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 Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 2:20 am
(( This was meant to be part of the last post, but I'm useless, so I didn't finish it until now. HURRAY, TRIPLEPOSTING sweatdrop ))
Jessie ended up being unable to leave the rings on the shelf. He chose his favourite, along with the reccommended bracelet, and decided that if she didn't like the bracelet, he could back it up with the ring. Rings didn't have the significance to him that they did to humans; necklaces were in fact far more amorous objects where he and Cressa came from, and a much more powerful symbol of belonging. Deep down, though he could adapt to the human customs, he'd be uncomfortable giving a necklace to anyone less intimate with him than Cressa. Much as a ring on the left hand meant commitment to them, the clasping of a necklace was symbolic - giving it meant 'You belong to me'; accepting it meant 'Yes, I do belong to you.'
He had worn a collar himself, once upon a time - a very long time ago, when his life was not his own. But his thoughts were not on any of this now. The girls were very fond of the pieces he'd chosen. They spent some time cooing over them, and then it was time to move on.
"I'm glad I decided to do this. I feel better now. But I must get back to work. Gloria... you didn't choose anything for yourself?" he asked, with a note of concern.
"To be honest, jewellery's not really my thing," she replied. She almost felt embarrassed that he'd pointed it out. It really wasn't her intention to take advantage of his kindness. "It's kind of... not very practical. I'd prefer clothes or something, but we don't have time, so..."
Without saying a word, Jessie flipped open his wallet, pulled out his card and pressed it into her hand. He bent his head down to her and for a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her cheek, but instead he leaned past and whispered in her ear. "My PIN is 9 - 7 - 7 - 1," he said, "Buy anything you like."
Her eyes widened. "Oh, god no, Captain, I couldn't," she protested, but he wasn't putting up with it.
"If it will make you feel better, do it. I want you to be happy, too, Gloria."
Just to the side, fireworks were practically going off around Cressa's head. Yes, she already knew his PIN herself, but being given permission to spend as much as they wanted was like - like - it was heaven.
For a few moments, Gloria looked completely at a loss. She looked down at the card in her hand and examined it, as if she couldn't think of anything else to say or do. Finally, when she looked up, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "No one's ever done anything so nice for me before..."
"Just promise me you'll enjoy yourself. Have a good time together... and please," he said, looking the beaming Cheshire Cressa straight in the eye, "Keep out of trouble."
~~~~~~~~~~~
When he got back to the hall, Miriam had arrived in his absence unexpectedly. She approached him with a smile, her greying hair pulled back in a bun, as the girls continued their practise behind her. Aurelien stopped dancing and came over too, a slightly dazed look in his eyes. "I have some big news."
She reached up and gave him a double-cheek kiss in greeting, which he returned. "It must be big. I didn't expect to see you here today."
"Oh, it's huge," said Aurelien. He shook his head. "I can't quite believe it myself."
"Would you like to tell him?"
"The male soloist for the seasonal sequence has dropped out," he said flatly. He kept his eyes on the floor, but beneath his eyelashes they were darting around anxiously. "They're... holding auditions... for his replacement."
Jessie looked surprised - and excited. His eye had a little gleam of recognised opportunity. "And Miriam has signed you up already, I presume?"
"I came to talk about it," she said, "Of course I wouldn't do anything without his consent. But Aurelie, this is a fantastic opportunity for you, child. It's not every day such an important solo role just goes up for bidders, especially not this close to the opening performance. One perfect performance of this, and you could become a real star. That's all it takes. Everyone's eyes will be on you, and you alone."
"It's a very difficult role. The dancer must perform with both power and delicacy," Jessie said, pausing. "But you could do it. You wouldn't be alone. I'd help you perfect it."
"If I got it, that is," the slim dancer replied, "Which I won't. You don't know what it's like, Jessie. Those guys are so competitive. They'll eat me alive. I couldn't hack it the first time around - why d'you think I dropped out in the first place?"
"We can't make you do anything you don't want to do," he said gently, "All we're saying is, we know you're good enough, so it would be a dreadful wasted opportunity not to at least have a go. This could be your moment to shine."
He didn't look at all convinced. Le sigh. "I guess I could try. If they turn me down, well, whatever. I wouldn't be the only one getting turned down."
Jessie reassuringly gripped his shoulder. "As long as you focus on the dancing, and only the dancing, nothing can harm you. And believe me, you haven't even seen ruthless competition if you haven't participated in a beauty contest in my home."
"It couldn't get much worse than this," he said glumly.
"The winner is generally the only one left with all his body parts at the end."
"...Okay, I take it back, that's pretty bad."
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 5:43 am
 An hour and half plus a wardrobe change later, Evelyn, Gilroy, and Armin were in Barton Town, thanks to a very, very hesitant teleportation spell.
Evelyn walked through the town as she had for many years, wandering from shop to shop, window shopping. She giggled and pulled Gilroy over to a stand that was selling sunglasses. She pulled a pair of red-tinted ones, with a swirl on the top outer corners over her eyes, and laughed. She immediately pulled another pair off the table and covered Gilroy’s face with them.“What’s this?” he asked, joining in on her laughter. The red tint to the world was definitely new.
Evelyn waved Armin over and put her own pair on him. Armin smiled immediately.“You two look fabulous. I think you two look fabulous. We should get these.” She pulled off another pair and onto her face, a wild grin on her face.“Evie, do you—”“Oh, yes, you should!” the shopkeeper said, agreeing with the grinning girl. “The three of you look remarkable!” “See? She agrees. We’re getting them.”Armin took the glasses off and was about to put them down, when Evie frowned, her bottom lip sticking out. “Please, Armin,” she said, right before his hand touched the table. Armin retracted his hand and put them back on. Evelyn gleefully jumped about, turning in a circle, pulling out some money and handing it off the woman.
When they were a sufficient distance away, Gilroy leaned in and asked, “Did you just buy these for us so you could wear yours without looking completely out there?”Evelyn simply smiled in response.*** The trio entered a shop, out in a back alley that Armin knew about (not only did he know about it, but he had to vouch for Gilroy and Evelyn to be able to get in), and immediately Evelyn wished to leave. Sharp things all over the wall. Arrows, daggers, swords, bows, and every manner of weapon. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Gilroy rested his hand on Evelyn’s shoulder and whispered in her ear, “You know, they have replicas of weapons that were used in movies, right? Almost every sword shop does.”Evelyn opened one eye and looked at Gilroy. “Would they have any from Lord of the Rings?”They passed a good ten minutes as Evelyn squealed over different swords from favorite movies and books, going into detail of where they were from, who wielded them, and what battles they won.
Finally, she actually set out to what she was there for. She pushed the red glasses on top of her head to get a better look. She started at daggers. They were nice, but none of them seemed right. One looked as if it was made out of bone. Human bone. She shuddered and moved on. Bow and arrows. Once again, she saw sheath of arrows looking like it was made out of bone, and she quickly turned and looked at a wall of swords, hanging on the wall, but that wasn’t what caught her eye. There was a display case, obviously, but it was covered by a thick black velvet material.
Of course, upon seeing it, Evie couldn’t leave well enough alone. She pulled the cloth off to reveal four swords. She inhaled sharply and clasped her hands together.“Beautiful, aren’t they?” a voice behind her said, startling her.
She turned and saw who she assumed to be the shopkeeper. She turned and nodded, shifting her weight from her heels to her tiptoes.“Would you like to hold one?” Evelyn nodded fiercely. “Oh, yes, very, very much.”The shopkeeper smiled and moved around and opened the case. “Which one would you like to see?” Evelyn thought for a moment, then decided. “The blue one.”He pulled it out and handed it to her. She held it in her hands, unsure at first, then admiringly.
The hilt was a stunning silver, with a huge sapphire at the pommel, but with smaller ones running up to the cross guard. The rain guard had another sapphire in it, but it was the actual blade itself that took Evelyn’s breath away. It was a magnificent light blue, was glittered and shone. She didn’t even realize that the shopkeeper was handing her the scabbard until he coughed. She took it, eagerly, and stood in awe at its beauty. It was decorated magnificently sapphires, London blue topazes, tanzanites, and iolites, set in silver. It was beautiful, and she could hardly keep herself from offering her family’s entire estate for it.“It’s an arming sword. A knight’s sword. It actually has a beautiful story. You see, that one, and its three siblings here,” he tapped the case, “were all owned by four brothers. Four knights. They were wielded in great battles, and always came out victorious. So you’ll see my hesitation to sell them separately.” He moved to take the sword back, but Evelyn opened her mouth before she would let him.“I want them. All four.”The shopkeeper seemed a bit taken aback, but nodded. “Alright then.”
They spent the next ten minutes talking about the swords, which each had the same treatment as the blue one, but one in red, one in green, and one in orange. When Evelyn left, Armin hauling her newly purchased swords wrapped in the black material that had covered the case, she was on cloud nine, and had a four corresponding books about the battles the swords had won.
When they teleported back to the Temple, Evelyn immediately shut herself in her room, expelling the two boys, expecting Andreas to get there soon. She immediately set to work on enchanting the swords, consulting seven different books. She was completely exhausted, but it was well worth it.
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 6:06 am
As he headed down into the basement after dinner, Jessie wondered what he was going to have to say if one of Evelyn's guardians was standing outside of her room. As it turned out, it wasn't an outrageous or paranoid assumption - Armin was indeed guarding the door to her room. It was fortunate that it was him, and not one of the other two. Fisticuffs at dawn were less likely with him.
He kept his expression utterly serene as he made the long walk down the corridor. "Good evening, Armin," he said, sounding as purposeful as he looked, "Is Evelyn in her room?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 6:13 am
Armin bowed, and smiled at the combat master. “Oh, yes, sir. We actually got back only a little bit ago.”
Armin, who knew full well that the swords were a gift for Jessie, was rather surprised to see him showing up at Evelyn’s door. Did Evelyn contact him? Did he just know? Did he usually visit her at this time on Saturdays? Were two overlords of their lives in cahoots and planning everything that ever happened to them? Cahoooooootttttsssss.
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 6:21 am
Jessie gave him a little smile. "I see. I'm glad to have caught you. Would she be willing to see me tonight? There's something I'd like to talk to her about."
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 6:24 am
So it wasn’t planned. She didn’t contact him. He might have just known. He apparently didn’t visit her at this time every Saturday. But Armin definitely wasn’t ruling out the overlords in cahoots. He just loved to say cahooooootttsss.
“Oh, yes, I’m certain of it. Shall I announce you?”
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 6:27 am
"That would be very kind of you," he replied politely.
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 6:36 am
Armin nodded, and knocked on the door. There was the sound of several books hitting the floor at once, and then the noise of a door unlocking, followed by, “Come in, Armin.”Armin opened the door, seeing several books on the floor, which Evelyn had apparently just been reading. The swords were on her bed, covered by the black fabric, and she sat just above them. She waved her wrist and sent all the books back in a corner as he entered the room. “Combat master Jessie is here to see you.”Evelyn blinked, shocked, and quickly ran her fingers through her hair and jumped off the bed in an attempt to look less disheveled. “He can come in,” she said, pulling at her skirt.
Armin showed Jessie in and walked out, shutting the door behind him.
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 7:48 am
The flickering trepidation Jessie had been consciously working to suppress welled up as Armin turned away and gained him entry to Evelyn's bedroom. By the time the other man moved aside to admit him, his face was no longer simply serene, but utterly mask-like, as he redoubled his conscious effort to appear as innocent and normal as possible. Of course, no matter how hard he tried, it wasn't going to change the fact that his mind remained willfully determined to take the scenario in a wishful and utterly inappropriate direction. And by going to her room at night, with a pair of romantic gifts for the beautiful young girl, he felt accessory and accomplice in a scheme set up by himself against himself. Guilty as charged, by himself - the judge and jury.
He was there to apologise to his student. That was the goal. That was what was going to be achieved. Nothing else would happen. He would leave. Their relationship would return to its most uncomplicated form. Things would be simplified for everyone. But then there she was, at her most effortlessly beautiful, soft cream fur sweetly framing her bust, metres of delicate white fabric exhibiting those long, slender legs NO. No. Bad brain. Very bad. There was simply no excuse for that sudden desperate longing to ravish her at that momeNO. Stop with that language! Stop with those thoughts. Overlord, are you on his side or not? Do you enjoy torturing your pawn, putting such unhelpful thoughts into his head? You should be ashamed of yourself. Some of us are above such carnal desiroh who was he kidding, he wanted her, but he wasn't going to continue to be driven by any ulterior motives. It would not be wise, now that he had gotten this far. This was the point where things could get very messy, if he allowed them to. And my god did he want to allow them to... STOP IT.
"Good evening," he said, managing to sound a little bit abbreviated, distracted as he was in his thoughts. His gaze searched the wall, away from her. "...I hope you don't mind me coming to see you. I didn't want this to wait until Monday. We have no time to talk during lessons."
Plenty of time to talk now. Just talk. Nothing else. Nothing else was on his mind at all, except a conversation. And even if there were other things, they were simply not going to happen. He would make every effort to not allow it.
...Nope, just thinking it harder didn't make it any more true.
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 2:46 pm
As soon as Jessie entered the room, Evelyn began chewing on her bottom lip. This was completely unexpected. She had thought that Armin was just going to ask about something or other.
His words set her on edge as well, and she straightened her spine. “Oh…well, what do you want to talk about?”A yawn escaped her and she extended her arms to the full length, stretching and standing on her tip toes, before returning to her original standing position. She blushed red. “Oh, excuse me. I’ve just finished some magic.”Oh, Oveerseer, help her. She was such an idiot. He probably thought so too. He probably came here to tell her how him kissing her was a mistake. He was far too kind to point out WHY it was, but she knew it. She looked down at the ground, eyes only occasionally looking up to see him.
Distantly, she wondered if he had any nervous habits, like she did with the biting of her lip. That led her mind to how much she would like to find out…which led her to want to spend more time with him. Oh, dear.
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 2:54 pm
"That's alright. Please, sit down, if it'll make you feel more comfortable," he said, gesturing at the bed. Why did he gesture at the bed? His subconscious was seriously screwing with him right now. "Listen, Evie... I really want to apologise. I'm sorry for putting you in such an awkward position... when I kissed you during our first session. It was not my intention to take advantage of your trust and vulnerability... and I'm sorry... if it has damaged your opinion of me... or our relationship..."
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 3:02 pm
Oh, dear, he did think it was a mistake. She sat down o the bed, and motioned for him to let him know he could sit on the other side.
Immediately, she wanted to say “Nothing could damage my opinion of you!” but she held herself back. Instead she settled on “I didn’t think you were taking advantage of me…”
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 3:21 pm
He perked up a little at this. "Good... I'm glad. When you ran off, I thought I'd really upset you... and we've hardly said a word to each other since..."
He stepped over to the bed and sat down, ignoring the background bells of jubilation that he was ending up exactly where he wanted to be. That little voice in his head really needed to shut up already. Yes, sex, we get it. Go put it in an erotic novel, not in his life. "I'm sorry if I seem... distracted. I'm just concerned for you, more than anything. I don't want to hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you. Quite the opposite, actually. I wanted you to feel better about yourself."
"Here," he said, pulling out the slim box containing the bracelet, "Let me start making it up to you."
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 3:39 pm
Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she could hear her sisters’ voices. “When a man gives you jewelry, it can mean several things. One, he knows he screwed up and he’s trying to get back on your good side. Two, it’s probably an important date. Three, he wants something from you. Or four, he’s proposing something, like moving in together or marriage, or, possibly, to kill the in-laws.” Evelyn immediately recognized the type of box, and tried not to let it show. She bit her lip and looked up at Jessie. Gog, he was adorabl[oodthirsty]e. She wasn’t sure if she was supposed to open it herself or let him do it, so she just sat.
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 3:46 pm
She didn't move to take it, so Jessie flipped the lid open himself, revealing the beautiful, delicate rose gold and pink beryl bracelet inside.
"...I thought that this suited you perfectly. It's enchanting. Beautiful. Pure..."
Okay, better stop there, Jessie. Best not to teeter into 'pervy old man' territory. He fell silent and observed her response carefully.
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