Difference between revisions of "GoldenCat/SeeingTheSigns"

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Seeing the Signs

Alexsei: The breeze felt nice tonight. Still chilly, but nice, especially after one narrowly escapes death - once again - and celebrates being alive, all in one day's worth.

With a decided, if somewhat shaky from the day's exhausting happenings, and the subsequent celebration with his precious Belladonna. It was with regret that he had left her, to rest and bathe, but he promised to be back really soon - the last talk they had, about his leaving for Yu Shan in the near future, made him want to make the most of his time available with her.

But there were some question on his mind - and he knew who could provide at least some answers. The unabashed agent of the Gold. The tester of comfort zones. The troublemaker in blue.

Gennadi.

His hastened steps take him to cemetary where he previously fought the Starbreaker, and where so many questions were arisen. He had chosen this spot to meet with the Chosen of Venus - leaving a message with his servant for Gennadi to meet him there - perhaps in order to gain more insight of even for the off-chance of gathering cluses as to what, exactly, had happened.

He looks around the deserted resting place, and sees no one in sight. Taking in a deep breath as the day's events come back to mind, he rests a hand on his chin, pondering about the future, and all that could stem from such an encounter.

• Gennadi makes his entrance soon therafter, quite careful to make noise in warning this time. He's got a silver bucket of champagne in one hand and the glasses in another, tossing one abruptly at Alexsei as he takes a seat on a tombstone, tapping the mud off snakeskin shoes. "I really hope this was just the first place you thought of. I think better of you than bad visual threats."

Alexsei: The noise is a welcome change of pace, with him still silently in deep thoughts when Gennadi steps in.

When the Chosen finally makes his entrance, however, Alexsei cannot help but smile. Reflexively, he catches the glasses tossed in his direction, raising an eyebrow amusingly at his colleague's intervention.

"Well..." He begins, smiling at The Chosen of Venus as he twirls the glass in his hand, "You chose to meet me while I was intimately involved with my wife. I merely thought it would make sense that I choose to meet you here. Keeping up with the stereotypes, yes?"

Gennadi: "No. You need to work on some bad poetry and black velvet underwear." He uncorks the champagne and pours himself a full glass, sliding the bucket over to Alexsei's side. "Still, good point. Though if I may say so, your woman has a lot more aesthetic appeal than this one." He knocks on the marble angel beside him.

Alexsei: "Well, to be fair, poetry and the type of underwear I am wearing are not things you can easily take account of at this very moment." He chuckles, choosing to stay up instead of sitting down like the man opposite him.

"And my wife does look much better, yes. I am pretty partial to her, however, but I suppose you alrady know all of this. You were witness to it, after all."

He tries to repress the blush, but only partially succeeds. He shakes his hea, still twirling the cup in his hand, and his smile dampens somewhat. "However... the reason why I called you here is more... serious. Something that might concern both of us. A threat, and possible danger."

Gennadi: "Good. As enjoyable as verbally sparring with you is, I was a bit busy myself... still, I can't resist you actually giving out information. What's the problem?" He runs a hand through ebon hair, flashes of crimson as the light catches it before falling back into place. "Given the location, I'm assuming it involves someone too rude to stay dead."

Alexsei: He realizes he enjoyed the sparring also, but the pressing business does make him too thoughtful to push it more. He nods to Gennadi then, pushing his spectacles up the bridge of his nose before crossing his arms.

"Yes. Your intuition is correct. And the prospect is not particularly cheerful." He stares at the cemetary for a moment, his eyes meeting the exact same spot he stood when he was attacked, that afternoon. "I was... attacked. By a creature that used to be a man I killed, way back in Sijan. A servant of Ten Thousand virtues, bent on killing me to 'Keep the Bier out of the North.'" He gazes back at Gennadi, violet eyes flaring momentarily with concern.

"I suppose I am wondering if there is anything more you would know about... Such an occurence. I came close to being taken down... And the threat is too big to ignore."

Gennadi: "Surely you're exagerrating. The one that I dealt with wasn't very tough at all."

Alexsei: "I wish I was. I truly wish I was. But the wretched thing came close to killing me - Ryshassa intervened to make sure it would not happen - and after that, the creature try to take her away."

He sighs deeply, the thought of having suich a potentially dangerous adversary getting away visibly bothered him. "She is safe, thank the Maidens, but the... thing got away. And I need to find a way to counter and take it down."

• Gennadi leans back against the angel, eyes closed in thought for a while. "Was it masked? How did it fight? I need to know any similarities."

Alexsei: "Visibly, the mortal was flesh altered. To look like a great, humanoid purple bird. An assassin, throwing razor sharp feathers and using high mobility and stealth tricks. He also displayed incredible speed and strength."

He places his hand on his chin, looking away for a moment before turning back to his colleague. "The thing was built to kill me, Gennadi. Ten Thousand Virtues found this mortal that I did not send properly years ago, and made him into a tool to take me down. How I managed to get the Traitorous Chosen's attention I am not sure, but he seems serious in his intention to cut my Life Thread."

Gennadi: "That is tough luck." He drums his fingers along the tombstone. "Not unexpected, though. He seems to have designs on the area, and isn't Yushan's biggest fan. That's different from the one I faced... no mask means that wasn't a weak point after all."

He sighs, standing finishing off his glass. "Have you considered offering him a truce?"

• A little something in the air.
  
  Something in the air shaking. No, not the air. Fate.
  
  It feels to Alexsei like nails on a blackboard.
  Gennadi barely feels it, but it is still unpleasant.
  
  A scream. A scream on their minds. On their essences.
  A cold feeling inside.
  
  A faint light on the sky, so far away.
  And an image.
  That of words spiraling up to heaven...
  Golden words.
  
  Making fate scream.

• Gennadi flinches, pinching his nose and trying to shake the feeling out. "Tell me you felt that, and know what just happened."

Alexsei: "The Assassin did offer to leave if we... abandoned the North. Not likely to happen with the interests that rest here."

He begins to formulate his next thought, but freezes. Screeching sounds. Pained Scream. Cold. Like a jabbing wound through the Tapestry.

He winces for a moemnt, before acknowledgeing Gennadi's remark. "I did feel it... Though the cause... The cause I did not pinpoint... Yet. Give me a moment."

Gennadi: "Take your time." He works his way out of the dark coat he was wearing, drapping it over a shoulder and unbuttoning his shirt to expose the criss-crossed length of starmetal chains across his chest. He tugs at a link, and the web breaks down, piling on the ground as he hangs the jacket over the staring face of the statuary angel. "I'm in no hurry to get even more bad news."

Alexsei: He nods to Gennadi, his expression still strained from the unpleasant feeling.

He still feels it. The pain. The gaping cut in the threads of Fate. Something broke. Something important. Something that sent ripples across the whole lenght of the Tapestry.

He closes his eyes and focuses, attuning his sense to the everflowing Patterns of Fate. He focuses on the strands, pours his awareness towards them, lets his senses pcik them up, making them brighter, thicker, more definite. When he is satisfied with the way he perceives them, he focuses on the ones sending the signal of pain and emptiness and spots one of the strands among them.

With a deftly trained hand, he reaches for the strand - with extreme care and touch as light as a feather, as if stroking a spider's web - and, gently and dextrously wrapping his finger around it, he gently pulls the thread. Not enough to alter its path. Not enough to change its course.

Just enough that the vibration will lead him to the epicenter, the the cause of this feeling that tore the fabric apart.

His senses in alert, the Black Wing of Conclusion waits, his finger on the strand, for the telling feedback that would pinpoint the culprit.

• He feels something... far away.
  The disturbance was something... awakening.
  He feels the tears of a Maiden.
  It was... somewhere far to the North.

Alexsei: He feels the tug on the strand in response to his pull, and his eyes open once more - he turns to Gennadi, a perplexed look on his face.

"I could not perceive anything precise... Except... An awakening. Something stirred, and woke up. Far up North. The shock..." He shivers momentarily, his brow furrowing.

"I felt the tears of a Maiden, Gennadi. The shock was enough to shake Her."

Gennadi: "Oh. Wonderful." He sighs, dropping the chain in the bucket and hiding it underneath the ice, picking it up and collecting his jacket. "Look, that means we've got to cut this short. Sorry about the Starbreaker problem. I'd have helped if I was closer, glad you came out alright anyway. I'll write you up a list of suggestions later." He leans in and flicks Alexsei's glasses back into the proper place before kissing him, holding it just long enough for the surprise to register before he is walking away. "No hard feelings, right? Right. See you later, Al."

Alexsei: Alexsei freezes in place for a moment.

This was a serious situation. One that commended immediate attention and thought.

One more thing to ponder about right away. I have to make sure I comprehend and...

Wait.

His eyes suddenly flash right open, his mouth gaping in surprise in disbelief.

and Gennadi just kissed me.

His face fills a deep red and his lips start to form a protest. His embarassment make it difficult to form a very elaborate one, however.

"You... You just kissed me!" He blushes again at blurting the comment out loud, shaking his head at the thought, pushing it away but somehow feeling irritated that Gennadi once again managed to catch him embarassed and surprised. "I... We still have to figure things out, Gennadi. I do not believe this can be taken lightly, and we will need to at least report our findings to each other."

"Also," He says, replacing the glasses straight on his nose with a lopsided smile, "Do not do this again."

Gennadi: "Yeah, yeah, I'll buy dinner first next time. It's a date." He gives a wave with the back of his hand, turning for a moment and grinning. "You should really think about context when you say things like that, Al. Just a bit of advice, from me to you." A few more steps, and he turns the corner, leaving Alexsei with some rather confusing implications to sort out.

Alexsei: ... Curse my big mouth.

He stands there for a moment, confused and... Uncomfortable. Truly, he would have to be more careful about his dealings with Gennadi. And, he also realized the exchange did not grant him much more insight on the matter of his attack. Or the strange event that just occured, either. At least, nothing he couldn't have sorted out himself.

And so for a moemnt, he ponders the wisdom of arranging this meeting at all.

Oh well. I suppose I can go back to Ryshassa for now then, and try to learn more... The farther I get from this... embarassing exchange, the better.

A Little Bit Later...

Ryshassa: Back at the Windian camp, in the healer's tent, Ryshassa kneels over the basin of heated water she had requested, now partially clad in a royal purple kimono embroidered across the back with dusky rose-shaded orchids. Bare from the waist up, the sleeves and back of the garment trail behind her, the rest cinched to her with an obi of golden shades. She holds a sponge damp with water in one hand, scrubbing slowly across one bare shoulder and down her slender arm.

Her hand pauses mid-scrub as an unusual spike of emotion surges through the orichalcum and starmetal ring she wears. The second one since she had begun her bathing, really -- the first had been a rush of adrenaline, and deep concern, though no immediate danger that she could sense. This one, though... felt... like confusion. Confusion and deep embarrassment. A bit of... frustration. She could feel it coming closer, too; Alexsei was very near now. The healer keeps her back turned to the tent flap, lifting the back of the kimono to cover her shoulders, in case he brought others with him.

Alexsei: Careful as to not open the flap unnessarily wide, Alexsei silently steps back in the tent, and for a moment, his expression brightens at the view of his beloved wife. For a short moment he forgets about the recent events, only granting her with a warm smile.

"What a nice greeting sight it is, Ryshassa."

He kneels down besides her, splashing her playfully with water from the basin, running his fingers through her hair before winking at her with playful eyes.

As he sets himself back and deposits a kis on the top of her head, he sits besides her, his features creasing once more in... Perplexion? Frustration? Embarassment? Surely Ryshassa could figure it out better through the ring than through that strange expression he is wearing at the moment.

Ryshassa: Ryshassa looks up at her beloved, greeting his return with a smile, which soon turns to surprised laughter as he splashes her with the bathwater. "You would say that, you naughty old man," she quips, flicking a few drops of sudsy water on his glasses.

She readily accepts the kiss atop her head, then tilts her head at him curiously as he sits back, the strange emotions she noticed earlier surging back into her sense of him. Shifting the sponge to scrub slowly at the curve of her neck, she asks, "So what happened, beloved? Is there trouble? You seemed quite worried..."

She remembers belatedly that Alexsei had left specifically to meet the Serenity that had so conveniently caught them in the act, and her expression shifts to something more appropriately suspicious in nature. "Oh, no. What did Gennadi do?"

Alexsei: Removing his wet and soapy glasses for a moment, Alexsei looks back at Ryshassa, trying to formulate exactly how the encounter made him feel. "Nothing... much, I suppose. And I think that might be why I feel so... Disappointed, perhaps? In this meeting. To be fair, there was... something powerful, up to the far North. Something that shattered the balance of Fate. Something that made a maiden break in Tears."

He shivers again at the thought, then tilts his head slightly. "I... suppose part of it is also the fact that Gennadi... seems to intend to get me off-guard and embarassed every time we meet."

"He huh... He kissed me, and then left." The words blurt out, and he feels the embarassment again coloring his cheeks red. "And I suspect for no other reason than... to catch me flat-footed, once again."

Ryshassa: Ryshassa processes the first bit of information with quite a bit of alarm. "Something that shattered the balance of Fate?" Her almond-shaped eyes widen at that, though she does not stop washing, the sponge slipping beneath the neck to circle her breasts. "And he -- what?"

This time she does stop, nearly dropping the sponge entirely. The first news was bad enough, though vaguely stated, and SHOULD have been her first consideration. What she knew -- what Alexsei had told her of his vision from before -- was that the strands of Fate in the North were worn and weakened, and that Cael, Alex and others involved in the current war had a great deal to do with this, in the First Age. Further damage could not possibly be a good thing -- and this is what she would have said, along with some strong urging that they find out immediately the source, if not for the revelation Alexsei blurted afterward.

"He... kissed you?" Surely that had been misheard. Though she suspected it was not something Gennadi would be shy about doing, if her initial impression meant anything. She shakes her head slowly, not sure whether she wants to laugh or tsk the man for trying. "Oh, he's trying so hard to get to you, isn't he? I suspect that the more you show it affects you, the more fun he will have with playing."

"I mean.... as long as you didn't like it... it's not like... well, you know! It doesn't matter, beloved. You shouldn't let it bother you so." She tries to block the mental image of the two Sidereals kissing, as actually imagining it may make it... much more difficult to react to rationally. And she did very much want to be rational about it.

But... kissing?!

Alexsei: He shakes his head, against blushing at the embarassing image. "Oh I know. And of course I did not like it." He shudders slightly at the thought. "It just... It got me by surprise, as I was not expecting him to do something like that, considering the conversation we were having. And I know he enjoys doing these things to get me off-guard - and I think he knows exactly how, and that is what bothers me the most. Because it embarassed me, and he caught me, again."

"In any case." he places the spectacles back on the bridge of his nose, his face slowly smoothing over. "What concerns me the most is... Whatever happend up north? I could pinpoint next to nothing with my senses, but I want to try to figure out exactly what went on over there. And if I can decipher it before it falls upon our head... Then it is a blessing."

Ryshassa: "Well, then," Ryshassa points out matter-of-factly to Alexsei's interpretation of the... kissing debacle, "You cannot let him know it bothers you. Perhaps if we are more open in our affections to each other, where others can see... he will not have to delude himself with the silly, silly notion you need others to kiss."

And with that she wipes off Alexsei's mouth with a soapy thumb, and kisses him full on the lips. The soap is bitter, but the taste of her beloved is much, much better.

"As for the situation you mentioned, perhaps -- oh, Alexsei!" Shock registers in her eyes as a niggling detail returns to mind, one that had been bothering her for most of the day. "Cael took the Zephyr today, but he did not say where or why in his message to me. Do you think...?"

Alexsei: Alexsei returns the kiss with equal fervor, after the scrub his wife so generously offered. He savors it, rubbing her hair as she, once again, frees him from his doubts and fears.

Hmmm, much better.

To her statement, however, he only frowns, shaking his head as he brings a hand to his chin. "I do not know, beloved. I dare hope not. I will try to conduct as much research as I can, and try to figure out exactly what happened." He takes a deep breath, considering the implications. "I suppose it would not hurt to have a word with Cael once he comes back. I hope they are safe and sound, in any case..."

Ryshassa: Ryshassa sighs softly at the prospect of waiting, falling silent for a moment as she busies herself with scrubbing her arms more thoroughly.

"I... suppose there is nothing else we can do but wait," she finally acquiesces, though hesitantly. If Cael could be hurt by whatever just happened, she would have much preferred to be present -- though if it was Fate that was wounded, it would very well need a Sidereal's touch. "Oh, if only we had a way to get there quickly! But surely, he must be fine... it could even have nothing to do with him at all..."

She frowns to herself, obviously unsatisfied by her weak attempt at convincing herself of his safety. "Where did Gennadi go after ... that, anyway? That silly man..." The frown deepens to a pout, and she crosses her arms indignantly under her breasts. "Perhaps I will need to have a talk with him. Later, when all of this is figured out."

With that said, she dips her sponge back into the water basin, soaking it thoroughly and giving it just enough a squeeze to leave it damp before relinquishing it to her beloved. "Wash my back, please?" A slight shrug, and the kimono draped on her back falls away once more, revealing its pale, familiar curves to his sight.

Alexsei: He nods to her, unsure of what to say to make her feel better. He would investigate, yes, but he might not get precise answers until he could find people that have seen the event, or he could go there to investigate himself. The thought was unnerving and worrying, as a backlash this big was something that could not be ignored, and probably alerted most every one of his kind, both in Creation and in Heaven. The matter bothered him all the more as he had no real means to see for himself now, so research and wait were probably the best courses of action.

Perhaps, if answers did not turn out soon or stayed too vague, he would have to consult with Laisdach when visiting Yu Shan.

He is struck out of his reverie by Ryshassa's expression. He smiles softly at her pout, a sight that more often than not managed to make him melt away from any negative emotion.

She is so adorable when she does that.

He raises an eyebrow at her demand, smiling warmly as he takes the sponge from her hand and slowly runs hot water over her bare back, sighing in obvious enjoyment as he scrubs her pale skin, and he deposits a kiss on her slender shoulder.

"You just want an excuse for the 'dirty old man' to lay his hands on you," he adds, playfully, as he continues to wash her.

And the truth of the matter is, he does not seem to mind a single moment.

Ryshassa: "Mmmm?" Ryshassa purrs lasciviously at her husband's observation. "You say that as if it is a surprise."

She arches her neck, brushing long strands of her hair aside to allow for greater coverage of the sponge... and perhaps more, if Alexsei is in the mood for that. It seems, very much lately, that he has been. And she is always more than willing to oblige, though it also brings to mind other concerns -- particularly how to ration her doses of maiden tea, and the logistics of being sexually active in places and situations where privacy may be forfeit. It can be quite complicated, being married and lusty during times of war!

For the moment, though, she allows herself to relax under his ministrations, the hot water sending thrills to her body as it trickles down her back. Being pampered by the hands of her lover was one of her few indulgences, as a healer so selflessly devoted to her cause. So she would savor such moments as they came... for soon they would be seperated, if but for a few days time.

Suffice it to say that the two of them did not likely emerge from the tent before the Zephyr returns to the camp.

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