|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lenore Silme-Natenhar Crew
|
 Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 5:24 pm
Lenore was through with what she thinks of as an 'episode.' But, as she looked up at the manor, she twisted her wedding ring on her finger, and frowned. She wasn't sure that she was ready to face everyone right now.
Absently, she rubbed her belly, and chewed on her bottom lip. Instead of walking inside, she bee-lined toward the pond. Once there, she plopped down in the soft grass, crossing her legs 'indian-style' and placed her hands on her knees. Her crimson-tinged amber eyes looked over the lake, and she smiled a little as the gentle breeze blew by.
She glanced up at the moon, and hummed to herself, keeping a pointed ear out for the sound of anyone approaching.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 5:34 pm
For all of her gifts when night falls, it's her vision that she treasures the most right now. The familiar pale woman before her looks ill at ease. Why shouldn't she? She's likely worried about the young ones within the manor. Wait ... a glance to her finger, the twisting of a ring. Sea green eyes pay no mind to the piece of jewelry itself, the elven heart fluttering with the hope that Lenore was thinking about her. She confirms it, or at least fools herself into thinking so, when those beautifully fierce eyes lift to take in the moon.
Remembering how twitchy Lenore can be, vampiress or no, she makes sure to make noise as she approaches the pond. She's been watching her for a while now, drifting in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to announce her presence. All that time, Lenore had been alone.
"Nae saian luume', melamin," are her choice of words, spoken softly, though she knows from past experience that Lenore will hear her just fine.Translation from Elven "It has been too long, my love."
|
|
|
|
|
|
Eirnae Slytherin-Natenhar
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lenore Silme-Natenhar Crew
|
Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 5:45 pm
Lenore's pointed ear twitched, sending the black metal rings in them to clink into each other. Her back stiffened and she abruptly stopped humming. Slowly, she turned her head in the direction that the familiar voice came from.
"Sen tîr?" Lenore asked aloud. Slowly, she rose to her feet, and peered through the darkness with her keen eyes, waiting for Eirnae to show herself.
Translation: "Is this true?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 5:54 pm
The shadows of the evening peel away from the leather clad elf, whose eyes meet those of scarlet and amber without fear. Foolish, ignorant elf. In those sea green orbs is guilt for her leaving as she did. Shina had to be found, but she had left but a note behind. A note and her love.
Hardly enough to cover the span of a year.
Normally she would run to Lenore. Run to her and wrap her up in her arms, to kiss her and never stop, or at least till she ran out of air. Lenore doesn't suffer from such limitations.
Yet those eyes make her stop a few feet from the woman her heart longs for. Posture is calculated, tone absorbed. She lifts one gloved hand as she offers up words. "Aye, it's true. I found her. I found Shina, and she will be coming home." A pause, her hand remaining up, fingers gesturing as she speaks. "I sent letters. Did you receive them?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
Eirnae Slytherin-Natenhar
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lenore Silme-Natenhar Crew
|
Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 6:03 pm
Lenore blinked, and then hugged her chest.
But, this time, she did not faint, and she did not rush into Eirnae's arms. She merely frowned, and looked away, her face and posture obviously troubled.
"Letters?" Lenore asked softly and shook her head. "Letters?" she repeated, a little louder now. The blood that she feasted on just before she came back, the life that she took before she stepped onto the property once more, rushed through her veins, causing her face to flush. She was careful to keep her eyes lowered, fearing what emotions would be swirling around in their expressive depths. "I recieved no such letters, Eirnae."
She sighed, and closed her eyes. "I am happy that you found Shina. . . . I thought the both of you were dead. . . ."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 6:15 pm
Is the moon elf stubborn? In short, very. To see Lenore's back turned to her breaks her heart, but she does not let it stop her from taking those few steps necessary to be within arm's reach of Lenore.
She doesn't touch her. No, not when Lenore's closed herself off like this. It's not what she wants. At least, that's what she keeps telling herself. Her arm lifts, hand trembling in its glove, then fists as she brings it back to her side.
The vampiress isn't the only one with a lowered head, though it's not for fear of what lurks within the sea green that such is done. It's the only display of defeat that the elf allows herself.
"Yes, letters. I wrote them, every week ... I sent one for you, one for the children, and one for our friends."
Empty words. Broken promises. That's all that the elf hears as she listens to herself. Closing her eyes, she stays put. "She went in search of Hoshi. She tells me that she found him. I have yet to see such for myself."
Still facing the slender back, she forces her arms to remain at her sides. Gods, she wants to hold her so badly ...
"I sent them to Barton, as there is no mail service that comes to the H-Haven." Damn it, her voice wavered towards the end there. She draws in a breath, trying to keep her heart from exploding out of her chest with its thudding. "A'mael ... My thoughts were of here. Of home. Of our family. Of you. Every day, as they always have been. That has not changed."
Translation: Beloved
|
|
|
|
|
|
Eirnae Slytherin-Natenhar
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lenore Silme-Natenhar Crew
|
Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 6:31 pm
Gods, this is going to be harder than I thought, Lenore thought to herself. She didn't think that Eirnae was every coming back. After the first time that she was gone so long, she thought that she wouldn't have to go through this all again. But, when Eirnae left again, she started to believe herself unworthy. As though she shadowdancer didn't love her at all, especially when there was no word from her.
"I swear," she said, still keeping her eyes lowered. "That nothing ever came into the Barton mail box from you. . . ."
Would things have played out differently if she had recieved the letters? Would she be married, and expecting children? Again, she twisted the diamond and ruby wedding ring on her finger, and frowned once more.
In a restless manner, she stopped twisting her ring and reached for the dogtag that she always wore, and she started fingering that, moving it along its chain. Could she tell Eirnae? Did she have the strength? She killed her sire with her bare hands and did what she had to do to insure that she stayed alive, but why couldn't she look up at Eirnae and tell her what has happened? She helped protect her family from her murderous father and his lackies until the day that he finally died, and yet she could not lift her eyes.
She took a deep breath, and finally faced Eirnae. The sound of her voice breaking shattered what little resolve she had left, and she shook her head. "I thought of you often, and I still do. But . . . there was only so much that I could take. You were gone, and I felt like you didn't love me. I strayed. . . . And I fell in love. Eirnae. . . . I'm married." She finally blurted out the words, a strangled sob trapped in her throat when she said the last word. She was happy, so happy, with Mel; but she felt so guilty in regards to Eirnae. She started to think about how her life would have been had Eirnae stayed where she was meant to be. Would she still be pregnant with twins? Would she be blissfully happy? Or, would she long to be with Mel? Her mind raced with the 'what ifs', and her eyes welled up with blood-tears, a rogue one spilling onto her pale cheek.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 6:51 pm
Lenore hadn't hit her. Not physically. But the emotional blow is harder, cracking her across the heart and leaving a sting that doesn't fade away.
The tears don't fall. She doesn't let them. Yes, they fill up her eyes till they glitter with their promise to spill, but she grinds down on that reflex with all of her willpower.
It's not the fact that Lenore didn't wait that hurts, oddly enough. It's the knowledge that Lenore thought, likely still thinks, that the moon elf doesn't love her.
Well, that was going to end right now, damn it.
The crimson is soaked up by black leather as the shadowdancer seeks to touch her hands to Lenore's cheeks in a tender gesture, thumbs wanting to stroke at the skin made warm by stolen vitae. The warmth alerts Eirnae that something isn't right, or rather something else isn't right, but she lets it slide.
"Are you happy?" is her simple question, looking into those eyes she will remember forever. "I only want you to be happy. I ..." She pauses as she forces her voice to not break. The sobs are quelled, tucked away inside. Say it! "I love you. I always will. That you love another does not upset me. Even in the beginning, I would have shared you with another if that would have made you happy."
There is nothing but honesty in those eyes, in the shape of her mouth, in her gentle touch. Then comes the question she has to swallow the lump in her throat to voice, softer than before.
"Yet is there love in your heart for me still?" In her culture, the question isn't an odd one. Love is love, regardless of how many share it or what gender they were born with. Yet here, on Gaia, she's unsure if she's murmuring a taboo. Frankly, she doesn't give a damn if she is.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Eirnae Slytherin-Natenhar
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lenore Silme-Natenhar Crew
|
Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 7:00 pm
Lenore's lower lip trembled, and she squeezed her eyes shut. She pressed her cheek into the gloved hand that brushed away the blasted tear, and once again lost herself in her thoughts.
She should just lie, for the sake of her marriage, and tell Eirnae that there isn't any love in her heart for her, that she stamped it out because of the pain she had been through; that the part of her that loved Eirnae was dead, cold as ice.
But, Lenore wasn't, really, one to lie, especially to those that she cared about.
She opened her eyes once more, and looked into the familiar sea-green ones of the woman that she loved for most of her adult life, the first woman that made it possible for her to have a child. "I am happy," she said, deciding to reply to Eirnae's first question.
She then took a deep breath, more from habit than for need of oxygen. "Yes, I still love you, I will probably always love you. . . ."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 7:18 pm
She's happy. Good. Warmth and dread both flood into her with that pronouncement. It's what she wanted to hear, no matter what the cost to her or their family.
She waits, not wanting to hear the next part, though she keeps her eyes on Lenore's face. She's memorizing each detail, as if this'll be the last time she'll get to be this close.
The press into her hand makes her lips twitch into a ghost of a smile. A gesture for the past's sake? Her thumbs give in and stroke at the skin she remembers so well. One year. How had it come to that?
Her heart nearly leaps from her chest when she hears the words she didn't think would grace her ears. She loses control of her tears, and they fall in twin, thin streams.
"Are you lost to me now, Lenore? Will your new love not allow me a place by your side?" Not wanting to make Lenore's thoughts to spiral into the dark depression she's seen her capable of, she adds. "I wish to stay. Here, at the Haven. I do not want to cause you more pain. If your partner wishes me gone ... if you wish it ... I will go, regardless."
|
|
|
|
|
|
Eirnae Slytherin-Natenhar
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lenore Silme-Natenhar Crew
|
Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 7:27 pm
There seemed to be a fire in Lenore's eyes when she looked up at Eirnae once more. "Mel would not want you to stay away from here, if only for Damien's sake," she said. She was confident that her wife would not insist that Eirnae leave. She would understand about Damien wanting his other mother there, and about Lucius wanting his lover with him, as well. Not to mention just how intertwined all of their families were with each other. It would hurt far too many people.
She was sure that Mel could understand how Eirnae would always have some of Lenore's heart. Eirnae was her first love, after all, and that never really goes away. They had been together too long.
"Once I get back inside, I will be sure to talk to her about it. . . ." Then, she shifted her feet uncomfortably. "We can . . . set you up . . . in a guest room," she mumbled, the words, spoken to Eirnae, were completely and utterly foreign to her. Setting her up in a guest room? It was just . . . strange to her. . . .
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 7:40 pm
There's hope.
As the relief hits, her thoughts revert to the ring on her finger that Lenore crafted for her, not so long ago, at least when compared to an elf's lifespan. Which is really short when set side by side with the eternity that Lenore has before her. She's never taken it off. She doesn't plan to now, not till she knows for certain that all hope is lost for her to be a part of Lenore's life in that manner.
She breaks the sudden awkwardness of the situation with one of her trademark chuckles, dropping her hands to the slim shoulders of a woman that holds so much power, yet would shift about uncomfortably at the thought of putting her fiance', as Eirnae refuses to think of herself as an 'ex' just yet, in a guest room.
"That will be fine. Hopefully the manor remembers me and doesn't decide to toss me into one of the chambers we designed for intruders, instead." Trying to lighten the situation helps with her inclination to lean forward and kiss Lenore. It helps her not to. She feels that Lenore isn't ready for that yet, though her hands refuse to stop touching her now that they've been granted a taste.
Well ... Damn. She doesn't want to make Lenore even more uncomfortable. Wait. Did she say 'Mel'? "Didn't I meet this Mel before?" is queried, memories being sorted through. Ah, there. The woman who'd been wooing Lenore in her absence when the shadowdancer had been sucked into her original dimension.
Touche', Mel. You got your woman. I sure hope you don't mind if I spin your tactics on your ear.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Eirnae Slytherin-Natenhar
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lenore Silme-Natenhar Crew
|
Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 7:50 pm
Lenore actually smiled. "I don't think the manor will do that, seeing as how I have been slowly loosening the security. My father is dead," she explained.
She sighed once more, and nodded. "Yes, you met Mel before. When you came back the last time, I believe. . . ."
She rubbed her hands over her arms, and looked around as the wind picked up. The warm blood still in her was slowly cooling and making her a little sluggish. "I think maybe we should get back inside," she said, putting a hand over the small bump of her stomach. "It's getting a little chilly out here, and I much prefer the fire in the manor," she added.
She tried to ignore the reflex-like emotions that tremor through her at the familiar touch of Eirnae. If they went inside, she was sure that she could get control of her emotions better.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 8:06 pm
"Meaning that I can send mail here now?" she asks lightly, having thought that the Haven had been so easy to find just because her spirit had been keyed to its aura. Perhaps she had been wrong.
Protectively, because it's a reaction so ingrained she just can't shake it, she steps to the side and slips an arm about Lenore. That's only if she's allowed, of course. A mortal trying to warm a vampire. Oh yeah, that's rich. Did she want to tilt her neck and offer that, too? Well ... She reins in that train of thought before it goes far. She's always been curious, but Lenore had been scared of hurting her. It only makes the fantasies more alluring. Not what she needs to be going over right now.
She'd missed the bump till Lenore placed her hand over it. Married and pregnant? It's regret that dominates her feelings now. Would this little one see her as an aunt or a stranger? Maybe another mother? No, stop baiting yourself for a fall.
"Yes, let's go, then. Perhaps you would tell me of recent happenings while we do?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
Eirnae Slytherin-Natenhar
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lenore Silme-Natenhar Crew
|
Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 8:26 pm
Lenore smiled, and didn't shy away from the arm snaking around her. She led them toward the door, and said, "Yes, you can send mail here, if you find that you have occassion to."
She opened the door, and led them inside. She immediately headed to the kitchen to make some tea for Eirnae. She was done quickly, thanks in part to using her wand, and then hurried to the sitting room.
When Eirnae joined her, she handed her the tea, and then blew out a breath, making the bangs over her eye puff out before falling back in their customary spot. "What did you want to know?" she asked. So much had happened since Eirnae had left again that she didn't know where to begin.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
