...Now What?

Tue Mar 09, 2021 10:36 pm

When he saw the rune laid bare, he only looked for a moment before he let go. Hurting Arry hadn't been his intention, but he didn't react well to tricks being played on him. He didn't recognize the rune, but then it didn't do what his own did. He didn't know enough about runic magic to really say anything, except it had felt mesmerizing, hypnotizing, as though Arry's will was overruling his own. That it had urged him toward happiness was nothing. Happiness wasn't really in Aurin's vocabulary.

He felt numb. Whether that was just his reaction or a reaction to the trick, he couldn't say. A couple of heads might have turned when Arry raised his voice, and still more when he began to cry. Aurin didn't notice and that was unlike him. He rubbed his face with his hand as if exhausted.

"Serves me right," he said abstractedly. Perhaps he meant it was delayed justice for the dirty trick he had pulled, almost as instinctively, on the streets of Antiris. Perhaps he meant something else entirely.

"Should we just head home?" His voice was a bit hollow, and so was his gaze when he turned it on Arry. He wasn't sure how much of the waterworks were heartfelt and how much artifice. Perhaps Arry didn't know either. A street kid learned to be as adept an actor as any who trod the boards of the Golden Peacock. And he had urged Arry to play the role he wanted to be. If there was an artifice to Arvalyn, he had played midwife to the identity's birth. Aurin had a tricky relationship with the truth himself

Of course, home was two different buildings for them. Life had seemed somewhat simpler when they had briefly been roommates, though.

Wed Mar 10, 2021 3:30 pm

Arry did his best to silence the sobs that wracked his slender form, and succeeded in muting any phonation. The loudest sounds he emitted were those of the sharp catch-breaths that bisected the sobs, but anything voiced was muffled by force of will. His neck was tense with the effort.

As far as Arry was concerned, he'd just irreparably wrecked his relationship with Aurin- The single most important person in his life. His saviour, his best friend, his sometime lover, his supervisor, his protector. He relied on Aurin for so much. Now, he was realising, probably too much. After he took a few moments and regain control of himself, he glanced up and replied:

"No." He whispered through his teeth, "You go home. I don't..." He shook his head, "I don't want to." Arry knew what would happen if they went home. Aurin would go to his cottage, and Arry would go to his room and be all alone with these thoughts. That wasn't what he wanted in the least. If Aurin no longer wished to offer him the distraction of a show, Arry would seek it out elsewhere. One of the many boons of living in a city of Kalzasi's breadth was that there was no paucity of opportunities to divert oneself.

"I was just trying to help, but... I understand." As he said so, the last of the tears rolled down his cheek to linger at his chin. He wiped his face with both hands, and cleared his throat of the tension that accompanied his choler.

"Thank you for inviting me out, Aurin. It was a nice thought... It's a pity I went and..." He trailed off, but gestured broadly.

Mon May 31, 2021 7:11 pm

Aurin froze, but his insides were moving. He reviewed his urges as they came. First, he wanted to take Arry home and fuck him. But while that might distract them, it wouldn't solve anything. Second, he wanted to sneer. But that would only increase the pain, even if it did have the chance of pricking his pride and steeling his backbone. Third, he wanted to let words fall out in an attempt to comfort him. But he always said the wrong things to Arry. Even if they seemed to be the right thing at the moment, they ended up wrong in the long run. He wasn't sure if he misspoke or Arry read things into what he said that he didn't intend, but it always seemed to lead down a rocky road.

Of course, he was aware in a vague sort of way that his own bait and switch childhood had something to do with how he engaged with people, especially the ones he cared about, but self-examination only led into the darkness. He wasn't afraid of it exactly, but it was too easy to get lost in the dark, to lose himself and whatever self-control he had, whatever control over his environment he had. It led to vulnerability and that was anathema.

But even as Arry bade him go, he couldn't. Would his distraught ward run off into some dangerous situation? He couldn't let something happen to him. Even when he told himself that he only had to keep an eye on Arry until Arry was established and could take care of himself, he knew that the world could come for him at any moment no matter how well established he became, even if he became the Shokaze's own bard and lived a feted life at court. He would always have to look out for Arry, which meant he couldn't leave Kalzasi, which meant he was stuck. It would seem crazy were he ever to say it out loud, but he had survived more than once by running. The idea that he couldn't up and run at a moment's notice was disconcerting.

He wanted to sharpen something, soothing his own mind with an activity that would help prepare him for the dangers the next time they came for him. But that wouldn't go over well in public. Finding himself in the need of something to fidget with, he pulled out a coin to roll over his knuckles. He didn't say anything more, but he didn't leave Arry alone.

Tue Jun 01, 2021 1:33 pm

Arry watched Aurin, expecting him to rise and stalk out immediately. He canted his head, bemused at the apparent hesitation that came about instead. No words proved forthcoming, nor much in the way of movement. Arry knew Aurin well enough at this point to recognise that he was hard at thought. What those thoughts were, he couldn't guess, but if he wasn't verbalising them Arry took that for a bad sign. He searched the eyes across from him, and regarded the chiseled visage- surveying its landscape for any signs as to what might be going on behind that comely mask.

After the silence had hung for what felt like hours to the young half-Elf, he had an overwhelming urge to break it. To pepper Aurin with questions about his state of mind and how he regarded the state of their relationship- Whatever that was or had ever been. But there was a prideful part of him that didn't want to grant Aurin the satisfaction. He wanted to show that he had self control and that, perhaps, he'd learnt it from Aurin over the years. That, perchance, the time Aurin had afforded him in this new life had not been spent frivolously and that he'd improved. He would still have to work on the codependency, but at least maybe he'd acquired some impulse control.

All at once Aurin moved, and Arry perked up in his seat. His eyes darted down to where Aurin had produced a token, with which he took to fidgeting. Arry huffed through his nose, and pursed his lips taut. So much for impulse control, there was only so much silence he could take.

"I'd still like to go to see the play tonight, if that's all the same to you. I could use a spot of diversion, couldn't you?" The idea of watching fake people with problems far more epic than his own seemed singularly appealing in the midst of their awkward evening.

Sun Jun 06, 2021 7:53 pm

"Yes," his voice creaked. Apparently his throat had closed up over his silence. It eased a bit as he kept speaking. "I'd like that. To go. With you."

Hazel eyes caught the impossibly gold gaze of his young friend. Friend didn't encompass it, but neither would the words Arry would have liked to be true either, he supposed. He felt as though he had expressed things as best he was able over their time together, but circumstances begged to differ. But there were words he was physically incapable of saying, and it seemed as though they would keep coming back to this place, where Aurin felt he cared too much and Arry felt he cared too little. But perhaps they had a reprieve for the time being.

After one more roll of the coin over his knuckles, he flicked it spinning into the air, caught it, and pocketed it. Standing, he nodded gruffly. He got prickly like this, but he had never hit or abandoned Arry, so he assumed they could just walk out and put it behind them. He was, of course, an idiot about a lot of things like this.

When Arry rose too, he put his hand on the lad's shoulder as if nothing were wrong. Or, perhaps, he hoped that whatever had been wrong was past. Everything had been comfortable for a while now with Arry gradually gathering steam as Arvalyn and Aurin doing the same with his collection of secrets. While Arry had apparently been thinking about their friendship progressing, Aurin had been focused on their reputations and streams of income. It wasn't romantic, but neither was he. All he really had in this world was a little cottage in an alley, his reputation for competence, Arry, and now Torin. If it didn't seem like much, it was the world to him. And he was trying to build it into something more secure.

Tue Jun 08, 2021 6:10 pm

"Good." Arry said, hazarding a smile that wasn't altogether earnest. He was glad, of course, that Aurin had conceded to follow through with their plans, but he was still anxious about how he'd reacted to the attempt to soothe him. It might have been an awful idea, but it was barely an idea at all and was done with the noblest of intentions, as far as the young Elf was concerned. He just wanted Aurin to be happy, and an extension of himself attempted to realise that goal. He hadn't used his magicks maliciously, as it might be argued Aurin had done mocking him with his own voice. And it wasn't as though anyone had ever educated him on the gift his mother had appeared to present, before returning to the simulacrum of oblivion where she'd spent most of his life.

Arry's golden eyes joined his lips in smiling at the simple gesture of an arm about his narrow shoulders. There was more of comfort... more of approval in that small display of physical affection than he'd been able to derive from the gruff, terse verbal reply. It was enough to push his concerns down for a while. He hooked his arm around Aurin's waist and let his hand rest on his hip bone as they walked toward the door.

"Thank you." He offered vaguely, turning his face sidelong to place a lingering kiss to Aurin's shoulder- letting his lips linger until their warmth could be felt through the fabric of his shirt. Whether his thanks were for the meal, the evening of theatre to come, the ostensible forgiveness for his trespasses or something else altogether was for Aurin to interpret. In truth, Arvine was passing grateful for all of the above.

Fin

Tue Jun 29, 2021 12:31 am

...Now What?

Points awarded:

Arvalyn - 8 {Can be used for Mesmer}
Aurin - 8 {Cant be used for magic}

Lores:

Arvalyn

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Aurin

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Loot:

N/A

Injuries:

N/A

Notes:

Great thread!
If you feel I missed anything contact me and we will make adjustments!
enjoy your rewards!