Prepare for the #LodanRespawn2024 Existing characters may choose to be displace from/have memories of different timelines, thereby allowing returning members the option to retcon their whole character. These changes are the result of the "Unnatural Fog" plot device that is running between now and the Respawn. The plot is simple: no matter where your character is, that place is shrouded in a thick fog that suspends time, but not thoughts or memories, so even if they're repeating the same day over and over again, they continue to remember, so each time feels like a new day. For those retconning OCs; this is where new versions of themselves have the opportunity to replace the old versions. Official lore and tree updates will be announced asap
Post by Lasair Landevier Lupen on Jul 25, 2016 22:38:50 GMT
If only Clairee knew how special she really was, being the only member senior to Lasair who still remained in the guild. Lefiruc still checked in some times, but he could hardly be called a member these days. But Clairee was still around, after all the time had passed, after all the leaders had changed. She came back when others hadn’t. That made her so special.
“We all have inner demons to fight,” he stated as he retracted from the hug, leaning back to rest his head on the wall again. It was a little chilly without his shirt on, but he’d have to deal with it. Watching the rain next to someone special was worth the chill.
Post by Clairee Donya on Jul 25, 2016 22:58:20 GMT
When he leaned back into the wall, she noticed for the first time that he was still shirtless. She looked around, confused. Where did it go? She looked down, and saw it far below.
"Oh." was all she said. Boy wasn't she just so articulate today? She perched on the edge of the platform, facing him with his back to the wall and her back to the empty air in the center of the room. "Should I?" She motioned down at the shirt. She could fly down and get it. Even as she voiced the words, her tattoos turned to mist and rose into a waterfall of blue and grey feathers. The wings curved around the platform to create a cocoon around them, touching the edges to the wall at his back. Light from the center of the room glowed through the thinnest parts of the wings, outlining the individual feathers in a soft light.
Post by Lasair Landevier Lupen on Jul 25, 2016 23:04:57 GMT
It was mystical to watch her wings fold out, becoming whole after having been nothing just a moment before. He envied that in a way, it was the same envy he felt towards feline anders too. He had always felt like general anders were much too boring. They didn't even get any of the cool things other types of anders had. Just blood.
He peered downwards a moment. “You don’t have to,” he spoke absentmindedly. Reaching out with his hand, he almost couldn’t resist the urge to touch her wings, curious on how the feathers felt between his fingers. “May I?” he asked, stopping himself a few inches from the feathers.
Post by Clairee Donya on Jul 25, 2016 23:17:11 GMT
Clairee shivered before he even touched them. "Yes," she answered quietly.
She prepared herself. No one ever touched her feathers. Only her family knew about them, but none ever touched them, it was too weird. And mostly; they just wanted her to keep them hidden at all times. When he did, another wave of shivers ran through her nervous system. The light touch was a caress, much like having someone play with your hair. She sunk to her knees in front of him, no longer perching as one prepared to dive off the edge. She inched closer to get within better reach and pulled her wings in closer too. Her wings were sensitive to the touch, hardened against the elements from her nightly escapades through the sky no matter the weather, but this was different. This was hypersensitivity because she was somehow more aware. She let her head drop as she relaxed into it and closed her eyes.
Last Edit: Jul 25, 2016 23:19:15 GMT by Clairee Donya
Post by Lasair Landevier Lupen on Jul 26, 2016 4:21:45 GMT
His hand rested on the feathers gently, feeling the sleekness of them and seeing how similar they were to the feathers on birds. That’s right, they were the same kind of feathers that birds had, just belonging to a person instead of a bird. Bringing his other hand over now, he ran them across the top structure of the wing, feeling the muscled and the bone under it. Then he ran his hands downwards, staring as he went and trying to memorize the pattern the feathers mad. As he reached the edges, he slowed down, noticing how the texture of the feathers changed, becoming somewhat softer.
A look of fascination and wonder was on his face as he did this, surprised by the way she shivered when he first touched them. “Your wings don’t get a lot attention, do they?” he commented, holding one of the bottom feathers in his hands. “They’re beautiful,” he added, meaning the words as he spoke them. Then he turned, stretching his arms to reach the edge of her wings and the thinnest feathers laying there. After a moment, he turned the other way to give the same attention to her other wing.
"huh-uh" she murmured, eyes still closed. She felt the trail of his hands through her wings, up and over the arch, and toward the baby soft puffs nearest the shoulders. She pulled her own bare shoulders in closer to herself, hugging her own body as he explored the patterns in blue and pewter grey. When he said they were beautiful, her eyes popped open. She stared at the platform a moment, unblinking, then lifted her gaze up to watch him admiring parts of her. It made her blush.
"Thank you..." It was a strange moment. She felt like she was in a dream just now, surrounded by cotton balls and Lasair. Perhaps it came from the fact they were hiding in her wings like a little blanket fort, and the outside world was nothing more than the rain drumming on the roof. Perhaps it was the newness of the experience. She felt like she was sitting in the warm sun, and not in the empty night except for the two of them alone in the HQ. She felt bonded to him in that moment, in a way that brought her back up to speed with her guildmate, and made her feel like she belonged.
Post by Lasair Landevier Lupen on Jul 26, 2016 5:28:57 GMT
Silence stretched between them as he continued examining her wings, trying to memorize as many details about them as he could. But it wasn’t complete silence, no, not when there was rain pattering on the roof above. He continued these actions until he found himself nearing her shoulders, peering over one to see just how the wings were connected to her body. There was a certain level of intimacy involved with their actions. He being shirtless, and her revealing her shoulders along with most of her back. This fact dawned on him quickly, forcing the feelings of wonder away as he reminded himself that he should be a little more professional and keep a bit of distance.
Leaning back from her now, he looked to her with kind eyes, hiding the emotions that were trying to sneak up on him. Other people, other faces, other times spent alone. None of those mattered right now, not when he was face to face with someone to honest with him as her. “Thank you for allowing me the privilege,” he said, gesturing to her wings. Resting his head back against the wall next, he gave her the opportunity to stir the conversation however she would like now.
When he leaned over her body to look at the wings connection to her back, she tilted her head to the side and leaned her body into his so that he could better see. Then he withdrew and leaned back, exploration apparently over. She felt disappointed for some reason, but then realized that he'd made it all the way to her shoulder-blades so there was technically nothing left to explore. (silly, naive Clariee).
"Anytime," she answered softly. And she meant it. It was a pleasure to have someone run their fingers over her wings, well, someone she trusted. A stranger might not be able to recreate the same enjoyable sensations. She'd always feared that if someone caught her with her wings out, they'd rip them to bits. But now she'd only be able to think about this. She smiled.
"I guess that makes us even..." she spoke after a few seconds of silence. Pointing to his artwork, she elaborated. "I got to see yours, and you got to see mine."
Post by Lasair Landevier Lupen on Jul 26, 2016 7:39:55 GMT
He nodded to her comment, eyes drifting from the rain back to her wings. Funny how they had come here to watch the sky, yet spent more time with their eyes on each other. But the company was welcome, especially given all the other stress he had been facing lately. He could almost relax around Edelweiss, until he remembered she had a while guild to run and things to work out with Amon. There was a time where he could relax with Sayvahn too, but that was before he went and messed everything up with that spell…
But there was none of that with Clairee. She was a guild member that looked up to him, that was comfortable with spending time with him, that only had a family of scary EIRAL brothers to worry about. But they couldn’t find her here, at the halls of MI. They were safe, sheltered, and able to take a breather from life. “You should come around here more often. There’s always something to do,” he commented, lifting a hand to scratch behind his head. “I’ve discovered all sorts of things these past few months, yet I always find myself surprised by one thing or another. Like this room, I never would have thought to come here when it rains. Yet it’s a wonderful idea all by itself.”
"True, most people only think to visit an atrium when the weather is nice and sunny, but on those days you might as well be outside." She thought about retracting the wings so she could scoot beside him and lean back as he was, but she liked the way he looked at her right now, and she didn't want to lose that, so she left them out. Instead she leaned her side against his bent knees while still facing him. Her wings relaxed and cascaded low, hanging over the edge of the platform like curtains. Clair adjusted her shirt to make sure the front of it didn't sink down with her wings in the process.
Even though they had explored each others personal attributes, she wasn't left staring at the ink. Instead she kept her gaze on his eyes and watched him. Watched when he looked up at the rain, watched when he tilted his head back down to look at her. She gave a comforting smile.
"I could stay up here like this all night," she confessed. Though it sounded ludicrous. Whether she actually could or not, she knew she wouldn't be able to. Being the only daughter, and the youngest in her family meant she could never stay out the whole night, like all mornings, she'd have to retreat at dawn and sneak back into her own room before the morning chores began. Clairee's eyes were wistful. She gently nudged his leg. "I wish I could anyway. Can't get away with something like that though, when you're me."
Last Edit: Jul 26, 2016 8:18:25 GMT by Clairee Donya
Post by Lasair Landevier Lupen on Jul 26, 2016 16:36:43 GMT
If he were being honest, he could stay here all night as well; especially given the trouble he had with sleeping lately it would hardly be difficult. The height didn’t even both him, so long as his body was resting on the solid platform he had nothing to worry about. And he was going to vocalize as much to her, but her other words made him pause. The concept of a family stopping one of their own from living a life they wanted to was foreign to him; given his own upbringing.
“Why do you let them control you like that?” he asked, concern in his voice, but it wasn’t heavy. Sitting forward, he continued. “You’re not a kid anymore. You’re an adult. You have a right to live your life as you please. They should accept that and want to see you happy. If they don’t, the worst they can do if kick you out of the house. And if that happens, well.” He looked up, gesturing to the room around them. “Then you can spend every night here.”
Up above them, the rain had started to wane some and was coming down in more of a sprinkle than a downpour. Small little droplets gathered on the glass now, occasionally growing too large and slithering down the slope. Behind the mist, the moon could be seen as it was able to peak out behind the clouds. How long it would show its face was a mystery, but for the moment, it was out and shining down into the room, illuminating certain places here and there.
Post by Clairee Donya on Jul 26, 2016 20:27:46 GMT
Clairee balked at the idea at first, but then gave a tiny one shoulder shrug. "It's not that bad," she felt the need to say in their defense. "They do it out of love, and to be honest I'm just lucky they haven't married me off yet. The longer they look at little sissy Clairee as a child, the longer it takes them to find me a husband." Even a farmers daughter wasn't free to chose her own mate. Sure she could bring someone home for them to consider, but it would ultimately be for them to approve or disapprove... and well... she'd only had a boy over once and it had ended terribly.
"I'd love to live somewhere like this though... it would be like living in a Castle," She admitted. Her eyes surveyed the big open space, the high ceilings, the moonlight touching the room in a misty light and she felt like she was back in a dream. "I must envy you for that. Only if you take advantage of it of course." her eyes came back to Lasair just then, with a teasing twinkle to them. "Perhaps I will have to stick around more to ensure that you do. Otherwise it will all go to waste and that would be such a pity."
Last Edit: Jul 26, 2016 20:38:07 GMT by Clairee Donya
Post by Lasair Landevier Lupen on Jul 27, 2016 2:52:06 GMT
“If they try to marry you off, then you definitely have to run away and come here,” he assured her, nodding his head to her. He understood her somewhat; having a role in a family wasn’t exactly an easy thing to break out of. But it wasn’t impossible, and Lasair hoped he had communicated that to her. If she ever needed help in escaping, he would be more than willing to her out with it; it wouldn’t be the first time he had helped a guild member out of a bad situation, after all.
Matching her gaze, he found himself amused by her second suggestion. “If that’s really how you want to spend your time, so be it.” He considered warning her that there would be some nights that he didn’t spend among the halls, but thought better of it. She would probably arrive before he left for those visits anyhow. So instead, he asked, “When do you need to go back tonight?”
Clairee might be treated like a child, but she didn't look like one, not anymore. "I've never been able to imagine it. Getting married, I mean. Because I always assumed it would be to a human, given that my family is all human except for me. It doesn't even seem possible. My husband would find out, wouldn't he? He'd have to know what I am." As for her curfew... "Before sunrise, I'm good as long as I don't fall asleep and miss the dawn."
Post by Lasair Landevier Lupen on Jul 27, 2016 3:40:26 GMT
The concept of marriage was one that intimidated Lasair as well. While he had never proposed to anybody, quite the array of woman had proposed to him. That was usually when he packed up and left town. “I’ve never been able to imagine it either… There is a way that your husband could never find out, but if you ever had a child, well, some woman get lucky and have it born human. Others, not so much.” He could have said more, but it was better to leave things unspoken on the matter. Horror stories didn’t need to be shared, not here, not while they were enjoying time together under the rain.
“I’d wake you up before dawn,” he added after a moment. “I’ll be awake before then anyhow.” In saying so, he left the invitation open to her to sleep if she wanted to, but he wasn’t going to vocalize the suggestion; it sounded much to forward for his tastes. But he was being honest and hoped she’d appreciate the offer, even if she didn’t accept it.
"All you need is love." -John Lennon
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