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 Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 12:46 am
He wanted to recoil, sit back and rewind time and just not have said anything. What should have happened after he thanked Jin-Ho for healing his Lady was that he asked him to leave and this entire conversation wouldn't have happened. This inner conflict wouldn't have boiled over.
As it was now, Sloane had buried half his face in a hand, leaving the other to press against the wood of the step. It would need to be repaired later, but that thought wouldn't cross his mind for some time. His erratic breathing, his diseased heart thumping violently. He was trying so hard to calm down and not do exactly what he was craving, and it was becoming increasingly harder as he heard the object of his loathing stand and approach.
The only thing that soothed him was the lovely scent of decay... It was familiar, inviting. It was him in a state he had never gotten to see himself. She had told him he had been such a beautiful sword... Intimidating, fierce. All traits he had, but he was not made by a master craftsman honing his art. He was made from death.
As this Plague would be.
"...Female," Sloane answered carefully. The other questions, he was unsure how to answer. All of the young Plagues, the items, intrigued him. It was the inanimate ones that held the most interest to him, those tending to show the most character. Perhaps it was from his own origin as an object rather than a living entity, but he felt a particular kinship with those which were not, at one time, living and breathing.
This brush, as Jin-Ho asked, was simultaneously like a sibling to Sloane as much as it was like a child, a mother, and a lover all at once, without even having done anything but exist. But to say such a thing... His opinion of Sloane was already low, why make it worse? No proper human would accept such an answer so full of taboos, but that was simply the way it was.
He was, admittedly, grateful for the subject change and dwelling on matters not relating to his Lady's well being, physicality or mental state had his breathing steady and he was no longer clutching his hair for dear life. However, as Jin-Ho returned to the previous subject in a roundabout fashion, Sloane felt the hot, sticky red substance gather in his mouth as a wound opened, blood leaking from the corner of his lips and dribbling slightly down his chin. How embarrassing.
"...I'm unsure if she's aware," he muttered truthfully. Sage had made no comments regarding Sloane and Jin-Ho's relationship, though there had been a fairly terse discussion immediately following his employment. His Lady said she saw potential in him and felt willing to take a gamble. He understood that, life itself was a gamble. The only problem was, it was now so hard for him to gauge what her emotions were when this situation had never occurred before. Back when she was apprenticing beneath Waldgrave, he didn't feel this... threatened...
In truth, Sloane was jealous of this man. He was praised by her, could do good with himself and his natural abilities, could assist with even simple tasks such as reading and writing. Why was he so useless compared to him?!
"Even if it is hard for her, she will never tell us so. You've noticed, haven't you?" It was so hard not to make eye contact with this man as he spoke, but he couldn't... "Her emotional responses are... lacking." He supposed, if he had been in her position, he might have done the same. What use were the emotions that ruled ones life when all they did was bring you pain? Whether a conscious effort or not, for several long and taxing years, she had simply refused to feel.
Anything.
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Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 1:08 am
Having to agree with his, Jin-Ho nodded. Despite having not known the woman for long, it was plain to see that she was rather reclusive. Unpersonal. Her room was proof of this. What had happened to this woman to put her so far into her shell? Would she ever come back out? So mysterious... She lacked the ability to grow fond, it seemed. The Lady didn't even thank Jin-Ho for healing her, her Plague ended up doing it for her. Frustration filled his mind as he tried to figure it out.
Lady Estratus didn't seem to want anyone near her, close to her. She wanted to be independent. It was as if she was afraid to get close to anyone. As if she did, it would automatically make her seem dependent. Maybe she was dependent but didn't want to put that burden on anyone.
If that were the case... then it's slightly understandable.
After a moment's thought, Jin-Ho decided that it was time for a change in pace. A switch in conversation. Avoidance of the subject of their Lady.
It was really nice hearing Sloane's tone change... so simple... this brush really calmed the Plague. What more did he know about this tool?
A small smile crept across Jin-Ho's face. "So, my brush is female? Is that why you were so obsessed the first time you saw "her?" Does your kind come with names? Does she already have one?" Question upon question filled Jin-Ho's mind. He wanted to know, and he enjoyed hearing Sloane in a mood other than melancholy or angry. "How will she come to be? And... will I have to buy a new brush once it happens?" A slight ping of disappointment resonated in his voice, an unintended but probably laughable tone.
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Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 1:24 am
Another time, yes... Another time they could personally wax philosophical on why their Lady was the way she was and why Sloane had the utmost certainty that she would never be any other way.
The probing questions Jin-Ho decided to ask, instead, however, were borderline insulting. Whether intentional or not, Jin-Ho was setting Sloane off in a much different fashion. His excitable tone, proof that he held a genuine interest in his Plague's well being, did little to settle the sword Plague's stomach and his expression became stony as he finally, after so long, turned to look Jin-Ho in the eye.
"Female, yes," he repeated, swirled pupils shifting to eye the brush instead, with its lively teal tassles. The question immediate following was what caused most of his apprehension, and then the next only added to it. Obsessed? Just because of her gender? A sly, teeth filled grin crept across Sloane's face and it did well to show his displeasure at such an accusation, "Do not presume to think for one moment that this has the slightest bit to do with the same "obsession" you human males seem to develop towards any beautiful woman merely because my opinion of women is far greater than that of the average male." He all but poured the condescension on, and rightly so.
Scoffing, he turned away once more, annoyed with the very thought. Were they really so different? "Does yours?" Rhetorical, but it sufficed as an answer. That would be a 'no', for all intents and purposes.
So many questions... Of course, it was better to ask at the source -- a Plague -- than any other human who did not know first hand, but they all seemed so abrasive to Sloane. Then again, so did Jin-Ho himself. "You'd better save a pretty penny for when she's born. Then you'll need to start refilling your ink and paint and bristles," he jeered, rather pleased with that thought. That lovely paintbrush was too good to him, not letting him work for what he needed to do, just handing it all to him easily.
"It's all different, really. The Plague, the situation, who knows how she'll come about? Surely not fending off attackers," he pridefully tapped the claws of his gauntlet against his chest plate, puffing it out to make himself look bigger. He already was much larger than Jin-Ho, he didn't need to make himself seem even more so, but he felt the inclination. "You'll be sure to tell me first, won't you? When she is born?" Sloane's voice suddenly turned deceptively sweet, an innocent lilt, as he locked eyes with Jin-Ho once more. His grin was disturbingly wide, taking most of his face.
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Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 4:46 pm
Obviously... that was the wrong choice in words. Jin-Ho let out a nervous laugh, shaking his head and glancing to the side. "I'm just digging my kind into a hole, aren't I?" The Plague's reaction was far different from what he was hoping, though he could understand why Sloane could have felt insulted. "Really, there's more ways than one that a male can be obsessed with a famale, lust doesn't have all to do with it..." It was doubtful that the Plague would let that pass, but one could only try.
Sloane's own question threw Jin-Ho off guard, bringing a small smile to the man's face, until the Plague's own smile spread across as well. Something about that smile ruined the whole "almost a touching moment," feeling.
"Well... I guess, considering Lady Estratus will want to know, as well."
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Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 5:23 pm
Yes, you rather were, Jin-Ho.
It wasn't as though Sloane had a predisposed hatred or bad feelings about humans, but it was more that Jin-Ho was digging himself into a bottomless pit and there was nothing he could grab onto to climb back out because the sides had been polished to a mirror sheen. But still, there was no way Sloane could allow himself to do anything even marginally negative to Jin-Ho physically. Whether she showed it or not, his Lady required the services of a scribe and Jin-Ho fit the bill.
And his damn healing...
Infuriating.
He knew there was more than one way to be obsessed, to love, to take interest in a woman. Relationships were not as shallow as that, he should know that more than anyone, but it didn't excuse the fact that this was the mindset of over three quarters of the male population in Panymium. His Lady's status was not very well received when they arrived in Helios... It didn't help matters that opinions of the Mages had fallen far below the acceptable range in recent years. Pity he wasn't around for their hay days.
The last caused his wide grin to falter and wilt, into a silent, seething snarl. His word choices were deplorable, he really didn't understand how to contain himself or have any tact. There he was, trying to learn more about his darling brush and simultaneously make his Lady happy while calming Sloane down, but at every turn he managed to find a way to backfire and rile him up once more.
"Get out," he spoke clearly, holding back any volume or anger, just a normal command as he stood, resting a hand on his low ceiling so as not to hit his head in the process. His swirled eyes watched the man's reaction, but he did not wait long before reiterating, "NOW!" and as soon as he was, a metal boot collided with the door and the locking bar fell into place as it slammed shut.
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