted to be by himself, so, by the hand of the goddess of life, he would be.

TAG!? jagger
WORDS!? 574
NOTES!? HEY screw you :<
OUTFIT!? kitty! outfit here(:
CREDITS!? This template is credited to OH IT'S SAPPHY! of CAUTION V.2

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