Meandering Through Town

[Xaurora Areleous nó Gentian]

I wanted to escape from the day to day monotony of Gentian for a while and thougt that a day on the town would be just the thing to lift my spirits. So I dressed casually in a beautiful rose colored dress with lots of ruffles and warm undercoats and set off into town.

Thankfully Gentian wasn't that far away from Night's Doorstep and I settled into a leasurely pace, just enjoying the afternoon wandering the shops.

[Maeve nó Heliotrope]

I was out in Mont Nuit again, looking for company, or a patron, or a lover. I was unbearably lonely nowadays and any company would have been welcome. The wind was blowing through the streets, whipping my red hair around my face. My skirts blew against my legs, a mess of blue and green.

As I pushed my hair out of face, I spotted a woman I had never seen before. She was tall and very fair, with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was striking to look at, and for a moment, all I could do was stare. Then I blushed and looked away, afraid she would see me.

[Xaurora Areleous nó Gentian]

I suddenly felt eyes on me and turned to see if I could find the source. Ah, an adept. I thought, spying a blushing redheaded woman a ways away from me. I could barely catch her thoughts from here; she was a little embarrased for starring but that was about as much as I could pick up as she turned away. So I casually walked closer to her and could sense that she didn't want me to have seen her but I didn't mind her staring and I approached her.

"Lovely afternoon, isn't it?" I said smiling warmly.

[Maeve nó Heliotrope]

Oh Elua, I thought, why do you strike me dumb at a time like this? Up close, she was even more lovely, and so poised. She could not have been an adept, if she were, I would be very surprised, she carried herself like noblity.

"Ah," I said, stammering, "Yes, yes it is, my lady." I cast my eyes down, appearing as demure as I could at a time like this.

[Xaurora Areleous nó Gentian]

A wash of nostagia came over me at hearing her call me a lady, I would have been if my parents hadn't died in that fire, but I shrugged it off and continued, "You needn't address a fellow adept so humbly," I said, "I'm Gentian, Xaurora Areleous nó Gentian, to be exact." and smiled.

[Maeve nó Heliotrope]

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said, blushing harder than ever, "It's just...you carry yourself like any noble, and are as finely dressed and lovely."

"I...I'm Maeve," I said, almost like an afterthought. "Maeve nó Heliotrope."

[Xaurora Areleous nó Gentian]

A laugh came unbidden to my lips and I blushed a little myself, "I guess my heritage shows more than I realize." I said, "I'm actually the grand daughter of a Lord and the daughter of a once wealthy merchant." I smiled sweetly, remembering my father. "But never mind that, it's very nice to meet you Maeve."

[Maeve nó Heliotrope]

I wondered vaguely why she was a an adept if she was a peer of the realm, but I decided it would be better not to ask. Everyone has their reasons.

I tried to reply, but my words became stuck in my throat. Instead I managed an, "It must be nice to know your heritage," which was true. I knew absolutely nothing of where I had come from, no one had ever told me.

[Xaurora Areleous nó Gentian]

She was curious as to why I had decided to be an adept and I casually interjected a reason in my reply, "Hmm, sometimes it is and other times its not. I often feel out of place in the Night Court because some dispise me for my heritage and others think I don't belong. But I believe that I do and I try to ignore the envy I feel from them and get on with my life and I haven't once regreted choosing this over a life as a peer."

I smiled kindly and continued, "I have a rare gift and I wouldn't have been able to control it if I had stayed with cousins of mine, and well, I actually don't know any of them and my father's old benefactor looked after me just fine with out them. That and Gentian was the perfect place for me anyway."

[Maeve nó Heliotrope]

At that I was able to smile warmly at her, as she became more open I became less tongue tied myself. "That's wonderful," I said, "I am Night-Court raised, and to this day I know not where I came from."

[Xaurora Areleous nó Gentian]

She was actually beautiful when she smled and I was glad she was begining to feel more at ease around me. "Yes, it is and I thank him for it." I said. But I was a little sad at hearing/feeling her uncertainty of not knowing where she came from. "I am sorry to hear that you don't know of your heritage, but it is the heart that decides who and where it will call home and family and it is that wich you must cherish in the absence of the real thing." I said, smiling encouragingly.

[Maeve nó Heliotrope]

I nodded in agreement. "It's one of the reasons that once my marque is made, I plan to start my own family," I explained. "I love children; it's my job at Heliotrope to teach them their first lessons, how to read and write and cipher."

[Xaurora Areleous nó Gentian]

"How delightfull!" I exclaimed "That sounds so wonderful, you must really enjoy your time with them then." I said, practically jumping and clasping my hands together like a little girl with a joyful smile on my face. I felt my happiness for her overflowing and I was a hopefull that it would cheer her up.

[Maeve nó Heliotrope]

"Oh, I do," I said earnestly, "They are such a pleasure, sweet adoring things that they are. They will make wonderful Heliotropes, most of them have parents who are or were also adepts."

Her delight in me was flattering, and I could feel myself slipping into a place where I wanted to love her in every way I could. I hardly knew her, but she seemed like an almost kindred spirit. And she was beautiful. As a Heliotrope, I had been too long without love, and it was painful.

[Xaurora Areleous nó Gentian]

"How sweet," I replied, relaxing my hands and taking a step closer to her, she was actually quite lovely and I had been missing of female company recently, most of my current patrons had been males and it did get a little tiresome on occaison to make love in exactly the same way time after time.

"I don't know what could make anyone happier than to be surrounded by so many with such a passion for life, and all of them so young. It must be quite a privilage to teach them." I commented.

[Maeve nó Heliotrope]

She was moving closer, and my heart thumped harder in my chest. "It is a privelege," I agreed, "but there are...some things...that can make one happier. Very few things, but all the same, some things."

[Xaurora Areleous nó Gentian]

I could feel her emotions at the surface and they were wild, feeling like minded I smiled. "I can agree to that. Elua willing there are... certain things that could please one more, and it is a rare occasion that it happens but you can just hope for the best to come your way and embrace it fully when they occasion offers itself." I said, smiling mischeviously, enjoying myself for once.

I could feel her love and thankfullness over flowing and I casually broached the subject on my mind. "I have quite the penchant for sad lovers and I have often prayed for Him to bless me with more than just patrons, and sometimes I luck out and find just what I'm looking for and other times no." I said, shaking my head, hopefully not embarrasing her.

[Maeve nó Heliotrope]

Many times I have had patrons who I thought could read my mind, but this Gentian, she could, I was sure she could. Resisting the urge to touch her, I said instead, "I pray that Elua grants your wish and gives you great love in your life." I was not so forward that I would say desperate things to make her love me.

[Xaurora Areleous nó Gentian]

I was flattered at her recognition of my knowing her thoughts but I wasn't going to scare her out of her skin by saying so. However, I was feeling like she was just what I had been looking for in a personal companion, so I gently gave her mind a subtle push with mine to set her mind at ease and let her know I was feeling similarly towards her.

I could sense that she wanted to touch me and touched her instead, placing a gentle hand in hers as I smiled sweetly at her. "I believe He has, as I believe we were destined to have met, Maeve, because I see everyting in you that I have been searching for." I said, not meaning to sound as if I was telling a self-fulfilling prophecy but it was true.

[Maeve nó Heliotrope]

She must be a very successful Gentian, I thought, but the thought was pushed away as her hand touched mine, and I felt a flood of warmth coursing through my skin. I did not know whether to tell her to stop reading my mind or to never stop. I gently squeezed her hand.

"You flatter me," I said quietly. "I am a Heliotrope of no importance, I have only two inches of marque on my back. And you..." I struggled for words. "You're..." I didn't know what to say that would do her justice, so instead I just took her hand in both of mine and was quiet.

[Xaurora Areleous nó Gentian]

I was aware of the people around us but they weren't concerned with the two of us and I could tell they hadn't much interest in a pair of women conversing in the square. So I took a step to-wards her as she clutched my hands in hers and smiled.

"Do I, beautiful Maeve?" I asked, my heart overflowing with thankfulness and love. Feeling her receptiveness to me I withdrew slowly my touch on her mind and smiled; her feelings for me seemed genuine, and I clutched her hands to my chest, drawing her closer to me.

I could feel her concern about being insignificant in my presence but I ignored it and leaned in close to whisper in her ear, "I would like nothing more than to make you happy, dear one," I said, softly kissing her neck then pulling back to look at her lovely face. Her hazel eyes like liquid gold; her soft auburn hair a wild mane of color against the afternoon sky behind her and could feel a tear of joy well in the corner of my eye.

"You are beautiful," I stated, "after all Heliotrope Adepts can be very alluring, and besides if we, as Adepts, are trained to recognize beauty in others are we not to see it within each other?" I asked,"Can't we choose to make each other happy? I want your happiness to be mine and share the simple joy of love with another." I said, reaching up to touch her cheek lightly, smiling.

[Maeve nó Heliotrope]

Her lips on my neck were enough to set my skin ablaze, and then I was drowning in her blue eyes, like pools of water. Her heart beat steadily under our clenched hands, and our faces were so close I could have kissed her. As she caressed my cheek, I moved a hand to cover hers, bringing the palm to my mouth and gently kissing it.

"Xaurora," I whispered her name, "I was born to make you happy."

[Xaurora Areleous nó Gentian]

I opened my mind once again and enveloped hers with joy. Tears came to my eyes and I let them fall, smiling grandly. "This is so wonderfully unexpected, that you and I should meet and that I would not know of its importance until now. Thank you so much for welcoming me into your heart." I said, squeezing her hands with thankfulness and joy.

[Maeve nó Heliotrope]

I laughed, my own tears coming easily. "How do you do that?" I asked her with wonder. "How do you make me feel the way you do? Is that your gift?"

[Xaurora Areleous nó Gentian]

"Hmm, yes, some of it is anyway." I said, a glint sparkling in my eyes. "The way to better understand someone is for them to be open to you and for you to be able to feel their pain, joy, sorrow, and happiness through a direct link of of the mind. The level of understanding comes all at once, from the core. Otherwise we are just as misunderstood as the next person and without that link there would be no sharing, no openness." I said, my tears drying on my face but my smile growing ever more vibrant and happy. It felt good to share.

"You see, most of what I do is simply place myself in your shoes and feel things from your perspective. It lets me better understand you and thus I am all the more able to communicate your needs to you. It just so happens that we had similar needs and found them fulfilled in eachother. Isn't it wonderful? I'm so glad I found you."

[Maeve nó Heliotrope]

"That makes two of us," I said, smiling widely. An idea was beginning to form in my mind, but I figured I would either hold of on saying it, or wait for her to figure out what I was thinking. I grinned, a little secretively.

[Xaurora Areleous nó Gentian]

I was so wrapped up in her both physically and mentally that anything she felt I felt and when she smiled I beamed, laughing for the joy of it.

As I felt her thoughts change topic I simply arched an eybrow, my mouth curling in a knowing grin and I leaned in closer to kiss her, all of our joy mingling together in my mind making us one.

[Maeve nó Heliotrope]

At her kiss I was in heaven. I twined one hand through her blond locks, the other I rested on her waist, deepening the kiss. My lips parted and I darted my tongue out to taste her lips. Gods, she was sweet, like honey and vanilla. "Xaurora," I murmured against her mouth. "Spend Longest Night with me."

[Xaurora Areleous nó Gentian]

I felt overwhelmed at the taste of her and it was glorious! The scent of her washed over me as I tasted her mouth, humming deep in my throat as she deepend the kiss.
She leaned into me and I about melted, her hand playing with my hair.

At her murmer I pulled back enough to look at her closely. Her thoughts had melded with mine and I simply nodded, smiling. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

[Maeve nó Heliotrope]

"Good," I said. "Do you want to attend the palace fete first, or no?" At this point I was ready to follow her to the ends of the earth. She could have said she wanted to spend Longest Night in the wilds of Skaldia and I would have willingly agreed. I continued to toy with her hair, letting my fingers brush lightly over the back of her neck.