when you ( stand ) they f a l l [Nightmare] (Fin)

[Aralyn]

Comin' down the world turned over

And angels fall without you there

Aralyn was quite curious about checking this place out, and worked up the motivation to actually see what it was about. For the most part, she was pleased with what she saw at the moment, a decent size crowd to mingle amidst in. There was no denying the fact that as soon as she walked in, she wasn't surprised with the stares she got, regulars sniffing out new people. Was there like neon sign hanging over her head that read 'look at me', and catch almost all of the crowd's eyes?

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she continued into the tavern just sight seeing for the most part. Apart of her wanted to punch them all out to knock some manners into them, but the mass majority of her thoughts just dropped it finding it pointless to complain over it. People were bound to stop, and stare at anything and everything that seemed out there.

The fairy hybrid had to bite down on her discomfort, and try to make herself not so... noticeable around regulars. Her icy blue eyes flickered up noticing a friendly brawl happening in one end of the bar, and a game on the other. So many social activities sent a wave of isolation within her frame, which she casually rolled off her shoulders. There was a whistle off in her direction, which she had to roll her eyes at. Got a room full of charmers here~

Aralyn quietly picked up three darts, and began a bit target practicing upon the target board hanging on the wall. In the back of her head, she was imagining the faces of the male who made a cat call to her. Now that was stress relief right there when you needed it.

[Nightmare Darklight]

You can search far and wide,
You can drink the whole town dry!

So Nightmare was here for an odd reason. Truth be told, he detested coming to bars as it never ended well. Someone always got in a fight. Not to mention that it seemed that things would be rather cliche for going to a bar to drown their sorrows. Which, surprisingly enough, was what Nightmare was here for; drowning his sorrows. Except he wasn't really drowning, he knew not to get completely plastered, but just enough to give him something to do. He had plenty reason to be here, considering that the way things had gone, he probably couldn't have just assumed nothing ever happened and moved on just like that.

Last night, Nightmare had in fact, slept with Midna. To him, it was a magical occasion that he would never forget. However, it was during said occasion that he had made his big blunder. For a moment, just a brief moment, his instincts took over, and he ended up marking the Twilight Princess, claiming her as his own mate. Such a thing was usually used to show that one was taken, and that the others could just back off. But Nightmare hadn't intended to mark her, it was just something that he ended up doing. He hadn't really worked up the nerve to notify her, as he hoped that she wouldn't really notice it and that it could all die down.

But, he was certain that she would notice, and that she would probably realize it for what it was, and that she likely wouldn't be too happy about it. The Emperor groaned. This wasn't supposed to happen, and now things could be jeopardized. What if she never wanted to see him again after that? Of course, a mark was a mark. It was a sign that one had chosen a mate. But to Midna, it might have just been a symbol, something that she could for the most part, ignore. Nightmare really couldn't blame her for doing something like that, as it hadn't happened with both of them knowing. All of it caused Nightmare to groan, letting his face smack against the table with a loud "thunk". People were probably gonna stare.

[/blockquote][/justify]

[Aralyn]

Comin' down the world turned over

And angels fall without you there

First try. Aralyn was close but not quite on the bull's eye. Closing one of her icy blue eyes, she steadied her aim, carefully paced her timing in time with the passing drunkard making his way across. Second attempt will be the one! A frown formed across her lips as she took aim, and threw her second dart, getting ever so closer to the target, but still it wasn't enough. She cursed softly before putting her final dart in her palm. Third time's the charm! Licking her lips, she adjusted her leg position, and tried to stop her hands from shaking as much, and attempted her final go!

Unfortunately, it was in vain as she heard a loud 'thunk' coming from a nearby table. Thrown off, her aim was directed away from it's original target, and darted flew higher, and snapped the support of the target board, and it fell down. It smacked a passed out drunkard, waking him up, and it was quite angry. A bead of sweat formed upon her temple as she sneaked away from sight, and allowed that guy's rage be unleashed on someone else. There were some things in life you just don't take responsibility for~

As she made her escape, out of the corner of her eye, she found the cause of the noise that made her lose her concentration while playing darts. An eyebrow quirked up not realizing it before but she recognized that mop of blond hair anywhere. However his face was planted against table so she couldn't get a good look if was the same guy she knew from way back when. With a casual stroll on over to his table, she took a seat next to him, confirming that it had to be the same guy. "Yo," was her only greeting.

Her oceanic eyes flickered slightly with concern. There was just something in the air around him that told Aralyn that he wasn't himself. "I thought bartenders served the drinks - not drown themselves in it," she smiled wryly. She nearly didn't recognize him because of the outfit; since when did he wear those duds? Not that it didn't make him look sharp, but just not something she expected of him. However it was quite clear that she wanted to know what was wrong with him~

[Nightmare Darklight]

You can search far and wide,
You can drink the whole town dry!

There really wasn't much for him to do. All he really did was just sit there and mope. He had made a big mistake, marking her had been a big mistake. She wasn't a dragon, so she wouldn't see it for what it happened to be. Rather, she would get pissed that he had done something he shouldn't have. And it was true, he had done something that he shouldn't have. He might have been arrogant, he might have been an ass, but even he knew that there were times when the responsibility lied solely with him. For something like this, there was absolutely no one to blame for his stupidity other than Nightmare himself.

However, that all changed when he heard someone approach him, and even make a smartass remark about how bartenders weren't supposed to be drinking themselves. Nightmare felt like snapping. People had already pestering him for drinks, thinking he actually worked here, and he was getting fed up with it. But, after a few moments, he recognized who the owner of the voice was.

So Nightmare now had company. At least it was someone he knew and not someone who was just here to pick a fight with him... or order drinks, which some had actually been doing. Nonetheless, he wasn't really in the mood to put up with her banter, or to have a witty conversation. Right now, Nightmare felt like beating himself up over what he considered to be a stupid mistake on his part and mope about his predicament. So instead of a witty comeback like she might have been expecting, Nightmare only let out a "Bluhhhhh" as he just continued to keep his face on the table, practically oblivious to the rest of the world.

[/blockquote][/justify]

[Aralyn]

Comin' down the world turned over

And angels fall without you there

He didn't just completely ignore her, did he? He so ignored her. Her cyan eyebrows furrowed softly creating a slight 'v' shape quite annoyed that he just did that. A fist formed ready to knock him out cold so he didn't have to suffer anymore for the rest of the night. However instead of resulting to violence completely, she came up with an idea first, and if all else fails, violence was the last solution~ Something was completely off about him tonight, and Aralyn was hell-bent on finding out. The hybrid fairy had this odd way of showing that she cared for her friends, especially when she insisted in offering a helping hand. Ingrained in her head, there was an air of confidence around him, and he never failed to step up to the plate as far as she could judge of Nightmare Darklight.

The person she was sitting right next to wasn't the same guy she knew in the past. Although she had to admit there was still one thing about him that she knew without a doubt made him... well, for a lack of a better description, himself. Nightmare was over the top with everything he did. This included getting extreme down on himself as well~ Though she couldn't help but ponder why this place? Consider it a stroke of luck or maybe there was something more about this encounter, but it would seem that the atmosphere wasn't really cutting it for Aralyn.

Just as quickly as she sat down, she rose up from her chair, and took a step to get behind the oblivious blond. With one gloved hand, using a bit of strength, she lifted him up by the back of his bartender suit, and began dragging him across the floor. Her destination was towards the exit after collecting her things, along with anything Nightmare checked in at the door. The tavern air was quite stifling so perhaps a bit of fresh air will do him some good, along with changing his attitude, so she could get some straight answers out of him~ While in the process of exiting out of the bar, she got a few chuckles, and hoots along the way out.

By the time she reached out the doors, and outside of the building, she let go of Night setting him down not-so-gently on the ground with a small thud. Her arms fell down to her sides as her bright blue eyes lowered themselves down to the sorry looking male. "Not that I care or anything," she started, "but you're obviously not yourself. What happened to you? English would be nice, but an answer consisting more than just one unintelligible word would be even better."

[Nightmare Darklight]

You can search far and wide,
You can drink the whole town dry!

Nightmare really didn't react much to Aralyn sneaking up behind him and grabbing his shirt to drag him away. He didn't really fight it either. Rather, he just let himself be dragged along the ground, ignoring the calls of all the males there, ignoring the fact they were probably enjoying this. Right now, he really didn't care. He had much bigger things on his mind, though he did make a mental note to come back for them when he was feeling better. Namely, come back to beat the crap out of them. He was the Dragon Emperor, he might have been down now, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't come back with a vengeance.

As they exited the bar, he wondered just what she was going to be doing now that he was out of the bar and they were away from everyone. He knew how Aralyn was, and that she would probably be interrogating him fairly quickly. And he was right. Almost immediately, she pretty much threw him, and once again, he didn't really resist that much. He did however, activate the Ultimate Shield to cover only his back, unbeknownst to her, so his back wouldn't be punished for it as the shield took the impact. Almost instantly after he hit the ground, he deactivated it. Aralyn didn't really know much about him. He kept his life secret for good reason.

Regardless, she was wanting answers. Well, he could probably just tell her outright. If he just told her then he would have to wonder how she would take that. Maybe he could cheer himself up a little. "Well, Aralyn. The truth is I'm a massive dragon of great power, and I slept with an extra dimensional princess that's the descendant of the Dark Interlopers, and in the process I marked her as my mate." He just outright confessed, possibly giving her the most deadpan stare possible. A passerby overheard him, and rather than fascination, just gave him a weird look, like he was drunk or out of his gourd, or both. Either way, Nightmare told her what she wanted to know, technically.

[/blockquote][/justify]

[Aralyn]

Comin' down the world turned over

And angels fall without you there

She could tell he hasn't gotten himself completely shit-faced tonight. Something in the back of her head told her otherwise this wouldn't be the kind of place where Nightmare would get himself plastered. This was further proven the second he took the impact on the ground that he started to explain himself as to why he was depressed. The words that came out of his mouth however was something she couldn't even begin to fathom. Ok, she could give him the benefit of the doubt that he could be a dragon~ Given that she was a hybrid fairy but many people didn't look into that about her - let alone cared. The second part...

Well, the second part she had to take a moment or two to really take that one in. It was ridiculously ludicrous. How in the world could she even begin to react to that answer? Though one thing was for certain though that struck a nerve to the hybrid fairy. Her azure eyes burned brighter as a fist formed within her right hand. With one quiet fluent motion, she pulled her fist back, and sent her arm swinging straight towards Nightmare's head with her fist aimed directly at him.

"Whether or not, I believe you is irrelevant," she explained, sending an icy glare at the male, "Fact is, you've essentially gave the girl a tramp stamp. Way to go~" Aralyn soften her balled hand until the fist faded and returned back to her side. Did he not think about how the woman was going to feel about having that mark on her? She didn't really need to go into further details about how stupid his actions were. He was already beating himself up over it, but she needed to give him a good punch as well to reprimand him of his dumbass mistake~

Right now, the only thing she was going to believe at the moment was the fact that he got involve with a woman. How deep their relationship was, she cared little of, speculating that it didn't develop that much. They got into the heat of the moment, and Nightmare imprinted the girl. That was the story she was going go with, the rest of the details were a bit far-fetched for her to believe. "Do you have any idea as to how you're going to take responsibility?" she asked, after getting her violent fix out of her system.

[Nightmare Darklight]

You can search far and wide,
You can drink the whole town dry!

Nightmare still didn't fight as the fist came flying at his face. He figured he couldn't use his Ultimate Shield right now, so he'd just take the hit. As it collided with his face, his head jolted in the direction it was punched, but Nightmare himself didn't really make a sound from it. He had been through worse, and even to take the throne, had to take some nasty hits. So a punch wasn't really all that big a deal to him. Still, he was sure that it would probably leave a bruise later on, but he would just deal with that later. Rather, he just let her continue on with her talk, not really paying much attention.

However, after what Aralyn had called the marking, what she had called Midna, some of the fire that had dimmed started to flare again. Even after her question, he didn't really answer her. Rather, he simply took a quick glance around, and determined that no one was in the immediate vicinity to hear this, so he could do this without worry of causing a fuss. At least not from a random passerby. Though what Aralyn would do, he wasn't too sure of. Then again, with what he was about to do, he didn't really seem to care. He was just pissed. Illogically pissed, that she had insulted the Twilight Princess like that.

He rose to his feet, but what Aralyn would notice was that his skin was changing. His hair, his ears, and his skin disappeared, replaced by the blackness of the Ultimate Shield. It was useful as a defensive spell, but it also had intimidation as well. As he stood on his feet, he glared at the fairy hybrid. He didn't care if they were friends, he wouldn't let her say that. Ignoring her question, his arm shot out, enhanced by the power of the ring, and gripped the straps on her chest. He pulled her over to him, so that he was just inches away from her face, giving her an infuriated, harsh glare, as he only said four words.

"Don't. Call her that."

[/blockquote][/justify]

[Aralyn]

Comin' down the world turned over

And angels fall without you there

In all of her time of knowing Nightmare, she hasn't found anything on him that could arouse the potential existence of a temper in him. She knew he had to have one, but didn't really push to see how far his patience went as far as that went. However, much time has passed since she's last encountered him, and he was a different man than before. Not that it was a bad thing, but she had to piece together some missing information between the blank spaces. With that being said, with the case of this perticular woman, Nightmare held a special attachment to. Well, let's just say he didn't appreciate her comment on calling the mark he gave the woman he spent the night with~

How did she know? Because when it came to pride, and honor, no woman was worth the extra mile. Though we weren't talking about matters of pride, and honor amongst the two of them. This predicament was about the matter of the heart.

If she wasn't worth the time, and misery he's brought upon himself then he wouldn't have gotten pugnaciously abrasive towards the hybrid female. Yes, she was taken back by his instant change in forms, but underneath that blackness was still the same man. However the ardent ire flared up within his frame as he pulled her up close, stabbing glared for daggers into her icy blue eyes proved her point. "Looks like you've found someone you genuinely care about," she stared up at the darkened face of Nightmare's.

Perhaps she was looking at it the wrong way. Perhaps it wasn't that he was missing anything this whole time, but rather, he found something that had been out of the picture for so long.

[Nightmare Darklight]

You can search far and wide,
You can drink the whole town dry!

Her words brought a rather surprised reaction out of him. Rather than remark about him getting angry or even make fun of him, she was rather gentle about it. His hand released her straps and he pulled away, the fire in his eyes dying down a bit. The Ultimate Shield was deactivated as his body returned to normal from the head down. His golden locks reappeared, along with his ears. He was back in his human shell. He had seemed to calm down for the most part, as it seemed that she hadn't really kept up the hostility.

Though, what she said did make him think. Well, of course he cared about Midna. If he didn't then he wouldn't have made the alliance, he wouldn't have cared what Aralyn said about her. Even thinking on it, Nightmare wouldn't have even slept with her if he didn't have something there for the Twilight Princess. As ridiculous as it was, Aralyn might have been onto something. Maybe he did genuinely care for Midna, and maybe it did go beyond just mere concern and into something deeper. They were so alike, it would be hard for them not to connect, and it would be hard for them not to care about each other.

Maybe it was love. Nightmare wasn't a stranger to it. He had been the object of other's affections more than once, and he himself had actually been in love once. Hell, he had actually been engaged to someone he truly loved. Of course, Aralyn never really had any clue about it. In fact, he never went around telling people that he had been engaged. He never really went into much detail about his life, but his had been rather eventful. But still, what she was saying. Maybe in a way, he was starting to move on. "I... maybe you're right... I don't know." He muttered, unsure what to really do.

[/blockquote][/justify]

[Aralyn]

Comin' down the world turned over

And angels fall without you there

Even Aralyn knew when it was time to play the nice friend~ Probably not the most ethical way of helping, but she got her point across. She extended her hands out for a split second to assure she didn't lose her stance when he released her straps. When her hands returned back over to her side, she softened her gaze at Nightmare, a small smile formed upon her lips. He looked like a lost child in the amidst a crowded room. The flames of his irritation simmered down as he lowered his guard in front of the fairy hybrid.

Sure, she didn't know the man in front of him, but she honestly didn't care. Apart of the package of taking the chance to establish such ties came with accepting the both the positives and the negatives. Aralyn could see within his eyes something there that she must have missed the last time she met him. How fast his mind was probably racing thinking about what she had mentioned to him.

Ah~ The concept of love. A language she was pretty positive anybody could understand when they make that special connection. Strangers find themselves wondering what it is, while those who have it don't know what to do with it, and alas, those who lost it, know the true meaning behind it's glory.

Aralyn was amused that he totally ignored her question, but she'll let it slide. She trusted that now that he wasn't anguishing over his errors he'd think of some way to fix his slip. Besides, the azure haired woman had other questions in mind to keep him talking. "So tell me," she spoke eagerly, "Does she like you back?"

[Nightmare Darklight]

You can search far and wide,
You can drink the whole town dry!

It's funny. One would never expect Nightmare of all people to really understand the language of love, considering what he was like. But he had at least once, having been engaged, to the Princess of Hyrule, of all people, so he knew what it was like. So in a way, it was something that he was starting to visit again. But, he wasn't really sure what to do all about it. He may have visited it once, but it apparently could still throw him for a loop. His head ended up swirling as he was brought back from his depression and brought down from his anger, and now he was starting to realize just how jumbled the whole thing was.

Did she like him back? Well, Nightmare should've seen that one coming. It was only a natural question that would come considering their current situation. He had to think whether she really did like him or not. "Well... she did say she was attracted to me. But she meant it in the physical sense, I'm sure." That was true, she admitted she found him to be attractive, but that didn't mean she liked him, let alone loved him. Nightmare brought his fingers to his temples, rubbing them in fatigue. This whole thing was going to end up being a drain, and it would still keep going for a while, he was sure.

The Emperor let out a sigh as he scratched the back of his head, this was all so complicated, and something he would rather not have to deal with at the moment. But that's how love was, it was above all else, complicated, and there was no simply way to go about it. Nevertheless, it was nice that Aralyn was at least hearing him out, and even believing him. Or at least, she was pretending to believe him in order to get things sorted out.

[/blockquote][/justify]

[Aralyn]

Comin' down the world turned over

And angels fall without you there

Aralyn had no experience whatsoever - let alone the memories of her past to tell if she's ever understood it or not. It was depressing that she couldn't remember anything of her past, but perhaps it was best this way. To start over, and just be herself~ It was all that she had to offer as far as her own identity went, but she sure was accepting of this matter. Then again she felt bad that she couldn't offer any advice of her own since she didn't have anything to go by in order to help him out. The fairy hybrid mused as he answered her question.

"Well, of course, everyone's going to make judgments on appearances. That's just natural," she stated matter of fact, "but you haven't actually asked her, did you?" Most likely not, but Aralyn wasn't one to make fast assumptions just yet. That was something he probably should look into with this woman. She pointed her index finger up into the air as if she's concluded on an answer to solving a difficult problem. "If I were you, I wouldn't want to leave her hanging, you know what I mean?"

In other words, go find this woman, and talk to her. Get some things straighten out before he goes off the deep end. Obviously, it was an easy solution to make, but going about doing so... well~ That was another rope to pull. One could only hope that at the end of that said rope that it's supporting, strong enough to hold him while he moves in the right direction.

[Nightmare Darklight]

You can search far and wide,
You can drink the whole town dry!

Right, that was true. So many people judged based on appearance. He could understand people doing such a thing. Hell, that was what his form was for, specifically to look good. Nightmare knew he could change his appearance at any point, but preferred this one because it was his best work and he was pretty hot in this form. Midna was no slouch either. She was honestly one of the most gorgeous women he had every run into. Though he didn't really mind her imp form. He never really found it disgusting, nor was he ever repelled. He just saw it as another form. After all, in the looks department, a giant firebreathing dragon could only go so far, so he at least knew how to look inside.

Nightmare looked away from the tavern. Right. He still hadn't even talked to Midna about this. He should probably go find her and see what was going on, or even if she wanted to speak to him again. He figured that he might was well get the whole thing over with, right? He looked back at Aralyn and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Well, I suppose the bright side to all of this is that there's no jerk jock trying to steal her from me." He joked, trying to recompose his personality, back to the confident, arrogant young man that most people tended to see more often. Though he knew Aralyn had a glimpse into what he was really like.

There was however, the prospect that this would not have a happy ending, and that things would only continue to go south. "If she shoots me down though, I'm coming back here." He announced his intentions to the fairy hybrid. She better be ready to come back and find him slumped over at his table again, cause that was what he would be doing if this didn't go well at all. With that out of the way though, he turned away from the fairy hybrid, and started leaving the scene. "Wish me luck." He remarked as the distance between them became larger. Within just a few more minutes, he would be out of sight, on his way to find his princess.

[/blockquote][/justify]

[EXIT]

[Aralyn]

Comin' down the world turned over

And angels fall without you there

Aralyn laughed. Now there was the same old Nightmare Darklight that she remembered. Now that she thought about it, their last encounter ended up being at a bar, wasn't it? Yeah, she didn't remember the details entirely, but she was positive that they both got into a bar fight, and ended up becoming friends from it. What were the odds of that happening really~

In the end, she was glad to have a bar buddy to spend some time with when she didn't have anything better do to. There was no doubt in her mind that Nightmare was quite a story teller, and even if she didn't believe them, she had to admit they were still interesting stories to say the least. Now that he had a woman to attend to, she could only wish him the best of luck he didn't screw up anything. He had a good head on his shoulders, but that didn't exclude him from making mistakes. Everyone was entitled to doing such things.

A smile graced upon her lips feeling that at least she made some difference tonight. Just as soon as he took off, she waved softly before turning in the opposite direction, and made her way out of the vicinity. The night itself wasn't a complete waste of time~

[ End ]

[Nightmare Darklight]

Rupees given. Thread locked and moved.