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Enter the Dragon! And a Stranger!

The Quicksilver Zephyr, wonder of the first age and beloved property of Cael Pattona, the Windwraith.

Since their arrival in the midst an open conflict involving the Windian nation and the undead troops of the Bishop of Chalcedony Thurible, the Zephyr has also been the home and shelter of Alexsei and Ryshassa Krauser. It has been three days since the raid that almost cost Alexsei his life, the Chosen of Endings saved from a sordid fate solely by the timely intervention of his beloved wife and pupil, Ryshassa.

Now, at mid-day, they find themselves able to finally get some respite from the concerns and difficuties of the recent days, taking the opportunity to excuse themselves to their room in the imposing airship to spend some well-deserved time together.

Ryshassa: I remember it as clearly as the day we first touched.

Ryshassa grasps at the far edge of the table, uttering a soft, stifled moan as Alexsei bends her over its book-cluttered surface, the pressure of his hands on her shoulders hot and firm and decisive. It was like this the first time. His hands slither covetously down the contours of her back, lingering upon the alabaster curve of her hips, and she stretches forward, catlike and slow, in offering to him. I was your young, precious student. I knew you thought it improper to want me this way.

She gasps involutarily as Alexsei twines his fingers in her loose locks of dark hair and pulls, dragging her head up and back. He is leaning forward now, his lips pressed hungrily against the scoop between her neck and shoulders, burying his face in the scent of her, hard with longing for the moment they now relive. "Just like this, beloved," she urges aloud, a trembling note of anticipation rising in her voice, exquisite and unbearable. "Do not hold back." Her fingers curl against the polished wood of the table as she utters that final, damning word of supplication that she knows will drive him to the edge.

"Please, " Ryshassa begs, the simple syllable charged with a need as old as their love, a need that has endured the passage of an Age, a need made sharper by the memory of a loss so recently and narrowly prevented. Her beloved is so very much alive, and she aches to be reminded once more of just how heatedly his body still thrives.

Alexsei: In this very instant, everything is as it always was.

This very thought slithers into his heated mind, vivid reminescences dancing behind his eyes as he hungrily buries his face in the back of her neck. His fingers curl lasciviously in her ebony hair, and her desperate pleas fill him with the very same ardent desire he had felt since the days she was his young student, and the thought of improper conduct and shame only arouse him more.

Just like back then, Ryshassa. Even guilt was not strong enough to hold us back.

After a seemingly endless, almost insupportable moment, a pause meant to build unbearable longing and need in his young pupil, Alexsei gives in to the unrestrainable urge and ravenously takes her offering, the undeniable current coursing through them unleashed in a haze of furious thrusts. The past and present cease to hold any meaning, the perpetual thirst they exchanged in furtive gazes years ago culminating in a celebration of hunger and passion.

The thought of his life ending, of being torn away from her, away from this moment, fuels his fervent apetite for her, for them. As he pulls her slender body to him time and time again, breathlessly whispering her name in her ear, he vows to honor this gift he has been granted, every day of his existence. And now, as he feeds from their intense communal need to fullfill themselves in each other, Alexsei makes certain she will not forget him, his body, his warmth, his effervescent passion.

• Gennadi clears his throat, the noise somewhat similar to the previous, vaguely distracting sounds they ignored in the heat of the moment. A stranger lounges in a chair, glass of dark red wine in one hand contrasting with a deep bloe sleeve, leading all the way up to a somewhat amused grin, pearly white teeth and ocean-deep eyes. "Quite done? Or should I wait for another round of 'Ryshassa's?"

Ryshassa: Ryshassa's cries of pleasure continue unabated... for a long while, even, it seems as if she does not notice Gennadi's presence at all, or would prefer to think of it as some unnecessary distraction to her lust-fevered mind. Certainly during this time of the day there would be the possibility of someone coming to visit -- but most people knocked, didn't they? People who had... some sense of propriety and respect for others' private spaces.

Yes, she much preferred to think of it that way. Just a figment of the imagination... though why would her imagination come up with a voice she had never heard before? She shuts her eyes, not in pleasure this time but in frustration for thinking herself right straight out of the mood, and shakes her head involuntarily. Suddenly the books and papers on the table feel particularly... rough, and... cold... every detail her desire had shut out seems to suddenly crowd in. Was there enough heating in the room? Even Alexsei seemed to have stiffened -- and not in the way she would have preferred -- behind her.

Finally Ryshassa raises herself up on her elbows a bit... the moment was broken, and oh what a moment it was! But the realization of something she would much, MUCH rather not have to know just winds its way into the forefront of her consideration and she blurts it out, already flushing redder than scarlet at the very thought.

"There's someone watching us..... isn't there." It isn't even a question. Nor does she feel particularly inclined to look and SEE who it is. She half still wants to stay safe in her little pretend world where it just didn't happen.

And where did I drop my clothes...?

Alexsei: You have to trust work to ruin such a perfect, exquisite moment.

The voice shatters all the reminescence and the heated perfection of this lustful communion with his beloved. Before he even registers the unwanted, incredibly embarassing truth, he cringes at such a loss, such a very needed moment.

The truth does sink in, however, and his intensity gradually slows down, his cheeks coloring a deep crimson and the heat - not the one he so desired only a feew moments ago - reach his head.

Thank the maiden for this long hair of mine, that I can at least hide my face and my... modesty.

As he slowly loosens his grip on Ryshassa's hair and her obvious comment forces out the truth they would rather ignore, he suddenly feels so consciously naked - figuratively and very literally. And yet he realizes taht in the heated passin of the moment, his clothes could have been thrown anywhere in the room..

His eyes meet what they do not want to, and if it was physically possible for a human body to suddenly find a way to blush redder than red, he would.

"G-Gennadi. What..."

HIs mind wanders to all this name means, but his dignity calls him to the more pressing matters at hand. He thinks back on the words that echo in his mind, a sound like shattered glass in the midst of their moment of fullfilment.

"W-Wait. That will not be necesary. We... we will get dressed. Me and uh..." He stands, covering his nakedness as best as he can, then realizing he thus left his wife naked on the table and hastily throwing a bed sheet on her back.

"My wife... Ryshassa. Just... give us a moment and... we will... get dressed."

Oh Saturn, for the love of all Heaven... please let this moment End.

Gennadi: He takes a drink from the glass and shrugs. "I can certainly see why you were distracted. Not a problem, take all the time you need. Another minute or five waiting won't put me to sleep."

Ryshassa: Ryshassa straightens slowly, the bedsheet draped across her shoulders... not the kind of clothing she would have preferred, but it was better than lunging for some chance scrap of clothing with only her arms and her hair to cover her. It did make her feel somewhat like an embarrassing, very consciously naked piece of furniture, though. Still... she would have envied that furniture in this very moment. Lucky inanimate objects! No need to worry about decency, much less... strangers peeking at your lack of it.

The healer wraps herself awkwardly in the sheet, a makeshift gown covering all but her head and bare shoulders, her hair draping fully behind her to knee-length. Her face is still crimson, but fading... there was nothing else to be done about it besides endure. The man who had interrupted them so unexpectedly seemed not at all inclined to leave to let them dress properly, though.

She looks to him, and back to Alexsei (who looks mortified, understandably; holding the sheet tightly to her, she grasps what she hopes is a pair of pants and tosses it his way), and back again. "Beloved," she says uncertainly, though even in her state of undress she still graces Gennadi with a short, formal bow, "do... you know this man?"

• Gennadi interrupts before Alex can speak. "I do hope this isn't going to be a problem. After the unexpected sight of your beloved in the act, I believe the least you have to be embarassed about is getting clothed. I could leave, but at least this way we start off on an honest footing. No secrets... though I neglected to check the closet." He leans around to mime looking for a pair of green eyes.

• As he does so, there is a small sound. In the air. Not in the closet, not anywhere, but everywhere.
  
  A faint, faint giggle. A playful, delighted one.

Ryshassa: Ryshassa takes a deep breath, summoning all the dignity she can muster. By the gods, her legs were fairly shaking with the sheer excruciating awkwardness of it all, but she was not about to show a man she did not know that sort of weakness.

And what was that giggle? ...no, I think my brain would rather NOT think about it right now.

Besides -- she was half proud, in a way. Alexsei was by far the most ardent and truly genuine lover she had ever had. She had been, in her youth, exploited ...bid to do so by her own parents... for her fragile beauty and submissive demeanor. But it had never been so with him. Even bent before him this way... she felt neither objectified nor shamed. She had chosen this -- she had wanted him, and he reciprocated. The passion they shared was something so sacred and precious to her it was inviolate. Let a few eyes see what she experienced for herself in his care! It would not change what he meant to her.

So she does dress herself, though she still -- by instict -- turns her back to do so. Soon, with minimal baring of skin (at least to Gennadi's eyes), she is clad quite sedately in a white silk kimono patterned with meandering strands of silver that evoke the imagery of streams and eddies through snow. From the hem of the heavy silk, peony blooms in dusky rose and burnished gold thread float up to thigh level, buoyed by a lush bed of slender, artfully curved leaves.

Her hair is still a terrible mess, of course -- but it would have to do.

Alexsei: Grabbing the pants Ryshassa so mercifully thrown his way, Alexsei proceeds to cover himself as quickly as possible before grabbing the first pieces of clothing he thinks of - a pair of soft silken bathrobes, his and Ryshassa's. He unceremoniously slips into his garment, not taking the time to fasten the cord into place... Gennadi saw much, much worse than that already.

And no comments about preferences and why I still have my glasses on while doing... that.

The embarassement fades somewhat, considering what just transpired here, and he slowly acquiesces to Ryshassa's question. "Why yes, Ryshassa. This is Gennadi, a colleague in the Bureau, albeit from a different division. And Gennadi... You... now know my wife, Ryshassa."

He struggles to regain his footing, to keep an even face even though this was surely one of the most embarassing things to befall him. At least, the most embarassing thing to happen to him since one of young male students in Gethamane found a pair of obviously female underwear of a telltale violet color in a corner of the classroom.

A faint giggle pull him out of his reverie, and as perplexed as it makes him for a moment, he decides this is decidedly the least of his concerns.

He knew of Gennadi. And he, sadly enough, knew of him mostly because of his involvement with Lonely Amethyst, and the whole affair left a strange taste in his mouth. What the man wanted with him, he did not know. But if he took the time to come around in the middle of such a perfect scene, there had to be a reason other than cathing him without pants.

"Now tell me, Gennadi. What brings you here to the far North? And more importantly... Why does that business bring you to me?"

Gennadi: "I was already in the North, though some distance away. As for what brings me here? Apparently it's been decided that one of us simply isn't enough. If you like, you can think of me as the cavalry." He reseats himself, leaning down to shine snakeskin shoes before taking a more formal position. "I'm sure you'll appreciate the help."

Ryshassa: Ryshassa nods at Alexsei's introduction, silently taking in this new information. If he was one of the Starchosen, this was not likely to be a pleasant meeting. And now, of all times! But there can -- and will be later.

She does manage to finger-brush her hair into some modicum of neatness, and takes the time to adjust the crookedness of her beloved's glasses before turning to Gennadi fully. "It is..." She hesitates, considering what words to fill in the blank. "A pleasure" would have been terribly wrong, given the circumstances. She just settled with the suitably bland "...nice enough to meet you, Gennadi. Are you here concerning the current war, then? I have been busy nearly non-stop, attending to the wounded. It has left us... precious little time together."

As you can see, she wanted to add, but refrained.

Alexsei: So the Gold make their move. Took them long enough.

But I wonder, are they here to help me, or monitor me?

Either way is fine, really. Let's see how this all play out.

Alexsei nods slowly to Gennadi's declaration, adjusting his glasses once more before granting him a polite smile. "Well then. I was not aware that you were one of those to help in this cause, Gennadi. I was under the impression you where still working on your own.But if bring assistance in the coming conflict, then we will gladly welcome your assistance."

He offers one loving, longing gaze at his wife's introduction, one that shows genuine regret at having this precious moment intrrupted... But a glint in his eye tells her there will be time to make ammends.

His eyes turn back to Gennadi, and his brow furrows slightly at the thought of the important business at hand. "I suppose," he begins thoughtfully, "that since we are to cooperate with each other, we should be exchanging what we know of the current situation - if this suits well with you, of course."

The choice is not mine, and I believe it is probably not your either, unfortunately.

Gennadi: "Al, thus far I've walked in on your lovemaking, drank your wine, ogled your wife, and you haven't even complained. The least I can do is follow your lead in this." He chuckles, unbuttoning his jacket and shrugging out of it to expose his tie, like a slice of sunset against pure white clouds. A moment passes while he collects a small notepad, stuffing some sort of intricate silver device back into a pocket. "I'm listening."

Ryshassa: Ryshassa folds her arms under her chest. Ogling, hmm? She supposes it is to be expected. Unnerving, but ...expected.

"Alexsei is a reasonable man, he would not complain if your trespass was in error. You could have stayed outside, though," she adds matter-of-factly, as Gennadi prepares himself to take notes. Of course, his remaining was so obviously deliberate she wondered whether he relished simply putting people off guard.

Somehow, getting caught while having sex seems so much more enticing when it remains a fantasy.

For the moment, she perches herself on the edge of the bed and listens to the two men's exchange, arranging her white kimono carefully to cover her legs. Completely.

Alexsei: "I'll admit there could have been a much better time for you to walk in, yes." He represses a wistful sigh, but presses to go on. "The wine was offered to us by the spirit of this ship, so it is her you should thank if you enjoyed it. Also," one more gaze at the lovely sight of his wife, and for a moment his features soften. "As for 'ogling' my wife... well, she is a very attractive woman, but a proper lady chooses who she bares herself for - and well, I would think a proper gentleman respects the will of a lady. Oh but I am not chastising you, I am certain you meet plenty of young ladies who are... head over heels over this kind of attention."

He clears his throat once, then smiles back at his... "guest".

"I must admit, however," he begins, looking thoughtful for a moment as he immerses himself in more serious matters, "that I am somewhat surprised that our patrons did not send any more precious pieces of insight on the current situation. What I know is also known by them I have no doubt. And yet they assign you here with me, so I presume they foretold something dire."

"I am curently advising and supporting the young crown prince of Whiteshield and his companions, and by association, the kindom of Winlandia and their allies. We are to push back the invasion of the dead whose peaceful slumber has been roused. I am to continue supporting this operation until I delivered them to Saturn's embrace, and their memories can rest in peace. That is what I seek to accomplish here."

• Gennadi chuckles, hardly offended and simply amused. "For one, whoever said I was a proper gentleman? For two, I believe heels over head is the usual position. For three, I'm aware of the aim. What I am somewhat behind on is the details. Your plans, weaknesses you're speculating on but haven't reported, what you've expended in your efforts to secure a celestial power base and what tactics you've used. Personal information, not the antiseptic reports filtered through five layers of bureacracy. If pens and paper won wars, I wouldn't be here infringing on your couple time."

Alexsei: He chuckles then, somewhat amused at the tirade. "Well point taken, Gennadi. Gentlemanly conduct is not for everyone, indeed."

"As for my plans... I await further information from the high command before formulating anything too precise. I know for one that if I can manage to reduce the number of ghosts and walking dead in their army, things could turn in our favor. The followers of the Underworld are more of a problem, as you know our information on them is still limited comparatively. I think our best bet is to try to gather as much knowledge as we can while participating in the current fights. It is not everyday one gets the opportunity to observe this sort of situation close by."

"So you want to know my immediate plans? I want to find out about them, trace out their weaknesses, document those weak points, and find a way to send their souls back to Lethe where they should be resting."

Ryshassa: Ryshassa flushes at Alexsei's earlier compliment, smiling at him gently. "Then perhaps we should invest in better locks..." she leans towards him and whispers, though still loud enough to be heard.

Of course, as soon as she says this it crosses his mind that it probably wouldn't matter anyway, given how easily he slipped in unnoticed. The last thing she needed was to think of Gennadi's face every time they were making love.

(Lucky for her, she may very well forget about him, anyway. But Arcane Fate is not something *she* would be thinking of.)

"To be honest, Gennadi," Ryshassa adds, planting her mind more firmly in the business at hand, "we have been mostly stationed here since our arrival, but for a raid led by Marshal Valencia. My skills in particular have been given much use in the sidelines, though I must admit I... dislike having this mostly indirect role. But much of the war thus far has been fought from within, on the streets of the Boil. Prince Alexander and the Pale Angel have since left to join the fight below."

She speaks these names without explanation for their identity, assuming that one such as Gennadi would already know of them beforehand.

Gennadi: "A better lock just tells someone that there's something worth checking out behind it." He scribbles something down. "So, what you're telling me is that you have no concise plan, no real network of control against outside intrusion, and are taking the orders instead of giving them? Just to be clear."

Ryshassa: The healer purses her lips, pondering Gennadi's blunt summarization of their progress. Of course, it was not directed at her, so much. Not at all, really. But still, it nags at her, and she speaks aloud her own point of view nonetheless:

"I am a healer, and a quite competent one if I may say so, so from my perspective I am already accomplishing both my duty and my desire."

And as far as she was concerned -- though she did not voice this part aloud -- she was not one of the Gold Faction's pawns, married to Alexsei or not. It has also crossed her mind that most other Starchosen would not have the same point of view. Alexsei himself has never been fond of the "odd jobs" the Faction has saddled him with since he has been station in the North. Not as far as she could remember, anyway, in the five years they have been together. She liked to think things were different between them... and they are. Of course they are.

Gennadi on the other hand was from an entirely different world of politics and intrigue than her husband. She could only remain silent and wait for how her husband might respond to his words.

Alexsei: He ponders for a moment, and then turns back to gennadi, still smiling.

"Yes, Gennadi. That is indeed what you have heard."

"I suppose taking charge would be a much better way to solve this than staying discreet and inconspiscuous and assembling knowledge on an enemy that thus far always managed to remain enigmatic and to ungraspable to us. I apologize then, for I must have misunderstood why a scholar and chronicler specialized in the First Age and undead lore would be sent by our people to a conflict involving both of these subjects."

"The Prince and his people fight for their own freedom and peace. They fight our enemies with all their might, and they do not even need the push to do so. A genuine feeling is always a most arduous thing to bring down, and a difficult one to construct." He pauses for a moment to clean his spectacles, peering at the delicate glass to remove any particle that might dust his vision.

"So I suppose I misunderstood, and I should have spent my time and effort influencing people to do... What they would have done no matter what, rather than assemble intelligence like I have done here."

Gennadi: "A good sidestep. But I must question, if you have spent such effort assembling intelligence, where are the results? You believe that eliminating superior numbers will be useful, IF you can find a way to do it. You tell me to strike at weak points, but not what they are, or even how you've gone about looking for them. So, I must ask, what have you been doing, beyond mounting your wife?" His eyes glitter, a direct challenge in the tone of his voice. "Do not take this personally, please. But to continue being blunt, tales of emotion and knowledge are not the same as emotion and knowledge. The map is not the territory." The moment breaks with another chuckle. "Of course, this is likely why they paid me to be here. Such differing views have to produce something worthwhile, yes?"

Ryshassa: Ryshassa's lips tighten further. Now this she found much more embarrassing and ...frustrating than simply being walked in on so rudely. She felt like but a doll beneath their notice in comparison to the matters at hand. And perhaps she was. Just the healer to go here and there when needed. And remain quiet when her betters are speaking.

She did so very much despise the unpleasantries that came with Alexsei's employers in Yu Shan. And it shows, though silently, her hands on her lap tightening enough to shake. It makes her wonder when -- and how -- and if her husband would break free of these responsibilities one day, when he so obviously seemed adverse to most every method his Bureau employed. It makes her seethe at how ignorant and how ...typical it must seem for her to sit aside and have nothing to say.

Again and again. Every time a Starchosen comes to call upon her beloved. She was more than this -- she COULD be more than Alexsei's pretty wife. But in comparison to him she was directionless. She wanted to heal suffering, end wars. Help bring peace between squabbling powers. And here she was! But her own ambitions were so out of focus they were... practically invisible.

It was shameful.

Alexsei: Alexsei chuckles, leaning back in his seat as he meets Gennadi's challenge, his eyes sparkling a bright violet.

"And a good offense. You question my duties here, as I would suspect you to. First things first, I do not believe that eliminating superior numbers will win this war. In fact, if you have investigated the matter - which I would expect a man like you to have done, at the very least - you will remember that it was, in fact, tested and succesful in battle before. However, the logistics of war are different than the logistics of bureaucracy. The enemy has its best supplies of ghosts walled deep inside the Whiteshield territory. Effectives are limited, and one sidestep could likely prolong this war much more than intended. This plan will be put into motion yes, but as a battle move, in order to cut down the enemy's reserve supplies. I need the cover of Marshal Silverstar in order to be able to pull this with any reasonable chance of success."

Ryshassa's state of mind filters through the rings they both wear, and he cannot hold back the pang of guilt at the feelings that wader in her being. Dealings with other agents of the Gold were problematic at best, and he knew she felt like a lesser pet when with them. If he could help it, she would not have to feel like that much longer.

"Now, you want to know what I have been working on, other than 'mounting my wife' - who also has a name - and what transpires here? I would advise you study the history of this particular region, say... near the end of the First Age. Look for things surrounding emperor Fintan, for a starter. I suppose this could give you a beginning of a grasp as to what is at hand here, and the magnitude it might take."

"But what I think here is that you were not told the full story, Gennadi. You should also probably go over the name of Ten Thousand Virtues and everything that surrounds him, if you so will. This would help you get a little bit of insight into what we are up against, dear friend."

Gennadi: "History, dear friend, does not accomplish what I desire. And, though you cloak yourself in formal speech and academic references, you are still giving me what I want. Which is to know how you think, and how you are acting. I work with people, and the results follow. Now, as to the matter of your wife, who has a name, and is currently sitting there biting her tongue and feeling small whilst we play wordgames..." He turns to her, that warm and yet distant grin feeling familiar already. "What about you? I assume you have plans of your own, aspirations and hopes."

Ryshassa: Ryshassa looks visibly startled by the sudden attention on her. Her first instinct is to be flustered -- for after all, despite all her frustration about it, she has simply fallen into learned behavior. Her opinion, much less her feelings or her dignity, had never much mattered to anyone while she grew up in the Realm. It seemed her place in the world to be born to serve.

Alexsei treated her much differently than that, of course. But it had taken time for her to open up just to him. It had taken time for her to muster the courage to USE what the Unconquered Sun had granted her, and build up what reputation she has earned as the healer of Gethamane. And now she was beyond the ancient walls of the home she shared with Alexsei, trying to make sense of her place in a much larger theater.

So it takes effort -- but she swallows down her instinct, and speaks for herself as Gennadi's blue eyes watch her curiously. "I do. Though I fear my plans are on the... vague side. Healing and soothing the suffering are my calling, and it is my wish to do so on a larger scale. And if at all possible to prevent the causes of suffering altogether: disease, famine and war to name a few. But I am not so naive to believe such things can be eliminated altogether. Conflict is a natural part of being allowed free will, you could say, is it not?"

"I just wish to be there when it happens. When I can save innocent lives, when I can counter misunderstanding and violence with peaceful negotiation... I am fulfilled."

She shrugs, somewhat self-conscious now after such a speech. "But I am content with doing what I can. For now."

Gennadi: "Then why so frustrated? If you simply wish to be there when it happens, why the marks on your palms? Surely you can wait, if as you say, you merely wish to do what you can."

Ryshassa: Ryshassa looks at Gennadi sharply -- he was particularly attentive, and that bothered her, somehow. Already he had caught her in a very compromising position, and now this. Or perhaps he just liked to look at her hands. She rubs her wrists, self-consciously.

"I... suppose that the best answer for your question is simply a lack of confidence," she finally replies -- the most honest reply she can give. And it makes her wonder at the intelligence of spelling it out so plainly, but what else can she say? "More particularly, I have the desire but not the worldly knowledge to know where to best apply it. I am here now, and so the war is my greatest concern. Thus I have been here... doing what I am known for best. Healing those who may yet live."

"But if I was more certain... if I came up with how and could act with forethought -- I would not take a passive role." How strange it must seem for her to say that, she who seems inherently passive by her pacifist nature and the attention to etiquette she was brought up to have in the Realm.

• Gennadi shrugs, turning back to his Sidereal counterpart. "Well, she seems to favor the active approach, even if you may not entirely. The thing you are forgetting, Al, dear friend, Starchosen, is that no matter how had you try, all the ideals and natural emotion in the world won't erase that you are different. That you have secrets, that you work on the scale of millenia, that even when you try not to see them, all the people you know are puppets tangled in your strings, all the way up to the Loom." He stands. "Luckily, that is one of the many things I don't give a damn about. I think I've taken enough of your time for the moment. AS for what I know and you do not, speculation on my part, and that Ten Thousand Virtues doesn't want me here. Reason enough to stay, yes?"

Alexsei: He gazes at Ryshassa, and he cannot help but nod slowly at the display of her feelings.

She is caring, passionate, and honest... She is almost everything my brethren are not.

And somehow, this thought fills him with pride. After she ends her sentence and gazes at the Chosen of Serenity, he finds turns his face back to their guest, following his stare as he stands back up.

"I am different, yes. And just like you, I work for what I want and believe in. That is our way, I suppose. We are both students of knowledge, and I do believe you got just what you wanted from talking to us. However..."

He stands back to his feet, meeting his colleague with a polite gaze as he walks closer to his wife. "'The map is not the territory', yes?"

He smiles at Gennadi, pushing back the spectacles on the bridge of his nose. "It will be good to collaborate with you, Chosen of Venus. Until we meet again."

Ryshassa: Ryshassa seems put off by the sudden shift in conversation, though the sentiment makes her wonder. I -- more active-minded than Alexsei? She sits there, digesting this. Alexsei has for years now been her teacher and advisor. And in her past... as seen through the Caduceus... it has been much the same. She with a benevolent but singleminded purpose as he supported her steps along the way.

But the words he tells Alexsei are some she has often heard from his colleagues as she listened to them converse. In the end, you may wish to be different, but you are what you are, and you cannot escape it. The thought is morbid, but she is amused by how stubbornly others point it out and how continually he rebukes it. Simply by being alive.

How long he or any of them can remain doing so is a question.

Ryshassa rises as well, as Gennadi stands, and once again offers a bow, more fluid and formal than the one she had first given. "Yes, be well; I am sure we will speak again. Preferably outside my bedroom.

Her final musing come out only in thought, and to Alexsei's mind only: Good, beloved? I'm not sure that's the word...

Gennadi: He nods, setting the empty glass down at the base of the chair. "Oh, we will speak, and collaborate, and perhaps actually change the world. It is in the nature of conspirators to do that sort of thing." He runs a hand through deep blue hair, sighing as it falls back exactly where it was before. "Think about that. In the end, simply by being a Sidereal, people expect certain things. Why not be polite and oblige them?" He returns the bow, apparently just as comfortable with the normal social graces as his previous shock tactics. "Now I'll be going. You'll see me around. Though likely not in your bedroom... speaking of which, I need to acquire one of my own. Busy, busy, busy." He turns on his heel and walks out, carefully closing the door behind him with a slam that resets the lock.

Ryshassa: Ryshassa waits for the click before leaning closer to Alexsei, wrapping her arms around his waist under the bathrobe he now wears. Her voice takes on a more sultry tone as she nibbles on his lips playfully.

"So tell me... is this some sort of weighted sense of 'good' that really means 'unpleasant and unnecessary'? Because you do do that often, when they toy with you. It's... amusing, really," she fairly purrs, resting her head upon the crook of his neck.

Alexsei: The soft click of the lock comes with much relief, and he relaxes his shouders as he grabs his beloved by the waist and returns her embrace.

"Well, it is a sidereal 'good', beloved. Which means you copuld potentially not be far form the truth. Maybe."

He ponders a moment, then returns his gaze to her. "But I think I had enough of this for today, Belladonna."

With a playful glint in his eye he nibbles at her neck, in that spot he knows is so very ticklish.

Ryshassa: Ryshassa squirms just as he had foreseen, and much to his delight, her laughter fills the room much as her cries and moans had before. And will again, if things continue as they are going to.

"Oh, sidereal 'good', hmm? I never knew you to be so ambivalent." She favors him with a smile that leaves her violet eyes sparkling, her fingers trailing down his chest as she pulls slightly apart from him. "But when it comes to patience, you have so, so very much left to teach me."

With those liquid words, she lowers herself slowly and deliberately to her knees, content for the moment to be anything but passive in her desire for him.

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