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 Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 5:47 pm
"There are so many Fa'e children here... perhaps they can go, and bring the lost ones back. It would be terrible if they were caught unaware by the hunters, and Chaos' power does stretch over all worlds."
Conrad decided not mention the one house he had found, reeking of Chaos, twisted and blasted and torn to bits, with no sign of the occupants save a few charred piles that stank of rot and plague. It would only frighten her, and serve no purpose.
"They can find them - I will lead them, when I am well, because I daresay few people know world-walking as well as I do - and bring them back," he repeated, confidently.
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 6:06 pm
"No." - Airi let go of Conrad's hand and folded them on her chest. She was no longer red. She was upset. Simply because she was scared.
"If you leave here, they will tear you to shreads. Look what they did to you already!"
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 6:17 pm
"But I know they can hurt me, now - I will not be so foolish again, and if I am with the Fa'e, we will be much less vulnerable." Conrad reached out and patted Airi's shoulder, lightly. "How else will they know where to go? I thank you deeply for your kindness, but it is in my nature to wander. I may as well do it with purpose, now, but wander I must." He tilted his head and gave her his most charming smile. "I will bring them back to you, and I will be safe, I promise you that."
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 6:35 pm
Airi shook her head, rejecting the idea.
"No." - she pleaded. "They do not need to come here. They would just end up hating me, like everyone else does. I saw it in their dreams - they think me evil. And the faraway children will think me evil, too, if they come here. Far away, they can grow without and their former self will catch up to them no matter what. And I can explain everything to them in their dreams. I created them, after all. I can always reach them. There is no need for you to go ..."
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 6:45 pm
"You've changed your mind so fast," Conrad said, with a sigh. Very well, he had no choice. "Lady Airi... I did not want to tell you this, but... I found, on my wanderings, a house. It was touched with the scent of your magic and your blood - but also with the stench of Chaos. Though this was not in Gaia, Chaos already found one of your children lost in another realm, and..." He shook his head. "The house was blasted and burnt almost beyond recognition. There was nothing left but ashes and the faint breath of magic, enough that I could recognize what happened there."
Gently, Conrad reached down to take her hand again. "I do not want that to happen to the others. They are confused... some are lost, truly, and they are at least owed the knowledge of their heritage, the kinship of their fellow Fa'e, and safety from the destruction that will destroy them all unknowing if we do not do something about it." His tone was quiet, but firm. "My lady, I do not think your fears of being hated are as dire as all that, but I also do not think you would ever willingly abandon anyone to Chaos' touch. Hate you or not, they are still yours, aren't they?"
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:16 pm
She let him hold her hand and talk to her about the burned house and a dead Fa'e child, who's fault was none but being gifted with her powers. Another second chance lost. Because of her foolishness, of her lack of foresight when she called him into this new life so far away from home. But still, her unwillingness to let Conrad go was so strong ... she fought with herself ... and then, it all became quite clear to her. She interlaced her fingers with his and spoke, in a clear, firm voice, the blue of her eyes deeper then the Abyss itself.
"Since the day they brough you here and I saw the ugly wound on your body, I have been crying. The shock of seeing you nearly dead shattered me and I couldn't stop my tears for many days. If not for Lethe, I would have been crying there still. It is true, I acted like a child, not like a Lady. But I realized something as I wept. I could not bear to see you torn up like that again. I could not let it happen again. It is true, you are a wanderer, and I am a scared child. We always were like that, from the very beginning. You always roamed, and I always tried to stop you. That is how this whole mess started in the first place. When I was reborn as Airi, my every breath, my every heart beat was dedicated to fixing this mess. And now, listening to you, I have realized something else. Maybe it is not the mess that needs fixing. Maybe it is us that need to change. Either you need to stop wandering or I need to grow up."
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:31 pm
Conrad grew very still at Airi's sudden intensity - it surprised him; she'd never been like this before. "Perhaps... perhaps so... I'm not entirely sure what you mean, but it feels right... doesn't it...?"
He leaned forward, aware suddenly of every flick of her hair, every blink of her eyes. "Maybe so... it hasn't been working too well as it is... home, they said. I wish I had one, but if I do, I sure as hell don't want it to be what Legion said... I'd rather it be here..."
The trickster had been brought to bay; now there was nothing more to do but complete the lean forward and move into a soft kiss, right on Airi's lips.
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 9:38 pm
If Airi had more experience with this little thing called love, she would have realized what an underhanded move this kiss was. She would have pulled back. She would have told the cheeky b*****d a piece of her mind. But Airi, despite her grace, her wisdom and her past was very very inexperienced in all social matters, particullarly in the matters of the heart. Like a little bird caught, she froze, her heart beating so fast from fear and that other emotion it was ready to explode any second. Something warm and good spread thru her body, starting from her lips to the very tips of her toes. And, while Airi didn't know what to do about it, she most certainly didn't want it to end. So when Conrad began to pull away from what he intended to be a light peck on the lips she instinctively followed, tumbling onto his injured chest like a cotton ball.
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 9:44 pm
Conrad was just as surprised as Airi tumbled forward, and he moved to catch her just in time. The warmth of her shocked him - oh, sure, they'd touched before, but it had never been anything quite so physical before. "Lady Airi..."
But that was the thing, it DID feel right - it really did, a sudden certainty welling up from the past, that odd sensation of memory reborn that any Fa'e would have been familiar with... but it was quite a surprise to Conrad.
Well, in for a peck, in for a pound, and Conrad deepened the kiss accordingly, moving his arms to encircle her lightly - just enough so she'd feel it, not enough to make her feel trapped.
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 10:47 pm
It was not a long kiss, though for the parties involved it seemed to last millenia. Airi gently pulled away, her pale face reduced to nothing but bright, feverish eyes and scarlet cheeks. Conrad's arms were still around her, resting on her little shoulders ever so lightly. She was free to fly away whenever she wanted, the arms said. But even if the wings were free, how could one flee if the heart was chained firmly to the ground.
"I should leave and let you rest." - she offered. "You're still very weak."
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 10:55 pm
"I'll get stronger fast," Conrad murmured, though he did lean back against the headboard again. "But there's no need to leave - I spent so much time wandering on my own... talking to others here and there, but hardly more than a conversation. Never anything else..."
Not until Legion stabbed me, at any rate, and I'd just as soon avoid that.
He let her go then, gently. "Thank you for everything, Lady Airi. For this house to shelter me, for your children to heal me... for that kiss," he added, tilting his head to one side and giving her a rakish grin, sweeping his hat off of his head and giving her the best bow he could, considering that he was sitting down and still weakened.
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 11:50 pm
"I'll ... I'll stay ... if you ..." - she stopped. She wanted to say 'If you stay', but that was not something that he could do, and she knew it. "if you tell me about your journeys." Sitting now on the corner of the bed she pulled her legs up and hugged them with her arms. "And there is no need to thank me." - she nodded at the flowery bow attempt: "It seems that Legion was wrong, and you home is not among them ... but here. Welcome home ..."
((Scene over; feel free to use this room for other things. smile ))
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