GoldenCat/ThroughTheLookingGlass26
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Azure Jade
Exceedingly Sublime Opal: Opal had retreated from the dread field of courtly battle.
She sat, alone, mask discarded a few feet away as she sat under the stairwell. She sat leaning back against a wall, the hem of her robes pooled around her as she sat, staring off at the wall serenely, legs tucked under her.
Gennadi: The sounds of shoes on steps gets closer and louder above her stopping suddenly as a shadowed figure flips over the railing and lands in a crouch, hands stillin pockets. The moonlight gleams on the smooth mirrored mask as he turns back to her, shrugging. "Unpleasant trick to play at such a nice party, eh?"
Exceedingly Sublime Opal: She turned her pale gaze toward him, and beheld the blue aura the seemed to well up in him. Her eyes were keen to the flows of such Essence, and though she had vague recollection as to what it entailed, she had not the wil to plumb the depths of her knowledge.
"She is a creature full of such unpleasentness," she said, noncommitally.
Gennadi: "She? Looked manly enough to me." He spins to face her and sit, suddenly cross-legged. "Still, it is unfortunate. You deserved better this night."
Exceedingly Sublime Opal: She looked toward him, and frowns a little bit. She seems to consider the blue man for a long moment. She then gestures toward him, fingers outstretched, "May I see your tongue, sir?"
Gennadi: "See or touch? Might I ask why? It's neither forked or brown, if you're wondering."
Exceedingly Sublime Opal: "I was actually wondering if it were silver," she retracts her hand. She then sighed a bit and frowned, "It is my experiance that those I know who arrive and instantly sympathize with my possition have alterior motives, especially when they do not announce themselves first."
- Gennadi laughs, tossing her the mirrored mask. Underneath is facepaint, a drama mask in light and dark blue. "Oh, I do have alterior motives. Gennadi Ilkov, Chosen of Venus, at your service. It's terribly crushing to the ego when you can't manage to create even a simple party that's good for all involved, and I was hoping if I could cheer you up, the problem would go away."
Exceedingly Sublime Opal: "My problems have more persistance that a mere pat on the back can banish them," she frowned a little bit, and tilted her head to the side. "But I thank you for the attempt. I am Exceedingly Sublime Opal, Chosen. And I highly doubt an ego such as yours could be crushed by one such as I." She turns her face to gaze back at the wall, giving him only the view of her perfect profile.
Gennadi: "Such wit belies such modesty. If a pat on the back and some clowning can't handle it, why don't you tell me what can?"
Exceedingly Sublime Opal: "Are you confessor, now? That one might merely tap the bark on my mind and find the sweetly sticky sap of my past pour out? No, I doubt very much you could cure my problems with a mere gesture, and I'd think you a fool to persist in offering."
- Gennadi shrugs. 'I've been called worse than that. What I am, my dear, is someone who 's genuinely interested in both you and your problems, and a bit too uncouth to be dissuaded by simple embarassment." He sighs and shakes his head. "Of course, things would be much easier if you were the sort to wish to be swept off her feet, but I am not so lucky... right?"
Exceedingly Sublime Opal: She smiled ever so faintly, before turning her gaze towards him once more, "I'm a bit too bitter to be swept off my feet so easily, but if you claim genuine interest in me and my problems... mm, I should think you are being manipulative." She sighs, shook her head, then idly patted a patch of her robes, indicating he should sit.
Gennadi: He ducks his head and rolls forward, coming to rest perfectly on the spot. "I am being manipulative. I'm trying to get you to assuage my interest with my silvered tongue. It just so happens the truth is my cruelly subtle tool here." He winks at her.
Exceedingly Sublime Opal: She laughs, dispite herself at that. "It is a rare thing to meet a honest man." She leans back against the wall once again, covering half her ivory face in shadow. "So tell me, why do you find me so interesting?"
Gennadi: "You're beautiful, yet controlling of who sees it and when, and seemingly not for vain reasons as the Dark Angel. You're powerful, yet you use such an seemingly a whim, only in a clearly skiled manner, despite the seeming lack of forethought with the result." He shakes his head. "You are a puzzle, and I adore puzzles. Also, thus far, you're the only one to leave the party but me."
Exceedingly Sublime Opal: "Oh, I'm sure Days will have left the fete by now," she says, in vague attempt to change the subject. "Perhaps I'm not a puzzle, just complicated," she gives him a fleeting grin. "As for the Dark Angel and her vanity, it is hardly unexpected. She was a noble of her land, she is a beauty more sought after than your patroness, and possesses both the skill and power to lay most any low. Vain, yes, but perhaps not without cause."
She gently brushes a few locks of her curly, white hair from her face. "If you use your power at whim, people know what you are capable of. I am capable of very little, thus, I must horde what gems I am capable of."
- Gennadi wags a finger at her. "Now who is being the manipulative one, eh? Distracting me from the real issue of your problems. If it makes you feel any better, you impress me more than she does on the front of sought-after beauty. Perhaps it's that I've seen it before." He shrugs.
Exceedingly Sublime Opal: "Ah, and now you err. I am not vain, I suffer from an excess of Pride. Please, keep the focus of my sin in your mind, Chosen."
"As for my problem, you should know that I am Exiled from my people and am forced to serve those that treat me not with an ounce of civility. I, who have spent my life seeking knowledge of Artiface and Geomancy, who can stand within a Demanse and make it capable of blooming Hearthstones, am treated like a misbehaving child."
Gennadi: "Considering who you speak to, you expect me, Star-Chosen, to complain of pride?" He grins. "The pot not only calls the kettle black, but fat and round as well... as for a lack of respect, that is troubling. I confess I am missing the part where you are truly forced to serve, however."
Exceedingly Sublime Opal: "I thought the Star-Children were supposed to be well read," she laughed softly, and gestured toward herself. "My people cannot dwell on the surface without serving under an Exalt. Unfortunately, Exalts see any that serve them as underlings instead of allies."
Gennadi: "There are weaklings among the Exalts, no? Those just learning their powers, Blooded of weak birth, Outcastes far from support. Why do you not seek one of those, and treat the service a a formality?"
Exceedingly Sublime Opal: "Such creatures desire ever more powerful wonders without the means to support them. I must find the balance of finding one who can support me in my own persuits, but has proper respect for the effect with which such knowledge comes."
"There also stems the problem of the Dark Angel herself. She does not wish me to fall into the hands of one of her rivals. She can be a most unpleasent individual when she does not get which she desires."
Gennadi: "Faugh. Her desires are base and easily predicted, her mind led by her heart and loins. I should imagine a proper Exalt would be able to handle her as well as managing come common courtesy. So, what are your own pursuits?"
Exceedingly Sublime Opal: "Mm, but it is not my place to speak about my 'betters'. As for my own pursuits... I don't know anymore. I desire to work the wonders that I have worked in the past. Items of such majesty others have wept to merely gaze upon them. Perhaps to live without this gnawing pain, live in comfort again instead of to live to make others comfortable. Perhaps that sounds a touch selfish, but... mm. I could use more selfish."
Gennadi: "You could. Here, borrow some of mine." He softly kisses her cheek, leaning back to look at her. "It is your place to speak your mind, no matter who the subject. As for betters... Do you know of my interactions thus far with the Dark Angel? She desires pornographic drawings from heaven, and on my way out here, I smacked her ass. If anything, I'd say you've got the better end of that deal."
"You desire respect, she desires adulation, or at the least a challenge she can win. It is clear to me whois more deserving of courtesy." He sits back against the wall himself, an easy target should she choose to strike him for the small liberty.
Exceedingly Sublime Opal: She allowed him his closeness, and seemed to be mulling over what he said. She reaches up and idly pats his cheek with her slender fingers, "It is kind of you to say that. She desires silly little trinkets, I sometimes think. You know, she asked me for an item that would allow her to change into a masculine form? I had to convince her to allow me to make her something broader, for it made me blush to make something so... seemingly trivial." She idly pulls out a thick bit of folded paper, and sets it in his lap. "I, who have made swords with edges so fine they can cut fate, am made to craft things to sate her titilation."
Gennadi: "Ah. To me, it is not the subject or the aim so much as the pleasure of creation. Some of my finest moments of music are children's songs, my most clever origami crude caricatures." He flicks the paper open with numble fingers and raises it to his eyes. "I find more beauty in the perfection of the task, not the grandeur. Of course, I'm crazy." He winks, the comedy half of the mask's grin seeming to grow beyond the boundaries of his face.
Exceedingly Sublime Opal: The paper holds a rather complex schematic regarding an amulet that allows its attuned wielder to change their shape. "I suppose you have a point there. I have reservations regarding placing my stamp on anything that will be used for less than dignified purposes. As I said, I suffer from excessive Pride." She pats him on the knee, then sighs a bit.
Gennadi: "I could fix that, you know. Not, to be honest, that I think the proper way to make you happy is to make you less of you." He ponders the schematic. "Have you considered the use of a middle man?"
Exceedingly Sublime Opal: "Mm, I'm afraid that would not work. I have to be in the direct service of an Exalt, or I shall begin suffering the effects of the Geas," she merely shrugged her shoulders. "But it is a kind offer."
Gennadi: "Ah, that is not what I meant." He flips the paper over, checking it for any more designs before drawing a minor contract on it and showing it to her. "You, in this example, would serve me. I would agree to compel you to finish your previous contracts, and accept requests on the behalf of those you feel obligated to. It gives you a measure of autonomy, and a good middle man can perhaps do some of the work for you in assuring properly grand tasks." He tosses it over. "If you like the idea, there's a contract to start with. Maybe I can steer a good Exalt your way."
Exceedingly Sublime Opal: She considers that for a long moment, and frowns a little, tapping a slender finger with her chin. "I do not know you. What would you benefit from such an agreement, I wonder? I highly doubt all your motives are altruistic."
Gennadi: "Whoa, now. I did not say that I would do it. It is an example. Many of the technical-minded people I have known prefer to work with the concrete."
Exceedingly Sublime Opal: "You implied it," she arched an eyebrow at him. "Besides, I am hardly like other individuals you've met. Unless others are covered in a sheet of white jade." She gently took the schematic back from him, and sighed a bit. "But, it does not matter."
Gennadi: "I imply lots of things I don't mean. Star-chosen, blah blah, more glib words. Anyway, why not? The solution does not fail without me..."
Exceedingly Sublime Opal: "Because most agreements depend heavily on the word of the individual who makes them. I doubt I have yet to meet one Exalt that has no broken their word to me in one way or another, or played me false in some way. It is a nice thought, however."
Gennadi: "I know an Eclipse. Maybe I can have you make me a puzzle in payment for lending him to this effort."
Exceedingly Sublime Opal: She sighed a bit, and rested her head against the wall. "Slave myself out to a gentleman I have never even met. That does not sound highly desirable as well. So far, you are my best prospect. Behind you, one of the Dark Angel's servents."
Gennadi: "Well, if we're continuing to assume my involvement, I am considered affluent even by Heavenly standards, with not much to spend on but my own enjoyment." He reaches out and tucks her head against his shoulder, his arm around hers. "Besides, I would likely be too busy to continually demand jade sex toys and clockwork seals with hearthstones for them to balance."
Exceedingly Sublime Opal: She laughed a little at that, "I believe someone once told me its the perfection of the work, not the function of the object, mm?"
Gennadi: "Really? What a silly thought. Clearly, it is all about phallic symbols and weaponry... which are phallic symbols. Hrm. Perhaps there's more to that than I thought."
Exceedingly Sublime Opal: She laughs a little bit louder at that, "Perhaps that is why I get so very many requests for them. Eventually, when I obtain the peek of my craft, I shall be able to create such wonders with the merest wave of my hand. But, that is a time from now. What would be the demands of the service, specifically?"
Gennadi: "Damned if I know. I figured the poor bastard you found to get in between you and the dark angel would be smart enough to figure that out." He sighs. "I imagine it would be easier to define certain things that are not to be compeled, since the concept is to use the served exalt to filter the demands of others."
He clears his throat, looking over to her. "Uh, not to be terribly rude, but the question about what I get out of this is a good one. Perhaps you could convince me to work further on this if I had an answer to it."
Exceedingly Sublime Opal: "Your speaking to a woman who's knowledge of not only Artiface, but of the lore of creation knows no equal in mortal hands. You'd have to be the one to detirmine its use, of course. What would you demand of me, then?"
Gennadi: "Keep enjoying yourself?" He closes his eyes to ponder. "I suppose the answer to what I get out of it is you, in the short term. In the long term, artifacts and favors from the trading of artifacts... perhaps some crafted items when I can think of things I truly need, or that would make pleasant gifts. Some occasional company, perhaps. It gets tiresome always being forgotten, no matter how outrageous I act."
- Exceedingly Sublime Opal arches an eyebrow. "How can anyone forget you, mm? You must run into a great many amnesia sufferers. Yes, that sounds agreeable. What else?"
Gennadi: "There needs to be more? I suppose I could demand your presence in my bed and cackle like a terrible opera villain..."
- Gennadi manages a rather excellent imitation of a terrible actor, or a terrible imiation of a good one before he continues. "It seems to me that by acting as the middle man, I gain influence without much additional work, and should an emergency arise, access to a wonderful craftperson and ace in the hole. It will likely be some hassle to gain entry to Yu-shan for you, admittedly... but I gain notoriety for that as well."
Gennadi: He shrugs. "The math seems to add up already. I get tools, you get to make tools in peace. Everybody's happy."
Exceedingly Sublime Opal: "Mm, pity, for you are attractive enough," she says, deadpan, before giving him an impish grin and patting his cheek. "I think this would be an equitable arrangement, provided you are able to arrange materials for me to ply my wares with, or at least, demand others seeking my services do so."
Gennadi: "So long as it's jade, that's easy on the former, and to be expected on the latter. If nothing else, I can likely demand concessions for having to do it myself."
Exceedingly Sublime Opal: "Well, after a time, as I said, I can make Magical Materials with a wave of my smallest finger. However, I might need the occasional ingrediant. Those occult biggity boiks I always seem to need for this or that - Dragon Blood, Yeddim Eyes, what have you."
Gennadi: "Mrm, easy enough. I can just bother the god of Yeddim for a few extra. If Heaven can't find it, the seeker better be able to."
Exceedingly Sublime Opal: She laughs a little at that, and merely shakes her head. "I can tell you and I will get along famously. I think we have reached an equitable agreement, though I reserve the right to leave your employ if I find things disagreeable."
Gennadi: "I reserve the right to do sneaky things to keep it agreeable." He offers his hand. "One thing, though... find something a bit more daring to wear on your first day. Symbolic step towards freedom, and it'll make it easier to keep track of you. I'll just look for the drooling crowd."
Exceedingly Sublime Opal: "Daring?" she blinks faintly, and shrugs a little bit. "I suppose I could make that accomidation. Though I am dreadful at such things."
Gennadi: "Considering your current attire, more daring shouldn't be hard... and getting better at things you're terrible at is never bad." He smiles. "Besides, a banal task takes your mind off the worry." He collects the mirrored mask and replaces it. "If you'll excuse me, I have an old acquaintance to dance with, a new acquaintance to make, and angels to dodge."
Exceedingly Sublime Opal: She nods her head, and waves him off. "Of course. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me, Master Gennadi." She said, considering the man for a moment before she went back to her contemplations.
More daring? She wrinkled her nose a bit.
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