|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 11:56 pm
"Thank you dear, I do try..." Seduction was still one of Rave's favorite pastimes, so the smile that tugged at her lips was filled with an honest heat, but they were waiting on another dear friend, so now was not the time.
"I could always help you stay seated though..." Now there was a hint of mischief to her eyes as she looked at him through her lashes a tendril of inky shadows snaking it's way up the leg of his chair before sliding across his lap in an attempt to tie him down.
Raven had learned quite a few new tricks since he had left, and she figured it was time to show him a few, since the corner he had picked was perfect for strengthening her shadowy friends.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 2:29 am
HonoRaven "Thank you dear, I do try..." Tomorrow growled as he took a sip of his beer... HonoRaven "I could always help you stay seated though..." This comment made John cough, spluttering beer all through his beer as he placed his tankard down on the table, looking at Raven incredulously...before feeling something slinking up his leg and onto his lap. redface Only when the thing slid around his lap and around his legs and seat, arresting him into his chair, did he look down, seeing his dusty blue jeans lashed with semi-solid shadow. His dumbfounded look remained - however, the passion that had been there was no longer around. "Wha...I mean, huh?" He gasped, genuinely shocked. Since when did HonoRaven ever have shadow powers? Since John only knew one man who could control the darkness, he immediantly had an idea on who had taught her such a trick. Grasping his beer once again, he sipped it thoughtfully, not bothering to struggle against his bonds. "Thats interesting..." He muttered, wiping the beer from his beard. "...When did he teach you this?"Was that a pang of jealousy in the big man's voice? Surely not.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 3:15 am
Raven gave a throaty little chuckle, swirling the wine in her glass as she smirked. "That would depend on who you mean by 'He', my dear... you see, a few things have changed while you were away."
He didn't try to fight her, and that was extremely interesting... either he didn't think she was a threat, or he still trusted her, it would be even more interesting to find out which one it was... "For starters Maxi has only recently taught me a few of his tricks... of course I learn best by experience, and I haven't really had the nerve to challenge him..." Copying was an inexact art at best, but letting Max beat her black and blue just to fully understand how certain magics worked was not really high on her list of things to do xp
The hand on the wine glass suddenly changed, the inky black swirls of her tattoos revealed and a single violet eye peered at John from within those lines. "My new tricks came with a new title, and are the gift of someone even more dear to me than Maximos himself...The same person who gave Maxi his abilities actualy."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 3:46 am
The large man's eyes narrowed as he watched HonoRaven change before him, her words chillings his marrow. Maximos had told him once about how he had found his way to this world...how he had acquired his powers, or rather, how he'd been cursed by them...but now he had changed. He was halfway now, between worlds in one frail human body....or as human as he could be.
But then...things had changed. Tomorrow's mind was muddled at best.
"Tell me about it. Everything." He said, his beer staying firmly on the table. His voice held a point of authority, but wasn't too demanding in tone...yet. "But before you do, allow me to deliver this warning....Maximos' lessons are harshly learnt."
His metallic hand, resting upon the table by the empty mug, opened and closed slowly, the fingers creaking slightly as they did, before resting still once more.
"Now please...continue."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 5:17 am
"Maximos and I are... on the same team, you could say." She set the wine glass down, still appearing relaxed and nonchalant even though her eyes flickered to that hand for a moment... perhaps she should ask the story behind it, since as far as she could tell he had gained it shortly before disappearing, but that could wait.
"When Munin chose to separate herself from me, she left me rather bereft I'm afraid... alone, and without certain resources that I had always considered my own." The tattoo's on her hand slowly seemed to lengthen, swirls and black runes appearing on her skin as she spoke. "I was loosing myself... bit by bit, forgetting who I was... it was easier to know nothing than to live with the pain of being all alone."
She leaned forwards, resting her elbows on the table and steepling her fingers so that she was looking at him from over the sparkling tips of her red and black striped nails. "Maximos himself was in pain, thinking himself a beast, a monster playing at person between meals... It got to the point, where I think he was trying to find a way out. It was not last year, but the year before during Heaven or Hell, I watched him try his very best against the eliminator... and although he walked away, I don't know if he would have been able to survive his wounds, but then I am a bit of a sceptic when it comes to his tea." She smiled again, a little smirk that said she was laughing at her own arrogance.
The lines on her right hand started to appear, her glamor breaking away inch by inch to reveal the shadow runes drawn on her skin. "I did what I could, tried my very best to heal Maximos... but healing hearts is a lot harder then regrowing flesh and mending bones, and the wounds in Maxi's soul were as deep as my own, even if they sprang from a different source."
"Luckily for me, someone else intervened... someone much more powerful than I am, he taught me something that I was able to use to help mend the wound in Max's soul, as well as managing to completely change my opinion of him at the same time! That other being healed Maxi, erased the wounds that Joseph Brown's machines had carved into my friend, it was.. better than magic, it was a miracle!" Her smile changed as she threaded her fingers together and leaned her chin on her clasped hands, it was a smile filled with love, a smile that spoke of true peace... and that was saying a heck of a lot for a being who thrived on chaos!
"Now, for my efforts in mending the paladin, I won a boon... It was really quite sweet of him considering that I tend to heal people because I feel it is my job, and normally I don't expect any reward beyond their thanks.. and a nice hug now and then...." She sat there, smiling happily, her pale, pale skin covered in the twisting curling lines of Lunoc runes, not just her arms and hands... but the lines curved across her chest peeking out from under the pale lilac blouse, down her legs as well as up her neck and over her face!
"I asked to be needed, because I thrive on knowing that I am not just a waste of air, only sought after by chance and forgotten by all but only my most loyal of friends..." A frown crossed her face, making the mask of shadowy lines a tad more fierce before she shook her head a bit and smiled again. "And so I became Nocturne's priestess, and although this time my god is very far away... he manages to warm my heart in ways that Munin never managed to even touch on. We are birds of a feather, both tricksters at heart!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 7:51 am
John listened intently, his own fingers steeped, his elbows resting on the arm-rests of his chair, his head bowed as he drank it all in. He narrowed his eyes at the name - Joseph Brown - and at the title - paladin - and watching as the tendrils of darkness, once harmless tattoos, now taking on another, unearthly appearance in John's eyes.
"I'm sorry but...I'm sorry for that." John replied slowly, sadly. "...I'm sorry for you. If I'd been here...if only..."
He closed his eyes tight, lifting his right hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. It was like someone had taken the world and tipped it on it's edge. Black was now white, up was now down, and the room had begun to spin. This was Raven...and although he thought himself deluded before - a thunder god...really? - she had never seemed mad. Indeed, perfectly sane. To have lost a part of herself, only to replace it with darkness...no matter how you wield it....
He didn't know what to say about it. He looked at her now with tears welling in his eyes. She was beautiful and serene, a gorgeous picture of perfection...marred by blackness. Infected with shadow.
He placed his head in his hand, pressing the palm into his forehead, and let out a small sob. Wasn't it enough to take a part of him....now he had taken one of the few constants that was left. What else do you want, brother? He thought to himself sullenly. My soul? I'll pay it gladly in time. But not this...
Letting out a low breath, his hand curled into a fist, pressing it still against his forehead as he tried to compose himself. The tear that he shed rolled down his cheek to be swallowed by his beard. What did you expect, you idiot? That nothing would've changed? That you could just waltz back and everything would still be the same? Life changes. You have changed....so why wouldn't everything else?
He now lifted both hands to his head, pressing his fists against his temples as they began to throb. What. Did. You. Expect?!
"I'm sorry Raven, but could you get the next round?" John asked slowly. "I'm feeling...off."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 8:19 am
Raven shook her head as John put his head in his hands, her dreamy look disappeared to be replaced with one of concern, her right hand reaching over the table as if she would have stroked his hair and asked what was wrong. The sight of her marks stopped her, her frown deepening as she pulled her glamor into place again, the marks disappearing in the blink of an eye. " You have nothing to be sorry about Morrow, Munin and I are the only ones to blame for our own mistakes." It looked as if she had run across someone else who didn't understand, and the lines on her skin were easy enough to hide in order to make others feel at ease. She watched, her eyes growing sad as what was a happy story for her, obviously hurt him. She was just another monster, and she knew it... it was too bad that so many others couldn't see it. " I'm sorry Raven, but could you get the next round?" John asked slowly. " I'm feeling...off." She knocked back her wine glass, draining the contents without tasting them. " Sure dear..." Raven stood quietly, and slipped away from the table, wondering if he would still be there when she got back. Where he had pushed his way through the crowd, she slid, her body brushing lightly against the other patrons with small smiles and polite 'excuse me's... pulling energy off the humans with every touch so that even the ones that were truly upset about being jostled were lacking the energy to do more than glare at the little woman. With every touch she fed, replenishing her magic and filling her mind with bits and pieces of those people's memories and feelings, it was the sort of thing that could easily drive a person mad, and had been doing so until she found a purpose to focus on. Nocturne had really saved her, and she would do anything he asked her too... although she still needed to work on following his requests without questioning xp , after all Raven was still new at the blind obedience thing. She ordered a pitcher of beer, and a girly frozen drink for herself, pulling a pair of mirrored sunglasses out of thin air while she waited on the bartender, slipping them on and a pleasant... if slightly vacant.. smile that came with them before she headed back to the table with the drinks. The glasses hid her eyes, hid the sorrow that cooled her chaotic orbs and made it possible to lie to the world about the pain she felt inside.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 5:58 pm
John sat in silence, looking at his palms, one rough and calloused, the other flat and cold, reflecting the dull tavern light weakly. When Raven returned he accepted the beer with a small nod of thanks, gripping it with both hands, staring at the froth slowly bubbling off the top.
When he looked back at her he noticed the shades and immideantly felt guilty for the way he'd reacted. Pushing away from the table, he held his hand out, grabbing her hand in his calloused palm and tugging at it silently. He patted his lap, wanting her to sit there so he could hold her close, cradle her almost...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 6:33 pm
Rave sat the drinks on the table, her smile taking on a slightly more genuine tone as she slid into his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her forehead to his. "Some things change Tomorrow, but some things always stay the same. Don't worry over what can't be changed, simply learn to live with the changes."
She did something rather extraordinary then, with her skin touching his in such and innocent manner she gave him all the energy she had gathered since they entered the tavern, feeding it to him as if she were re-energizing him during a healing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 8:03 pm
Looking into her golden eyes, John felt a calm wash over him that he had not felt for almost four whole years. He felt invigorated by her, rejuvenated, the weariness off travel and time seeming to roll off him, like water trickling off a glass surface. He wrapped one arm around her waist and placed another on the back of her head, stroking her hair gently as he placed her ear to his chest. she would be able to hear his heart booming within his broad chest, pounding with slow rhythm as he stroked her hair.
Boom boom.
Boom boom.
Boom boom.
He didn't want her to make him feel better. She had done that the moment he'd first saw her on the cliff. He wanted her to feel safe, to understand that he accepted her no matter what. That he understood - change was good sometimes.
Even when you didn't understand it.
For now, he wanted to give her what she always gave out selflessly - some peace. Tranquillity if possible. He hoped his beating heart would drown out the noise of the tavern until only his heart could be heard, his warmth felt, his safety around her like a blanket...the way she made him feel.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 8:33 pm
Raven closed her eyes and listened...she listened to the past, present and future fade away to be replaced by the steady beating of a single heart.
A life, a life that was calm and steady at the moment, close enough that she could have taken it from him with almost no effort at all... although she couldn't help but to wonder how that calm would be interrupted were she to simply wiggle her bottom in his lap. xp Just another benefit of the imp in her nature, she supposed that was the force behind her constant interest in seeing how she could change people's moods.
"You missed a lot of fun... I got to join Ryugi on his HoH team.. in fact I am on his team again this year, and I almost ate Sunny.. that was a very amusing trick that Maxi tried to play on us both. Night still manages to avoid me and his kids with a persistence that is somewhat magical... so, subsequently I tend to fall in and out of love with someone new every season or so. The sex is fun, but the heartbreak wears thin after a while." She was babbling, fighting off her own sudden lack of energy by trying to recall all the silly things that had happened over the last few years.
"The stadium keeps on spawning zombies, they seem to always attempt to over run the place right after HoH finals... of course because I usually skip the finals, I tend to miss most of the fun... although I had a great opportunity to kill Vahn last year, unfortunately my conscience got the better of me again and I saved his ugly butt instead... I think he is off looking of Sierra again, so I won't get a chance to pick a fight with him this year... Sam has taken an unhealthy interest in your kids, she seems to think it is part of her responsibility to look out for them while you are away..." More little bits of nothing, her mouth seemed to be just running aimlessly in hopes of touching on something that he would be interested in, but not upset about.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 8:59 pm
It was all very interesting...especially the sex thing. That made John squirm a little in his seat, forcing himself to chide himself - what was he, a jealous boyfriend? The news about Ryugi was interesting - he couldnt recall who Ryugi was, but the sheer fact that Raven had participated -and held her own - in HoH was a surprise in and of itself. He looked at the minx in his lap with a new light - competition. Anybody who could hold their own against Kasuga was a power-house indeed.
"Who is this Sam? Do I want them running around my children?"
Although he intended on officially cutting ties with Amber, he was still interested in his kids company...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 9:11 pm
"Samantha is my daughter... and Munin's reincarnation..." Raven chuckled as she squirmed a bit in his lap, using the excuse that she was just getting comfortable again after he had moved. She was, after all, and incurable tease...
"So, if I were you.. I wouldn't want her running around with your kids... but she wouldn't do anything to hurt them. Sam is just a bad influence!" Rave's idea of bad was a little contrary, since she meant that the girl was a horrible book worm and not a little hussy or a bully... xp
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 9:35 pm
He felt Raven before he saw either of them, she was showing off her shadows. She wouldnt be able to see him, it was a Reaper thing, vanishing from view before any divine creatures was very useful in hunting said creatures. He paused for a moment and listened. While the night he gave her, her markings in the name of the Shadowfather he tried very hard to convince her otherwise, she accepted and it seemed to have done wonders for her. But he could see Johnathan felt otherwise.
He immediately pitied the other man. He could smell the vulnerability in him across the room. He could practically taste the tears. Perhaps it had something to do with his other-than-human nature. Perhap a hunter always keyed in on prey? Maybe things wouldnt change. Maybe Tomorrow was simply meant to be diametrically opposed to him at all times, no matter what changes he made. Maybe...it didnt really matter.
In response, Max shrugged and began making his way across the room, gliding around and between people. Humans couldnt be expected to understand. Nothing was going to change who he was, or who he had become, or who she was for that matter. Though, the choice to don sunglasses and begin self sacrifice showed Raven was alot more hurt than she let on. He aimed to change that.
Max made his way to one of the servers, said something politely and the man ran off as if he had seen a ghost. Raven and Tomorrow would find a bottle of something hard that was so old its label had warn away into illegibility, a shot glass, a pitcher, and another of Raven's fruity drink refreshed slid before them. The bartender would offer them without a word, and then look at Raven and apologize profusely before sliding her money back to and scurrying away. And then Maximos would approach as silently as ever and approach the liquor, "Can you believe the service here? A lady as lovely as Raven should never pay for drinks. Its just not right."
He eyed the two in their cozy, if not romantic position and chuckled softly. "Am I that late?"
Maximos moved on pale white hand, paler still it seemed in the dim light to the bottom, leaned non-chalantly against the bar and began pouring it into the shot glass. "I thought all the cuddling didnt start until after dinner and a movie? Isnt that how this new generation works?"
He slid the shot in front of Tomorrow. Beer before Liquor...it was an old saying. Max poured another for Raven and slid it in front of her, and one for himself. There was a conversation going, yes, and it could continue after he was done with the formalities. "Arent we here to celebrate?"
He lift up his shot glass, held it out and said, "I propose a toast, to old friends, old enemies, old loves, and new memories.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 10:50 pm
"Other way around, brother." John remarked. "Kids these days dont mess around."
John's mirthful reply covered the deep feeling in hiss gut as Maximos appeared, and his arm around Raven would tighten momentarily before allowing her to move away, stealing a quick kiss from her cheek and pinching her a** if she decided to. He accepted the shot glass and held it aloft as Maximos said his little toast.
"Indeed." He replied before downing the glass in one shot, feeling the smooth burn slide down his throat expensively. This stuff is probably older then I am...
Confusion rattled the large man's head. Since when did Max have such a high tolerance for liquor? Last John recalled, he had to scrape him off the bar and into bed after only a few beers. And since when did he have such clout as to get the finest liquor in the tavern AND get Ravens money refunded?
Was he taunting the old Tribal? The news about Nocturne had made John paranoid...and his head was beginning to hurt so bad...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
