Sleepless Stars

[Althalos]

☿

Aemas - 78th of Searing, 120th of Steel

He was still awake. The gentle glow of the stars and the lesser luminary fell through the window of the home, lighting up portions of it just enough to be perceived from his perch at the table. Of course, certain portions of the home were still darkened, impossible to peer into even if one were to look for quite some time, but that was alright -- the home was small and cozy, and there was nothing in many of the corners to see at all. Perhaps one of the sole exceptions to that rule was the gently breathing Poppy. She was busy chewing at a small snippet of meat he'd smuggled to her, and perhaps that alongside her growing familiarity with his nightly escapades was the reason why she hadn't barked when he had returned home.

Running a hand along his lips, he guaranteed that the moisture stuck there was just saliva and not any indication of his crimson meal. Difficult to see in the darkness, of course, but easy enough to wipe and place into his mouth. There was no obvious taste, and so he abandoned the prospect, drying his dirtied fingers upon his pants leg. It was dark, but blood had a habit of smearing against cloth, and there was little reason to stain his garments and lead to inspection as to his nocturnal activities.

Restlessness had gripped his soul after his meal tonight, a fluttering bird that he'd managed to stun with a stone and then cripple with the end of his boot before it could arise. Perhaps the brief struggle of it had simply flushed his system with adrenaline, but the prospect of his body performing any sort of biological function was frankly a lost one. No, it was more likely that he simply wasn't tired. It was far too dark to read, he acknowledged, gently sliding the journal he'd acquired from his birthplace across the table and out of immediate reach of his resting elbow.

Cold, dead eyes found themselves laying upon the figure of his room-mates, watching them from the shadowy nothingness. He felt a little like an owl watching unsuspecting mice, but of course, these were his companions, his friends. They were safe enough under his watchful gaze, though he didn't doubt for an instant that they'd find his lingering to be unnerving. He could always feign malingering if they arose and found him perched, but he really preferred not to bring any medical explanation to bear. If it continued, their worry might lead to requests to visit a healer, and such courses of action could only reasonably lead to... uncomfortable revelations.

Untouched by life, he might've sat there for an eon without apparent discomfort or stiffness, his body accustomed to long periods of immobility by its very nature, and requiring none of the vital fluctuations associated with living things: heartbeats, breathing, shifting position. Regardless of necessity, though, the course of action would be impossibly boring to fulfill for any substantial period of time. There were no notes to take on the sleeping pair, and no reason to truly study them in any depth. Perhaps he could distract himself with one of them... could hook them into interaction, even despite the witching hour.

An idea of craftsmanship formed in his head, and he gingerly began to step about the home, retrieving a few spare items that had been laying here and there, and just as softly carrying them outside of the building. He was immediately thankful for the beautiful rug and its noise-canceling effect as his feet drifted over it multiple times, allowing only a soft whisper of his entry and exit to play out.

Finally, his work having been prepared, he maneuvered towards one of the gentle shadows. He was careful, perhaps overtly so, not to alarm her suddenly by grabbing at her form or else making contact with her. Instead, he resolved to dip his fingers into a basin of water and allow a droplet or two to fall across her arm, hoping that the movement would stir her to coherence. "Saej." He whispered to her as conspiratorially as he could muster when he thought she had come near the cusp of consciousness. "Come with me. I want to show you something." He requested, adding to his beseechment with "Please."



Credit to Saej!

[Saej Mirilla]

¤

It had been some days since she made it home. It felt good and strange to call this place home, Althalos didn’t seem to be asking them to leave anytime soon and she promised herself she would ask him about some kind of payment or other compensation for letting them stay.
‘Maybe he’s just not that bothered.’
She had thought when she arrived to see things much the same if not messy from Shasco’s being allowed to thrive alone. Poppy had barked her deep bark which startled Saej in surprise, not fear, as soon as the door opened. It wasn’t moments afterward that she was tossed to the floor by the dog of equal weight knocking her over to kiss her face and whine in excitement. She looked like she had been eating well.

Shasco and she cleaned the house then on that day of the seventy-fifth from his escapades and she asked him what Althalos thought of the mess. He looked confused, hadn’t she seen him there? And showed her the note. She could only shake her head,
‘What an odd man.’
They hugged fiercely after not seeing each other for nearly a month before the conversation just turned into happenings at The Silver Lion Inn and other places of note that Shasco frequented.

Days later life had returned to normal with her doing her courier things around the city again and Shasco meeting her for supper at night. This is what had happened before they took to the bed and hammock on this night of the seventy-eighth, Saej not exactly pleased to sleep on the old rickety thing but not one to complain as a house guest either.

That night she had a strange dream;
She was cross-legged naked on a pink cloud. All three? Three eyes were closed shut, even the one in the middle of her forehead. When her eyes opened a rainbow light shone from the third eye into a keyhole that folded space creating a door in the sky. The door opened to reveal a skull sitting in a bed of wet, bright moss and quartz crystal stones. There were tiny red and white mushrooms around it and a butterfly flew from the door. The skull rolled its eyes at her as only a dream skull with no eyeballs can do and shifted in its bed to face her. It opened its jaws wide and this is what it said,
“You wake up from a dream and a skull is before you, it says ‘Welcome to the Night Land where all dreams come true.’”
That was when it started raining drops of sliver, she stuck her tongue out to catch one like once she did as a naughty child in a storm.

She woke then stirring and rolling over to see Althalos peering right above her where she slept, silver hair cascading almost like the rain from moments ago. At first, she gasped but listened to his words and the quietness of his tone, shifting her sleep covered eyes to where Shasco remained in his hammock. She sat up as he said “I want to show you something” and she grumbled slightly, thinking in her half-awake state that she would turn over and go back to sleep. Which she started to do until he said the word “please” and she woke up fully, realizing that he was asking her to come to some midnight rendezvous.
“Give me a moment to wake up,”
Came a mutter, she was trying not to smile.
She stretched and tried getting from the bed as quietly as possible without making the horrible thing lurch. She was simply in her brown work clothes and she followed Althalos to where ever he was ferreting her off to while rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

[Althalos]

☿

Success manifested itself in Saej's awakening. There was no doubt that she was still tired from her nap, but given a few minutes, Althalos felt confident that she would rouse completely from her stupor. He hoped that he hadn't managed to breach the rules of hospitality too blatantly with the request that she arise and join him in the middle of the night, but even if he had, he wondered whether she would make mention of it whatsoever. After all, he wasn't charging them anything to stay at his home, and he left them primarily to their own devices whenever they needed time to themselves. The gift of his home ought to over-rule any dissidence in them for his occasional requests.

In the darkness of the home, it was difficult to make out as many details about her as he wished, but he felt certain that she was still wearing the clothes she had worn earlier in the day. The brown hue of them was difficult to miss, and focusing upon it seemed to allow some instinctive recognition. Even in shadow, he supposed that he simply had a predilection towards identifying familiar items. Perhaps it would be a good gift to search for additional outfits for Shasco and herself, but the expense would bite into the limited funds he possessed, and there were items of greater import he needed to acquire before he could be frivolously charitable.

Althalos smiled as Saej began to follow him, opening the door for her so that she could be lead outside. It was notably much brighter outside than it was inside of the abode, the moonlight's kiss touching the cobblestones and buildings below without discrimination. He'd scrambled before he had rejoined the company to set up everything he needed, and the fruit of his labor was quickly visible: A number of pieces of detritus had been gathered together into something akin to a makeshift stairway, allowing someone to -- with some climbing ability -- clamber onto the roof of the home.

"Come up with me. It's a better view." He would request, before beginning his own clamber up the debris, the creak of wood letting itself known as his weight came down upon it. It wasn't a difficult climb to be certain, because the roof of the home wasn't particularly high, but hauling himself over it was still a physical matter. He offered a steadying hand to Saej, though he knew that she was almost certainly stronger than he was from her constant courier work. An aspect of his own profession had been carefully placed upon the roof of the structure, the easel casting a grim shadow upon the streets before, allowing shade for whatever hidden thing required it.

From the roof, it was easier to peer past any structures that would've prevented a view from the ground, and the target of his vigil was evident immediately. Casting its glow to the world was the moon, brilliant and luminous, a miniature sun in every right except its construction. Imperfections pockmarked the surface of the lunar body, marring its smoothness, but the desecrations of the sacred form were aesthetically pleasing to the corpse. He wondered whether the gouges in the flesh of the star's sibling had been impressed purposefully by some vastly powerful entity, or if they'd formed naturally, the vandalism of time and unforeseen circumstance.

Althalos sat a moment at the edge of the roof, patting his hand at the place beside him as if to summon Saej to observe the lunar body and its many starry companions with him. "I don't always see it so bright. We miss a whole world sleeping, don't we?"

Credit to Saej!

[Saej Mirilla]

¤

It wasn’t a long walk like Saej had expected in fact they had only just stepped from the house before she saw the makeshift stairway illuminated by moonlight. Coming from the darkness of the house it came as a surprise to Saej how bright it was outside. Looking behind her to find the moon she was disappointed to see it was covered by the home itself, the long shadow from the building clawing at the ground like a skeleton.

She was studying the stairwell he had created from crates and other found objects knowing they were from their home.
‘How did he do that while we were sleeping? Poppy didn’t even bark once.’
Saej wondered silently to herself with her hand pressed to her chin. Not quite impressed but more so intrigued by the odd behaviors this man seemed to always present. He spoke then asking her to climb up with him. She waited until he had made his ascent upwards not risking breaking any of the household items under their combined weight. He got to the top and stooped then to give her a hand. The rickety steps groaned under her weight but didn’t break and although she knew she didn’t need it she took his hand firmly pulling herself up the rest of the way.

It was worth noting his hand was cold and hard, dry too with a texture like he had performed hard work in the past.
“Gods Althalos you’re freezing.”
She said, letting his hand go preferring not to linger. Under the moonlight, the silver of his hair and skin was illuminated further reminding her of the stars above them which she could now see clearly on their rooftop escape. He seemed to glow under the light of the stars like some kind of beacon and in her heart, she knew she was being attracted to him like a moth to a flame. The thoughts she had during her time spent in Loras came flooding back and she tried to stop herself from turning pink which only deepened her pale cheeks to a shade of red.

She looked away from him then and at the easel which he had set up.
“I see your muse is out tonight, going to do some painting?”
Came her voice as she pressed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, she wouldn’t look directly at him lest he see the secrets her heart had to tell. Sheepish wasn’t quite the word at all, more like guarded. The wild thing that Saej was seemed to be pushing its way to the top, not allowing her to express her emotions as a defense mechanism. She leaned into it and frowned now, just staring at the moon.

It seemed he was also taking it all in until he spoke then about worlds unknown.
“I would think so. Sometimes some night’s air,”
She yawned, stretching again,
“...is what you need. Thank you for waking me up. This is beautiful. Did you want me to watch you paint? Also, probably for the best Shasco isn’t out here. He’s noisy and I’m too sleepy for that right now.”
Leaning against the chimney she tilted her head back, not making eye contact with him and even closing her eyes after time looking meditative though clearly not asleep. She had her arms folded against her chest. It was warm out from the day’s heat even still and crickets chirped in the night singing songs of lovers and bygones. With her eyes shut she felt something tickling her nose. When she opened her eyes a flash clouded her vision, she shook her head violently, dreadlocks turning everywhere as she squealed. The firefly that had rested then on her nose flew away.

[Althalos]

☿

He hadn't genuinely expected her to accept his offered hand. Saej seemed to be a very independently minded person, the sort who went her own way whenever it was possible without any regard for the necessities of companionship. Althalos had those tendencies as well, he supposed, though recent events involving two separate instances of armed robbery had done wonders in convincing him of the importance of allying himself with others and keeping generally near their supportive company. The pale elf did all that he was able to assist her in the ascent onto the roof, chewing at his cheek for a moment in uncomfortable contemplation at her comment about his temperature.

There wasn't a reason to grace the comment with deception, he supposed, because why would a person normally need to lie about how warm or cold they were? The body was a shifting amalgamation of tissues and organs, and it couldn't always maintain its heat or chill even if it wanted to, could it? Nevertheless, he made certain not to touch her again upon the rooftops, deciding that it was a risky matter to pursue physical contact often since it could indicate that his natural chill was caused by unnatural forces.

Althalos eventually lifted himself from his perch on the roof's edge, looking towards Saej as she spoke about her gratefulness for having been awoken to enjoy the beauty of the night sky. He smiled, feeling a touch of genuine warmth in his cold fragile body at the idea of having brought some degree of satisfaction to someone, even if it was just for a moment. He supposed it was common knowledge that doing good things for other people had a tendency to make you feel good. "Not exactly. I know I tried to show you Stolen Moments the other day and... things went poorly." He said, allowing the depth of the understatement to go undeclared.

"Actually, I was hoping maybe I could --" He paused, attempting to work out the phrasing to himself, recognizing that how he worded his request would make the difference between acceptance and denial. "--It's a pretty night out, and I wanted to know if I could paint you with the moon." He finally uttered, directing a finger up towards the great luminary, and then extending his other hand, palm up towards the chosen position. If she stood there, then it would be easiest to paint her with the lunar body serving as a fantastic backdrop.

He chewed at his cheek in mild nervousness, contemplating whether he should wait for a response or just try to push through to another subject immediately and let the impetus of her answer come whenever she was ready. "Poor Shasco works quite late sometimes. I don't think he'd have appreciated me waking him." He offered in apparent response to her mention of him, trying to shift the conversation ever so slightly so as not to put her immediately on the spot. Caring and considerate as always, he thought, wondering if there would be an opportunity herein to show some degree of favoritism. "Besides, I think your features would be more striking with the moon."

The truthfulness of his statement was moot. If she thought it was a lie, she might accept it as flattery, and an attempt at gaining favor which would carry with it the implications of friendship. If she thought it was the truth, the results would almost certainly be the same, the compliment serving to bridge the two closer together.

Credit to Saej!

[Saej Mirilla]

¤

“I remember that about a month ago, that was terrifying. How could I forget? If Rhea hadn’t stepped in I don’t think I could have stopped them from who knows what. More to the point I would have strolled right by if Rhea hadn’t been there. Well, it was her that made me realise where I was. I don’t think I told you, I almost forgot about your invitation. Horrible really, I don’t want to think about it. I’m done talking about this.”

Unfolding her arms she rested her hands at first in her lap, then fiddled with her broken glasses again an obvious reminder of that night at the art studio. Setting the glasses back on her face she drank in his next words with a puzzled grimace. Was he being serious? She regarded him with a certain amount of suspicion as he raised his palm to indicate where he wanted her to stand.
“Aren’t these kinds of models usually, well, nude? I’m not sure I can do that.”

At that moment from her vantage point on high she could see a group of people walking together, their laughs and jests carrying not quite to her ears but audible enough to know they were in good spirits. One of the group members waved at her and she ignored them. She looked at the elf and back to her dirty work clothes with a raised eyebrow.

While shaking her head, no she wouldn’t do it, somehow she found herself rising to her feet and looking from him to the moon, to the easel, and back again. She was terribly uncomfortable and felt like fleeing the entire situation. Where would she go? Trapped like a rat in a cage she sighed and threw up her hands in a slightly defeated gesture, clearly blushing again at his compliment.
“You’re right, the man loves his sleep. You would think I’d look nice with the moon? Oh. Uh. Sorry I’ve never done this before? What am I supposed to do? Just stand there and look severe? How do I pose? I’m not. Um. I don’t think you know this about me, do you? I don’t get ‘along’ with people. Or, what I mean is… I don’t get out much. Which, that doesn’t make any sense. I’m a loner. See? Not much for the whole posing for people thing. I like my wagon, I like my dog. I love food and naps.... Uh.”

Her diction was lost in an awkward ramble of excuses. As the words left her lips she knew that if she didn’t go through with this his hard work of making a stairwell from their combined household things and trying to get to know her would be for naught. In fact he might even think she was rude. While the season was almost over and she’d be fine in the Silver Lion for the remainder it made no sense to slight this man. Grimacing more she tried moving to where she remembered his hand was placed but felt like she was certainly more to the left, her entire body was awkward and she couldn’t stop fidgeting with the ends of her long dreadlocks.
“I can try but I have no idea what I’m doing. I guess I should also say, thank you for the compliment-- though the moon is her own. I don’t think I could ever compare. Maybe, maybe if we talk some I will loosen up. I know so little about you, we’ve lived together but barely have seen each other, really. Why did you go to Loras? Did you see anything interesting? I never saw you there, you could have sought me out.”

Moving dreadlocks from her face, tucking them behind her ear she walked more to the right this time, trying to center herself where she thought the moon would be behind her like he seemed to be intending. She was fully blushed now but holding his gaze trying to appear confident, raised chin, and looking him dead in the eyes. The truth was being under his gaze for long enough to be painted was also terrifying her. Scrutinized, by him? After he just compared her to the moon? She tried not to roll her eyes but to herself, she was panicking. There was no escape.
'How long will this take?'

[Althalos]

☿

It was quickly apparent to Althalos that had he made a misstep in even mentioning the events of the robbery. The way that she seemed to ramble about the subject was indicative to the elf that she hadn't managed to sort the chaos of the night into an orderly sequence. Perhaps she found it traumatizing to think that she had been so close to oblivion at the hands of violent and vicious men. Regardless, the Siltori resolved not to bring up the events of that night again unless it was absolutely imperative for some reason or another. There was no need to unnecessarily distress his companion, after all, and he didn't take pleasure in the suffering of others.

She spoke then about his request and gave an addendum about the models typically being clothed in nothing. This elicited an amused smirk from the elf and a raised eyebrow. Where in the world had she learned about that? He certainly hadn't come home discussing any nude models in the midst of his shop, and portraits often stopped just around the collarbone anyway. He supposed it was possible that a family would come to him at some point in the future and request for their painting to be done completely in the nude, but it seemed incredibly unlikely that anyone would be so bold and flamboyant. "If they are no one has informed me." He offered a reassuring smile.

There came a question as to how she ought to position herself, and whether she should take on a look of severity. Althalos rolled his tongue across the edges of his cheek, nibbling gently at the soft flesh within his mouth as he considered her questions. It was important that she held a pose that was comfortable enough for her, at least for a few dozen minutes while he finished her portion of the painting. After all, exhaustion would mean that she might decide to abandon his pet-project completely and return to the safety of the home, or worse that she might decide his exploits were unreasonable.

"It's alright, Saej. I won't ask you to do anything too exotic. Why don't you cross your arms and just look towards me." He spoke, imitating roughly what he expected of her in his own stance. "Don't worry about it not feeling perfect. Perfect things just make people feel like they've fallen short. Just be yourself." He said, scooping his brush from its resting place on the easel and beginning to mix together a few of his paints, preparing the tones and shades that he thought he might use for the nocturnal work.

Of course, with her inhibitions about the posing came an attempt to ease anxiety, and the questions about what he had done in Loras came upon the pale elf suddenly. He might've mentioned the secondary robbery, but if he did, she might worry again as she had done only a few minutes past. Was it reasonable to tell the whole truth if it might've wounded her like that? Besides, it wasn't really so terribly important was it? He had escaped with his money and his life thanks to the work of a... curious beast.

"I needed to get something from Loras that I'd heard about -- a few something's actually." Vague and unenthusiastic, he thought with a sigh, pausing in his mixing to look upon Saej and give the conversation a bit more attention. "I've been trying to learn more about the world around us, about how it functions and how things... I suppose how they work." He began, glancing up at the moon for a moment to take in its glory, letting the reflected light seep into his silver skin. "There was a place there called Erma's. I went there to see about fetching some recipe books for concoctions."

He ran a line across the canvas, beginning his work in greater earnest, setting out the outlines of where he wanted things to appear. It all felt very natural to him, and he wondered if he had painted often in his past life. "There were a few troubles here and there, but nothing conversational. Just me being an inexperienced traveler, and I doubt you want to hear about that." He smiled, the deception making itself manifest in the slightest flick of his hand, a neurotic spasm that manifested itself often when he was worried or anxious. "As for meeting you there... I didn't think you'd want me to."

A glance up from the easel to see the response of her face to that statement. "Shasco let me know that you were a free spirit when you first came. I admire your willingness to venture alone, but I imagined you had gone on impulse. You didn't take Poppy with you." A warm smile to give assurance that he wasn't at all upset about the issue, though his meticulous nitpicking continued. "I presumed that you wanted some time alone, and I didn't deign to burden you with my presence."

He didn't ask why she'd gone to Loras, though some part of him wondered if she'd tell him now. He had given the assumption that she had gone suddenly for the sake of her thoughts or because something had occurred without warning -- he'd found that people often liked to clarify their actions, or else correct any mistakes.

"I hope your own trip went well."



Credit to Saej!

[Saej Mirilla]

¤

He was very obviously amused by her assumption of the nude modeling and she just looked at him with pursed lips and a deadpan stare. She left his words hanging in the air and turned her head away, embarrassed and red but mustered a smile back when she turned her head back to face him. It was half-hearted. In truth, she wasn’t looking forward to being scrutinized by him at all, nude, or in her drabbest clothes.

As someone who spent most of her time alone feeling companionship with someone was quite alien. In her bones she wanted to hop off the balcony like a cat, wake Shasco, grab the dog, pack their stuff, and leave. While she felt a growing attraction for him she was fighting it, never in her life had she felt like this before and it scared her to her core. It wasn’t the feeling of rejection but the feeling of being seen. Living her life like an enigma and just a face in the crowd was her safe zone. In fact, she was happy with their living arrangements, they rarely saw each other and the small talk when they did cross paths was enough of a baseline for her to be happy around him.

‘Why then, do I feel like this? I barely know him.’
Taking his direction she folded her arms across her chest and looked at him without the hint of a smile. The moon shone behind her giving off many shadows on her body, not twisting her features but enhancing them in a way that her eyes seemed to stand out brighter, the blue flashing in the dark and her face taking on a strong visage. She held her chin up in a proud posture guarded against the feelings that threatened to overwhelm her, were overwhelming her. The need to run and hide was strong but she would pit herself against this elf and see what he could possibly make of her.
“You talk about perfection like you aren’t staring at the moon right now. Perhaps perfection isn’t something you can obtain, but striving for it is the epitome of living.”

Her heart was racing as she drank in his form engrossed within the painting, making the idle chat she asked for about his trip to Loras. She was having trouble not staring at him, which in her anxiety ridden mind she knew was the point anyway, how would he paint her looking away. His tall, slender frame and silver skin looked so waifish as he made the motions on the painting. Like a strong gust of wind would blow him away. A pang rang through her heart and she winced,
“You still don’t have any memories? I’m sorry for you, I actually have had some experience with that.”
She stopped talking then, not sure what to say. She pursed her lips, puffing out her cheeks with pensiveness, then pushed her broken glasses up her nose. Her mother always told her to keep the transposition a secret. Wondering then how to word her next sentence she said this,
“I have some magic in me, my mother taught me some things. Shasco also practices a craft, you should ask him about it he loves to show off. I can’t say details about my own but during my initiation, I lost my mind. For days I was in a stupor. I understand a little more than you know, but luckily for me my pains were temporary. I think yours will be too.”

Blushing again, she tried smiling but it was a fake thing that lasted for a moment. She let the moment pass and shifted, rubbing her folded arms with her hands and tightening the grip of them against her chest. Regarding him with a cold stare she let him talk, thoughts racing in her mind about why she could possibly be finding herself so attracted to this strange man. She wondered to herself was it because he was a noble, an elf, because he had offered her charity? With a cold spine-tingling shiver she realised it was because he was kind, gentle, and charming. The smoothness of his words oozed over her and she drank them in.

“Erma’s I didn’t see that. Did you say recipes? I didn’t know you cooked.”
When he called himself an inexperienced traveler she genuinely smiled then, a knowing thing.
“I actually have been traveling my whole life. While I was born in Kalzasi I was raised on an airship with my birth parents who were also merchants. I can’t say I have ever felt that feeling.”
The smile was short-lived when he let her in on the conversation between him and her adopted brother.
‘How dare he!’
“He’s right and I’m not surprised he told you things about me. I suppose I should thank you for giving me my space. My trip went well, though I guess if we’re confessing things I had my own run in’s on the road. I actually met the most peculiar Rathari bards on the way back. It was interesting but I think they smoked wizard’s tobacco, sometimes they made not a lick of sense.”

[Althalos]

☿

There was still something about her even now that seemed to reek of anxiety. He couldn't quite place his finger upon it, per se, but he was absolutely certain that he had asked her to commit to something she found repugnant. Even as he went through the motions of putting color to parchment, he found himself watching her intently, wondering whether she might attempt to excuse herself from the situation for something mundane. Perhaps she would mention the necessity of feeding Poppy, though he could always claim that he had already done it. Then what avenue of escape would she try to pursue to escape from this discomfort?

She spoke again about his ideals on perfection and its unattainable status, and he felt a smile forcing itself onto his face. He looked up again, and so much of the anxiety from before felt like it had been absolved through confident posturing. It was humorous how much good positioning could affect someone's mental state -- he made a note to consider that in greater depth at a later date. "The moon isn't perfect either, Saej." He said, casting a glance up at the lunar body for a moment, his tone conspiratorial, as though hiding the statement from the chunk of rock. "I do think it's important to strive to better oneself, though. If we place our standards of perfection on unattainable things, though, we'll never really be satisfied." He spoke, chewing at the edge of his cheek a moment as he finished another stroke of the brush.

There was a brief discussion about his continued amnesia, and then a shocking revelation that both Saej and Shasco possessed supernatural abilities. He hadn't seen either of them utilizing their powers before, and so this came as something of a surprise. Nevertheless, suddenly the strange familiarity that the two possessed whenever he looked at them felt all the more understandable. At first, he had assumed the curious link that they seemed to possess about them was a matter of their close-bond, but perhaps it had been a sign that both of them were mages. He would need to investigate further and see just how much prescient information he could gain by means of his alternative sight.

"It feels empty, doesn't it?" He spoke in response to her story of initiation. "Like you're a flask with a hole in the bottom, and you can only guess what you might've held before you were emptied out." He sighed, pausing in his ministrations upon the canvas. The conversation continued onwards, with a brief question about his 'cooking' which he allowed to pass by with only a simple nod. He wasn't sure how much of his future alchemical exploits he wanted to share with the others, especially given the connotation that novices usually carried -- no need for them to think he was going to blow them up in their sleep.

More discussion about her origins in Kalzasi upon an airship received nods of acknowledgment from the painter who continued his work upon the portrait, satisfied at how it was progressing. His reasons for having avoided her in Loras were all laid out, and her response was surprisingly more amicable than he had expected. Part of him had thought that the secretive nature of his meeting with Shasco would provoke ire in her, but it seemed that she accepted his generous act of avoidance. "Yes, the Rathari are... very interesting people aren't they? I met a man who could turn himself into a wolf and then back." A slight nervous flutter in his hands forced him to pause his work until it had passed.

"So, what did you do in Loras? Anything interesting?"

Credit to Saej!

[Saej Mirilla]

¤

She was beginning to get used to his gaze in a way, not necessarily relaxed but when he was focused on the painting she felt more at ease. It was hard to meet his eyes and she found herself looking this way or that while trying to look through him when he paused to capture her again. The redhead hoped she wasn’t being too obvious or giving off the indication that she didn’t want to be around him. Certainly, she didn’t want to be scrutinized by him but she couldn’t help but wonder the nature of why he would wake her, go out of his way to conjure up this elaborate rooftop rendezvous, and then ask to make a portrait of her. Could he be feeling romantic towards her?

Shifting then, one foot then the other, she gave him a thorough look over. There was nothing to read other than an artist absorbed in his painting. A slight pout formed at her lips and stayed there when he delighted to be contrary to her ideas of perfection.
“Funny to hear an artist talk so flippantly of perfection. I thought you creative types would spend nights tearing up paintings and painting them anew over and over, or maybe that was just a play I had seen as a girl?”
Saej’s mind flitted momentarily to the stupid dress, she would much rather be painted in that than her work clothing which smelled like stale sweat and sleep. Idly she grabbed a dread and twisted it, then smoothed back the top of her hair.

“It was very empty, I still have dreams about it. Lavender fields, dark abysses I think deep in the ocean, the ocean itself with waves on the beach and gulls crying, sunrises. One could say it was very beautiful but it scarred me. I was lost there for days and with my particular brand of magic, it’s a wonder with how deep I was that I ever came back. I could have ended up like you but much worse, not much more than a driveling fool. My mother though is a master and I trusted her with my life, it obviously came out better than I could have hoped.”
She paused then, thinking she could reveal the magic to him but let the conversation die after that. Coughing once she did an obvious crane of the neck to imply that she wondered how much longer it would take.

“You said could turn into a wolf? Not so uncommon but certainly curious. One who I met was a cigar-smoking parrot, he was very crass but kind. In Loras I met a Lady, she was in a wheelchair we talked about--”
She stopped then going a bright shade of pink, clearly stricken but let out a slow breath and regained her composure.
“A dress I bought. It’s very beautiful. I’ll have to show you sometime. Would you like to meet us, that is Shasco, Poppy, and I, in two days at The Silver Lion Inn? I could show you then? It was very expensive, I really can’t say why I bought it. I guess it was just a spur of the moment thing, but its price demands it sees the light of day at least once. I wish I had it on now, not these rags.”

She rubbed her eyes then, the night’s air making her sleepy. More drunks crawled the streets below, probably heading home from The Silver Lion, and one was singing a tune in Kokalath while waving around a bottle of rum. From her vantage point, she watched him try to skip and fall into a pile of rubbage. Saej snorted and pointed to him where he lay to show Althalos.
“I think the night is getting to some of us. How far along are you? Do you think you can continue on your own? I can stand here longer but would much rather get back to bed.”

It wasn’t said with any maliciousness, truly just an open-ended question. Should he demand she stand and be subjected to his inspection longer she would stay but would have little more to say. Whatever the answer, now or later, when they were done she would drop herself down from the rooftop without using the stairs, falling to her feet with her hand on the ground to steady her and then head back inside to sleep in the infested, creaky bed.