|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Jun 23, 2013 8:11 pm
Melisande thought about Wasa's words, her eyes wide as she tried to remember. As she was now... "I was never a baby." She said, and her sweet voice dipped with a breath of sadness. There was as much on the Sigel's mind as there was on Wasa's, though, and she missed the artist's wince entirely.
"Aviary...oh! Birds! That sounds wonderful." Melisande smiled, pulling herself out of her thoughts, and glanced around until she saw a colorful sign poking up out of the bushes. She reached out and took Wasa's hand, an innocent and automatic gesture, and kept close to the woman as they made their way deeper into the zoo. More than one head turned at the unusual pair, and a few people seemed to break off their path and suddenly decide the aviary sounded like the place to be. Traffic increased subtly behind the Muse, and cameras lifted quietly.
"It's there! Do you...need to sit? Are you feeling well?" Meli squeezed Wasa's hand as the Aviary came into view, casting a sidelong glance at the artist's shadowed face.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 24, 2013 10:14 am
"Oh, no. I'm fine. My bag is just feeling a little heavy." Indeed it was. She supposed she assumed that Melisande knew the circumstances of her 'birth.' Most children made a point of asking their parents at some point or another and, as far as she understood it, Pasha was no longer a child.
She lead the muse through the double sets of doors, explaining how they were meant to keep birds and butterflies from escaping. "It's good though, you see. It means we get to be in the cage with all the animals." She pointed up to boughs of the nearest tree but frowned when she couldn't spot one. "Well... doesn't mean they are easy to find."
They followed the path a ways until they came across a stone bench carved into the facade of a rocky wall. Above them, a waterfall emptied into a pond with a glass wall along the path, allowing the viewers to watch the fish watch them. "You know, it's funny you should mention babies. Well, I suppose I mentioned them first with the nursery and all but you said the thing about baby you's." She gestured vaguely and then gave a little huff of defeat when she didn't feel any clearer. "You remember that maze? At Dr. Kyou's party? Well... I wasn't the first one out, but I did get a 'prize' of sorts."
She set the pack on the floor and pulled out a wooden box, the very same one she found in the garden that day. "Probably not best to consider it a 'prize,' but it's definitely an, er, 'honor,' I guess..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 24, 2013 2:08 pm
Melisande listened politely to the explanation of the Aviary, but paused just inside the double doors. It was a giant...cage? The spiraling of her ribbon hiccuped, causing a ripple that finally shuddered down to the very end of the trailing fabric. She reluctantly watched the doors swing shut behind them, and immediately reached out to test them. They opened again easily, and Pasha took a breath. It was a distinctly unsettling experience, being in a cage...especially one so big that it hardly seemed like a cage at all.
The sense of foreboding stayed with her as she trailed after Wasa, crossing her arms over the front of her body as though she were cold. Pasha realized she'd missed most of what the woman had said, but it seemed they were talking about the box the artist now held. Pasha sank down slightly, to be on level, and forced herself to relax.
"An honor?" It didn't seem all that extrordinary, not when compared to the wonders she'd seen in the artist's Villa. Melisande tucked her giraffe-print dress under her a bit, so she could lean in closer. "From the maze...it's from the Doctor?" The Muse said the word reverently. Obviously she held Kyou in very high regard.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 25, 2013 8:24 pm
“Yes. He said he left it there for someone to find. Someone,” It seemed self –idolizing to say ‘worthy’ even if it was the word the Dr. Kyou used, “Special.” She looked to make sure she had Pasha’s attention before lifting up the lid of the box to reveal the two bottles. “This is what makes a Raevan.” She placed her fingers on the glass bell of the soul jar. “I’m going to be a guardian.”
She brought her gaze up as soon as the words left her lips. She wanted to see the muse’s expression, to see if she approved. She herself always thought of Aki as the perfect guardian, yet Pasha was alone. If she couldn’t have the elf’s guidance, perhaps a smile from her last ward, even a brief one, would feel like a blessing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 25, 2013 8:55 pm
Melisande's breath was snatched away instantly. It wasn't just the revelation of Wasa's impending guardianship...it was the how. Suddenly, the bottle looked like the most precious thing in the world.
"You're going to make...a new Raevan!" The concept was dizzying. Pasha lifted her eyes to Wasa's face, and her smile blossomed slowly. What this would mean for the woman, and what this would teach the Sigel, was priceless. Her wooden bangles clattered as she threw her arms around the artist's neck, and she angled so as not to disturb the box.
"I'm...happy for you!! When...how?" She withdrew, giving the woman her space, and dropped her eyes again to the box. Such a curious looking bauble...
Could it really give life?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2013 8:41 pm
Wasa placed her hand at Melisande's back and hugged her gently. Suddenly the humid air in aviary didn't feel so heavy. Once there was space and a breath between them, she lifted the corked bottle of shells from the chest. "Well, this is the, er, 'essence.' Best I can tell it will be what, um, influences?" She looked at Melisande and for the very first time really wondered what two parts made up the whole. "I suppose I'm not entirely sure how to explain. It's like... the flavor in your lemonade?" She furrowed her brow, knowing the comparison was neither flattering or accurate. She covered up her fumble best she could by switching one jar for the other.
"And this, this is why I'm here." She held it up by its silken strap, letting varied hues of the trees, flowers, and muse reflect in the smooth glass. "I have to find a soul, any soul, and catch it in here. Then the doctor will combine them somehow and there will be a new Raevan." She rolled her wrist, bringing the bottle to rest on the pale skin of her arm. "And I have no idea how to chose."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 9:15 am
Pasha's eyes were wide, and she soaked in every word. How did Wasa know so much about this? She shouldn't be surprised...if she recalled, the woman was practically a savant with facts, trivia, and arcane knowledge. She reached out for the jar with the shells, fingers stopping just short of the glass. They were so delicate, and so intricate...like little universes that seemed to expand the longer she gazed at them. "So lovely..."
And the bottle... Melisande could see herself reflected in it, the way she could in Zul's eyes. It was disconcerting, seeing her face slide over the curve of glass. "A soul? How do you get a soul...in there?" The Muse was brighter than most people seemed to suspect, but her brows furrowed as she supposed at the mechanics. She met Wasa's eyes over the reclining bottle, and tilted her head. It was a more comical expression with her hair up in two little buns atop her head.
"Did you know that everything has a soul? Even blackberry bushes." The Sigel's voice was quiet, but heavy with authority. Apparently the Muse knew a thing or two about blackberry bushes. "If you would like..." She extended one hand in offering, palm to the artist and pale fingers spreading as though she were testing the warmth from a fire. "I can help you."
She thought she could, at least. It was rare the Muse actually focused her talents, but Wasa seemed so wistful...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2013 9:25 pm
"I do have a lot of blackberries..." She mused quietly as she pursed her lips to one side. She lowered the bottle by its ribbon until it rested securely in its box once more.
"I'm not exactly sure how it happens, but I know-" she corrected herself quickly "I believe that when a soul is no longer in a thing, that thing is, well... it isn't exactly that thing anymore. It's... uh..." And here's the thing that caused her stomach to squirm uncomfortably and made it hard to look the muse directly in the eyes. "It's sort of... dead." She saw the muse's hand hover over her own and though her fingertips twitched towards the warmth and aid they offered she stiffened her arm to keep from straying too close. "So whatever I choose... I'm choosing... that."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2013 5:40 pm
Melisande paused. Wasa's words, roundabout as they were, seemed clear enough to the Sigel.
Whatever gave the soul, died.
Is that what had happened to her?
Thoughts of her own origins didn't consume her nearly as mightily as the realization of what they were doing. They weren't going to the zoo. They were...shopping.
Melisande tried to swallow. Her throat was dry. "You... She swallowed again, pale throat arching. "You can't."
She knew this was going to happen, but how could it? How could Wasa choose something so callous? How could she assist? The idea of bending her talents to inspire the artist suddenly sickened her. The Sigel's wings puffed, like a songbird that was suddenly chilled, and she leaned back.
There had to be a way to convince her...but how?
Pasha's eyes opened slowly. She met Wasa's gaze, expression almost slack. It wasn't Wasa she had to inspire...it was herself. For the first time, she deliberately turned her talents inward, filling herself with Inspiration.
She could have sang. She could have pulled down the Heavens with her sweet Calling. She could have convinced the artist to abandon her quest and take up life in a monastery, the Muse knew, with the persuasive conviction that filled her. Instead, she utilized the Calling herself, and thought the situation carefully through.
Wasa wanted a Raevan.
A Raevan came from a Soul.
Taking a Soul killed the vessel.
It occurred to Melisande that the idea was not so repellant, not really. If there was a way she could be with Zavier, she would take it. Even if it meant the end of her existence as she understood it.
Surely she wasn't the only one.
"You can't choose." She amended, blue eyes bright. Her gaze held Wasa's like a snake charmer, pale pink lips forming words that seemed too true to dismiss. "It must choose. Surely there is some way you can offer a new life, without taking it."
Her heart ached, wishing distantly that she could take the artist up on her yet unformed offer. Instead, it would be a lottery, a blind offering of death and resurrection if Pasha's inspiration had anything to say about it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2013 9:51 pm
Wasa kept her eyes on Pasha’s long after the words came and went. At first it seemed like the muse had taken the leap and offered her talents unbidden, but the artist didn’t feel particularly inspired. Perhaps it didn’t work that way, so few things did. Where someone might imagine she created her works with a thoughtful tilt of her head and a few flourishes of her wrist, she knew there was much more to it than that. Just because she envisioned seraphim song and a warm enveloping light before a sudden dawning truth…
She took the muse’s hand in her own and squeezed it gently, her eyes closing as she tried to find the meaning in her words. She couldn’t be the one to choose… it made her eyebrows form twin valleys above her nose. It seemed strange to her that something so deliberate as making a new life should be so uncontrolled.
But wasn’t that the very nature of inspiration?
Thinking back to all the things created by her hand and ahead to all creations thought of or yet to be known, she could think of no moment that she simply willed herself to know her exact course. It came in moments, like a fleeting vision or a smile from a memory, strung together and given form over hours, weeks, even years. That was the art. To choose a soul like this would be like walking into a gallery, finding a piece that spoke to her and in that moment claiming it as her own work.
It couldn’t be that way. Just as art creates a connection between the unique experiences of the artist and the viewer, this soul would someday serve as the bond between her and her Raevan. It could not be forced.
“You’re right.” She opened her eyes and offered a relieved smile. “Absolutely right.” She almost chuckled. It took the help of a muse to get her to think like herself. “I’m making someone else’s story… they should have a say.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2013 8:46 pm
Pasha watched the woman's expression carefully. She didn't even recall what she had said to Wasa, but she knew there had to be another option. When the artist's eyes finally opened, the Muse smiled in relief at the words Wasa spoke.
"I'm so glad!" She hugged her old friend tight, for a moment almost forgetting that they were in a gigantic cage. Almost. She knew Wasa would find a way...the woman was brilliant, if a little eccentric. "But do you think..." Melisande cast another glance around, and smiled ruefully at her companion.
"Do you think we could see the baby animals now?" Her giraffe print dress rippled back into place as she 'rose', offering Wasa a hand.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 9:21 pm
Wasa took her hand, her knees cracking slightly as she stood. Oof getting a little older or a little heavier, maybe both. "I think that's a great idea." She checked to make sure the box was safely latched before getting it settled back into her pack. As they made their way brusquely down the path, she tried to enjoy the calls and flashes of color from the birds, but her mind was quite occupied. The burden of choice was gone, and in its absence inspiration flowed. She smiled as she passed through the rotating door, the afternoon breeze cool after the thick, glass warmed air of the atrium. "Tell me, Pasha, have you ever been to an aquarium?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 4:13 pm
Perhaps it was the relief of Wasa's choice, perhaps the freedom of escaping the giant cage, or perhaps aquariums just sounded like a lot of fun. Whatever the reason, Melisande's smile was suddenly brilliant, and she clasped Wasa's hand with both of her own.
They were off to see the fishes!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
