Fun Destruction (Part II)

[Arvælyn]

"Fun Destruction"
(Part II)
Continued from Fun Destruction
11 Ash 122
Fortis Lacerta Arena
Border of Aurecine and Palatine Districts

Arry lit up at the revelation that his neighbour in the podium was also a performer.

"Another dancer! I used to dance in Kazasi!" He grinned, turning his attention from the fight to look the Fæ in the eye. And it sounded as though he danced in a similar vein to what Arry once did to earn money.

"I started at a cabaret in, um... Place of Jewelled Arches, as they call it... No- Not place, um... Plaza?" And cabaret was a generous term for what was largely a brothel, "But then I was able to get a spot in a repertory company at The Golden Peacock Theatre." It was doubtful a Solunarian would be impressed by name recognition of an estimable theatre in a land thousands of leagues away, but it was worth a try. "So I started focusing more on acting than alone dance..." Although, of course, many of the plays he'd done had involved choreography of one kind or another.

"Wait, what?!" Arry blinked and turned his full body from the chaos of the ring to face Æros directly. "That has to be him! You must have met my Finn!" He grinned. "He does have a sweet countenance, doesn't he?" He bit his lip, blushing at the mere thought of that beautiful face. Arry very much enjoyed when others found his amatus attractive, and it sounded like Æros could appreciate the aesthetic appeal of the minstrel. Of course he only like this up to the point where anyone actually made advances toward Finn, at which point his impulse was to melt their brains with his oldest Rune, or break their necks with his newest.

"What crazy coincidence!" Suddenly, Arry whipped back around to face the fight as one of the combatants was being crushed against the ward directly in front of their faces by a bruiser of a human.

"Gods, I should have thought to bring wine..." He glanced back at his bodyguards, "Do they sell wine? One of you fetch us bottle, yes?" The golden elf reached for his coin purse and handed some of the money from his allowance off to the lower ranking guard, who stepped out of their alcove to carry out his task.

[Aeros]

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The other noble's enthusiasm was really quite infectious, Æros finding himself leeching from the man's excitement. He almost wished that the other hadn't made to conceal his Symphony, if for no other reason than to copy more of that excitable nature onto himself. Of late, more like the last few months, he found himself drifting further into something of an emotional abyss, so to be around somebody like this was refreshing.

He looked toward Arvælyn while he spoke about how he, too, used to be a performer, but he did keep the chaos of the arena battle in his periphery. The Fæ did not recognize the name of either location mentioned, but he figured they had to be of some repute if he'd bother to be that specific.

"That so? How nice it is to run into a kindred spirit, then," he replied with a smile and delight in his voice. "I've not tried my hand at acting, but I have some friends who do. I do think I'm better suited for that as an observer as opposed to a performer, however," he said with a bit of a laugh.

Upon Æros' description of the bard he'd met, Arvælyn immediately regarded him with a sort of giddy recognition, exclaiming that the other man was, in fact, the lover he'd mentioned. What a strange coincidence, that was, to meet them both separately one day to the next.

"Oh, yes, definitely the same person, then! Took me a second, but I do recall him saying his name was Finn. Really a charming fellow and excellent performer– how lucky the two of you are to have one another," Æros spoke genuinely, imagining that the two together made for a rather cute pairing.

In time with Arvælyn's exclamation regarding the coincidental scenario, Æros found himself startled by a man being slammed into the warding barrier that protected them. Slowly, he was crushed up against it, his attacker being a colossal beast of a man. Grotesque as it was, the Starborn Færie could not pull away his gaze, looking on in a sort of morbid fascination.

That is, until his companion spoke again, making a request of wine from the nearby guards.

"There's plenty of fine options kept here, as well as other spirits should you have the taste for them. I'm happy with whatever, personally, but that is a good idea." Upon thinking about it, what he'd drank earlier was beginning to fade and he'd soon find himself in discomfort should he not acquire more.

"Has your lover seen an arena bout here, yet? If not, you should take him sometime when he's free, I think." He spoke as if the events were fun for anyone regardless of taste, though he wasn't entirely sure if foreigners of all stripes shared Solunarium's penchant for bloodsport.

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'Thoughts'

"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"

"Vastien Tongue/Speech"

"Valasren Tongue/Speech"

"Common Tongue/Speech"

[Arvælyn]

"I miss it quite a bit, but they're keeping me so busy. I scarcely have time to grow nostalgic..." Arry replied, a tad wistfully. Even if it were practical to pursue acting in Solunarium, he'd have been hard pressed to learn lines in Vastian whilst he was still fumbling so much with his grammar. He didn't imagine there was much of a market for performing plays in Common. One could get away with that a bit better when it came to music. Melodies could impart their own stories, even when the lyrics were written in an unfamiliar tongue.

"He's fantastic, is not he?" Arry beamed, talking about Finn, "I wish it came as easy to me as it does to him- Charm." Clunkily worded, perhaps, but hopefully his point had come across. To his mind, Finn was absolutely, effortlessly charismatic. He was guileless, but still very smart, the combination of which was brilliant in Arry's eyes. The former trait made him open and trustworthy and the latter made him not boring or oafish- Qualities frequently found amongst the guileless that were wholly absent in Finn.

"Even my family likes him, and they can be..." Cunts. "...difficult." He self-censored, with a wry little smirk. As the man in front of them was released to crumple onto the sands, the atavistic brute who'd crushed him looked Arry right in the eye, offered a snaggle-toothed grin and winked, before bounding back into battle deeper into the arena floor.

"I'm pleased to hear of options!" He shifted himself so he was angled to see the bulk of the fight as well as his new acquaintance as they continued their discourse. "I should like the full Fortis Lacerta experience and wine should help, don't you think?" He shook his head,

"No... I don't think he has, unless he attended match and mentioned not it, but..." He wrinkled his nose, "I'm not sure he's as keen on this sort of thing as we. I was raised North, but always had I Solunarian sensibility." Finn was far more empathetic than he. In Kalzasi Finn was in the majority, but here?

Arry glanced up to the packed crowds of fellow Solunarians crying out for blood, and he smiled to himself. Founders be praised, he thought, as a stream of blood arced across his view.

[Aeros]

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“Mm, I can imagine that. The Vigilia Argenti are as exacting as they are thorough, and I don’t imagine that they get that way through a lax training regimen. However…the work itself must be rather different, huh? Such changes for you– both in scenery and career.” Æros thought it was admirable that he appeared to be adapting so well, fish out of water that he was.

It was always rather cute to listen to somebody speak so fondly of their lover. Though the appeal of romance was not lost on the Fæ, the desire to pursue it had been since he’d struck out on his own in the Umbrium. This was, in large part, because he saw no point– when one doesn’t believe in one’s own future, why bind another to a sinking ship, so to speak? So instead, he took satisfaction in the stories of happiness that others found in one another and pleasures of a more fleeting nature.

"Your affection is so very sweet. Have the two of you been together long?" He imagined it'd been at least some small modicum of time considering the fact that they'd traveled cross continents together.

It did make Æros laugh when his companion danced around with his words regarding his family. “Difficult, huh? That much, at least, I can relate to. Blood can be so difficult, at times,” though he spoke in a sort of exaggerative jest to mask the depth of feeling he held regarding the subject, one particularly empathetic would be able to tell that the mire of thoughts on the subject was vast.

As he spoke that last line, the half-elf stared in a sort entertained interest as the large, churlish warrior winked at the two of them and the carried on. It was always funny to be acknowledged as an observer of this sort of thing. Safe behind the barrier as they were, dressed in finery and watching the bloodshed for the sake of entertainment. He imagined many of the combatants would view the two of them with disdain while others who feared not the reaper might consider this as much of a game as Solunarium at large.

Æros laughed at the sentiment that wine would help give Arvælyn a more full experience. “Mhmm, true. I don’t think I’ve ever left the arena sober, to be frank.” It was rare that he was ever sober to begin with, but that only reinforced the truth in his sentiment.

Regarding the sensibilities of the North, “...ah, not so desensitized to spilt blood, are they up there, hm? How…quaint. Not as if I can really speak objectively, though, steeped as I have been in the culture here since birth. So hard it is for me to care, at this point.”

Well, there is that, but there is also the fact that it was a bit more than a desensitization for him.

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'Thoughts'

"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"

"Vastien Tongue/Speech"

"Valasren Tongue/Speech"

"Common Tongue/Speech"

[Arvælyn]

"It is particularly difficult because of language barrier..." Arry added, wrinkling his nose. It was hard enough to learn martial methodology for the first time in his life, let alone when he was immersed in a new language. Thankfully, Phocion was insistent that they speak Common during his arcane and combat training sessions for safety's sake. It was also a relief to his overtaxed brain.

"Yes, the differences are marked..." There was a bit overlap between working with the Vigilia and the work he'd done for Aurin Kavafis, but experience in espionage wasn't the sort of thing one mentioned in a casual exchange with a new acquaintance- Least of all if one hoped to practise it aptly in the future.

"Almost two years." The elf nodded, grinning sheepishly. At Arry's age that was a very long time, and it sounded it when he spoke the words. He'd had lovers who'd spanned over longer durations, but never exclusively. Knowing that Solunarium wasn't as inclined toward such things as his own jealous heart demanded, he wouldn't make a thing of that in present company.

Chuckling at the winking lummox strutting away, he gestured to the man and shrugged to Æros.

"Pretty sure he wants to bed us. Who can blame him?" He glanced over his shoulder as the guard returned with their wine. "Oh splendid!" The human set the tray down between the two magnati on the marble bench, and Arry shifted his body to pour himself- First for his companion, then himself.

"If there are blood sports in Kalzasi, never saw I one. Perhaps, um... in underground? Not Warrens," If he would even know what those were, "But, um... Midden? Sub-city of Kalzasi. Not nice like Umbrium- Poor, sad." He lifted his cup with a toasting gesture,

"New experience." He said by way of a toast, and sipped.

[Aeros]

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Having never left Solunarium, Æros had never really had to deal with much of an issue regarding language barriers. If he ever did leave, however, he did imagine people might have trouble understanding him since the way he learned Common just barely skimmed over proper pronunciation and the like. He'd be hard pressed to ever willfully subject himself to such embarrassment, however.

"I can imagine so; trying to learn a new language and adjust to an entirely new life at the same time does sound daunting. But from the sound of it, you're doing well, no?" A bit of curiosity in this inquiry, but he mostly said it to be reassuring.

The way he trailed off after mentioning the differences between his old life and current was a bit odd, but Æros figured it wasn't worth pressing so quickly, especially because it took time to build actual trust when one couldn't simply cheat with Mesmer.

How sweet Arvælyn sounded when be spoke of how long he and Finn had been together was just as cute as anything else the man had said about their relationship. Objectively, two years was not an exceptionally long period of time given how long lived elves tended to be, but Æros, also being similarly young, understood the way the other felt about it. Hell, he'd yet to bother keeping any one person around that long. At least…consistently. Some people came and went casually over longer spans, but he didn't really think that counted.

"Really? That's so sweet," the Fæ remarked in return.

It was always funny when arena fighters interacted with the audience in any way, he thought, and this gave him a bit more of a chuckle than the usual venomous looks he'd receive.

"Mm, of that I do not doubt. Though he is a bit big and boorish for my tastes. I tend to lean more towards a middle ground, sometimes smaller— never that big," he laughed, responding to Arvælyn’s remark.

At that, the human had returned with their wine, a welcome sight in the Færie's eyes. Fool was he to wait this long, really.

"Ah, I thank you," he spoke as his newfound friend opted to serve him first. A polite gesture, though it wasn't one he really expected.

Æros had only barely heard stories of the Warrens beneath Karnor, and from what he had been told, that place sounded altogether greatly unpleasant. He knew little to nothing about Kalzasi's midden, however.

"I imagine there's those with a love for violence in any society," the Fæ replied, an odd sort of lilt to his voice. He had little doubt regarding man's penchant for violence as a whole.

With that remark, Arvælyn raised his glass and offered a toast, "...to a new experience, indeed," Æros spoke before taking a sip of his own, though larger than the other's.

While one couldn't argue that this was a truly new experience to Æros, he did make a new friend, and he supposed that would at least count in this context.

"Ah, so Kalzasi hides its poor in the city's underbelly, does it? What a stark message that sends," he remarked, a sort of pointed jest.

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'Thoughts'

"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"

"Vastien Tongue/Speech"

"Valasren Tongue/Speech"

"Common Tongue/Speech"

[Arvælyn]

"Daunting, yes..." Arvælyn canted his head to one side, "Also very exciting." This wasn't the first time he'd uprooted and reinvented himself. This time was more difficult insofar as the language was new and the cultural differences were greater, but easier insofar as he had a built-in support system dedicated to his success. In Kalzasi he'd had Aurin who was, at the time, a bar manager with higher aims. In Solunarium he had the resources of the Vigilia Argenti, which seemed to be formidable and deeply entrenched in all facets of society.

A blush tinged the sunkissed bronze of Arry's cheeks and he glanced down.

"Finn is sweet." Arvælyn, as far as he was concerned, was not. But if he could not match the human in sweetness, he would prove worthy of his heart in other ways. He hoped he'd already begun to by affording him a lavish lifestyle and a free arcane education.

He chuckled at Æros' appraisal of their oafish admirer.

"Oh Mists no." He shuddered a bit melodramatically, "He would break me in half- Not in fun way!"

Sipping at his wine contentedly, he inclined his blonde head in a nod.

"Bloodlust is, indeed, a language universal- Some conceal, others embrace. I begin to learn the Faith of this realm. It acknowledges this impulse and I that appreciate. The religion is, like me... Severe." His eyes widened slightly at Æros' perspective on Kalzasi, and he broke into a surprised snigger.

"Never considered the matter this way, did I!" He laughed, swirling his cup of crisp, chilled white wine- dry, but refreshing in the warm evening breeze. "You are right, however! This is... unfortunate precedent." He shrugged wanly,

"At least here the undercity is as lavish as the upper." Except where it wasn't, but they weren't so literal with their ghettoes he supposed. "Of course I never visited the Midden- Heard of it only." He wrinkled his nose in distaste and sipped.

[Aeros]

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From the way Arvælyn spoke, it almost sounded like he regarded Finn as sweet but didn't feel as if he was much the same. To Æros, the blushing, affectionate way with which he regarded his amatus said otherwise, but perhaps it was just that between the two, Finn was the more honeyed fellow. In some ways, it was almost hard to imagine emotions so saccharine and vulnerable, given the callous nature of many among the nobility and the way they guarded themselves against any kind of weakness– including that of emotion.

"Mm, I don't know. The way you talk about him is certainly sweet in my eyes," he laughed. "Granted…a lot of people here lack emotional depth or refuse to show it, so maybe I don't have the most objective of vantage points…" he trailed off, mind now drifting in the direction of a boy he'd come across and fell into of late.

Æros would appear distracted, if only for a moment, but he didn't say anything about the lover he'd found as…he wasn't quite used to expressing his own affections in general, much less speaking about his feelings to a third party. Talking about sex was one thing, but going much deeper than that was something he tended to avoid.

He found himself sufficiently distracted by the large man crushing the other and laughed along with Arvælyn's suggestion regarding his interest, focus coming back to the present.

"Aye, he would break you, wouldn't he? You're so very…light," he chuckled a bit, "...I just like being the larger party in my relationships, personally," and this much was true.

Æros drank passively while the other spoke regarding Solunarium's faith, granting him an appreciative sort of smile when he indicated a favorable opinion thereof.

"I find myself fond of it as well, but one could say I'm biased given how I was raised," though he laughed at this admission, he really did find the severity of the faith and many of its other tenants to suit his worldview, though one could argue such things helped shape that very worldview in the first place.

Regarding the Kalzasern Midden, "Really? I am aware of some of the, ah…poorer districts of Solunarium, but I do think it's an entirely different message to send to one's people by essentially burying them beneath the city. At least here, our underground is a desirable place to be for everyone. Plus, your Finn told me that the Avialæ have islands above the city as well? What a stark hierarchy those birds have, hm? Lording over the other races from the skies and shoving the undesirables beneath the ground. How…interesting," there was a stark sort of mockery in his voice on the subject.

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'Thoughts'

"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"

"Vastien Tongue/Speech"

"Valasren Tongue/Speech"

"Common Tongue/Speech"

[Arvælyn]

"Heh," Arvælyn shrugged one shoulder and smiled bashfully, "Then perhaps he has, um... Influence on me?" He did feel like he'd softened considerably since settling into their relationship a bit more. As his personal straits grew less dire, it was easier to let himself bask in such warmth. In the past it had been harder to let his guard down. But here Finn had become a lifeline more than ever before. His sole anchor connecting him to two past lives. At least the only one that was physically present.

"That observation is, uhhh... Astute, yes?" He felt like he was getting the hang of this. He did find that wine helped loosen his tongue in Vastian, although it only helped to a point before it made things harder. "To note emotional depth, one must probably have it. Perhaps you have, also, amatus or amata?" He chuckled and scratched the back of his neck,

"I've actually put on a bit of weight since getting here..." All of it muscle from the strenuous and constant training regimen Phocion had put him on. "But I have not disposition for bulk. Finn always will be larger, I think. Human versus Elf." He noted, wrinkling his nose and taking a sip of his wine.

A more objective assessment of Kalzasern culture was quite eye opening for the elf. He'd never been the most politically-minded member of the society. Finn was more attuned to such things, but Æros was calling into question things he'd taken for granted. He'd been a stranger there once, but still nothing had felt out-of-place. The Avialæ were seen as virtuous protectors and stalwarts against the threat of the Warrens and all its horrors. But the half-Fæ was right. Under a moment's further scrutiny, it was hardly utopian.

[Aeros]

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To be entirely fair, it was a common thing to be one’s own worst critic– Æros himself was familiar with the concept. Perhaps Arvælyn was more severe a person than Finn, but it was also just as likely he viewed himself in light a bit more skewed in that direction regardless of the truth. On his own end, The Fæ had no real frame of reference regarding his own emotional depth for such waters had never really been tested, but the unknown is not synonymous to nonexistent.

Eyes of black gold looked around the room, as if searching for something, when the other tossed him an inquiry regarding his own love life. He…didn’t really know how to answer that for myriad reasons, the first and foremost being that he wasn’t exactly sure what to call the relationship he had? As far as it was discussed between the two of them, nothing beyond sex was stated– and yet, to him, it felt like more than that. It felt like an odd cross of something casual and something more.

But therein lay more questions– did he want something more? Did Khy? Was such a thing even feasible given their difference in status? That much would depend heavily on how amenable the boy’s current master was to handing him over, too. And then what? They could never marry, although trysts between master and slave weren’t entirely uncommon.

Æros sighed, countenance donning his conflicting emotions. It was hard to lie to another Mesmer in the first place, much less one of skill rivaling his own, though he wasn’t entirely sure if the other would look. Regardless, he didn’t see the point since it would be possible for Arvælyn to catch him at any time, to be frank.

“Ah…that doesn’t actually have a simple answer, funnily enough. I’ve avoided anything more serious thus far out of, hm…a complex method of self preservation, let’s say.” Of that, he had little plan to elaborate, the lightest notes of a laugh at the sentiment. “Anyways, I suppose I’ve rolled the dice enough times with different people that I have found somebody I’m growing rather fond of. I don’t know what to call it, though– there’s red tape, so to speak. Both circumstantial and emotional,” though he tried to gloss over some of the details, this was, largely, accurate a description.

And then to regard Arvælyn’s comment about proportions being tied to blood, “I suppose that’s true enough. I can kind of cheat the limitations of elven proportions with Fæ glamour, to be fair. I would be…thinner without it, if I recall correctly,” he chuckled at the sentiment, but it was true. Though he lived a fairly active lifestyle, he would never naturally be the size he was.

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'Thoughts'

"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"

"Vastien Tongue/Speech"

"Valasren Tongue/Speech"

"Common Tongue/Speech"