|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 4:21 pm
Riley felt the leer, even though she didn't see it. Still, Vek had a point. In the end, she was glad he didn't make himself at home. Her eyes were only for Malodore, even if her thoughts were not. And when it stopped, she looked up, vaguely curious as to whether there was an invisible wall keeping it at bay. But soon enough it continued to close in on her, and her arms swept out, welcoming it into them.
And then something else fell upon her, as if her welcoming arms had collected the intangible traces of it's emotions instead of it's physical presence, and settled them into her heart. It was emitting the most intense thoughts, and she had to wonder if it realized just how easily she was able to see them. She even felt them, and her heart clenched for a moment in pain. Her hands dropped and one rested against her bosom, as she regarded it.
That hurt.
Of.. of course we can talk. Come inside. I'm glad you came.
She took a few steps back, gave Vek a wary glance, wondering if he'd even noticed her moment of pain, and then swished around to enter the room and settle on the couch.
..So this was what a stress test was like.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 5:23 pm
"Good evening, sir," Malodore said politely, nodding to the Bogeyman as it too slipped inside. Having an audience... well, let him listen. It was going to speak regardless. No matter what her answer was, the thought of actually having an answer, instead of wild speculation, was a huge relief...
While it couldn't see in the darkness of her living room, it quickly moved to the light switch and turned it on by feeling for it. Then it turned and opened its beak in an almost shy smile before sitting on the couch. Not too close, not too far. A precisely calculated distance. The hurt and wounded part of it howled at calculations being needed, but it sternly told that part to shut up.
This would pay for all, one way or another.
"I am glad you came, I... have been thinking about you, a great deal," it said, earnestly, sitting at an angle so that its body mostly faced hers. "I know, ah... you know that we have a history... if it would not be too painful or strange for you, I would like to... talk about that. About what that history means, now. As it were." As it spoke, it watched her - so beautiful, so unfamiliar to see the Insanity-stripes laid bare, they way they held her. Part of her, now, perhaps irrevocably.
"I confess I am rather nervous," it added, ducking its head. "I have been thinking about our next meeting ever since I left you."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 5:39 pm
Riley stopped when the lights went on, and turned around to catch sight of the light switch. Oh. She murmured. Oops. She hadn't even registered that room had been dark. It was a little embarrassing. Though, Vek hadn't complained either - perhaps it really didn't matter, in the long run.
When Malodore sat, she carefully calculated the space it left between them, and her eyes slit as she pondered on it's feelings. She waited, listening very intently to what it was trying to say to her, before the silence fell between them as it waited for an answer.
Her heart was beating like a drum, and her mind was clear as a blank slate. It left her to fill the void of thought with things that could explain her reactions to the plague doctor in front of her.. in a way that made sense, for her. She was explaining away the heartache, and the unfathomable gravity between them. It made her want to lean forward, and close the gap it had left. It pulled at the strings attached to her arms, but she resisted, leaving them at her side.
Her hand rose, instead, and rested against it's arm. I want to talk about it. She whispered. I may not remember you, Malodore. Her head ducked to keep it's eyes on her. And I may not understand love. But I know you. Somehow. If you had the ability to feel what I'm feeling, even now, you would understand what I mean. It is frustrating, and it has kept me thinking about you ever since we met, as well.
Her hand rose off of it's arm, and rubbed at her chest idly, thoughtlessly. It hurt again. You're my only chance at understanding what this is.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 5:54 pm
"I... do have that ability, in a sense, but only if you permit me," Malodore said, ducking its head again. "I have some small measure of empathic ability, but... it is not the same as your own mental prowess."
Gently, it raised one hand to cover her own. "I can show you my memories, as I did before, but what I feel need not inform how you feel... so I stopped and retrieved something." It squeezed her hand, then released her, moving to pull something out of one sleeve.
A book.
"This is yours," it explained, holding it out to her. "I told you that I took some items from here, when we all believed you to be... gone, permanently. I will return them all to you, naturally, but I thought this one might... might help you. More than the others. I, ah... if you wish to read it now, I will wait. It is not long."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 6:16 pm
I do permit you. The answer came rather suddenly, and perhaps a little emphatically. If someone else could feel what she felt, they could analyze it, dissect it, understand it.. certainly this brilliant creature before her would be able to figure it out.
And presented before her was something unexpected, but rather delightful - a book. She thought it a present, for a moment. Ah, but it was hers to begin with, so not as much a present as a return. She slumped visibly.
Of course. I will attempt to do so. She took the book in her hands, and cracked the edges open. Immediately she recognized her own writing, which explained why the doctor had hoped the book would help her. So she settled back against the couch, raising her legs up and dropping them in Malodore's lap, before settling in to read.
She skimmed through the first entry, nodding slightly before turning the page. Immediately her hand pressed against the torn page, where her thoughts had been ripped out carelessly. Her eyes flickered up to Malodore for a moment in question, before she actually read the part of the entry that remained, and understood.
She had done that.
She gently turned to the next page, and skimmed it. Then she read it once more, but slowly this time. She debilitated over every word, before finally turning her eyes back up to Malodore and turning the book around.
What did I do? She pointed at that entry with one claw, in hopes it might have known what it was talking about.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 6:51 pm
Malodore leaned in until it could see the page in question. "Hmm... ah! Ah. Si... I didn't see this book, you see, until I retrieved it from your room... so I am not precisely certain. But, given the date, I believe it refers to... ah, your... kissing me, for the first time."
It opened its mind to her, bringing the memory to the surface, for her to take should she wish it. Also, it ducked its head yet again. How foolish, to be so shy, but a rather absurd warm glow filled it nevertheless.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 7:15 pm
Kissing-
Before she could ask, the memory bubbled up in Malodore's mind, but the plague doctor was so open, so overwhelmingly accepting of her intrusion, that the memory slipped into her thoughts unbidden. Her eyes fluttered when she felt it's thoughts settle into her. It wasn't the memory that had her fluttering, it was the ease with which Malodore slipped thoughts into her mind, like gentle caresses against the most sensitive skin. The memory explained her question, but she wasn't thinking about it, anymore.
Quite a few moments passed before she opened her eyes again, and remembered where she was. She flushed with embarrassment, before picking the book up and holding it up to her face.
Ah. I see. Thank you. A very cordial, and only slightly shaky, response snuck out as she hid behind her book.
She started reading the next entry, but stopped almost immediately and perked up from behind the book. Her eyes glittered with jubilation.
I have a dragon mount?!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 7:18 pm
"Si - you do, or you did, at least. There was a bond between you that severed at your... petrification." Again it supplemented word with memory, scattered scenes with the three of them, Jericho in both his dragon-form and his humanoid form, Riley riding on his back - the three of them in Christmas Town, and later too. All pre-Insanity, of course. "He, too, missed you terribly... he was your best friend."
Strange, this teaching, this explaining. And yet the plague doctor was beginning to enjoy it, in a strange way. As if by giving her her own words, and these memories, it could somehow give her back herself.
Though it dared not raise its hopes too high.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 7:43 pm
Riley wiggled in delight, before delving back into the book, even more delighted to read that she had an igor as well. She had harvested this school well, it seemed. The Elders should be delighted with her.
.. She was reminded of her failure to connect with them, but she flickered a worried glance at Malodore for a moment, before looking back down at the book. Now was not the time to try again.
Will he be at prom as well? And this Christof? She murmured, quickly changing the subject that had never been brought up. She turned the page, and read the next journal entry, nodding gently in response. The masses were driven by sexual gratification. Lesson learned. Check. She moved on.
A slow stillness fell over her as she read the next entry. With each word, she felt the pain that throbbed in her heart even more, and she looked up at Malodore, patting her chest as if to request that it feel what she felt, for better understanding. Then she went back to reading it, and then, suddenly-Quote: I feel as though my chest is going to explode. It hurts in all of the best ways.
Her gaze returned up to the plague doctor, and her brow furrowed as she stared at it's face. Her hand rose up to touch it's beak with her fingertips, before cupping it's face entirely with her palm. She looked so utterly confused, the ache within her visible in her eyes.
Did it trouble you? She whispered carefully. My desires.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 7:57 pm
Malodore couldn't help but open its beak in a fond smile at her obvious delight. "Jericho will be there, si, and Christof as well. And many others." It fell silent, though, when she did, feeling that stillness in her, and that soft ache...
When she slid away, it smothered a momentary pang - but then she was reaching out for it. It settled itself into her grasp instinctively, a small sigh escaping its beak. "I... no, they did not. You did not," it said, quietly. "Your feeling that way about me is why I feel the way I do about you... why it hurt so much when I lost you." Under the words fled memories of its mourning, quick flashes of pain and loneliness that it was not consciously sharing, but they were there nevertheless. It never was any good at hiding anything from her.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 8:15 pm
Malodore-
Her face cringed, just slightly, and her hand fell away from it's face as she exhaled a painful sigh and tried to relax. Your pain. I think. Maybe. Not quite ready to experience that, just yet. She could feel her strength ebbing, just slightly, and the last thing she wanted was to fail this test before it had even begun. She opened her eyes to slits, and her brows lifted pleadingly. Maybe, just the happy memories for now. We'll work on the sadder ones when I'm better.
She opened the book back up, but her eyes remained on the plague doctor, unaware that she'd leaned in closer. The book pressed against it's arm due to her proximity, and she backed up just slightly so she could read. The last entry was almost laughable, and she chuckled as she read it.
I wrote poetry for you. She murmured in amusement. I. wrote poetry.
The last one made her chuckles quiet down, and she looked at Malodore's hand, before quickly making the decision. She closed the book - without realizing there was one last written page at the end - and reached out to take Malodore's hand in her own, pulling it towards her. She held it tightly, burying her fingers into the spaces between it's claws, and waited.
She blinked, and then looked up at Malodore. Once more, she hadn't realized how close she'd gotten to it.
I don't know what to feel. She admitted quietly. I have lost something dear. I want it back. How do I fix this problem, Malodore? She regarded it like a mathematical dilemma, and assumed there had to be an equivalent answer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 8:46 pm
"Ah-" It pulled back, sharply, reigning in that subconscious stream as it became aware of it. "Mi dispiace, I was - that was not intentional, I assure you..."
It remained silent as she kept reading, though a faint chuckle did escape it as she mentioned poetry. "Si, though you never actually recited it to me, that I recall," it said, equally amused. "I never knew..." But that would lead to more painful thoughts, so it tucked them away firmly, drawing back a bit so as not to cause her distress.
Her fingers, lacing through its own, brought it back. After she was done speaking, it bowed its head. "I... I want it back too," it admitted. "But I did not, and do not, want you to feel that you must... do something simply because you used to do so in the past. As if it were a rote path that you had to walk down, regardless of your current feelings..." It closed its eyes against a treacherous swell of tears, forcing them back.
It took a breath, to calm itself, then opened its eyes. "I... know that right now, things cannot be as they were before." Gently it showed her their last walk in Conquest, the sound of the chimes above them as they embraced and moved, hand in hand. "But I would... if you are willing, if it is what you truly desire... begin with you once more, afresh? Io e te?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 9:02 pm
There was so much respect, in the plague doctor's words. It loved her. It understood love, and it felt that way. But it refused to force it's love, and expectance of love in return upon her. It meant the world to her.
Because as much as she wanted to understand what the words in her journal meant, she knew that she needed to know Malodore, inside and out, first. And the only thing that could solve that problem.. was time.
Time was the gift it was giving her, by asking it if she wanted to start again. Time, and a chance at something she'd never had before.
The offer was too tempting to pass up.
Perhaps not.. completely fresh. She relented, keeping it's hand in her own while she pulled it closer. I have no aversion to your touch, Malodore. You treat me like a china doll, and I appreciate the respect. She really did. But you can hug me, if you want. Her eyes lifted into crescents in lieu of a smile. Affection is not a weapon. You needn't wield it with such care.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 9:29 pm
"It can be," it whispered quietly, the tears it had been holding back overflowing - yet, at the same time, its beak opened in a smile. "It can be, but when it is, the damage is turned only towards oneself. The more fool, I." It reached for her, even as it allowed itself to fall towards her, hands coming to rest on her shoulders.
"May I accompany you to the prom, mia cara? Oh - oh, here, you will like this," it said, with a laugh, opening its mind to her and showing her the image of the two of them at prom, the year before, crowned before the cheering students. "Do you remember? We were selected for the Prom Court - a ceremonial title only, with no authority of any kind, but it indicates the admiration of one's peers. You were King," it added, shyly.
It felt... well, the closest analogue it had was breathless, a state she had described to it before. Strange and alien to it, and yet it kept coming back to that word. Stunned and stilled, but in a good way. Very good.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 9:47 pm
As it fell against her, Riley wrapped her arms around Malodore's lower waist, and effortlessly pulled it up to sit beside her, so that it was not leaning it's upper half so uncomfortably angled, and settled it much more comfortably against her. Her arms remained around it, because.. she felt no reason to take them back. It certainly didn't feel wrong. Did it?
She pulled her head back an inch to read what she could from the doctor's reaction, before returning it to normal.
If we ever make it out of this room, then yes. I would be happy to have you escort me. She answered, though slightly distracted as the thoughts slipped into her mind once more. She shivered, her hold tightening at the feel of it's mind touching hers once more. Did it really do this all the time? It was fascinating..
And then the actual scene played out, and her eyes slit as thin as paper. King, hmm? She murmured darkly. She watched the masses cheer for her and her companion, as they crowned her. No authority, Malodore had said..
She hypothesized otherwise.
I like the sound of that. And you, my Queen? Did you enjoy your reign?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
