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Post by Yue nó Valerian on Sept 29, 2011 23:15:29 GMT -5
"Truly?" Suddenly he did not seem so peculiar, although it was not something I imagined most of my patrons would say if asked. They all sought to distance themselves from me. I was half Ch'in, they were D'Angeline. I was an adept, they were my patron. I received pain, they gave it to me. There would always be distance between us.
I opened my mouth, wanting to say something about his preferences, but what emerged was: "Daniel, you are going to crush the flowers," said in a scolding tone as if I were speaking to an apprentice. "I can take them now." There were far fewer flowers now, and they easily rested in my arms. "They are for the Dowayne and the Second," I explained calmly, starting forward again.
I turned to address him over my shoulder as I placed the last of the flowers near were the Dowayne and the Second would pass frequently. "I think...there is a name for your preference...'The Path of the Mirror'...but I do not know where I read of it. It is...a poetic name...I suppose."
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Post by Daniel nó Mandrake on Sept 30, 2011 19:07:12 GMT -5
I let her take the flowers from my arms, laughing to be so rebuked, and glad she was relaxed enough with me to do it. “My apologies,” I said, with teasingly extravagant humility, as I followed her to the next flower-arranging spot.
“That Path of the Mirror?” I repeated, curiously. I wondered if it was something I should have heard of, or read about, but then my attention did tend to wander during the theory classes. I'd read the texts I should have read, of course, The Trois Milles Wossnames and the Log of Far Too Many Kisses, and the rest of them but I hadn't exactly read around my subject, preferring a more practical sort of learning. “I haven't heard that before, which, er, probably doesn't say very good things about my education.”
I watched her hands moving amidst the flowers. Having babbled to her about my own rather personal, not always fulfilled pleasures, it seemed only fair that I should ask: “What path do you favour, then?”
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Post by Yue nó Valerian on Sept 30, 2011 23:15:07 GMT -5
"Ah, well, it is rather archaic terminology, hardly ever used...except by poets," I explained. "The terms are not that important." I wondered what had caused me to bring it up in the first place. Surely I did not seek to impress Daniel with my knowledge of archaic terminology, so what was it, then?
I was puzzling over it when he asked about my preferences, and before I could think to hide it, I could feel the blush staining my cheeks. "Oh, well, that..." I stammered. "I...I like..." This was more difficult than I had imagined it would be with someone who was not a patron.
"The Path of Service," I said finally. "I like...to be of use..." I looked up at him, shyly. "You are the first who has asked, Daniel..." The moment I said it, I felt shame wash over me. "I...I mean...'tis complicated..."
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