GoldenCat/ThroughTheLookingGlass3

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Gallery of Fears

Gennadi: It does not take too much hunting to find his prey, stepping in and tapping Kanti's shoulder once again. "Mind if I take the next dance? You'd best get with Shaliya before she's too tired out and clumsy to give you what you want." The mirrored surface gleams, vanishing into his hand moments after to reveal the drama mask painted on his face in brilliant and midnight blues.

Kanti: Kanti's eyes flash fearfilled again, but she she nods, as she sees the mask of blue, now painted on his face. The sight of the blue seems to relax her somehow, even as other parts of her wish to recoil in fear.

"..Of course, Master Gennadi." she steps back a little. "Where is Shaliya...if I might ask?"

Gennadi: He closes his eyes for a moment before pointing. "That way. You'll see her easily enough... I doubt she's still got all of her costume on by now."

Fiona: Fiona steps aside, with a flourish to Gennadi, "Of course! I will go talk to the others, and stop hindering Kanti..."

• Gennadi blinks. "And leave me here on the dance floor, alone and shamed? Such a terrible woman, prideful and strong."

Kanti: Kanti looks to the way he pointed, and then moves through the crowd, doing her best to avoid disturbing it as she does, seeking the Ice Rose.

Selina de Windia: Selina passes through them on the dance floor, making sure Kanti is safe.

Yep, scary.

"She's supposed to be that way, Gennadi."

Gennadi: "Quiet, you, I'm trying to convince her to let me tromp on her feet a bit." He sighs. "The stars align against me tonight, a horrible conspiracy of fate."

Selina de Windia: I should find somewhere to sit.

Well, the queen of beauty holds court, doesn't she? That means she's not dancing, right?

The one problem with having Moon.

Well, she could find someone to dance with if she really wants. So the fact that she's not...must mean she doesn't. Right?

Fiona: “Oh, you mean you want to dance with... me?”

She adjusts the flower on her hair, her hazel eyes looking up at the Serenity...

"If you want me to step on your toes..."

• Gennadi smiles, tapping his forehead for a moment before taking her hands, blue light trailing behind him as he starts into a simple dance. It's like smoke, billowing out from every movement and wrapping around them in a tight spiral. The light spills down her dress, swirls around her legs, the trails curving gracefully away from the floor and up again, forming spectral figures that mirror them for a moment and dance off into the crowd. "Somehow, I don't think that will be much of a problem." He reaches out to very softly touch her chin, guiding her sight back from the party trick to look into his eyes. "At least, if you look at me."

Fiona: She looks into his eyes, hers' so deep... full of traumas, fights, darkness, terror and experiences... and the terrible knowledge that accompanies all Sorcerers. "You will have to teach me..."

Gennadi: "There is nothing to teach but restrictions and formality. In the end, all you have to do is close your eyes, feel the partner and the music... and move." His own betray nothing, simply showing shifting stars, constellations shifting and dancing, a pair or Exalts etched in starlight moving from one eye to twirl in the other. "Dancing is not learning, it is the art of forgetting for a time."

Fiona: She loses herself on the stars, then. And lets him lead her.
Trying her best to be lost there...
To move with him, to complete his dance any way she can...
So much to learn. She would learn this too.
Learn to forget.
Learn to awe.

Shaliya: The Winter Rose turns to Kanti, the mirror mask on her hand as she drinks... the drink hardly fazes her, of course. Kanti knows what she truly craves, the warmth, the passion, that which Kanti had given her so many times before. Her body that of a dancer, she moves rhytmically to the music even without dancing, even as she talk to others, important mortals of the Boil around her, fawning over her beauty... not noticing Kanti for now.

• Gennadi eventually brings her out of her reverie with an intentionally missed step, smiling at her. "You're doing much better... I'm amazed a woman like you managed to avoid being used to this sort of thing. That's either great luck, or terrible." He swings back into the rhythm, not quite so perfect now that she's gotten her glimpse of proper dancing

Kanti: Kanti moves towards her in a slow, graceful sway, slipping easily through the throngs of people surrounding her, garda bird mask looking this way and that, long golden dress shimmering in the light of lanterns, until eventually she starts to be close enough...

Does she really want to dance with me?
Do I repulse her that much?
Should I just go?
No..I want to dance with her...
I can ask...

Kanti starts towards her again "Shaliya..."

Fiona: "So you can miss too, eh?" She says, smiling, "Well, it has to do with raiding tombs and spending too long with dusty old tomes... if it wasn't for the walk aaaalll the way to the North, I would be pale like the Angels and Opal, really! And you? You are from the... South, right?"

Shaliya: The familiar notices Kanti at last, stepping out of her circle of admirers, all of them looking at her as she goes... and at Kanti.

Some cringe at her scars. One smiles. Shaliya places her mask on again, to hide any concerns on her mien...

"Kanti! I am sorry we had to go, master wanted me to see one or two things with them... I was just about to go look for you!"

Gennadi: "West, I'm afraid. They disowned me when it was discovered I didn't like boats."

Kanti: Kanti smiles, below the gold and rubies of her mask, and offers her a hand, forcing herself to be calm, forcing the hand not to tremble.

"Shall we dance then?"
I haven't danced with you in so long.

Fiona: "You still seem like the type to enjoy a party on a boat, at least..."

"You practice it too, right? Something about you just feels like it..."

Gennadi: "So long as I'm topside... Define 'it', please? I apologize for my slowness, but the sway of your hips is ever so pleasantly distracting."

Shaliya: Shaliya takes a moment, then takes her hand, holding it, tightly, almost hurting. "I... missed you." In words that could never be more honest.

She pushes Kanti's hand, moving into the dance floor, smiling...

"I am unsettling you, right?"

Fiona: That makes her stop, and step on his foot without meaning to, getting even more embarassed there, suddenly so self-conscious of the hands on hers'! "Er, um.... the art! Shaping Essence... Sorcery! You seem like the type... and some of the motions of your pattern seem like it, I've never seen some of the essence there before, but... ah, you probably think of 'dance' too much to have the discipline!" she winks.

Gennadi: "Oh, that. Of course I'm a sorceror. It's too useful not to learn. I also paint, play instruments, practice the martial and marital arts, and every other month take a nap." He winks at her, lightly kissing her forehead where her caste-mark would shine. "Relax.”

Kanti: Kanti lets the ice rose guide her to the dancefloor, flowing easily backwards through the crowd, trying to keep the things she feels from reaching the rose girl, letting the firm, cool touch reassure her.

"I ... missed you too." she says softly.

"I miss Heaven. I miss Him. I miss Him terribly... and..you...I can't help thinking you shouldn't see me like this..." Kanti admits quietly, as they reach the centre of the floor, pulling a little away from the goddess and starting to sway to the music reaching out over the floor...

Fiona: "I shouldn't judge you just for what I see on a party..." She looks down despite his words, warmed by his kiss nonetheless...

"Martial Arts? Like Kanti's? And are you... good with it?"

Gennadi: "I am exceedingly good at the mortal part. Not so good at channeling essence to shatter my enemies. Of course, if you cheat a little beforehand, you hardly need to be." He winks, spinning her about and dipping her down with a flare of her skirt. He gives her enough time ot register it before flicking her back to her feet and brushing hair out of her eyes. "Different style, of course."

Shaliya: She moves like a green branch, she moves supple like petals on the wind, she moves with a happyness she has not seen in a long time... for meeting Kanti again, one she cared for so. She begins to dance, the mirrored mask catching all of the party, all of it shifting on her face like a whrilwind of Creation.... "That... that is you." She says, without ever letting go of her hand. "How did it happen? Why did he let them do it to yo? Why...?" She shakes her head, stopping it, then, letting the mask fall. It is her again, steel-gray eyes looking at Kanti as she leans close.. brushing her lips against one of the scars. And kissing. And nearly biting. "It is still you. We are friends, right?"

Fiona: Her blush is now accompanied by an unconscious flare of her anima, caste mark showing, lights of the color of her blush - violet and purple - about her, but she just smiles. "A dabbler in many things, never good at his godlike abilities, cheating with them to keep up. Is that you, Gennadi? Kanti is a saint, she cares, and her style reflects it... now I wonder about yours'."

Gennadi: "Godlike is for the gods. I'm a man who helps people, and has a few tricks that help at that. How do you imagine I fight, hm? You have good intuition thus far."

Fiona: She moves about, her anima dying down and focusing on the golden butterfly covering her cleavage, above the corselet, making it shine... "Like you dance? Kanti fights like a dance, but becasuse she takes dance seriously.... you, I think fights like a dance, because you don't!"

Kanti: Kanti watches her twist and sway like petals on the breeze, moving with her, watching the party whirl in the silver mask, watching her own golden self dancing before her, feeling her hand, calming down from the fear, starting to forget it all for the dance. Before Shaliya's question brings it back.

"I...I don't know. I don't even know he does! He ... left me with Her. With the Vestal." she breathes the name "She had me scarred like this ... gave me my screams to wear for Her..." she presses close, before the goddess shakes her head "I miss Her too." she whispers.

Cool lips on her scars, pulling her away from the memories, the pain, the loss, feeling her almost bite, willing her to go further.

"Yes..yes. Still friends."
Please ..please still be friends

• Gennadi laughs! "Ah, true enough. I can hardly take anything too seriously... It is part of the art of Venus, I suppose." He sneaks the occasional look at the butterfly, not quite stealthily enough she doesn't notice, but enough it's clear he's more curious than ogling. "I fight like I dance, I speak like I fight, I dance like I speak. A less generous person might call it entrapping, but I prefer to think of it as giving people what they expect."

Shaliya: "Vestal." Shaliya repeats with hate, as she leaves the scar, giving it another butterfly kiss.

"Vestal." She closes her eyes, thinking how Kanti misses her. As if holding back a cringe, a tear

"Still friends."
She twists, moving about Kanti, the dance as southern as it can get, furious, flamboyant,
stopping close to Kanti, then, her breath cold and warm on Kanti's...
"Always friends."
"No matter what you do or what you are."

I am 'thing' too, and you loved to dance with me, and you gave your blood to me...

Fiona: "They expect to get infuriated?" She winks, "You might get that out of people if you go that way too long! Especially when they expect to see a real person. A dancer is a great company for only so long."

"After a while, they probably want to see a person..."

Gennadi: "You say that like I have that long to spend... they almost always forget, or I must leave... and yes, most people expect to be infuriated by the Sidereal."

Fiona: "A... Sidereal?"

"I imagine I don't know of you because I will forget anyway? From Heaven, is it?"

Kanti: Kanti smiles almost deliriously, her lips visible below the mask on the top of her face, dancing about Shaliya like a flame flickering in the breeze, getting used to the rythem of the ice rose, the brush of each others bodies as they slip past each other in the complex whirlwind of the dance.

The sudden stop.
The breath hot and cold.
The words she fears and desires.
"Always friends."

Kanti starts the dance again suddenly with a pull on the hand that holds her so tight, pulling the goddess close, spinning her out, exulting in the dance, and the looks, and the spirit who dances with her.

Not a concern in the world. Just for a while, anyway.

Gennadi: "As of late, mostly from an airship. But yes. We're known to the stronger exalts because really, it's only they who can remember. Mortals can't even if you want them to... in a few days, almost all here will remember the faceless man with the entrance, one who danced well in blue smoke, and nothing else."

Fiona: "I willl remember, then. And next time I will be there to grin to you, so you know."

"I achieved my place at the Sapphire Throne, Gennadi... I will remember."
Totally unfit for combat... doing so little for the rebellion... used by Mistress..
It felt so good to be able to trust her own power!

Gennadi: "Good. Better than good, great. You'll remember this." He slips easily past her hands, pressing close to her as he bends her backwards, her body trapped as he gives her quite the warm kiss. Her wide eyes catch a glimpse of his wink before they close in reflex, and then she loses her balance as he's gone, only the trail of smoke from his back there to remind her it happened at all.

Fiona: Her eyes close to the kiss. The first kiss given by a man. It felt so... different.
Or pehaps just becase it was given by him
She is left there, bringing her fingers to her lips, before giggling to herself..
"I will save the slap for the next time, Gen. Just you wait!"

Gennadi: It is only a little while, as now that he's no longer hiding his presence, instead embracing it, using it, each step sending ripples through the anima supporting the party... Well, Gennadi looms rather large on Kanti's mind, but even here is distracting as he again slips behind Kanti, matching her movements as he cloes his hands over the pairs. "Fiona could use another dance. Potential, but no training... be nice, I teased her a bit, be sure to get where she's staying." He spins Kanti around to face him fairly easily as he looks away from Shaliya. "Did you miss me, darling?"

Shaliya: And then, the moment of bliss and dance is over. Flower petals, red as blood, fall about her, as she pouts now that her reverie is broken, and lets go of Kanti's hands.... slowly. She approaches, kissing Kanti, promising more dance at some point, promising a talk at some point... a talk not of masters and mistresses, but of the frivolous, inconsequential things they would love to talk about.

And then, she slips around, but before she does, her hand is soft on Gennadi's shoulder, and her whisper,

"Be nice to her."

Kanti: Kanti kisses her back, not entirely a friendly kiss, an edge of hunger and need in there. She nods as Shaliya talks to her, promising her more of the dance, promising her a bit of the life she lost so long ago. She hoped she could still play that game... trembling in Gennadi's arms, trembling and loving the feeling of Serenity rolling off him, wrapping around her, so close now, so obvious.
Serenity
She nods her head, the rubies on her face glistening, not found her voice just yet.

• Gennadi asks no questions, in this case brooks no delay, simply swinging into the dance and hoping she's still alert enough to follow. "It's been some time, hasn't it? Who'd think it'd be the mystery man who forgets what someone was like?" He chuckles, the path of their dance carrying them farther away from the center. "I could hardly believe it when Fiona called you a saint. I remember very differently."

Kanti: Kanti is almost disquieted enough that the start of the dance catches her offguard, though so many years of instinct pull her along, matching his moves with perfection, following him through the throngs without thought.

"...It has been a long time, yes." she finds her voice, or a voice at least, a quiet one. "...I...I have always been a saint. I was raised to be a saint. And a sinner too. That is what He taught me..." she glances down. "Sinner and saint." she whispers.

Gennadi: "Somehow I doubt he taught you all of that... at least, I hope not. It's a terrifying idea." He smiles blandly. "So, where is he?" The lack of capital letter from him is as audible as the presence is from her.

Kanti: "...I don't know." she replies, such a very small voice. "I miss Him ... I miss Him so badly sometimes..." she looks up at Gennadi, her dark eyes in the golden mask pleading.

• Gennadi kisses her, holding it as they sweep through the crowd, very slight contact. He draws back and holds a finger to her lips. "Perhaps we had best speak in private? I do not think your friends would appreciate seeing you quite so worried."

Kanti: Kanti luxuriates in the kiss, in the tang of serenity, in the feeling of Gennadi so close to her, as he sweeps her along.
Serenity
She nods as he speaks, waiting for the finger to lift before she replies.

"Of..of course. Where?"

Gennadi: It takes some rapid steps and a turn for them to twirl out of sight, one hand around Kanti's waist and the other trailing along the wall. He passes over one room before opening the other, nodding at the darkened and mostly empty room. "Here should do."

Kanti: Kanti steps into the darkened room, lighting her anima about her, filling the room with a warm, comforting glow, the light rolling softly off her making the scars visible on her legs and arms above the gloves stand out in sharp relief, drinking up the light that should fall from them. She settles herself quietly, kneeling on the floor before the low bed in the room, waiting for Gennadi to sit.

Gennadi: The door clicks shut behind him, and suddenly she is hauled to his feet, light glinting off the chain wrapped around the hand with a fistful of her dress. It is distracting, but not too much as she hears the air whistle with his movements. The blue swirls darker as he reaches back, arm drawing across his body before snapping forward as he swats at her with the back of his hand.

Kanti: Kanti's eyes widen at the sudden movement, at the violent tug on her dress, seeing his hand coming in, the aura darkening.
What...why...why do you want to hurt me?
Will you hurt me?
Will you?
Kanti doesn't dodge the backhand, gasping as the blow lands, at the sting of it, the mask falling from her face to land on the floor.

"...Thank you." she whispers, looking at him, wondering when the next blow will come. If it will.
Why.
Soon?

• Gennadi just stands there silently for a moment, sorting out the results of his quick test. He tosses her to the bed, sitting down on it to look at her. "You are very different than I remember. It might be the drinks at the party, but..." He traces the outlines of the small bruise, already beginning to color. "I don't think so. Did he abandon you, Kanti?"

Kanti: Kanti falls to the bed, drawing herself up a little into a pose that just makes her seem more vulnerable, looking up at Gennadi with a mixture of fear and hope and need in her eyes. She trembles a little as he strokes the outline of her bruise, the darkened flesh cut in half by the swirl of the black scar across it.

"He...He left me with Her. He said She would take care of me. I...I haven't seen Him since ..."

Gennadi: "Who is she? The one who marked you? The deathknight?"

Kanti: "The Vestal." she says simply.
"The Vestal of the Livid Lamasery" she speaks the name with a slight trace of fear, with love, with hatred, with a thousand confused emotions.

"She marked me, with the Parishioner."

Gennadi: "Mhm. That explains it." He nods at her dress. "Would you mind? I'd like to see just how much she did..."

Kanti: Kanti gives a little shake of her head, peeling the gloves off and setting them on the bed, then unbuttoning her golden dress, revealing the soulsteel dripped onto the collar around her neck, chaining the Garda Bird, obscuring the text, the lock filled with the black metal.

She twists and slips the dress off, revealing an expanse of red flesh and void-black swirls, anchored to the lily shaped skin-mount set into her belly button.

She seems very afraid for his reaction, as she lies there and lets him take in the sight before him.

Gennadi: He reaches out to run a finger along her skin, tracing the entirety of one line. Faint sparks rise up as he seriously considers her, perhas surprisingly, perhaps not ignoring the backdrop this puzzle is presented on. "Different. Who do you serve now? I cannot see you as functioning so well alone, not after this."

Kanti: Kanti shivers slightly beneath his touch, but makes no move to pull back, content to let him do as he wishes to her.
I would serve Him if He would come.
Maybe.
I would serve Her, if She would come.
Maybe.
"I serve the Dark Angel now." she says, small chords of terror in her voice.

Gennadi: "Have you been back to Heaven? I cannot imagine so... Or that she is helping overmuch, given the sound of your voice."

Kanti: "I've not seen Heaven since He took me from there ... I want too." But I no longer belong in Heaven.
"She...she does what she can for me. She is ...kind to me." But she is the Dark, and the Blackness, and the Void.

Gennadi: "Is she? How so? I admit I know her only from rumor, and a chance meeting."

Kanti: "She...." Kanti trails off, trying to think. mistress was kind to her, wasn't she?
she...
she...
she...
she...
she...
"...is. ....She protected me." Kanti ventures, eventually.

Gennadi: "That's all? Perhaps your vaunted martial skills are less than I thought." He sits back against the headboard, considering her. "Let us say I am in the position to offer you one thing, any one thing. I am richer than before, more experienced. What would it be?"

Kanti: "No..! She...! I..!" Kanti starts off confused. "She....I need her." she says quitely, eventually, not quite sure what it is the Dark Angel does for her.
She looks back at he studies her, listening to the question.
What do I want?
What do I want if you offer anything?
I want to be free.
I want to end.
I want to be caught.
I want to sleep free of the dreams
I want to dance free of the pain
I want to be free of the scars.
I want to help people
I want to be hurt.
I want to be back in Heaven.
I want to be back in Hell.
Kanti thinks up many answers as she lies beneath his gaze, seeming to shrink under it.
"...I don't know anymore."

Gennadi: "Then might the answer be that you want to know what you want?"

Kanti: Kanti's head moves almost imperceptably, in a nod.

Gennadi: "That's trouble. Making it up as you go along is easier." He reaches down and tugs her up to sit in his lap, kissing her forehead. "Sorry about surprising you like this... I'll see what I can find out about him, alright? Maybe get you back into Heaven for a chat. It is the least I can do..."

Kanti: Kanti is drawn up into his lap, pressing her naked body up to him as he holds her, mostly calm now in his arms.

"I..Thank you." she murmurs into his shoulder.

• Gennadi rubs her back, just a simple caress. "Going to be alright for now? I don't exactly want to head back in there with you looking worse than you came in..."

Kanti: Kanti lets out a small sigh, and nods

"I...I'll be alright..." she whispers

Gennadi: "I guess they've gotten used to your pauses, your uncertainty. I haven't yet." He lifts her chin to look into her eyes. "If there's something you need, something you figure out, you tell Shaliya, alright? I'll make sure she visits you more often... I just want a small favor in return."

Kanti: Kanti nods "I'd like that. Thank you." she nods again.

"What?"

Gennadi: "What do you think of young Alexander?"

Kanti: He wants to help me.
He wants to hurt me.
He wants to help everyone.
He did hurt me.

"I .. like him. He seems to care a great deal. He is young though.."

Gennadi: "And confused, too, no doubt. Hormones and concern and duty all warring in his head." He smiles. "You should talk to him. Get to know him. If there's on thing the Solars are good for, it's accidentally solving your own problems. He may be able to provide a bit of stability for you." He reaches up to cup her face, eyeing the now fading bruise. "Now, why did you thank me for hitting you? I thought Damien was better than that."

Kanti: "I will. I'd like to know him more." Kanti says with another small nod, stilling as he cups her face.

"He hurt me sometimes. It was wonderful." a quiet tone, though one filled a bittersweet taste of her remembrance. "... It's been so long since I felt the blue light wrapping me and someone hurt me.."

Gennadi: "It will be longer. I can't send you back all bruised up from a talk with me. It would reflect poorly on our interaction. Is there something else, to make up for the lost dance?"

Kanti: Kanti looks at him, somewhere between relieved and disappointed as he tells her it will be longer.

"No.." A shake of her head, the ebon curls shimmering "No, you don't need to do anything..."

Selina de Windia: Selina has nothing to do...for now. No one approaches her, as she makes it clear she is not quite ready to dance. Yet. She wants to dance with a specific person, or a series of specific people. None of them are available.

I'll take what I want soon.

It's time the Prince begins respecting my territory.

So she wanders off to look for people she knows instead. Fiona is dancing, Vorpal is dancing, Alex is dancing with her...Kanti is not. Odd, that. Is she off in some room with a lecher? Certainly not off with Fiona. Days is not around, nor Opal. Neither is the star-child.

So she wanders about, until she's outside a room. A room with vague words coming out of it, she can tell by listening they're Kanti's. Telling someone things she herself has not heard.

What are they doing in there?

...I'm going to find out right now!

The shadows around Selina's form cloak her entire self, until it begins to seem one amophorous blob. They move forward, her form disappearing, going through the minute spaces between the door and frame. And reform on the other side, back into the shadowy mass of person with nary a sound. Selina isn't even partially covered by them as she was before, before she greets the naked Kanti with a "Oh ho, look what happens when I turn my back!"

Gennadi: "You interrupt private talks? Remind me to stay in front of you in the future. " He looks levelly at Selina, not moving from where he lightly holds Kanti. "When I heard you speak of us talking business later, I assumed it was truly later."

Kanti: Gennadi feels Kanti's heart start to race, as the words of Selina fill her room, her entire body tensing in his arms, her skin trembling beneath his hands, her eyes filled with shear, stark terror
mistress!
She curls up in his lap.

• Gennadi shifts his grasp a bit, pausing only to flick the ends of his starmetal chain back inside his sleeves. It's a bit more covering, oddly protective... with the side benefit of turning her face away from Selina.

Selina de Windia: "How dare you insinutate that she leave my service for someone else! You'd have to find a better master for her than I." Selina exclaims as the shadows form around her as they were when she entered, only a bit sharper now, not so sultry. "Since that'd never happen, you'll have to have your private talks with someone else!"

• Gennadi rolls his eyes. "I insuinate that perhaps she should have the confidence and strength to stand on her own. Or are you perhaps afraid of that happening? I am speaking with an old acquaintance, to see if an old rival was involved in something I didn't understand." He nods genially to Selina. "You have little to nothing to do with it, I'm afraid."

Selina de Windia: "Nope!" Selina quickly fires back, then points at Kanti. "I asked her that already. She doesn't want to!"

Gennadi: "Of course not. Look at her, she's terrified. Apologies, but you seem the type to ask trick questions... and when she hardly knows what to say without that, how can she be expected to stand up to you?"

Selina de Windia: "Because I'm a surrogate for The Vestal of Livid Lamisarries, who sent her to kill me. Silly starchild. You think I went and bought her on the market?" Selina sniffs at the very thought. Her, buying slaves!

Hah!

"I'm her new 'terrible and worshipful mistress'. Whether I want to be or not. And I'm to be feared even if I don't want to be." She throws an accusing look at Kanti, showing what she thinks of that.

Gennadi: "She seems to have a habit of collecting those. If you're so unhappy with her melting into a puddle whenever you speak, perhaps you shouldn't complain when I offer her a way to break a habit."

Selina de Windia: "I'm keeping her until I find a good person to give her to. And not that...boy." Selina rasps out. "He has too many people after him. If the Lover gets her claws on him, Kanti's going to have a new dark master."

"And wish she didn't."

Gennadi: "I was rather hoping he'd mostly relieve a bit of her confusion. That should make it easier to determine who she belongs with, shouldn't it?I don't think, royal or no, he's ready for the responsibility."

• Gennadi ponders a moment then shifts Kanti a bit to the side, waving Selina over. "Come on, we're on the same side. Slip into a little nothing more comfortable and have a seat. There's room."

Selina de Windia: "I'm not taking this off yet." Selina replies levelly. "That's for someone else to enjoy."

Gennadi: "Ah, well. Don't let me get in the way of that. Seen it before anyway." He bows his head to whisper into Kanti's ear. "Do you mind if we talk business? You can stay, it seems, if you're comfortable..."

Selina de Windia: The Windian considers, one black feathered wing perking up behind her as she does, and then levelling as she comes back to a decision. "Very well. But not too long, I don't want to miss the beginning of the next dance. I might actually find a partner. "

Kanti: Kanti gives a small shake of her head, uncoiling a little from her ball, lying with her head on Gennadi's thigh, watching the Dark Angel with dark, fear-filled eyes.

Gennadi: He grins at her, the comedy side of the mask twisting up obscenely. "I'd offer, but I'm afraid you'll accidentally break a few things for trespassing on your property. I may be good, but not dancing on broken legs good." He idly strokes Kanti's hair. "Let me guess, you're upset over me sneaking off to talk with Opal."

Selina de Windia: "That's right." Selina says with some irritation, recalling wondering just what Gennadi had been doing. "I don't like being undercut, especially behind my back. Whatever you were telling her, it sounds an awfully lot like it slanted toward 'don't deal with Aine unless you make her pay out the nose'."

Gennadi: "Actually... a change in price didn't come into it. For a woman of stone, she's awfully sensitive... can you believe she was upset about being asked to make a sex-toy for you?" He shakes his head. "What I told her to do was find a middle man. Someone not too strong, so she'd be respected, and have him take the requests for her."

Selina de Windia: "She asked me for something, and quite frankly, I have no need for additional weapons or devices to eat up my combat-accessable power at the moment." Selina replies evenly, and puts one hand on her hip. "It's not a sex toy anyway."

"I won't tolerate her swearing to any of the Solars, either. If I need her services, I am not going to beg them from someone with golden ideals lodged in their heads."

"I act as I wish. No one tells me what to do. Not my Deathlord, not my Malfean, and not some Solar who thinks he knows best."

Gennadi: "Not anymore, it isn't... really clever design. I was impressed... Besides, I'm not doing anything behind your back. You found out each time. I am being on the level here with you, Selina. It's just that you seem to be a bit impatient... speaking of that, I'm helping you out on getting your toy. Opal will have access to assistants, jade, and other rare elements as she needs now."

Selina de Windia: "It can be in that I can change sex and do sleep with other people, but it's not like it's in and of itself a sex toy." Selina replies somewhat disgustedly. "Evidently, that is enough to get her bitching about it."

She then considers the rest of what he said. "So she swore to you then."

Gennadi: "Mhm. It seems an amiable agreement for both of us. She does the crafting, I phrase requests in a pretty manner and ensure they're done quickly enough to suit. All of it really done from afar, to boot." He smiles. "Perhaps you understand now why I'm not hiding any of this."

Selina de Windia: "What about factionalism?" Selina asks curiously, looking at Kanti for a moment and then back to Fiat. Really, as irritating as she could be, she almost compelled you to pet her sometimes. "Even I can recognize that sometimes I am unreasonable."

Gennadi: "What about it? I'm Blue, dear." He wags his fingers at her, smoke drifting up from the tips. "I play both sides. Sometimes at once. In this case, I'm simply translating requests and trying to keep the people who deserve good equipment properly equipped. That'd be you guys."

Selina de Windia: "What is this criteria of deservance, then?" Based on anything normal, the people she is wary of would meet it better than her. "Inquiring minds would like to know."

Gennadi: "People who I think aren't going to ruin my plans, and in general, people who are currently opposing the invasion of the north. That is why I'm here, in the long run, but as you can imagine... I'm hardly a warrior. I do my business behind the scenes, with money and favors."

"Speaking of... are you especially expensive?" He grins again.

Selina de Windia: "I stopped whoring years ago. It was interim employment, dear, at a time when I was too witless to know the other opprotunities I had." Selina responds tartly, then coughs.

"Speaking of other people...what do you know of this Cael? Have you perchance met him?"

• Gennadi manages a faint blush and an apology. "No, as in the other sort of favor... we'll get to that in a minute. Anyway, Cael throws wonderful parties, when they aren't interrupted by his bitch of a wife. Apparently I knew him last incarnation, though that hardly helps me now. Why?"

Selina de Windia: "Well, I wonder about him lately. He seems, from the look I saw him exchange with her one night, to have something with Vorpal. As do I." She says quite carefully, not letting jealousy show. Yet. "You can see where that goes."

"And he is a Deceiver. I am not inclined to trust them, given what I have read of them."

"Perhaps I am wrong?"

Gennadi: "Perhaps. It is hard to say... There is the Cael I know, and the Cael who was, and the Cael who might yet be. Some are trustworthy, others not." He sighs. "Mostly Cael is someone trying as best he can to muddle through unfinished business of his previous life, and get laid a few times along the way." He winks. "A man after my own heart."

Selina de Windia: "And what's this bitch of a wife you mention?" Selina asks, wondering about this woman. "Is she...old?"

Gennadi: "That.... is a secret!" He raises a finger. "Aren't we talking business, and not reminiscing of mutual acquaintances?"

Selina de Windia: "When it's someone who may interfere in my affairs, it is business." She replies simply.

Gennadi: "When it comes to possibly, that's most of the world, dear." He shakes his head. "Still, since I have some questions for you, fair enough. She's not old. She's veritably ancient."

Selina de Windia: Selina smirks a bit, then returns to her question. "And more importantly, why do you say she's a bitch?"

Gennadi: "Oh, she threatened to kill me."

• Gennadi sighs sadly, pouting in a truly exaggerated fashion for a moment. "I get that a lot these days."

Selina de Windia: "Exactly!" Selina responds with an amused tone. "And what else is new?"

She takes the hand off of her hip, not quite so annoyed now. "I am trying to recall if I had more to ask..."

Gennadi: "If there is, there's time. I've been showing off for you lately in hopes of making a bit of a deal, but it will have to wait until later, I'm afraid. It's time to return to the dance, lest people get the wrong idea about our interlude. You can find me tomorrow if you wish to know more."

Selina de Windia: "Mmm, yes. Perhaps we'll speak once more, but I may have to leave the Boil soon." Selina muses, smoothing her gown just a little bit. "Make sure Kanti gets dressed again. I have a dance partner or two to catch."

Gennadi: "I am hardly overattached to this place...Besides, you know my name. I imagine you're good enough to get a message to me if you find yourself in need, or at least curious as to what I have to offer you."

Selina de Windia: "Oh, I can, have no fear. Hope you have fun for the rest of the night, at least." And then she leaves, dematerializing into shadow as she did once before, and moving between the cracks of the door to the outside where she will reform.

• Gennadi really wants to slap his forehead, but can't, as it'd smear the face paint. Instead he simply reaches over and offers Kanti a bit of champagne,resolving to get at least a bit drunk before he has to deal with Vorpal again.

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