Forged in the Shadows - Part 1 (Role Play 18+)

Bane: Groaning, he opens his fierce eyes into the blinding light, struggling against the restrains that hold him down, wondering where he is. Hearing a soft voice speaking words, he fights against the pain that gives him agony day and night, focusing his mind and moving numb lips to speak... "Who's there?" 

Talia: "Shhh, quiet now, lie still..." She takes a cloth from a bowl scented with herbs and places the cool compress on your forehead. "You must lie still..." she whispers, reaching out to touch your cheek gently with her fingers, then pulling away, afraid to hurt you. A tear rolls down her cheek as she watches you writhe in pain. "Bane... do you know me?" 

 Bane: His hands snaps out like a viper, breaking the restraining cuff and catching you by the wrist, those thick fingers wrapping around fragile bone, holding onto you firmly but gentle at the same time. "Am I dreaming? You..." His hazel eyes stare into your beautiful face, piercing into your gaze and touching your soul. "Talia... please do not let me wake from this..." 

 Talia: "Bane... my friend... my love..." Tears flow freely now as she lifts your hand to her lips and kisses your fingers. This is no dream, you're safe now... I'll never let anyone lock you up again, I swear it!" Her eyes turn clouded, angry, as she remembers. "Oh gods, what did they do to you... it's all my fault, I should never have left you there!" Sobbing bitterly, she holds your huge hand to her lips. 

 Bane: "My little bird needed to fly away..." Caresses the tips of his fingers over your soft lips, before remembering the horror of his ruined face. "No! Don't look at me Talia!" He recoils from you violently, limbs failing and snapping the restrains that held him, falling off the bed cot and hitting the hard cold floor, his half-clothed body trembling with agony as a viseral yell of torment escapes his lungs.  Talia: "Bane! No!" Screaming as you hit the floor, your agony ripping through her as your huge body contorts in pain. Please, you must be still!" Rushing to your side, she tries to lift you. sobbing as you struggle, knowing that you can only increase your pain this way. "You must listen to me Bane, you've been so terribly injured...you must rest, there are medicines..." She leans down to touch her forehead to yours. "No one has ever looked more beautiful to me..." 

 Bane: His large bare chest rises and falls with heavy breathes while a sheen of sweat breaks out over his skin, that huge frame shivering in your arms like a child. "Talia... let me die. I can't protect you anymore. Not like this." Chokes on his words as a new wave of torment rolls over him. "You should never have come back for me." 

Talia: "I could never leave you in there to die...I need you..." She rocks you gently in her arms murmuring soothingly. "You would have died there, you don't deserve that..." Kissing your forehead gently, she tries to convey her calm to you, hoping to help you to rest more easily. "They are all dead now, all those who hurt you... You need to trust me, my father will protect you until you grow strong again, I won't let you die!" 

 Bane: Slides an arm around your slender waist, pulling you to him and shielding his scarred face against your body. "So you found him? He whispers, focusing on the soothing tones of your gentle voice, fighting the darkness inside his mind and soul back. He won't let those demons ever touch you. Not you. His only light in the world. 

Talia: "Yes, I found him..." Her breathing slow, she focuses on sending you her strength. "When I told him of my mother's fate, of mine, he became enraged. He went to find the hell from which I had escaped and he and his men killed those responsible for our imprisonment, our torment..." She continues stroking your head, holding you close. "I told him of how you protected me, and he returned with you... yours was the only life he spared. But they hurt you so terribly... we were too late..." 

 Bane: "A blame I will take upon myself dear daughter." Ra's Al Ghul speaks as he stands in the door way, looking down upon you and the man held so protectively in your arms. "He should not be out of bed Talia. He needs rest." He steps forward to help you move an exhausted Bane back onto the bed cot as the huge man's body goes limp from weakness like a rag doll, too traumatized to put up a struggle anymore. 

Talia: "Father, please! He's in so much pain..." Carefully settles you on the cot, gently placing a pillow under your head. Help him, Father, I owe him my life... I...love him...." She turns an imploring gaze on her father, pleading with him, the image of her mother. 

Bane: Ra's cups your soft cheek, haunted by your face, seeing his beloved wife staring right back at him. "I will do all that I can child. I owe this man everything within my powers to repay him for his service." He explains, while moving to a nearby table and filling a syringe with a heavy dose of specialized pain medication the League of Shadow doctors have created. "You're my only heir. My last gift from your mother. I won't let Bane's devotion be forgotten." Ra's sits down on the bed cot, taking Bane's massive forearm and turning it over to find a vein for injection, giving the sleeping giant the full dose. "That should help keep the pain at bay for a few hours my dear. Put this is only a temporary solution. We will have to find a way to keep him sedated at all times or Bane will always be like this."

Talia: "But Father!" She rises quickly, alarmed. "He can't be sedated at all times! That is equal to death, he would never want to live that way!" Looking down, then back up at you, her blue eyes filled with tears. "Surely he will heal! I... love him...I..." She turns away, covering her face with her hands, shoulders shaking with sobs. "Th...there m..must be a w..way..." Talia sinks to her knees beside the cot, watching you sleep, taking in the scarring and the as yet unhealed wounds. She knows that you were hurt because of her, that had you not cared for her, you'd never have met such a terrible fate.  

Bane: "I only tell you what needs to be said daughter. I won't ever lie to you." Ra's places a gentle hand upon your shoulder in comfort. "You're looking at him with a woman's heart and wishing for things that will never be. You can not erase what has been done to him. Love Bane as he is or let him go Talia." 

Talia: "NO! I won't accept this for him!" If it weren't for the way he took care of me, they would have left him alone!" She turns her head, eyes narrowed, face contorted with anger "You give up too easily. You, who left my mother, left her to die in that pit... When they freed you, you just left! What do you know of love? I won't give up so easily!" 

Bane: Ra's eyes fill with a deep well of sadness, before replying calmly. "I did not know your mother took my place in the Pit so I may live. Nor did I know she was with child. These failures will haunt me for the rest of my life daughter." He turns and walks to the door, stopping and looking over his shoulder at you for a moment. "I will find a way to help Bane cope with his pain, but I can not fix those facial injuries. It's too late for that. As for his tormented soul... that's for you to heal Talia." Ra's nods, leaving you once again alone with your protector. 

 Talia: She watches you sleep. Even with your scarring, seeing you is the most comforting sight she has seen in all her years. She climbs carefully onto the cot beside you, curling up next to you, feeling your warmth, your solid presence beside her. She takes comfort in the rise and fall of your chest, resting her hand lightly over your heart, feeling the steady rhythm beneath her fingers, her tears silently falling as she breathes in time with you.