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| − | * - Back to [[GoldenCat/EighthMovement|Eighth Movement]]
| + | #REDIRECT ADanceOfAngels |
| − | * - Back to [[GoldenCat/DanceOfAngels|A Dance of Angels]]
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| − | == Flight of Love ==
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| − | The 28th of Resplendent Air. Its last day.
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| − | Spire...
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| − | The link between Whiteshield, a country mostly grounded, and Windia, a country in the clouds.
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| − | And it did show.
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| − | Each and every building on it was at least four stories high. Each and every building on it, even the newer ones, trying to build vertically rather than horizontally, making a place with bridges far up, roads above, and a thousandfold places for the nests for the Windian's distant cousins, the myriad of birds. And of course, many ways for their predators, the myriad of cats, walk.
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| − | The Palace of Timeless Winters, a First Age building that serves as its political center, shows it very well. Its end consistently hidden above the clouds at the wake of winter, its many aerie-style ends at the end of its branches, the many balconies that may as well be a front door, its great halls and corridors making sure no one feels enclosed within. All shows how it was made with the winged in mind.
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| − | The feeling within it is solemn. It is old, grand, and everything within seems to have some sort of purpose. All engraved symbols part of some greater circuit, of some broken seal. A feeling of winter fills the place, a feeling of a rainy day, of memories, longing, of warmth before a fireplace....
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| − | Outside, the whole city breathes a collective sigh of relief.
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| − | Far away, clouds still hang low over the Dreamsliver neighborhood, where an eye of the Cinder That Walks was broken, scouring it clean with her unholy flame. Buildings melted, crashed and burnt, leaving a burning crater where the neighborhood used to be. A sinister Hekatonkire used its prayer-grid to try and kill each and every soul in the city, and the Black Rose neighborhood was filled with the spider-folk spawn of Bouki, Calobis' spider, to get ahold of Archren, a legendary Geomancer, and use her for this ritual. The ghosts took over most of the temples, making their home on the temple of Aryan, God of Cats.
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| − | There, the traitor Goddess of Birds, Avia, held him in chains, and Calobis begun their ritual.
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| − | But the ritual was stopped.
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| − | Calobis was destroyed, Avia with him. Bouki and her spiders scoured clean of Black Rose.
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| − | The ritual almost got to completion, and the city ''felt'' death touching it.
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| − | But now... it could just breathe. Alive.
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| − | And Valencia Silverstar, the Silver Angel of Winlandia returns... she was in the Boil, meeting with Iria Lumanti, coordinating their defenses, sending teams to cleanse the countryside... in the effort of war, while this happenned. And now she returns to Spire, a day after the devastation and the fight of the Shades of Eventide...
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| − | '''Valencia Silverstar: ''' Valencia strides slowly through a hallway. Deserted except for occasional functionaries and officials from their army, passing her once in awhile in the hall. But as she walks further, it becomes more deserted. Until she is at a section of the building in which few are quartered, and which hasn't been used as much for quite awhile. Many palaces have this -- lots of guest rooms and rooms for lesser relations who do not often visit. Windows open with a view down to Spire, and the countryside around it.
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| − | She stops by a window and looks down, thinking to herself, silent.
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| − | ''I wonder where he is. ''
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| − | '''Alexander: ''' The Silver Angel hears the sound of wings beating on the wind... and sees the Prince, flying around Spire, looking up and seeing the backdrop of the cloudy, gray skies... she could almost see his disappointment, wishing to see the sun... his face beateous, like a dream, but real in a way only a Solar can be... human, but yet, greater, grander, a boy int he shape of a god...
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| − | Flying up the great Palace of Timeless Winters, lost in his worries...
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| − | '''Valencia Silverstar: ''' The Silver Angel sees him, flying up into the clouds. And she decides to join him in that flight. Too many duties have seperated her lately, and before that she was thinking of propriety. But surely now, it cannot hurt to go and fly about with him a bit? And talk to him.
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| − | A little thrill of meeting begins to burn in her breast. Odd feeling, that. She hasn't felt something like that for a long time, and this time it feels subltly ''different. ''
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| − | Opening the window, Valencia slips out, essence adhering her to the glass as she closes it carefully, and then spreads her wings and dives down into the sky, quickly regaining altitude and coming up beside the prince.
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| − | '''Alexander: ''' He feels the weight of the world on his shoulders.
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| − | He wished himself free of a crushing responsability, and now, he has lost himself at the hands of his sister. And to have himself back, he has to get his responsability with it. It is his destiny, apparently... something he cannot run from.
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| − | And that makes him... think about himself. About his life. About his dreams. About his reality. More than he ever had before... for now, he has to justify his very love. But is it just one? How can he justify it... just what could he do? He wondered as he flew against the sky... and noticed her.
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| − | Beautiful as always. The perfect warrior-angel, the heroine of Winlandia, the one he had always heard about before sleeping, the one his mother worshipped so. Valencia Silverstar... his face tinges with embarassment as he sees her come closer.. "La... lady Valencia. I did not see you around, sorry...'
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| − | '''Valencia Silverstar: ''' "You were supposed to see me?" Valencia asks with raised eyebrows, then shakes her head from side to side slowly and smiles, looping around him, her dress and hair flowing in the wind. "You have nothing to be sorry for. I chose to come out and join you for this bit of flight."
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| − | '''Alexander: ''' She watches her dress fluttering... her long silver hair about her, even as the powerful gusts of wind try to throw them away.... and for a moment, the Prince lets the wind take him, closer to Valencia... "Oh.. .alright. It is good to have some company... and it is good to see you like that."
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| − | '''Valencia Silverstar: ''' She stops her wilder flight for the moment, and looks at him curiously. "Like this?" Valencia asks carefully. "Are you feeling lonely?"
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| − | '''Alexander: ''' "Like that. WIth the dress. You are always with the silver armor, the one that makes you look like the Dark Angel... or the military suit. You look gorgeous in both... but it is good to see you as just... a woman, not the general, not the heroine..." He stops mid-flight, and his silver hair seems to shimmer for a moment. He brought his hand to his heart, over his shirt, lightest violet covering an inner white on his chest, volumous covers over his arms flapping on the wind, held fast by two golden rings... his eyes look down, and then up, at the immensity of the sky... and n them, the sorrow of all he has lost. "... always."
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| − | '''Valencia Silverstar: ''' The Windian is a bit surprised at that, for a moment, old habits cropping up, then she shrugs and grins slightly. Even for a Lunar as disciplined and rejecting of the wild as Valencia, the mercurial nature of her exaltation still crops up occasionally. "Because I am just a woman, silly."
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| − | "I am a general, yes. People call me a heroine as well, and I have noble rank. But in the end, what I am is a person, and that person needs to come out once in awhile without any of the other duties."
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| − | '''Alexander: ''' "You are a heroine when you have the silver armor, your leotard. You look beautiful, outrageous, glamourous... every bit the heroine. It makes me glad I got to see you like that..." His wings beat and he is closer to her, "... and that I see you like this, as well. Duties..."
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| − | "... sometimes, I feel mine crushing me. Sometimes, all I want is to... forget. Forget it all..."
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| − | '''Valencia Silverstar: ''' "My duties are hard...but I can't let them consume me. If in the end they do, I will become just as bad as those I fight." Valencia says gently, then adds as she looks at his eyes. "How do yours crush you?"
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| − | '''Alexander: ''' "The Lover wants me in Red Ice. And I... I have to do something. So many of the Heroes of Whiteshield are dead... gone... the Golden Sentinel to the White City was beaten. I had Ainerach... and I am the one who was kissed by the Sun. The one who has to lift Ainerach high, to protect the country, to beat the Undead... if I do not do so, and others do, my place in Whiteshield will be gone... Whiteshield itself might be.... and I will have lost it all. But to fight for it is to fight as... well, as if I represented my whole family. I am my father and my mother, and... that is what people are looking up to. I represent it all, and I hold Ainerach."
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| − | "And it is hard, I am not like them. I have too many faults..."
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| − | His eyes turn away, avoiding her gaze. "I wished to be rid of this responsability, and offered it to my sister."
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| − | "But she made it clear that it has to be me... and the consequences if I try not to be..."
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| − | '''Valencia Silverstar: ''' "You have lost alot, yes." Valencia slows her pace through the wind, forcing Alex to slow down as well if he is to keep talking with her. "But are you alone? Aren't we part of your family too? Especially those of us who are related to you." She finishes with a faint smile.
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| − | "What do you want, then?"
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| − | '''Alexander: ''' "I want us to be, yes. That is what I said when we created the Shades of Eventide, right? But... I still feel alone. I always do. Somehow I just... Lilith is never around... Kanti helps... Cael helps... but I still feel so alone. I thought Elizabeth would change it, but she... she is different. And harsh. Even if she is right..." Her smile warms him up inside, however, and slows his pace, coming a little closer...
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| − | "I want a family. I want to not be alone. I want the world to stop being so cold."
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| − | He smiles, suddenly even more embarassed...
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| − | "Yes, I know... I sound like a child.... I want to clean my kingdom and make it good, make everyone safe, as well... I said it before..."
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| − | '''Valencia Silverstar: ''' "And everyone will be, if we win." Valencia says with a nod. "What about my great-niece and her mate, and the others?"
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| − | "If there was no cold, we would never know heat for what it was. They say, you cannot know truth without falsehood."
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| − | '''Alexander: ''' "Maybe...."
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| − | "That is what my sister is trying to teach me, I think. Aside from being suspicious of Lilith. Not that I blame her..." He flies about Valencia, admiring her, as silverly bangs fall over his face... "She wants me to make a stand. Of course, I wonder if even she knows how..."
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| − | '''Valencia Silverstar: ''' Valencia lets him do that, though she avoids letting him look up her dress. That for later...maybe. Maybe?
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| − | ''I'll think on it later. ''
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| − | "Haven't you been making a stand ever since you started on this path?" The Windian asks him reasonably, thoughtfully.
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| − | '''Alexander: ''' He does not try to. His eyes seem to want to, but he reigns them in, leaving that as a distant desire to never be realised, and he admires her in the most platonic and respectful way possible, as if she was a a statue, a work of art... "... maybe. But not about everything. Not about love..."
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| − | '''Valencia Silverstar: ''' "Really?" Is what Valencia asks him as she continues to fly through the air, curving around the spire of a building rising to one side of them. "You are torn on love?"
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| − | '''Alexander: ''' He finally finds a garden on one of the 'branches' of Spire, one of the many wonders that appeared when Spire unfurled. Runes filled its Marble Floor, a place of Sorcerous Learning, Valencia could see. Alexander could have noticed that, but he only cared about the patches of grass, flowers, and the pond. "I am..." He says, looking up at her, seeing if she will come down with him. "I love more than one. My heart is torn and splintered... and I cannot make the pronouncement my sister wants about one love without making peace with that..."
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| − | '''Valencia Silverstar: ''' Valencia lands by him, gracefully and smoothly, dress billowing about her a bit in the higher winds as she does. "How so?" She looks at him curiously, one silvery wing arching up as she does. Almost like the Dark Angel does when she is curious about something. Perhaps some kind of trait they share? "What is this about 'one love'?"
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| − | '''Alexander: ''' "I told her about me and Lilith." He nods, a little embarassed... as if it was a betrayal to tell the Silver Angel that, even though she already knew. "And she... did not take that well. She wishes me to prove it is not simply lust, that she is not taking me to the dark side. But to make a statement about love... I could not do it. Love... love for me is so much, Alraune."
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| − | "You feel the same thing I do, right...? It is not just me going crazy...?"
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| − | '''Valencia Silverstar: ''' "No, it isn't." She walks over to him, one wing encircling him somewhat as she does. How frail he seems, despite what he is. Valencia realizes she must seem that way as well, sometimes.
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| − | ''Selina certainly does, I finally found out. ''
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| − | "Do you lust after...Lilith, more than you love her, then?"
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| − | '''Alexander: ''' As she does so, his face takes a slight tinge... the faintest blush, and she can feel his heart racing faster... "No. I do not. I... it would probably be disrespectful to gauge things like that. But I do love her. I... probably do not love Kanti so much. But I care for her just as much. I want to protect her. And no one else can, I think... and she feels safe with me. And... and you..."
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| − | '''Valencia Silverstar: ''' "You love...me?" Valencia asks, somewhat surprised. What is it exactly in him that is talking? What made him call her by...that name...or something else?
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| − | "Your sister wants you to choose." Not a question. A statement.
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| − | '''Alexander: ''' "No. She wants me to prove. She wants me to prove my love. I think, with some sort of gesture, of statement... but how can I do it without thinking about it? And if I do... I see all that I feel. And it is so... strange. Hard to conciliate it all..." He says, not answering her first question... fidgeting a bit before finally saying, "... yes. I think I do. I dream of you... I think of you... when I am close to you I get those... butterflies."
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| − | "That night together with you, holding you, we were so close..."
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| − | "But I feel the past, too... and I do not know... if it is my love, if we are Fintan and Alraune or Alexander and Valencia. And you could never love me... I am not Fintan. He was powerful, he was mighty, the echo of his thoughts make me think of God... and me..."
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| − | '''Valencia Silverstar: ''' Valencia shakes her head slightly, an almost sweet sadness. "Then you will prove it. Perhaps you have just now." She pulls him close, a mix of motherly protectiveness and closeness, and something else, something a lover would do. "You don't have to be like Fintan. I love you for who you are. Never forget that."
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| − | '''Alexander: ''' His arms encicle her, and he makes a sweet sound, almost a coo as he is held... and her words fill him with fire, with warmth. He looks up... and sees his face, happy, his smile, pure and true, radiating the sun. "I worshipped you, you know. My mother did, as well. You are everything I wanted to be. Everything I had ever wanted to be. I..." He rests his face on her, warm... "This is like a dream..."
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| − | '''Valencia Silverstar: ''' "It is not a dream," She says gently, holding him close. And it wasn't, for good or bad...though for the moment Valencia can think of nothing bad inherent in this. "It is real. We are real, Alex...don't feel so alone. We all stand by you!" With the last sentence, she hugs him tightly, holding it for...awhile. Minutes? She loses track.
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| − | ''Don't you ever forget that, love. ''
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| − | "We all stand by you." And the wind blows a bit more gently around them for a moment. "You aren't alone. Not ever."
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| − | '''Alexander: ''' He looks up at her, in that embrace of dreams, and lifted himself... his face coming closer and closer to hers'. Her words changed him, she could see... infused him with hope, infused him with warmth. He smiled, so close to her, a smile pure of happyness. And then, his lips touched hers'.
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| − | In a kiss pure like a maiden's dream.
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| − | "I love you."
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| − | "I love you as much as I love the Pale Angel, Silver one."
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| − | "And that is my choice... now and forever... I will be with all of you. I will not be alone."
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| − | ----
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| − | * - Back to [[GoldenCat/EighthMovement|Eighth Movement]]
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| − | * - Back to [[GoldenCat/DanceOfAngels|A Dance of Angels]]
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