_ insuccesso.

[Xaver]

"F@%K!"


A line of swearwords that would have shrunk a sailor seared through the light, cooling evening breeze as Xaver struggled, his tempo and agitation becoming more fierce and unholy by the passing moment. Blood and sweat moved as one in beads over his forehead, stinging his eyes, and sending silvery trails of tears down the contours of his handsome face, pooling beneath his chin, and seeping into the ragged remains of his shirt. He swiped at the swell of the gash over his forehead even as his vision blurred, and he violently shook away the spell of dizziness, fingers trailing over his head, and through the thick buzz that was the remnants of his long, obsidian locks. Closing the dark blues of his eyes, he slumped backwards, fighting the urge to be sick, and the pulling desire of unconsciousness.

The barbed-wire that he was sorely entangled in, was little in comparison...
Little, to the memories that were flooding back, as sure as dusk was to come within the hour. Xaver panted a breath, wheezing slightly as he inhaled dust, his left cheek pressed firmly into the dirt.

He was amazed the fence was still whole.
He had ripped numerous posts from the earth with the impact of his landing, sure, but the metal wires had remained wholesome – wholly and effectively snagging him in an odd sort of death trap that was easily bringing out the caged-animal feeling, quickly. The jagged spikes were ruthlessly biting into him, all over, through clothes and skin and feathers, and he was twisted into an odd, uncomfortable position on his belly, one arm free, though the other was pinned behind him. How, yet, he didn't quite fathom, though his thoughts were rocking too quickly, still, for him to even fathom how to get himself out of his predicament.

Xaver had fallen.
Tumbled from the skies, as his mind had ruthlessly been invaded and overwrought by old and suppressed thoughts.
He'd hit the earth hard.
Hard enough to bring the bliss of blackness for who knew how many hours.


Breathing deeply, his blue orbs closed, as he caught the scents around him. Recognizing that he was close to the Forbidden forest. Close, by a few miles..
No other scents he knew were so tangy of undergrowth, magic, and the supple ancient, mossy mystery.

His limbs slackened as he pressed his face into the dirt, wincing, and cursing, the silvery essence of his agitated tears staining the already pale planes of his face, and mixing with the dirt that was clinging to him in a gritty film, as he struggled..

[Ginny Weasly]

"Shh..."

A cool hand was running through his sweaty hair (or what used to be hair), a soothing voice was asking him to calm down.
"I can't help you if you thrash about so."

Ginny spoke softly to Xaver, her tone one she used to speak to Cody when he was troubled, or sick. She knew Xaver was in pain, knew he was confused and upset. And it upset her, but she didn't let it show.

"Hold still love, and I'll see what I can do."

[Xaver]

She came out of nowhere.

It was a true testament to how rattled he was, that Xaver didn't even sense Ginny's approach. Not until she was upon him, a hand running over his head, her fingertips cool agianst his scalp, her voice a mellow, but uneven melody to his ears. She smelled as sweet as always - a soft mix of honey and cinnamon that was touched by the scent of her shampoo, and soaps.. The pretty lines of her face faded in and out, until he closed his eyes, his face pressed firmly into the dirt as he stopped twisting. Wincing, as the fingers of the hand pinned behind him went oddly numb.

He tried to speak, but his voice caught - and he sucked in a breath, nearly choking in the effort of doing so.
Bowing his head into his chest, he let out a soft moan.


The memories hit him again, in their ruthless spiral, as strong and powerful as they had before - strong enough to streak his vision white, and roll his eyes back into his head. He stiffened, drawing in a ragged breath, pulling violently against the chords that held him, tearing cloth and shredding flesh and feathers as he did so..

[Ginny Weasly]

Ginny shifted, kneeling and placing his head in her lap. With one hand, she stroked his hair. With the other, she gently began to untangle the barbed wire. Despite his thrashing about, she was able to hold him mostly still. At least enough to loosen the wire and pull out his arm.

"Love, you need to not move." She knew it was pointless, he was too far gone. Instead, she began to sing, lowly. Just as she would to a frightened child. The words were meaningless, the tune soft and slow.
She worked with the wire quickly, still stroking his head with one hand.

[Xaver]

They had him in chains.
Figures with blurred faces moved over him, around him, and he remained tied - locked and pinned down. His wrists pulled together, and locked to the floor, his ankles a few feet behind, he was forced to his knees, and forced to remain in a sort of achey, bowing position. His wings were tied back, and together as well, wires roughly ripped through the centers of their enormities in jagged punctures, looped together, and knotted. He couldn't shift - couldn't beat free, for both they would kill him, and the pain of it would almost be too much to bear.

His mouth moved and formed soundless words - and then they were upon him. Beating him..


Xaver's eyes flew open, his blue orbs searching but unseeing as he sucked in a ragged breath, then closing as Ginny's voice moved over him - soothing him - even as he couldn't quite yet understand what she was saying..

"I wasn't lost."
His words didn't even mean sense to him.
"I..I.. couldn't.."

[Ginny Weasly]

"What are you talking about, love?" Ginny asked, still working on freeing him from the barbed wire. She was distracted, hardly listening to his words, though they struck her as odd. She had most of the wire from his body, and was half pulling him from the tangled mess. She continued running one hand through his hair.

"Lost? I don't know what you mean." She said, keeping her tone smooth and soothing. She was worried for him, upset.
Confused.
Was he...remembering things?

[Xaver]

It was a miracle he hadn't broken his neck.
The impact of his fall had indeed created an irregular crater in the earth, marring the dirt where he'd slid, until he'd become entangled in the barbed fence, and had been snagged to a stop. Xaver knew he had probably broken a bone, or three, but he remembered nothing of the fall - and he must have been unconscious for hours. A lengthy enough time for his body to heal such injuries. Breaking his neck, however, could have killed him as effectively as a blade through the heart. It was a wonder he was alive, truly.

Ginny's soft, entrancing tones were soothing, though even they could not override the groggy, heavy feeling of his terribly sore body, as she slowly helped him.
Untangled him.

He closed his eyes, and for a long, painful moment, he didn't reply.

When finally he did, his eyes remained closed, his face pressed submissively into the dirt.
"I.. I couldn't.. Leave.."
His low tones were hoarse and ragged; painfully scratchy.


People with no faces.

No faces leaning over him in thick, white robes.

Prodding at him..


Now with both hands free, Xaver thrashed, eyes flying open again, and wild, his hands flying to his chest, though he couldn't turn quite enough to see..
"They.."
His brow furrowed, as he twisted slightly away from her, the wires easily shredding his flesh as he pulled, violently, trying to see..
"T-They.."

With a grunt, Xaver twisted roughly, so that he was no longer on his side, but on his back, his hips and legs still grossly entangled, though the rest of him was free. Ignoring the growing numbing feeling in his toes, he fretted with his shirt, jerking the fabric upward, moving his hands over the flat musculature of his abdomen. His fingertips stopped at his breastbone. as the blue oceans of his eyes widened with something attuned to wonder... and disgust. There was a scar there - small, and slightly faded - though, as he felt it, the more unnatural it was.
It wasn't one single scar, from a single injury.. It was from several, very small...
Punctures..


"They were drugging me."

[Ginny Weasly]

"Drugging you?"

Ginny gave up on removing the wire from him for the moment. He was thrashing about too much. Her face twisted, first into worry, then becoming inexpressive.

"Why would they do that?" She asked, still tentatively reaching out to touch his hair. Her hand smoothed his forehead, and she frowned deeply.
"Xaver, baby. Tell me..." Her voice was strained, showing her sudden tension. She bit her lip, what could she do?

Xaver wasn't like anyone else. She couldn't simply shut his memory's off until he could deal with them, he was as accomplished as she was in the area of telepathy. He'd simply stop her.
But she needed him to calm down. He was semi violent, and she was worried he'd hurt himself even more than he alredy had.

[Xaver]

Xaver was powerful in almost every sense; strong physically, mentally, metaphysically and psychically as well as being a sound political player, and intelligent creature.
He was a powerful player, prospect, and man - though it was only a few, who truly saw him as only a man, for, underlying, it was all he was.
Only a man, who could still want, and need, and feel.
And bleed.
And die.

Many people wanted him dead.
More, wanted him alive to use in their own selfishness to accomplish what they alone could not.
Then some, wanted everything to do with him, without him...

It was those some, Xaver beginning to deduce, that had more and more to do with his lack of memories, than he'd thought possible...
And it was those returning memories, that were quite nearly driving him out of his mind.

Beware not the snake, but the fangs, no?


He rubbed the pads of his fingers over his sternum vigorously, his brow pinched as both he tried to remember, to search for more, and as pain wracked his skull.

Could he be crazy?
Could this onsought of new dreams that seemed devastatingly real, be actaully memories?
He was trying to make sense, but he didn't know...

"To keep me down..."

He blinked, and for the first time, looked at her, still panting, the color drained from his features, his dark eyes solemn, anxious blues.


"To keep me."

[Ginny Weasly]

Ginny's breath caught in her throat as he looked at her, as their eyes connected. She could see the panic in his eyes, the disbelief, the upset. She bit her lip, "These wires, Xav...these wires are going to keep you if you don't let me take them off..."

She spoke slowly, hesitantly. If she helped him out, what would he do? Would he run? Would he split, imitating the animal look in his eyes now?
"We can go home and talk, Love. The forest...it isn't a good place..."
She knew that the forest was full of ears.

[Xaver]

Xaver held her gaze for a long moment, losing himself slightly in her light orbs, and everything in them that was so near, and comfortable, and familiar.
Allowing that one look to sooth the unkempt part of his soul that was still very much wild.

Much like his human counterparts, Xaver was in every way a man, for all intents and purposes. Though it what was beneath the skin that sold the differences - for as much as he was man and living, the rest of him was the remenants of decendants of Fallen ancestors. There was much to his soul that was decidedly animalistic and untamed - and there was only controlling it, for there was no destroying what was so very much a vital part of himself.

His thoughts spun, and his skull throbbed, aching. Her words brushed his senses like honey, but far overdue, the torment far too worn and raw to be soothed away..
Xaver swallowed and pulled a face, then slowly, he relaxed into her hold, turning back to his side, a temple and cheek pressed back into the dirt, the earth stirring slightly as he huffed a breath.

Feeling was becoming an ever-dominant sense again - and pain, physical pain, was making itself known.
He closed his eyes, and for all of a few moments, remained still.

"Okay."

His low octaves passed his lips as a shredded grunt a hoarse, uneven thread voice.

[Ginny Weasly]

Ginny worked silently now, pulling off the remaining wires. Even with the wires off, she kept Xaver in her hold, afraid to let him go. She pulled his upper half into her lap and gently kissed his forehead. She ran a cool hand through his short hair again.

"Is anything broken?" She asked him softly, her eyes running over his body, looking for anything blatantly hurt besides the scratches and cuts that the barbed wire had left.

[Xaver]

Xaver made little noise as she worked over him, keeping the grunts and groans to himself as she pulled the barbed wire from his skin - focusing on her gentle touch and little else. He gave a slight hiss of breath when she rolled him, though as he settled, and she worked her fingers through the short buzz of his dark hair, he allowed his eyes to close.

"Just a few ribs... my ankle... nothing much more than bruises."

He said it simply, his eyes closed as he rested against her, though his pinched expression gave away what his worn and tired tones did not.
He'd wiggled enough to know the extent of his injuries - and, for at least a moment anyway, he was content with simply not moving.

After a pause, Xaver's dark blue gaze flickered open, moving over the smooth contours of her face, and searching for the familiar eyes he knew so well. Finding them, he simply stared, sharing a look that said without saying, he was more upset about the whole thing, than he was letting off...

[Ginny Weasly]

Ginny's lower lip trembled, "Are...what.." She shook her head, closing her eyes and forcing herself to wait. Ginny took a deep breath before opening her eyes again. She met his, her own filled with worry and tension.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked after a long moment. She gently stroked his cheek, trying to keep him calm and relaxed. She knew his bones would heal themselves.

[Xaver]

"Are broken.." he said in a low breath, airily.
He might've shrugged, if he didn't hurt so much. He couldn't think straight.
Not straight enough to move.

Though he was thinking clearly enough to know he liked being held.
Loved being held by Ginny.

"Talk about?..."
He blinked at her.