Continued from Last Tango in Daravin III
As the evening went on, Salen appeared to be in a trance, parading around the room, voyaging through the various engrams that appeared to be present across the entire plane as a way of shutting out Andre, who appeared to be deeply infatuated with him but he could find no motive of him, no logical reason to explain his feelings. It would appear to be a journey within the Reverie to find such an answer.
The process was exhausting, traveling through so many engrams to detect a lie within his words. It appeared he could find no sort of lie, nor any sort of truth. He was lost in between as there were no hidden motives, no agendas, nothing that highlights a disingenuous nature or ill intent. Was it entirely true? He resumed back to reality as Andre was looking at him, narrowing his eyes as he had been waiting for an answer for quite a while. Was Salen going to give him a straight answer entirely? Not exactly for he liked to tease and torment when it came to moments like this; it was a defense mechanism caused by his cynical behaviour.
“Must you read everyone’s mind when they give you a proposal?”
“In Daravin? Please, that’s like getting caught in a political war that you don’t want to get yourself into.”
“You paranoid fuck…”
Salen glared at him when he mentioned that remark, a deep and haunting stare of disapproval as Andre grinned smugly as he stared at the other male “Paranoid or cautious? Which of the two?” He asked, raising an eyebrow “You don’t realise trust takes time to build, Andre.”
“It does, but not if you keep closing in on people, there are probably others who would worship the power you have and even worship you as a person.”
Salen’s expression changed to melancholia, the statements he was making were true; he had been closed to many people for a long time, except for one person.
Tiberius.
He wished he listened to him more often for he was the only person he trusted, but apparently he let his emotions get in the way of his happiness with him. He was truly happy with him, but it appeared to be viscerally crippling for Salen to experience. The diegesis of his own mind, squandered by a deep sadness that has plagued him for years.
He watched as Andre held out his hand in front of Salen; his wry smirk appeared to be on his face as he was earnest about his proposition.
“Why don’t we have a trust building exercise.”
“A dance, you know full well I can’t dance…”
“Can’t or won’t?”
“Why does that matter?”
“Like I said, you need to let go a little” Andre said as his eyes stoically made eye contact with him. Salen could feel the inner trances of desire, perhaps he was in denial of his company, that he wanted to be swept off his feet by someone as handsome and as seemingly caring as Andre “Take my hand…” He invoked Beguiler upon him; the impulse to commit to the action was unbearable, but it was taken back by a deep reluctance, holding his pose as he removed himself from the stool, taking the taller male’s hand as he guided him onto the dancefloor slowly.
“Stop…” Salen spoke “If you're such a good dancer, can you improvise?”
Andre raised an eyebrow, smirking at him “Are you sure you want to challenge me?”
“Don’t ask a question with a question…” He snickered darkly as he turned his back. “Creativity is the essence of a great mastermind, Andre… I assure you I’ve learnt from the best, now accept my challenge and improvise or you will find out what you are missing.”
He turned away from him and walked the opposite way to him as he looked behind him at the other male. Andre was confused by his stance, but proceeded to nod to the band.
They began playing the music, soft gentle high notes of the stringed instruments began their slow and soothing chime, before a single crash of a drum could be heard. The violins stopped playing for a second before resuming their harmonic chords once again, as they began to crescendo loudly, increasing in volume as the song progresses. Afterwards, another drumming sound crashed once again.
Salen moved his arms slowly into position as he nervously appeared to prepare himself for an improvised performance of his own. He began to channel his ether, circulating the mask through his entire body as his form began to become more cloudy and misty around his silhouette. The mask appeared to be formed, hiding all of his marks of control and any of his mutations, taken on by other arcane arts.
Andre watched in confusion at the mass of cloudy mists created by Salen’s illusory applications; it appeared that he was channeling the Mask. He watched as Salen emerged from the mists. The drums and loud orchestral sounds of the brass section were bellowing their high notes out with epic propositions and coloratura execution.
The cellos would play their low contrabass tunes with the dramatic symphonies of the violin section, before finally the choir roared their highest notes with the sopranos and altos holding their highest notes with perfect harmony as they blend together the tones and colors of the different voices, maximizing the potential of a crescending performance.
The performance between Salen and Andre appeared to follow up with the deep intensity of the dramatic flow of the music with a combination of different techniques; the first move was made by Andre as he prepared to put his arm around Salen’s waist, remaining parallel with him at all times. They both stared intensely at one another as the taller man was pushed away by Salen once again; only this time he prepared to follow the rhythm of the percussion instruments as a guide to his footwork.
The binary rhythm that the seemingly small orchestra were following appeared to be in tempo with a dance that Andre was trying to familiarize himself with as he watched Salen move his hands above his head and began clapping, stamping his feet to what seemed like a Rallion style rhythm. The tempo of the music increased as Salen began to channel holographic figures of his Mask around him as they appeared beside him, dancing in perfect choreography. His clones appear to lift Salen towards the larger half Sil’Norai as he gulps.
Andre’s trust was being tested in this role as he would know exactly what to do in this kind of situation. Was it a role he was going to fulfill? Salen pirouetted, performing a combination of spins with his clones side by side. He stopped lifting out his hand in expression and letting out a loud and audible “Harr!”
The song was about to encore into the final centerpiece of the music; the finishing touched ended with the brass, strings and percussion section, combining a fortissimo of loud notes in which Salen proceeded to pirouette on his tiptoes as Andre held him; hand on his waist, foreheads together and right arm extended, giving Salen the stability he needs, before finally leaning back and throwing himself in a position where Andre would catch him.
Salen was breathing heavily after the whole ordeal. The dance was exhausting as was improving so many steps, but it appeared to be worth it. Eventually, his clones disappated as he disabled his Mask.
“So… How did I do…”
“Your footwork needs work…”
“I don’t get praise?”
“You get honesty.” Andre retorted.
“That’s all I ask for…” Salen’s eye contact never broke as he was in a compromising position, vulnerable to the larger man’s charms. Andre’s eye contact never broke either as it appeared he had the opportunity, it was so much that he moved closer, planting a kiss on Salen’s lips as the two appeared to enjoy a moment of company, until Salen broke away for a moment.
“No… This… This is too early…”
He proceeded to move away from Andre as he made his way towards the door. Andre stared incredulously at Salen as his heart began to sink. The state of rejection was too much to bare in which he proceeded to follow him.
“Why… Why am I so STUPID!” He said as he tried to find the way out of the club; he eventually turned his back to find Andre again as he was cordoned off by him.
“What’s the matter, have I done something?”
Salen did not respond to Andre’s plea as he was trying to find his way out, but it appeared that he was becoming claustrophobic through being trapped here. He needed to get out of the place, away from what had just happened.
“ANSWER ME!” The half-Sil’Norai screamed, making Salen turn against him with fright. He was frozen in place for a moment as the other patrons stared at him with confusion.
“I… I need time, Andre… J-just take me back to the manor… Please…”
Andre began to get emotional at his sudden experience, but what could turn into a single night of relaxation turned into an obsession. Would he forget about him in time, or would it be something that he would constantly chase?
Only time will tell.
As the evening went on, Salen appeared to be in a trance, parading around the room, voyaging through the various engrams that appeared to be present across the entire plane as a way of shutting out Andre, who appeared to be deeply infatuated with him but he could find no motive of him, no logical reason to explain his feelings. It would appear to be a journey within the Reverie to find such an answer.
The process was exhausting, traveling through so many engrams to detect a lie within his words. It appeared he could find no sort of lie, nor any sort of truth. He was lost in between as there were no hidden motives, no agendas, nothing that highlights a disingenuous nature or ill intent. Was it entirely true? He resumed back to reality as Andre was looking at him, narrowing his eyes as he had been waiting for an answer for quite a while. Was Salen going to give him a straight answer entirely? Not exactly for he liked to tease and torment when it came to moments like this; it was a defense mechanism caused by his cynical behaviour.
“Must you read everyone’s mind when they give you a proposal?”
“In Daravin? Please, that’s like getting caught in a political war that you don’t want to get yourself into.”
“You paranoid fuck…”
Salen glared at him when he mentioned that remark, a deep and haunting stare of disapproval as Andre grinned smugly as he stared at the other male “Paranoid or cautious? Which of the two?” He asked, raising an eyebrow “You don’t realise trust takes time to build, Andre.”
“It does, but not if you keep closing in on people, there are probably others who would worship the power you have and even worship you as a person.”
Salen’s expression changed to melancholia, the statements he was making were true; he had been closed to many people for a long time, except for one person.
Tiberius.
He wished he listened to him more often for he was the only person he trusted, but apparently he let his emotions get in the way of his happiness with him. He was truly happy with him, but it appeared to be viscerally crippling for Salen to experience. The diegesis of his own mind, squandered by a deep sadness that has plagued him for years.
He watched as Andre held out his hand in front of Salen; his wry smirk appeared to be on his face as he was earnest about his proposition.
“Why don’t we have a trust building exercise.”
“A dance, you know full well I can’t dance…”
“Can’t or won’t?”
“Why does that matter?”
“Like I said, you need to let go a little” Andre said as his eyes stoically made eye contact with him. Salen could feel the inner trances of desire, perhaps he was in denial of his company, that he wanted to be swept off his feet by someone as handsome and as seemingly caring as Andre “Take my hand…” He invoked Beguiler upon him; the impulse to commit to the action was unbearable, but it was taken back by a deep reluctance, holding his pose as he removed himself from the stool, taking the taller male’s hand as he guided him onto the dancefloor slowly.
“Stop…” Salen spoke “If you're such a good dancer, can you improvise?”
Andre raised an eyebrow, smirking at him “Are you sure you want to challenge me?”
“Don’t ask a question with a question…” He snickered darkly as he turned his back. “Creativity is the essence of a great mastermind, Andre… I assure you I’ve learnt from the best, now accept my challenge and improvise or you will find out what you are missing.”
He turned away from him and walked the opposite way to him as he looked behind him at the other male. Andre was confused by his stance, but proceeded to nod to the band.
They began playing the music, soft gentle high notes of the stringed instruments began their slow and soothing chime, before a single crash of a drum could be heard. The violins stopped playing for a second before resuming their harmonic chords once again, as they began to crescendo loudly, increasing in volume as the song progresses. Afterwards, another drumming sound crashed once again.
Salen moved his arms slowly into position as he nervously appeared to prepare himself for an improvised performance of his own. He began to channel his ether, circulating the mask through his entire body as his form began to become more cloudy and misty around his silhouette. The mask appeared to be formed, hiding all of his marks of control and any of his mutations, taken on by other arcane arts.
Andre watched in confusion at the mass of cloudy mists created by Salen’s illusory applications; it appeared that he was channeling the Mask. He watched as Salen emerged from the mists. The drums and loud orchestral sounds of the brass section were bellowing their high notes out with epic propositions and coloratura execution.
The cellos would play their low contrabass tunes with the dramatic symphonies of the violin section, before finally the choir roared their highest notes with the sopranos and altos holding their highest notes with perfect harmony as they blend together the tones and colors of the different voices, maximizing the potential of a crescending performance.
The performance between Salen and Andre appeared to follow up with the deep intensity of the dramatic flow of the music with a combination of different techniques; the first move was made by Andre as he prepared to put his arm around Salen’s waist, remaining parallel with him at all times. They both stared intensely at one another as the taller man was pushed away by Salen once again; only this time he prepared to follow the rhythm of the percussion instruments as a guide to his footwork.
The binary rhythm that the seemingly small orchestra were following appeared to be in tempo with a dance that Andre was trying to familiarize himself with as he watched Salen move his hands above his head and began clapping, stamping his feet to what seemed like a Rallion style rhythm. The tempo of the music increased as Salen began to channel holographic figures of his Mask around him as they appeared beside him, dancing in perfect choreography. His clones appear to lift Salen towards the larger half Sil’Norai as he gulps.
Andre’s trust was being tested in this role as he would know exactly what to do in this kind of situation. Was it a role he was going to fulfill? Salen pirouetted, performing a combination of spins with his clones side by side. He stopped lifting out his hand in expression and letting out a loud and audible “Harr!”
The song was about to encore into the final centerpiece of the music; the finishing touched ended with the brass, strings and percussion section, combining a fortissimo of loud notes in which Salen proceeded to pirouette on his tiptoes as Andre held him; hand on his waist, foreheads together and right arm extended, giving Salen the stability he needs, before finally leaning back and throwing himself in a position where Andre would catch him.
Salen was breathing heavily after the whole ordeal. The dance was exhausting as was improving so many steps, but it appeared to be worth it. Eventually, his clones disappated as he disabled his Mask.
“So… How did I do…”
“Your footwork needs work…”
“I don’t get praise?”
“You get honesty.” Andre retorted.
“That’s all I ask for…” Salen’s eye contact never broke as he was in a compromising position, vulnerable to the larger man’s charms. Andre’s eye contact never broke either as it appeared he had the opportunity, it was so much that he moved closer, planting a kiss on Salen’s lips as the two appeared to enjoy a moment of company, until Salen broke away for a moment.
“No… This… This is too early…”
He proceeded to move away from Andre as he made his way towards the door. Andre stared incredulously at Salen as his heart began to sink. The state of rejection was too much to bare in which he proceeded to follow him.
“Why… Why am I so STUPID!” He said as he tried to find the way out of the club; he eventually turned his back to find Andre again as he was cordoned off by him.
“What’s the matter, have I done something?”
Salen did not respond to Andre’s plea as he was trying to find his way out, but it appeared that he was becoming claustrophobic through being trapped here. He needed to get out of the place, away from what had just happened.
“ANSWER ME!” The half-Sil’Norai screamed, making Salen turn against him with fright. He was frozen in place for a moment as the other patrons stared at him with confusion.
“I… I need time, Andre… J-just take me back to the manor… Please…”
Andre began to get emotional at his sudden experience, but what could turn into a single night of relaxation turned into an obsession. Would he forget about him in time, or would it be something that he would constantly chase?
Only time will tell.
