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Post by Aleron Carle(Retired) on Jan 30, 2006 14:44:53 GMT -5
I made my way to Gentian, thinking that if anyone had insight into what could be happening, they would. Their powers of intuition and clairvoyance were well known within the Night Court; in fact, it was one of their main canons that every adept should perfect one method of fortune-telling. It was late, and I knocked at the door softly lest everyone be asleep; I saw no need to wake anyone with this matter. However, I was let in and my cloak was taken. The boy looked suprised at my marque not yet finished; he asked me why I had come to their house. "Is there anyone awake I could speak to?" I asked. The boy looked confused and stuttered that he wasn't sure. "Well, go look," I said, annoyed, and the boy scurried off.
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Post by Aleron Carle(Retired) on Mar 7, 2006 10:03:51 GMT -5
After the news of the assassination attempt I returned again, my marque made and on a mission for Jaiden. I had been charged to find out what I could from the Night Court concerning the events of that evening; on the streets, mention of a Gentian girl's screams and fortellings that night seemed a good place to look. Maybe their duty to Truth would actually prove worthwhile.
Going into the courtyard I hoped to find someone who had been there that night; I was uncomfortable putting up my usual facade, these people were known for seeing the soul. Instead I was calm and cool, a man of ice.
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Post by Riva Carle (R) on Mar 7, 2006 10:18:48 GMT -5
I was sitting with my back against a tree when I saw him enter the courtyard. I smiled for the first time in what seemed like weeks. He wore his unease like a cloak, but it was his self assuredness that was actually the covering.
"You don't belong here, little boy," I called out, my voice almost sing-songy. "The ink on your skin may be fresh but it's all there. Your home is no longer amongst the midnight blooms."
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Post by Aleron Carle(Retired) on Mar 7, 2006 10:26:07 GMT -5
I narrowed my eyes at this slip of a girl who smiled and spoke in a rhythm, moving toward her. "At least my flesh is inked and I am free to make effects in this world while you heckle from beneath a tree," I said calmly. "I come here for information, I would not belong to this world again if Namaah herself asked me."
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Post by Riva Carle (R) on Mar 7, 2006 10:35:46 GMT -5
"You were born to this world, and no matter how you try and pretend you will always belong. Namaah's brand is upon your flesh no matter who's signature it bears. As long as you live others will always know you were a boy serving the desires of others," I said, watching him come closer.
"You can not have the information you seek, it was locked away by the coin of another."
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Post by Aleron Carle(Retired) on Mar 7, 2006 10:43:38 GMT -5
I ignored the first part of her statement- she was only a stripling girl I saw as I approached, and even in Gentian she had no idea the life I had lived, though she could probably see the blasphemy I had entered Namaah's service under. Well, let Namaah punich me herself if she is so offended I thought wryly.
"If coin has become the key to the doors in Gentian then I will purchase one of my own, for I have duties to attend to."
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Post by Riva Carle (R) on Mar 7, 2006 17:19:41 GMT -5
"Power is the chest, coin the lock," I said, rising and gliding the rest of the way to where he stood. "Your mistress of snow will have to find her information elsewhere."
I stopped moving only when I was well within his personal space. I titled my head to the side and looked up at him. "Do you think her mouth is so hot and wet because she is so cold and dry on the outside?"
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Post by Aleron Carle(Retired) on Mar 7, 2006 17:35:51 GMT -5
My features never changed except for my eyes, which sparked in impotent rage. This mere child was trying to intimidate me; I gave a harsh chuckle and stepped even closer until my body was a hairs breath from hers. "Why don't you use your 'powers' to find out for yourself- or are your gifts nothing more than a petulant child's attempt at sniping at her elders? Perhaps it could be arranged for you to meet her yourself," I added, trying to force into her mind the memory of the slap I had endured- I'd always wanted to test if such a thing would work.
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Post by Riva Carle (R) on Mar 7, 2006 17:45:56 GMT -5
I flinched slightly, feeling the sting of flesh on my cheek.
"Your mistress would have no use for me. She would not be able to control with coin and the promise of freedom. She knows how to choose those she can bend to her will," I said, letting my body slide against his as I moved around him. "Why do you think she chose you?"
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Post by Aleron Carle(Retired) on Mar 7, 2006 17:59:44 GMT -5
I noted her flinch and my eyes squinted; something of note to know later. "I know her type and her style very well and I don't care- I will have my freedom sooner than expected and intend to pave a way for myself. What will you do when confronted with your first patron, who is much less than you hoped?"
If she wanted to feel my flesh, let her; I ran a hand along her face, bringing to my mind the feeling of Jaiden's hands on my back, caressing. Something in her called to me, though it seemed to be in a foreign language and voice.
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Post by Riva Carle (R) on Mar 7, 2006 18:08:08 GMT -5
I liked the feel of his hand on my face. Not many people touched me, and those that did were usually reluctant about it.
"Are you so sure she will hold up her end of the deal?" I asked before walking away from him and towards the back of the gardens.
"As for my first patron, no one is ever less than I hoped. Hope only occurs when you are unsure of an outcome, there is no use for hope when you have already read the end of the story," I said.
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Post by Aleron Carle(Retired) on Mar 7, 2006 18:11:52 GMT -5
I watched her begin to walk away and hurried to match pace with her for some completely unknown reason. "I don't know, WILL she hold up her end? You would know better than I. I think she will; we both know that betrayal only comes back to haunt."
I watched her walking, sure of her steps as though she knew where each would fall before she made it. "Who WILL your first patron be- lover or user?"
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Post by Riva Carle (R) on Mar 7, 2006 18:21:59 GMT -5
"Betrayal comes back to haunt, but it is not as if you have armies to rise up against her should she… dispose of you when she no longer finds you useful," I told him.
"I guess that depends on your definition of a patron… does it only count if his flesh binds to mine and works within me? Or does a patron just have to pay for your gifts? "
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Post by Aleron Carle(Retired) on Mar 7, 2006 21:30:32 GMT -5
"Her disposal of me would rid her of a tool she finds most useful; a man who may go into court and still think. She could kill me, but I know my patrons- she finds me useful and amusing." Not for long, I thought to myself biiterly; I would have my amusement soon enough.
"I ask a question in return- which is more precious to you, your gifts or your maidenhead?" I swooped quickly in front of her, causing her to run into me. I put my hands on her face, looking into her eyes; for some reason I felt compelled to speak something honest to her, for she was innocent and strangely fearful. "In the Night Court, very few are lucky enough to have hope and love. My parents taught me young that either you make them play your games or you are forced to play theirs. Will yours be a lover or a user?"
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Post by Riva Carle (R) on Mar 7, 2006 21:39:53 GMT -5
"Virginity is merely a state of being, you are… and then you aren't. It does not define who you are," I said simply.
I raised my hand and trailed my finger across his cheek and lips. "Your parents tried to teach you joy, as if that was a thing that could be learned like math or history. They never understood that silence is a gift of it's own. It takes more skill to be the eyes and the mind than it does the mouth and the lungs."
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Post by Aleron Carle(Retired) on Mar 7, 2006 21:57:10 GMT -5
Every reply I'd been about to retort died on my lips. A voice I had not heard in years, young and hopeful, whimpered, hurting my soul and causing my mind to lock up. For a moment I felt something burning underneath my eyelids; quickly I blinked, dashing them away, my features fixed and cold again, though I knew something else had slipped through in those last moments. "What hope is there for the child of adepts who doesn't play the games?" I said coolly, though her hands on my face and hers on mine almost seemed to carry thoughts between us like blood.
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Post by Riva Carle (R) on Mar 7, 2006 22:21:48 GMT -5
"More hope than for a boy, pretending to be a man, and pretending nothing touches his soul any more," I said, before slipping from his grip and around him to continue on my path.
"What did you really hope to find when you came here looking for me?" I called over my shoulder.
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Post by Aleron Carle(Retired) on Mar 7, 2006 22:25:39 GMT -5
"And there's more hope for ice in a cold world than a bit of rainbow," I retorted futily as I once again caught up with her. "I came for information and I found you- who have not answered a single one of my questions. Why is that? Do the answers make any sense to you, or are you merely the mouth and lungs yourself? Do you even know your own future, your own fate?"
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Post by Riva Carle (R) on Mar 7, 2006 22:36:28 GMT -5
"I told you that you can't have the information you came seeking, it is not for you or for your mistress," I said, finding the turn in the path I had been heading for and the small copse of trees.
I skipped ahead and into the trees, dancing around and between them. "I am nothing, not the mouth, nor the eyes. I am whispers and dreams, pretending to be a girl, I have no future but for the next breath I take."
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Post by Aleron Carle(Retired) on Mar 7, 2006 22:45:11 GMT -5
I watched her dance around trees, for a moment irritated; why, exactly, was I still here? My brain was telling me to go, but for some reason I followed her about, not like a puppy but a shadow, her mirror reflection. "I think that if I am a boy pretending to be a man, you are a girl pretending to be dreams. You dance with your feet as your mind dances into the future rather than look at the past." My voice was sure, my pose confident.
"The information I need now is not my mistresses; I have been refused and I would not have myself banned from the Night Court by being forceful. What is your first patron to be?" I had no idea why I stuck to this question; my mind only sat and watched, seeing what it needed to and making connections for things I hadn't yet thought of. Did she wonder about me too, the parts her mind couldn't tell her?
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Post by Riva Carle (R) on Mar 7, 2006 22:51:26 GMT -5
I stopped, leaning back against a tree and facing him.
"I have no past, not that I can remember. Flashes of a face that calls to me as blood to blood. A name I can't remember and the feeling that once, someone loved me. Is that a past worth looking at and examining?" I asked him.
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Post by Aleron Carle(Retired) on Mar 7, 2006 22:57:15 GMT -5
"If the face does not bring you pain you should seek it out; at least you would know whether it was to be avoided further, and any possibly happy childhood should be cherished," I replied, my tone common-sense and for the first time in a long while without a hint of condescention. Somehow she and I spoke like old friends, like we had met in some shadowy place before life.
I stepped closer to her again, close enough to whisper. "If you will not tell me I will go," I said quietly, testing this new bond.
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Post by Riva Carle (R) on Mar 7, 2006 23:05:18 GMT -5
He was just taller enough than me to cause me to have to look up when he drew this close. My eyes met his, and for the briefest of moments there was nothing else, no voices, no dreams, nothing in my head but my own mind.
"A lover," I whispered.
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Post by Aleron Carle(Retired) on Mar 7, 2006 23:20:06 GMT -5
When her eyes met mine I felt a war within myself; the person I was warred with a different person, someone quiet and blunt and brash but not made of stone. But at least this new voice spoke clearly in my head and heard her answer, like the drumbeat of fate in my blood and my hands, bandaged as they were, felt no pain as I reached forward to hold her face.
Quickly my mind took accounting of where we were; within this copse of trees we couldn't be seen from the courtyard or the windows of the building. It mattered little; the laws of the Night Court had never been a large concern except when the served me, and I doubted Jaiden would call me to accounting. I brushed my lips against hers quickly, then pulled back, the drumbeat louder. "I will see you at that moment," I said to her quietly, then turned and walked away; I knew if I did not I would not be able to stay myself, and the idea frightened me. The man of stone in my head was already berating me.
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Post by Riva Carle (R) on Mar 7, 2006 23:25:21 GMT -5
His lips touched mine and not even my own thoughts existed anymore. A yet unknown heat flared inside me, and I gasped softly as he walked away.
I closed my eyes, holding to the feel of him as my mind began to fill again.
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