As usual, here's a brand-new open post for all of you to post characters, mingle, and tag each other!
Seriously, post whatever you want. Empty toplevels? Open starters? Starters closed to specific people? It's all good — just enjoy! And as always, tag out and have fun!
She frowned, taking a small sip of the wine - hey, didn't she know this? It tasted familiar... no. No, focus. ]
The memory isn't clear. It's as if looking through frosted glass... I can't even seem to remember who it was that was - ascending, as you said.
There are parts that are clear, but those parts came to me when I -
[ Oh.
Allumette paused in the middle of her sip, her ears immediately standing upright where they'd been relaxed. When she'd reached out and touched Emet-Selch was when the connection had been the strongest, when everything was crystal clear. The rest of the memory, as it trickled into her mind like water out of cupped hands, had been foggier and foggier. ]
[ The wine was not a vintage of Amaurot unfortunately-- that had not likely survived the age and as far as creation went, he could not create wine; that had never been his specialty, he could pull a good vintage from the cellars of the empire; and there was a hidden store underneath Longmirror Lake in Il Mheg, just underneath the Church of the First Light that he had pulled a few bottles from (but which existed at least hundreds of bottles more)-- oh yes and a few times where he'd nicked from Shamani Lomani's secret stash.
This was actually from Wineport directly; he'd summoned it across time nad space because to be perfectly fair-- what was power useful for if one couldn't use it in a manner that was also completely trivial?
But no matter, Allumette's aether seemed to swirl within an eddying stream of uncertainty-- he could see it, a glimmer of absolute chaos and the tendrils of Light aether was not doing anything to 'help' the entire situation. But he knew that she was grasping it and he liked where her mind was going and so he pushed himself up from the rock he was leaning against and then started to approach Allumette with no small amount of purpose within his golden gaze. ]
Perhaps I can assist with jogging your memories?
[ Perhaps she should tread lightly within this situation for this could go one of many ways and none of them would likely be comfortable. When there was a touch, the memories could be quite random but there were a plethora of them that existed between them-- some wonderful, other painful. It was a veriable roulette ]
[ This was playing a dangerous game, of this Allumette realized. She had no idea where this memory was leading her. It could be disastrous, and that Emet-Selch seemed so eager to have her remember gave her pause.
But not enough.
Not enough to deter her from her innate curiosity. She held her hand out, eyes focused on him. ]
Perhaps. Touch was what started this mess. It stands to reason that it may be the way out, as well.
[ Emet-Selch was not afraid of danger and he had a feeling that Allumette was not frightened of it either; in fact his expectation bar was set rather high for the Warrior of Light and he was constantly assessing to see exactly what she did and how she reacted to various pieces of information that he revealed. That was of course exactly how he knew she would be here within the Ravel, mulling upon ruins that had existed long before she had been even a thought on the Source.
He proffered his hand this time, his gloved hand indolent. It was an act of trust-- oh, he knew that. But he had a feeling that she would sip from the devil's cup, after all realizing that something was 'off' but not precisely 'knowing' what it was. He doubted there was any agony worse them that ]
I want to know what you will remember..
[ and by his tone of voice, silky yet for all that husky as well-- it denoted that there was a lot. ]
[ She'd been about to clasp his hand when he spoke, and it drew her eyes to his. Allumette swallowed hard, uncertain for a brief moment, all due to the notes in his voice. Her ears perked as her stomach twisted.
Would she eat the fruit? ]
I'll... tell you.
[ And with that, she takes his hand, lacing fingers together briefly.
(Of course she would.)
The new memory hits her hard: it feels young yet she sees no difference to his face, but all-white hair already make her pause. She teases, argues with him as they walk through a dark cave lit by crystal - he follows as she leads. Urania, she hears from his lips casually, affectionate but just as willing to be reproachful. Aphrodite, she hears when he's tense, when she almost falls off a steep drop within the cave.
When his arms come around her waist to secure her from falling, she looks up to him and her heart beats hard and she kisses him with vigor. To his clear surprise, she huffs a sigh - "Honestly, [ ]. I've had feelings for you three projects back. Did you truly not notice?" And then, she avoided his gaze. "Or perhaps... as everyone says, do you not care for someone so beneath you?"
She jolts back to awareness, breathing shakily, and feeling like her face was very, very warm. That memory had been almost painfully crystal clear... and yet... some fragments were still missing. ]
I.
Aphrodite? We were. In a cave. You... saved me.
[ And... she opened her mouth to keep speaking, but she found it was hard to even try to. Twelve save her, what had she gotten herself into? ]
[ And for some reason, Emet-Selch is taken back to that same moment-- the cave of crystals-- the way that they had been bantering back and forth all day. It rang out clearly within his psyche and he knew that she remembered. It was one shard of many that he wanted her to recollect and of course she had. There were key differences as she was only witnessing her own long-forgotten memory, he had a rather different recollection though from his own memories coloured by his own thoughts and whimsies (oh but he had those a long long time ago)
He had remembered that kiss and how it had come to be. And despite what she believed, he had almost been terrified that something could've happened to her and so when he fished her up, he had held her rather close and rather tightly- That might've been mistaken for something else-- but it had been moored into something akin to desperation and perhaps it came out as something different ]
Ah, you were known as many names-- depending on the situation. I suppose I could never decide on just one.
[ The hand, he could feel the energy surge within it and then he raised a winged brow almost indolently ]
Though there were many times and many lifetimes-- I think you are recalling the very first
[ She can't decide on what to even say, her surprise mangled into a series of baffled consonants that are not in any way words. When she finally gets a hold of herself, her shoulders tense and she grips onto his hand a little tighter. ]
I'm sorry? What do you mean, 'many times'? - don't answer that, I know what you mean. It's just...
[ She just couldn't... believe it. Many times, many lifetimes? How many? ]
... why can't I remember your actual name?
[ It's as if it'd been scrubbed from her memory. She could see so many new things in stark clarity, but... when it came to her saying his name, it was too far away. It was lost underwater. Why? ]
And let me guess: you'll wait until I remember properly and won't tell me what it is, either.
And I don't want to tell you my name, Allumette, because I would hate to spoon feed you memories-- you will come across them, I know you will; but do not think too hard upon it.
[ And yet all the same he uses the leverage of their combined hands to draw her to him, but not in a threatening way. More like a dance, something like their very first dance back before time had begun. He let out a soft and altogether enigmatic smile as one arm lightly moved to her waist and he started a step that he was hoping she'd fall right into. ]
However I will say this-- never for a moment think that I did not notice you; many times in the past-- you've been the only one I could see.
[ Strangely poetic words aimed at someone who's whole lives had been built upon shaky foundation and memories deposited here and there; where did truth begin and where did it end? And yet in those words that he spoke there was truth therein. ]
I just find it unfair you get to call me another name while -
[ She swallows her gasp as he pulls her towards him. Perhaps someone else would stumble or grow more flustered on her feet, but Allumette?
Her feet move with him. Her hand goes to his shoulder like she was practiced at dance though she'd only ever seen it from afar, always too busy saving the star. Too busy working with her free company. Too busy mentoring, creating, leading - no time for something like dancing or remembering. Her body knows these steps and she moves with him just as easily as breathing, with a grace that is both her own and not quite. Her eyes widen when she realizes it, almost pressed right against him in this dance, only a handful of inches away and needing to peer up at him as he speaks.
Twelve damn it, her face feels like it's burning. ]
Don't... don't say that all of a sudden.
[ Her heart held mixed emotions like a cauldron soon to overflow. She danced to a melody only they knew, and she knew it. Part of her wanted to hate that she knew it all - it didn't feel like her, but like she was the vessel with which he could bring life to these memories again - and yet every single memory felt embedded with her own heart. Aphrodite was her but not. Aphrodite was her past and Allumette was the future, not different people, but simply at different times. Every single instance since was the same. And yet... ]
Maybe in the past, but not here. We're on opposite sides, of a sort.
[ Funny she says that now after insisting constantly to the Scions that they needed to put those differences aside momentarily to listen. ]
It grieves me to say that we've been on opposite sides far more times then we have been on the same side, though we certainly did not start on opposing sides.
[ It was clear that Emet-Selch would give at least a few jewels here and there toward their relationships, even as he started the waltz around the old cavern. Funny to enact such a thing here amid the ruins, but perhaps it was a grand symbolism of their relationship, of what they had to work with throughout time. Dancing through ruins was as apt as any a descriptor and fitting to say the least. Though was it the ruins of time, the ruins of their ongoing relationship or was it an indicator of the single moment where it all went south. Who could truly say? ]
What, you cannot appreciate the sentiment? In fact who exactly do you think I was watching before I approached you and the Scions in the plaza of the Crystarium. I've been watching you far longer then even you can comprehend.
[ though searched for would've been an apt term and no doubt the reason why he hadn't caught her in this life was because he was nearing the end of his work as Solus and thus had been far out of range to begin with, but once upon the First-- awarence had flickered through him. Did she really need to know that he tended to search her out within lulls and pockets of time? He knew she was smart,perhaps she'd guess or perhaps her psyche would do the work for her. ]
What I can comprehend is limited at the moment, so don't act like that's so high a bar.
[ Well, it wasn't quite so much intellect or lack of it that stopped Allumette from realizing this or that, especially when it came to her own life. Rather it was her own lack of care with her life. She didn't see things the way Emet-Selch did; her recklessness got some frustrated tutting from the Scions or her comrades in arms often but nothing more. As far as Allumette was concerned, she wasn't expressly needed on this star when there were countless other adventurers who can and had taken up the mantle of Warrior of Light. Even with this emotional tie, why would she be sought out at all?
Granted, her heart was still young and she confused herself more trying to figure it out. What she'd gathered weighed on her heavily, even if it didn't show on her face.
But what she does do is keep dancing. Moving along with him, as her steps grow less practiced by rote memory and more relaxed, easy. Naturally enjoying this moment, even if she knew it was fleeting. ]
Does it frustrate you, that we didn't start out opposing each other, but ended up this way?
[ he enunciated this clearly and crisply and if asked, he knew exactly why Hydaelyn chose Allumette, and was likely because if there was anyone who could curtain the machinations of the Ascians, it was the shard that had broken away from the others to summoun her. And thus she was valuable on this chessboard.
And she was Hydaelyn's most valuable resource against him who had loved the sundered shards of her, who had watched throughout time upon time as she had come and gone upon various stars and picked up the mantle of the Mother Goddess.. ]
And thus the wheels of time spin on and on and we are once more locked in a cosmic dance, we shall fight and then we shall part only to meet again in another place and another time' that is the way of it, you do realize.
[ and that was Emet-Selch being pragmatic, it was him realizing that there was nothing that he could do to stop it-- even moments like this, this was but an interlude ]
[ She frowns, peering up at him through her dark lashes. ]
Oh, but tell me how you really feel, dear.
[ Briefly, she remembered idle chatter that Solus liked theater. She was not the least bit surprised, with how he seemed just at home monologuing. It wasn't a terrible thing - Allumette would never admit that she liked his voice, it was probably right along with his cheekbones as her favorite thing (and now she knew why she had a favorite thing of who had been no one but an enemy before now.) But really... ]
Are you really so certain there can't be a -
[ She doesn't even realize her slip earlier (dear?) before spots return to her eyes and the strain of light against her soul pressures against her chest. She lets out a pained whine as she loses her step, briefly clutching to him as she tries to catch her breath. Her ears pin back, and it takes several seconds before she even manages to truly breathe. She'd been clever enough to hide most of the pain from the Scions - wouldn't do to have them worry - but she hadn't anticipated this. Dazed, she tried to right herself, shaky on her feet. ]
... sorry. As... as I was saying, you can't be so fatalistic.
[ Oh he did enjoy the theatre when he had been in Solus' form, but he had enjoyed all sorts of theatrics and being in vessals throughout the centuries, that hadn't changed. Being that he had to infiltrate his vessals for the long run, it was best to develop certain 'hobbies' and 'enjoyments' and those same enjoyments just happened to align with what he had enjoyed back at Amaurot. He had other loves and other talents aside from a passing interest in architecture of human civilizations.
Though that thought is caught off guard when he felt her buckle and his arms are out to press against her upper arms in order to hold her there so that she doesn't completely fall flat against the floor. Though already he was noting the fact that the light within her seemed to throb and crackle and he had not rather anticipated that she would allow him to see that vulnerability.
And yet here they were. Ah, and they said that all stories had happy endings-- he really begged to differ, for both there sakes ]
I've existed long enough to have seen countless worlds burn, drown or whatever the calamity of the moment portends, my fatalistic world view is but based in truth
[ and 'ere was he good at giving her exactly what she wished-- well save one thing, and that had sundered their relationship far more keenly then anything else had to be perfectly honest, and so he let her go, his gloved hands falling to his sides and then he let out a rather indolent shrug even as he took a step backward and regarded her with a raise of his winged brow. ]
Ah, we were ever two exceedingly passionate individuals, all well and good until we are on opposite sides..
[ Why does her face heat up every time? Allumette averts her gaze briefly, before giving him a soft huff, rubbing her forearms. ]
Wouldn't we technically be just as passionate on opposite sides? That's what all the stories say. Twelve know that there are pages and pages of...
[ Her voice trails off and for a brief moment or two, she just stares at Emet-Selch with an expression that could only be described as a 'no... couldn't be'.
Those stories were just stories, right? He mentioned that they'd met before, often, even, and if that was true and they were always on opposite sides - more often than not - then that might mean... that at least one or two of those myths might actually be a retelling of...
No.
No, she can't think about this right now. She's already feeling faint. ]
Well, we've - I've discovered quite a lot already. I should probably head to sleep before anyone else figures out I'm awake.
[ ah yes, her line of thinking was starting to fall into just the right places-- for while they had been on the opposite sides, they did not start off in that precarious situation, once upon they had been working on the same side, back before Zodiark and Hydaelyn had even existed-- it was only with the advent of those that they both started to list toward a particular side, and it had been in that way that they had been torn asunder. However he did not speak on it, but his silence-- that was rather telling ]
Ah, but I should hate to keep you from your warm bed...
[ She had made her decisions and he had made his-- did not stop him from ever so often attempting to see if perhaps he could make he remember what they had shared, and he could tell that it was on the tip of her tongue, tip of her memory-- bits and pieces here and there. ]
I do sleep-- more then you'd give me credit for.
[ Ascians rarely slept however he tended to enjoy human actions, for all that he tended to mock the humans and their ways of life, perhaps why he spent whole lifetimes within a form unlike his brethren who made the jump whenever they felt that it would behoove them to. Not necessarily a liar-- except when it came to his own truths. ]
You seem perpetually tired, so I just assume you never get enough sleep. [ She waved his dismissive wave, lips pursed as she let out a soft huff.
Yet, even as she announces her leaving, she lingers, her back to him as she briefly pauses at the mouth of the cave. It takes her a moment, but she does look back to him. ]
Can I trust you'll actually keep this between us? I'd like to do this again. Not - not the dancing, so much, but...
[ These memories, trying to bubble up to the surface... ]
It comes back easier with you, and I can't deny my curiosity. If there's more to be learned, I want to learn it.
[ ... and no matter the life she had, the person she was, she'd always had a voracious drive to learn. ]
[ He watched her head back toward the cave mouth though the eyes that watched were rift wtih interest, but also there was a strange emotion just underneath the surface that he could not put a name to except maybe that it was somewhere between contentment and trepidation. He had always feared the sort of unknown that he himself couldn't control and right now he could see that in Alumette's mere presence.
But he'd known exactly what he was getting into when he approached the Scions back in the Courtyard of the Crystarium. Though he had alerted not a soul, he knew the part and parcel of her soul, it's very ins and outs since throughout time, he'd seen it emerge and then estinguish to varying degrees. ]
Do you honestly think that they would believe me, if I told them?
[ Oh come on, Emet-Selch knew how this game worked and he also knew that the Scions would call him a liar, they had called him as such many upon many a times. He would stand accused of lying, he'd really ought not bother to begin with. Yes, it would be their little secret and he'd not breath a word to them. ]
However how cladestine you are making it out to be-- makes me feel positively wicked to be sneaking abut just like this.
[ and no matter how it was painted? It still smelled of sneaking around. ]
[ Allumette's ears lower in uncertainty, pressing her hands together with pursed lips. ]
It's not sneaking around, it's just... selective knowledge.
[ As much of a 'hero' Allumette was - though she never believed in such a title - it was hard to deny that she was the type of hero that was unfailingly good. Allumette was kind, but she was used to keeping secrets. ]
They wouldn't believe you, and they'd probably think you sed -
[ Nope, seduced is a bad word here. ]
Corrupted me to your side, or... something, if I said anything. And I hardly need more fussing over right now.
[ But wasn't it? The fact that she could run to something counter of the Scions. Wasn't it exactly the words that she hadn't wanted to attribute to it? It wasn't a physical sense with which it was meant, but it was all the same-- luring her away with the promise of greater knowledge. He'd jump at it of course, in a heartbeat-- to teach her something that could possibly rile up her precious scions, an unholy pleasure that could be attributed to doing something a little bit wicked, exactly.
Tempting her with the fruit of knowledge and perhaps rewarding her with glimpses here and there of memories, to sweeten it. ]
As always, you know how to summon me whenever you wish-- just don't summon me where the light is too excessive, you'd be doing either of us no favors whatsoever.
[ allusion to the excess of light that near well burned him. Am Araeng before night touched it would be simply off the table unless it was under the guise of somewhere cool and dark. Rak'tika was different of course, the light was prevalent but the cover of trees for the large part shielded him from any lasting damage with excessive contact. ]
[ Allumette could see it in his face, at least partway: he absolutely thought it was exactly what she was avoiding.
And in truth, she knew that was what it was, too. She just... she didn't want to admit it! The minute she did it felt unheroic, and that's what she was here to prove: that she could be a hero like her friends were. She had to stay her course, no matter how loudly the siren song of buried memories called to her.
But... indulging once in a while...
That was okay, wasn't it? ]
I know, I'll stay conscious of the surroundings. Good night, dea - Emet-Selch.
[ She was going to have to watch her tongue from now on, huh? ]
sorry took so long-- was battling a bit of seasonal depression
[ Emet-Selch bowed to his Persephone, his Aphrodite-- so many goddesses throughout time contained into one individual casing. She had been them all over the course of the centuries. A bow executed, part gallantry and with no measure of mocking within it. He smiled though and the way that it touched the corner of his mouth seemed a bit wistfully ]
Sweet dreams, Alumette..
[ strange because he had not wished someone sweet dreams in a long time-- though it had been the same woman, but a different time ]
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valoirs
no subject
She frowned, taking a small sip of the wine - hey, didn't she know this? It tasted familiar... no. No, focus. ]
The memory isn't clear. It's as if looking through frosted glass... I can't even seem to remember who it was that was - ascending, as you said.
There are parts that are clear, but those parts came to me when I -
[ Oh.
Allumette paused in the middle of her sip, her ears immediately standing upright where they'd been relaxed. When she'd reached out and touched Emet-Selch was when the connection had been the strongest, when everything was crystal clear. The rest of the memory, as it trickled into her mind like water out of cupped hands, had been foggier and foggier. ]
... but perhaps there's a way to change that?
no subject
This was actually from Wineport directly; he'd summoned it across time nad space because to be perfectly fair-- what was power useful for if one couldn't use it in a manner that was also completely trivial?
But no matter, Allumette's aether seemed to swirl within an eddying stream of uncertainty-- he could see it, a glimmer of absolute chaos and the tendrils of Light aether was not doing anything to 'help' the entire situation. But he knew that she was grasping it and he liked where her mind was going and so he pushed himself up from the rock he was leaning against and then started to approach Allumette with no small amount of purpose within his golden gaze. ]
Perhaps I can assist with jogging your memories?
[ Perhaps she should tread lightly within this situation for this could go one of many ways and none of them would likely be comfortable. When there was a touch, the memories could be quite random but there were a plethora of them that existed between them-- some wonderful, other painful. It was a veriable roulette ]
no subject
But not enough.
Not enough to deter her from her innate curiosity. She held her hand out, eyes focused on him. ]
Perhaps. Touch was what started this mess. It stands to reason that it may be the way out, as well.
no subject
He proffered his hand this time, his gloved hand indolent. It was an act of trust-- oh, he knew that. But he had a feeling that she would sip from the devil's cup, after all realizing that something was 'off' but not precisely 'knowing' what it was. He doubted there was any agony worse them that ]
I want to know what you will remember..
[ and by his tone of voice, silky yet for all that husky as well-- it denoted that there was a lot. ]
no subject
Would she eat the fruit? ]
I'll... tell you.
[ And with that, she takes his hand, lacing fingers together briefly.
(Of course she would.)
The new memory hits her hard: it feels young yet she sees no difference to his face, but all-white hair already make her pause. She teases, argues with him as they walk through a dark cave lit by crystal - he follows as she leads. Urania, she hears from his lips casually, affectionate but just as willing to be reproachful. Aphrodite, she hears when he's tense, when she almost falls off a steep drop within the cave.
When his arms come around her waist to secure her from falling, she looks up to him and her heart beats hard and she kisses him with vigor. To his clear surprise, she huffs a sigh - "Honestly, [ ]. I've had feelings for you three projects back. Did you truly not notice?" And then, she avoided his gaze. "Or perhaps... as everyone says, do you not care for someone so beneath you?"
She jolts back to awareness, breathing shakily, and feeling like her face was very, very warm. That memory had been almost painfully crystal clear... and yet... some fragments were still missing. ]
I.
Aphrodite? We were. In a cave. You... saved me.
[ And... she opened her mouth to keep speaking, but she found it was hard to even try to. Twelve save her, what had she gotten herself into? ]
no subject
He had remembered that kiss and how it had come to be. And despite what she believed, he had almost been terrified that something could've happened to her and so when he fished her up, he had held her rather close and rather tightly- That might've been mistaken for something else-- but it had been moored into something akin to desperation and perhaps it came out as something different ]
Ah, you were known as many names-- depending on the situation. I suppose I could never decide on just one.
[ The hand, he could feel the energy surge within it and then he raised a winged brow almost indolently ]
Though there were many times and many lifetimes-- I think you are recalling the very first
no subject
I'm sorry? What do you mean, 'many times'? - don't answer that, I know what you mean. It's just...
[ She just couldn't... believe it. Many times, many lifetimes? How many? ]
... why can't I remember your actual name?
[ It's as if it'd been scrubbed from her memory. She could see so many new things in stark clarity, but... when it came to her saying his name, it was too far away. It was lost underwater. Why? ]
And let me guess: you'll wait until I remember properly and won't tell me what it is, either.
no subject
[ And yet all the same he uses the leverage of their combined hands to draw her to him, but not in a threatening way. More like a dance, something like their very first dance back before time had begun. He let out a soft and altogether enigmatic smile as one arm lightly moved to her waist and he started a step that he was hoping she'd fall right into. ]
However I will say this-- never for a moment think that I did not notice you; many times in the past-- you've been the only one I could see.
[ Strangely poetic words aimed at someone who's whole lives had been built upon shaky foundation and memories deposited here and there; where did truth begin and where did it end? And yet in those words that he spoke there was truth therein. ]
no subject
[ She swallows her gasp as he pulls her towards him. Perhaps someone else would stumble or grow more flustered on her feet, but Allumette?
Her feet move with him. Her hand goes to his shoulder like she was practiced at dance though she'd only ever seen it from afar, always too busy saving the star. Too busy working with her free company. Too busy mentoring, creating, leading - no time for something like dancing or remembering. Her body knows these steps and she moves with him just as easily as breathing, with a grace that is both her own and not quite. Her eyes widen when she realizes it, almost pressed right against him in this dance, only a handful of inches away and needing to peer up at him as he speaks.
Twelve damn it, her face feels like it's burning. ]
Don't... don't say that all of a sudden.
[ Her heart held mixed emotions like a cauldron soon to overflow. She danced to a melody only they knew, and she knew it. Part of her wanted to hate that she knew it all - it didn't feel like her, but like she was the vessel with which he could bring life to these memories again - and yet every single memory felt embedded with her own heart. Aphrodite was her but not. Aphrodite was her past and Allumette was the future, not different people, but simply at different times. Every single instance since was the same. And yet... ]
Maybe in the past, but not here. We're on opposite sides, of a sort.
[ Funny she says that now after insisting constantly to the Scions that they needed to put those differences aside momentarily to listen. ]
no subject
It grieves me to say that we've been on opposite sides far more times then we have been on the same side, though we certainly did not start on opposing sides.
[ It was clear that Emet-Selch would give at least a few jewels here and there toward their relationships, even as he started the waltz around the old cavern. Funny to enact such a thing here amid the ruins, but perhaps it was a grand symbolism of their relationship, of what they had to work with throughout time. Dancing through ruins was as apt as any a descriptor and fitting to say the least. Though was it the ruins of time, the ruins of their ongoing relationship or was it an indicator of the single moment where it all went south. Who could truly say? ]
What, you cannot appreciate the sentiment? In fact who exactly do you think I was watching before I approached you and the Scions in the plaza of the Crystarium. I've been watching you far longer then even you can comprehend.
[ though searched for would've been an apt term and no doubt the reason why he hadn't caught her in this life was because he was nearing the end of his work as Solus and thus had been far out of range to begin with, but once upon the First-- awarence had flickered through him. Did she really need to know that he tended to search her out within lulls and pockets of time? He knew she was smart,perhaps she'd guess or perhaps her psyche would do the work for her. ]
no subject
[ Well, it wasn't quite so much intellect or lack of it that stopped Allumette from realizing this or that, especially when it came to her own life. Rather it was her own lack of care with her life. She didn't see things the way Emet-Selch did; her recklessness got some frustrated tutting from the Scions or her comrades in arms often but nothing more. As far as Allumette was concerned, she wasn't expressly needed on this star when there were countless other adventurers who can and had taken up the mantle of Warrior of Light. Even with this emotional tie, why would she be sought out at all?
Granted, her heart was still young and she confused herself more trying to figure it out. What she'd gathered weighed on her heavily, even if it didn't show on her face.
But what she does do is keep dancing. Moving along with him, as her steps grow less practiced by rote memory and more relaxed, easy. Naturally enjoying this moment, even if she knew it was fleeting. ]
Does it frustrate you, that we didn't start out opposing each other, but ended up this way?
no subject
[ he enunciated this clearly and crisply and if asked, he knew exactly why Hydaelyn chose Allumette, and was likely because if there was anyone who could curtain the machinations of the Ascians, it was the shard that had broken away from the others to summoun her. And thus she was valuable on this chessboard.
And she was Hydaelyn's most valuable resource against him who had loved the sundered shards of her, who had watched throughout time upon time as she had come and gone upon various stars and picked up the mantle of the Mother Goddess.. ]
And thus the wheels of time spin on and on and we are once more locked in a cosmic dance, we shall fight and then we shall part only to meet again in another place and another time' that is the way of it, you do realize.
[ and that was Emet-Selch being pragmatic, it was him realizing that there was nothing that he could do to stop it-- even moments like this, this was but an interlude ]
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Oh, but tell me how you really feel, dear.
[ Briefly, she remembered idle chatter that Solus liked theater. She was not the least bit surprised, with how he seemed just at home monologuing. It wasn't a terrible thing - Allumette would never admit that she liked his voice, it was probably right along with his cheekbones as her favorite thing (and now she knew why she had a favorite thing of who had been no one but an enemy before now.) But really... ]
Are you really so certain there can't be a -
[ She doesn't even realize her slip earlier (dear?) before spots return to her eyes and the strain of light against her soul pressures against her chest. She lets out a pained whine as she loses her step, briefly clutching to him as she tries to catch her breath. Her ears pin back, and it takes several seconds before she even manages to truly breathe. She'd been clever enough to hide most of the pain from the Scions - wouldn't do to have them worry - but she hadn't anticipated this. Dazed, she tried to right herself, shaky on her feet. ]
... sorry. As... as I was saying, you can't be so fatalistic.
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[ Oh he did enjoy the theatre when he had been in Solus' form, but he had enjoyed all sorts of theatrics and being in vessals throughout the centuries, that hadn't changed. Being that he had to infiltrate his vessals for the long run, it was best to develop certain 'hobbies' and 'enjoyments' and those same enjoyments just happened to align with what he had enjoyed back at Amaurot. He had other loves and other talents aside from a passing interest in architecture of human civilizations.
Though that thought is caught off guard when he felt her buckle and his arms are out to press against her upper arms in order to hold her there so that she doesn't completely fall flat against the floor. Though already he was noting the fact that the light within her seemed to throb and crackle and he had not rather anticipated that she would allow him to see that vulnerability.
And yet here they were. Ah, and they said that all stories had happy endings-- he really begged to differ, for both there sakes ]
I've existed long enough to have seen countless worlds burn, drown or whatever the calamity of the moment portends, my fatalistic world view is but based in truth
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It feels as if we've argued this before.
[ Ages ago, eons ago, on a star burning. Perhaps not that long ago, on another shard. History didn't repeat, but it rhymed. ]
You can let me go now. I'm righted.
[ Though she sounds too amused for her own good. Felt a bit like when he'd saved her from falling lifetimes ago. ]
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[ and 'ere was he good at giving her exactly what she wished-- well save one thing, and that had sundered their relationship far more keenly then anything else had to be perfectly honest, and so he let her go, his gloved hands falling to his sides and then he let out a rather indolent shrug even as he took a step backward and regarded her with a raise of his winged brow. ]
Ah, we were ever two exceedingly passionate individuals, all well and good until we are on opposite sides..
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Wouldn't we technically be just as passionate on opposite sides? That's what all the stories say. Twelve know that there are pages and pages of...
[ Her voice trails off and for a brief moment or two, she just stares at Emet-Selch with an expression that could only be described as a 'no... couldn't be'.
Those stories were just stories, right? He mentioned that they'd met before, often, even, and if that was true and they were always on opposite sides - more often than not - then that might mean... that at least one or two of those myths might actually be a retelling of...
No.
No, she can't think about this right now. She's already feeling faint. ]
Well, we've - I've discovered quite a lot already. I should probably head to sleep before anyone else figures out I'm awake.
Do you even sleep?
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Ah, but I should hate to keep you from your warm bed...
[ She had made her decisions and he had made his-- did not stop him from ever so often attempting to see if perhaps he could make he remember what they had shared, and he could tell that it was on the tip of her tongue, tip of her memory-- bits and pieces here and there. ]
I do sleep-- more then you'd give me credit for.
[ Ascians rarely slept however he tended to enjoy human actions, for all that he tended to mock the humans and their ways of life, perhaps why he spent whole lifetimes within a form unlike his brethren who made the jump whenever they felt that it would behoove them to. Not necessarily a liar-- except when it came to his own truths. ]
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Yet, even as she announces her leaving, she lingers, her back to him as she briefly pauses at the mouth of the cave. It takes her a moment, but she does look back to him. ]
Can I trust you'll actually keep this between us? I'd like to do this again. Not - not the dancing, so much, but...
[ These memories, trying to bubble up to the surface... ]
It comes back easier with you, and I can't deny my curiosity. If there's more to be learned, I want to learn it.
[ ... and no matter the life she had, the person she was, she'd always had a voracious drive to learn. ]
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But he'd known exactly what he was getting into when he approached the Scions back in the Courtyard of the Crystarium. Though he had alerted not a soul, he knew the part and parcel of her soul, it's very ins and outs since throughout time, he'd seen it emerge and then estinguish to varying degrees. ]
Do you honestly think that they would believe me, if I told them?
[ Oh come on, Emet-Selch knew how this game worked and he also knew that the Scions would call him a liar, they had called him as such many upon many a times. He would stand accused of lying, he'd really ought not bother to begin with. Yes, it would be their little secret and he'd not breath a word to them. ]
However how cladestine you are making it out to be-- makes me feel positively wicked to be sneaking abut just like this.
[ and no matter how it was painted? It still smelled of sneaking around. ]
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[ Allumette's ears lower in uncertainty, pressing her hands together with pursed lips. ]
It's not sneaking around, it's just... selective knowledge.
[ As much of a 'hero' Allumette was - though she never believed in such a title - it was hard to deny that she was the type of hero that was unfailingly good. Allumette was kind, but she was used to keeping secrets. ]
They wouldn't believe you, and they'd probably think you sed -
[ Nope, seduced is a bad word here. ]
Corrupted me to your side, or... something, if I said anything. And I hardly need more fussing over right now.
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Tempting her with the fruit of knowledge and perhaps rewarding her with glimpses here and there of memories, to sweeten it. ]
As always, you know how to summon me whenever you wish-- just don't summon me where the light is too excessive, you'd be doing either of us no favors whatsoever.
[ allusion to the excess of light that near well burned him. Am Araeng before night touched it would be simply off the table unless it was under the guise of somewhere cool and dark. Rak'tika was different of course, the light was prevalent but the cover of trees for the large part shielded him from any lasting damage with excessive contact. ]
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And in truth, she knew that was what it was, too. She just... she didn't want to admit it! The minute she did it felt unheroic, and that's what she was here to prove: that she could be a hero like her friends were. She had to stay her course, no matter how loudly the siren song of buried memories called to her.
But... indulging once in a while...
That was okay, wasn't it? ]
I know, I'll stay conscious of the surroundings. Good night, dea - Emet-Selch.
[ She was going to have to watch her tongue from now on, huh? ]
sorry took so long-- was battling a bit of seasonal depression
Sweet dreams, Alumette..
[ strange because he had not wished someone sweet dreams in a long time-- though it had been the same woman, but a different time ]
It shall remain ever our secret.