The whole patrolling at night thing was fine. It gave him time to think. To focus on something other than the slow spiral of despair he usually did when he wasn’t with Jessie. It let him clear his head. It would have thrilled his therapist - though they would have probably thought him crazy for thinking he had magical powers.
But hey, what could you do?
The only thing he really hadn’t figured out was the weird head-radar thing. That was hard, and he could not focus on any of the strange aura pings, so he was just ignoring it for now. Come good or ill.
---
“You know that wishes made on just any old star won’t come true.” Laverna’s voice was light and airy as she drew the attention of the male she was watching. He had seemed content to just stand there like a turkey in rain. Thankfully his mouth wasn’t wide open so didn’t have to worry about drowning. “They were pretty set on the ‘shooting star’ bit.”
She had managed to sneak in and even plop herself down on her stomach to lay and watch him for a time. Now that she was bored, it was time to draw attention back on her.
“You know there are better things to look at than the stars.”
---
Phrygia would admit that he had jumped at the voice. Thankfully not nearly as high as he had thought, but as he spun around, and noticed who it was talking to him, well… The little head radar thing was telling him it was not a good thing, but his eyes were telling him that she looked harmless enough. Granted, he already knew such things were never the case, but all the same, she hadn’t attacked him when his back was turned so that meant she either meant him no ill will - or that she was honorable and demanded to fight him head on.
Either was fine by him.
“I learned a long time ago wishes never really work out the way you want them to,” He said with a small grin back. “And you’re right, there are better things to look at than the stars. One of them just so happened to grace me with her presence…” He gave a small bow, removing his hat as he did so.
“Phrygia, Page of Ganymede, at your service,”
---
Oh she already liked this one.
Dropping her head down, Laverna used her body to create enough movement rolling forward so she could end up in a hand stand before flipping back onto her feet. “Laverna, Dark Mirror Senshi of Thieves. “ She said with an added bow of her waist to mirror him. “And you are right. Wishes ever work out just how we want. Prayers either. Whatever God or Demon is out there is picky over who they answer.”
Standing straight again, she gave him a wink. “So, what were you gazing at then if not looking for wishing stars?”
---
Phrygia chuckled, “That is also all too true, if there even are Gods or Demons to be had.” He said, flipping his hat back on his head and lazily spinning his cane before leaning on it so he could lean just that much more toward her. “And to answer your question…”
“Nothing,” He said, with a small shrug of his shoulders. “I sought only to clear my mind, and I find it’s easier to do if I stare at something larger than myself. It reminds me that I am but a small and unimportant thing.”
“What about you? What are you looking for, Laverna, who claims thieves as her own?”
---
“That depends on who you ask, good sir.” She responded to his lean with a c**k of her head to the side. “Some say we are unimportant and others say we are the most. I think we walk a line in between honestly.”
“But as for what I am looking for, well, what anyone looks for.” She turned around once, seeming overly at ease. “A good time.”
---
Phrygia was not really in the mood to debate philosophy. Mainly because at the end of the day it made his head hurt or he felt lost. However, she did give him something to work with on her next statement and he smirked. “Well then,” He said, bowing his head once more.
“A good time is easy enough to find with the proper company, and I happen to be very good at finding a good time, so you’re halfway there.” He said, watching her with a small grin.
“What did you have in mind?”
---
“That depends on what you consider a good time. For you see, I have found some believe war and planning battles to be a good time. Others, lying drunk in a pile of their own vomit. “ The first made her yawn and the second, roll her eyes. Still, she walked closer to him, clearly sizing him up with her eyes.
“So, Page of….not a planet...What do you consider a good time?”
---
“Well certainly not the first option, and the second option is only fun during, but never after,” Phrygia said with a chuckle. “But with the proper companion, any time can be a good time, if you get my meaning,” he added with a bit of a wink.
“My idea of a good time is the companionship of a another person, to enjoy the feel of their skin against your own, to know that the two of you are working toward a reward together.”
“Be that dancing, flirtation, or other… means of entertaining each other.”
---
Oh he was direct. This proved highly amusing to Laverna as honestly, she found his means of trying to be around the bush jovial. Clearly he wanted to cut to the chase it appeared to her.
Well, this meant she would just need to toy with him a bit.
“A man of pleasure.” Laverna commented, walking closer towards her, one bare hand coming out to touch his shoulder. She again walked around him, never taking the hand off his body. “And from the sound of it, a deep pleasure never fully met.”
---
Phrygia grinned and nodded his head. “You’re pretty on point,” He said with a chuckle, watching her circle him slowly, the hand on her shoulder not moving. “But then, pleasure is a fairly deep well, and can one really reach the bottom?”
Phrygia didn’t think so. At least, he’d yet to be able to find it. Not that he hadn’t tried in as many ways as he’d knew how, but, still.
“What about you?”
---
“I take it then you have not found a pleasure then that meets your level of satisfaction?” Laverna’s eyes narrowed slightly as she asked. “Clearly you are looking in the wrong places then. Or attempting to settle. One should never do that when it comes to ones happiness.”
A flip of her wrist and she was moving away from him.
“That depends on the pleasure. Of the flesh, no. Of freedom…” Turning her eyes back on him, it was clear she gave him a twisted smile under that mask.
---
“Pleasure of the flesh is a form of freedom, you know,” Phrygia said, but he got her meaning. “But what do you define as freedom?” The question was probably more personal than he intended, but she was probing into his space, that gave him free reign to probe back.
“You are right, one never should settle, and I’m trying not to.” He said. “It can just be hard to juggle things when your life is already full of other things to juggle.”
----
He had her on that one.
“Sounds like you have too many balls in the air then. You may want to lose a few or try and catch them.” Laverna shrugged, looking away.
“Freedom to me is more...without rules.” She said with a shrug. “Remove the responsibilities and the cares and just...be.”
---
“But it is more fun to see how many I can manage before they fall,” Phrygia said with a sly, almost wolfish grin. “Then start all over again, because that’s what jugglers do.”
Her statement though made him nod. “The world could use far less rules, I agree. Better to be carefree than bound by shackled of responsibility. I do, do my best to avoid that as well.”
He gave her a small nod. “It is good to be free then, no?”
He certainly felt freer as Phrygia than Lucas that was for sure. Even so, all things considered he was pretty free.
---
As a wind blew around her, Laverna closed her eyes. Under her mask, there was a twisted smile. “Yes. It is…” This was freedom to her. Satine...no, that was a cage. A lie as to who she really was. A character in a game.
“You play dangerously Phrygia. Be careful…” Eyes glanced over at him. “One of those balls may just bite back if you drop it.”
Eyes narrowing ever so slightly, she grinned. “You don’t want to drop the wrong ball and end up paying for it later.”
---
“I’ve already dropped them once, and paid pretty steeply. Lost several years of my life and more. Not a ball I will drop again, but that doesn’t keep me from playing the game.” Phrygia said, the smile fading from his face to be replaced with something akin to a frown, but not of disappointment or frustration, but of sorrow deeply buried.
“Some prices never fully exact their toll either,” He added with a slight shrug. “But, that is sometimes the true price of freedom. Having to pay those endless tolls.”
He snatched up his cane then, spinning it in his hand to poke his hat back a bit on his head. “But enough about depressing things…” he drawled, placing the cane back down to lean forward on it once more.
“What’s your freedom say to some company?”
---
Laverna didn’t miss the change in his expression. Something had dropped and when it dropped, it had hit rock bottom. Interesting. But for now, she would not poke the bear too hard. Might scare him away!
And with moves like that, Laverna couldn’t help but smile.
“Company is always welcome, gentleman. Do you have a calling card?”
--
“Alas, as dapper as I am, no calling-card besides my own charm,” He added with a playful wink, already well on his way back to being his usual, insufferable self. “Though I suppose I should come up with one, so as to properly mark where I have been.”
Though the fact she wasn’t dismissing his company outright might have been some cause to his rebounding mood. “Well then, Mistress of Thieves, where shall we go?”
Risky to offer to let her decide where to go, her aura (which had been poking him since she arrived) felt off, but not enough to send him running for the hills. After all - she seemed nice enough, and she didn’t seem to be out to kill him so he wasn’t inclined to cause any trouble in return.
---
“You should invest in one. After all, you are dressed to be courting ladies and I know it was so improper to go without the proper items.” she winked at him, giving a low curtsy as a playful response. “Afterall, where are you manners…” One hand extended towards him, a cue of what she expected if he wished to ‘escort’ her anywhere.
“I go where the prize is or where the wind takes me. Since I see no trophy at the moment...I have no set location.”
---
“Well, color me embarrassed by my own lack of manners,” Phrygia said with a low bow before taking her hand and allowing her to hang on his arm, but not before bringing her knuckles to his lips for a kiss.
“Well then, we shall allow the winds to guide us then and enjoy the journey all the same.” He said with a grin. “And I shall have to invest in some form of calling card.” He added with a chuckle.
---
Torvil
