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Post by Gabriel on Mar 22, 2017 3:02:12 GMT
The magic of the forest felt like a faint tingling all over the surface of his skin, like a thrum of faraway music matched to his heartbeat. It felt that way, faintly, even from outside the official borders, and the further you went into the gnarled old trees the stronger it became. Gabriel had loved this forest from the moment he first set foot in it hundreds of years before and though the forest had not returned the favour immediately it had grown to love the Daemon Lord with time, too. He had never shown it anything but respect and admiration, after all, though sometimes he kept strange company. The forest did not recognise the young Daemoness who travelled with him today as the same woman who had once threatened to burn it to the ground and who had lost her eye to the tree's resultant fury - her biological and magical markers were too changed, and as the trees had no eyes this was how they recognised someone. They felt her discomfort though, and reacted accordingly, going very still or even leaning away slightly as she passed. By contrast they sometimes moved quite suddenly to welcome Gabriel, branches and leaves trailing over his familiar moonstone skin in fond greeting.
"Creepy? A little, I guess, if you're not used to it. But it smells wonderful, and you shouldn't be so rude. The trees can hear you." In a manner of speaking, anyway. Perhaps not the words, but they could discern her tone. Trees weren't easy to offend (though they were easy to anger with threats) and the forest seemed more coolly amused than irritated, but Gabriel remembered the time Hadjara had pissed it off properly and he was keen to avoid a repeat.
"This place is a second home to me. It has been ever since I came to Litharia." It was hard to explain any more than that, because it was a feeling rather than anything tangible that drew Gabriel here. He thought that perhaps it was because Daemon and Fae magic were so similar - theirs colourful, his chaotic, but both wild and sometimes dark. Their magic felt like family to him; comfortable, not quite identical to his own but familiar. He understood it without trying, and that connection was missing with the other magical races of Litharia. It probably underpinned why the Fae had welcomed the Daemons, interdimensional immigrants, so readily in the first place. It certainly explained their long alliance - whether passively or actively, the Daemons had always sided with the Fae. Gabriel, many hundreds of years ago, had made that alliance an active one and, like any native born Fae, would defend this place willingly.
He was placidly jovial in the face of Hadjara's disdain, though. They were too close, these days, for such minor disagreements to spill into arguments, and anyway it was the Spring Equinox. The reason he was heading to the Mound in the first place - they'd been back from the Dream Land a few weeks and he'd caught up on political matters, big and small, missed during his extended journey home. The equionxes and solstices were four major holidays for the Fae and although he did not always attend the celebrations he had an open invitation and liked to go when he could. Hadjara wanted to tag along, though Gods knew why with all her complaining. Still, maybe he could show her why he loved the Fae and their forest - who didn't love a good party? Certainly not Gabriel, and the Fae threw the best parties in the realm.
"We're close," Gabriel agreed, pointing through a screen of trees which obligingly leaned outwards to expedite their view. The Mound rose before them in a small clearing, the trees giving way shortly before the door. Around them other Fae suddenly appeared, previously hidden by the trees screening their own nearby paths - fairies and elves predominated, and all were dressed lavishly in Elvish fashions. Which meant a lot of long, flowy dresses and flowers. Gabriel, dressed simply in black cotton, accepted flower garlands around his neck and even a crown of white lily of the valley and fern. No-one stopped them - he was widely recognised, and the Fae did not mind him bringing guests.
"Alright. This is the Spring Equinox celebration; it's a very important festival for the Fae, and will involve lots of dancing and drinking. There will be food in the Mound for us before we go into Faery, and I'll be taking beverages in for us too. We must not eat any food or drink anything in Faery, except what I bring in. There'll be a lot of magic and violence is absolutely prohibited. I don't know how long we'll stay; sometimes it's days before I stumble out of one of these things. Are you sure you want to come? You look a bit pale."
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Post by Hadjara Astaeldr Er on Mar 22, 2017 10:50:26 GMT
Hadjara knit her eyebrows and pressed her lips into a small, thin line. Well it smelled odd to her. Too sweet, but not in the way decay smelled sweet. Like fruit sweet.
”It's too bright,” she finally retorted.
She wasn't wrong about that, in so far that it was clearly not the middle of the night. It was the reason she wore so much clothing, hardened brown leathers over soft green dyed cotton that was dark enough to keep most of the searing light off her. Normally that was fine and perfectly reasonable but when she was around Gabriel she tended to wear as little as possible.
She walked mostly with her head down, only looking up when Gabriel pointed and then almost jumping out of her skin when she realized they were surrounded by fae. Quickly, she detached herself from his side as smoke before anyone could try to touch her. She swooped down and picked up Levent behind his stubby forelegs, holding the enormous creature before he could try to bite someone in half and get them all in trouble. Yed croaked nervously as his perch moved then sprang to her opposite shoulder, nestling under her hair where he could be easily forgotten.
Levent growled loudly at the fae who approached Gabriel with flowers, and snapped his tremendous jaws at the only one who tried to come close to Hadjara with a crown of eranthis and violets - though that didn't stop the fairy from draping the ring over the top of the crocodile's scarred snout. That did make Hadjara laugh though she continued to walk with her giant familiar in her arms, his extra seventeen feet dragging limply behind her.
”How come we can't eat nuthin' in there?” Hadjara asked, ”And what counts as violence? Liiiiiiiiike if someone touches me can I smack 'em? An' if there's tons 'a magic but mine's all violent an' stuff so can I not use it?” Her tail swayed curiously as she talked. She had never even met a Fae properly and she had no concept of their culture aside from the fact that it was super irritating and she was pretty sure she didn't like it.
She blinked and stopped when he pointed out that she looked unwell before she gave him a sheepish smile. ”Yeah, I'm fine, 'sides ain't I always pale?” she said. Gabriel had made it very clear that he was NOT interested in knowing anything that had to do with Malak, and she elected not to tell him that he had shriveled up and buried himself in the space between her lungs and around her heart. She couldn't hear him anymore, and she thought he was as close to unconscious as he could get.
”I wanna go! Ya promised me a party. An' I'm takin' Lev and Yed even if ya tell me I can't.”
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Post by Gabriel on Mar 22, 2017 21:42:22 GMT
Too bright? To be honest Gabriel couldn't argue with that. Though the trees were dense, and grew denser the deeper you ventured into the forest, they still allowed patches of sunlight to filter through. Centuries of carefully controlled exposure in Litharia had gifted Gabriel with some resistance and walking through the dappled light no longer bothered him much, as long as he didn't linger too long in one place. It helped that for him the trees obligingly tried to provide extra shade, rearranging their canopies as he passed to minimise the amount of golden light that actually reached his skin. Hadjara had only been a Daemon for a very short time, however, and the sun bothered her much more than him.
"Once we get to the Mound we'll be underground," he assured her.
"And whatever lights Faery isn't the same as this sun, and seems to bother Daemons less." Gabriel guessed the light in Faery had a magical source and it was lucky, because he was rarely in any state of mind to find somewhere dark to pass out.
The Fae, to their credit, seemed to trust Gabriel and Hadjara had the enormous reptile they'd brought with them to the mound under control. Gabriel laughed out loud when a nervous but determined Fairy draped flowers over Lev's snout, earning him a furious glower from the oversized crocodile that made him laugh again. He thanked the Fairy in the Fae language and readjusted his own flowers, inhaling the light floral scent appreciatively. Hadjara would have probably preferred the winter solstice but Gabriel liked all the festivals for different reasons. This was was all about life and renewal, flowers blooming, the springs melting and streams flowing again, new life.
"The food and drink in Faery is concentrated with their magic. It turns humans into Fae, and drives the rest of us crazy. I've seen it happen, it's not pretty and it can be permanent." Gabriel joined the trickle of Fae heading into the mound, grinning at the tingle of concentrated magic that zipped over his skin as they passed through the door. He glanced back frequently to make sure Hadjara was following, understandably nervous about losing a brand new Daemon and her monstrous reptile in the Fae's seat of power.
"It's also mostly flowers and fruit, and nectars and cake. Lots of sugar. It probably won't appeal to you anyway. If someone touches you and you don't want them to, you can only hit them if they persist when you ask them nicely to stop. The Fae are very touchy feely, but they will respect your boundaries if you ask them to. Do not draw blood unless provoked, and I mean really provoked. And you can only use your magic if it won't hurt anyone." Gabriel did not intend to get thrown out of the best party in Litharia for the first time ever. He hoped Hadjara would relax and go with the flow; the Fae magic and general good vibe made it very hard to get angry in Faery. Everyone was on the same wavelength, everyone wanted the same thing. In hundreds of years of hedonistic good times, naturally volatile and unspeakably violent Gabriel had never so much as threatened a Fae while in Faery. He was always too busy enjoying himself.
"Well, yeah, you're pale all the time. Paler now though." He assumed she was still pale, he couldn't actually see past Levent's disgruntled head right now. But it was her choice, she wanted to experience a Fae party and the Spring Equinox was as good a party as any. He was definitely unsure about Levent coming in as well, but Hadjara had been separated from them in the Dream Land for months so he couldn't blame her for wanting to keep them close now. Besides, all her magic - including, now, her familiar bonds - was Daemonic, so surely it would be compatible with Faery?
Ahead the sloping earthen tunnel, lit with coloured glass lanterns that cast soft rainbow light over the ethereally beautiful procession, slowly widened into a chamber containing the portal. The Daemon portal was harsh, flat glass that gave an apocalyptic view of the Dream Land beyond. The portal to Faery was soft and beautiful, a swirling centre of colourful Fae magic surrounded by exotic plants in full bloom. First, though, Gabriel steered them into an adjoining room, where a buffet had been laid for the non-Fae guests to enjoy prior to entering Faery. There weren't many but Gabriel and Hadjara were no the sole non-Fae guests; only Humans were routinely denied, for their own safety as well as the Fae's. The provided food was therefore extremely varied and not much of it resembled standard Fae fare. Gabriel picked a selection of raw seafoods and meats and sat on the wooden bench, gesturing that Hadjara should do the same.
"Actually, you might want to feed Yed and Levent too. I haven't the faintest clue what Fae food would do to them in Faery."
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Post by Hadjara Astaeldr Er on Mar 23, 2017 7:57:47 GMT
Hadjara pressed the thumb of her free hand against her lip and glared at him. ”What do ya mean 'not the same sun'? Is there a sun underground? 'Cause I was pretty sure that ain't how stars work. Unless ya mean that it's like a different dimension?” Then it wouldn't really be underground now would it?
But the way space between worlds worked was confusing, even when you DID travel between them. But she was almost completely positive that, if the Fae had a sun of their own, then it wouldn't fit under the ground.
She swiped her tail around Gabriel's wrist as they walked – as close as she could get to holding his hand without putting down her familiar, who did NOT appreciate the flowers on his face.
“What'cha mean it's got their magic? What . . . did they do to it?” Well no matter what he said there wasn't a chance any fae food was going near her mouth. Both because she found that idea repulsive and because eating anything would be tantamount to poisoning Malak and she would miss his voice. ”Who'd ya see go crazy? Was it someone you was friends with? Cause if you wasn't how'd you know they changed any?”Possibly not the most sensitive question she had ever asked but she couldn't try it herself and she wanted to know.
At his insistence on restrictions for her behavior she rolled her eyes. It seemed to her that he enjoyed being violent an awful lot for one of his favorite places in Litharia to forbid it. ”Alright, I get it. Don't kill no one an' don't fight no one an' don't let Lev kill nobody neither, right?” She leaned close to her familiar and kissed the rough scales of his eye-ridge. ”Got it? No biting.” He growled reproachfully at Gabriel but didn't protest further. He was her temper and he was volatile on the best of days, but so long as the Faery didn't skew her perception of reality too much then he would listen to her. But she wasn't really off to a great start.
She couldn't see very well and she squeaked and almost tripped when the ground under her feet suddenly sloped down. Levent's stubby legs wiggled in protest and reluctantly she set him back down so he could follow along after her.
The beauty Gabriel saw was lost on her. Where he saw grace and wonder she saw breakable things people had put too much effort into and showy displays of magic that seemed to exist just to baffle her. But that was how she always saw things that were any more complicated than they needed to be. Even the food seemed to be much too much for her tastes – all she really needed was raw meat with plenty of skin and bone ”Gabe, I ain't gonna eat food that's got fae in it,” she said mildly as she picked up a bundle of roasted leaves and sniffed at it, ”'sides me an' Lev ate a few weeks ago an' there's still bones in our stomachs. An' also Yed's been eatin' ticks in the forest.” She dropped the leaves carelessly back on the platter and suddenly looked up with eager, brilliant eyes. ”Do they got gin?”
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Post by Gabriel on Apr 28, 2017 23:17:32 GMT
Gabriel nodded, along with a shrug.
"There's definitely some dimensional weirdness going on. I don't really understand it, but you get to Faery through a portal and it doesn't look the same as the Forest of the Fae. It also doesn't look like it's underground, at least not where the portal spits you out." Faery looked wildly different at different times of the year, and even on different individual visits, and in ways that were not consistent with the simple change of seasons observed in Litharia. Gabriel had experienced forests, caves, fields, cliffs and more in Faery, without ever travelling great distances once through the portal. He didn't pretend to understand how the Fae world worked, he just liked to enjoy it. And, for a creature of chaos like him, the weirdness wasn't particularly unsettling. Humans didn't like it much but Gabriel loved the unpredictability and variety.
Many of the Fae surrounding them now recognised Gabriel at once. He was popular amongst the Fae, a Daemon leader who had worked hard to strengthen the bonds between their races and honour the centuries old alliance. His predecessor had tolerated the Fae more than connected with them. He returned greetings warmly, often in the Fae language, though the odd Fae - Elves, usually, with a penchant for languages - spoke to him in the Daemon tongue. None used the universal Litharian language here, in their sacred space.
"The food is grown and made in Faery itself. I guess something about the magic there changes it as it grows." Another thing he didn't really understand but simply accepted as fact; not difficult to do when you'd seen a dribbling lunatic emerge from Faery after getting drunk on Fae wine and eating the strange fruits that grew there.
"Just people who've come to the festivals over the years, who didn't keep their heads and follow simple rules. Idiots. No one I was close to. It's pretty obvious when someone is mad from Faery, though. They're not exactly functional by the time they get back here, and presumably they were functional enough to walk into Faery beforehand."
The Fae were gracious and excellent hosts, and though few of them would ever appreciate the kind of fare most Daemons like to eat, the quality provided for Gabriel's meal was beyond reproach. He ate slowly, savouring the anticipation of the party ahead.
"Exactly, no biting. And if you don't want to eat that's fine, but don't be getting hungry and forgetting yourself in Faery. I don't know any doctors that do a good job of treating Faery sickness and I'm not dragging you around with me if you start babbling in tongues." He watched the steady stream of laughing, chattering Fae as they passed the small entrance to the room, heading for the portal and the spring festival beyond. They were more artwork than living creatures, festooned in spring flowers, frequently either naked apart from that or wrapped in gauzy, transparent materials in pale pastel colours. Some took pets and companions with them and a steady stream of fantastical Fae creatures also accompanied the crowd.
"Don't let Lev eat any of their pets either," he added, as a chubby cow-like creature with delicate butterfly wings poked it's head into the sideroom they occupied before scurrying off after a tiny Fairy child.
Gabriel waved at a cupboard at the back of the room.
"There'll be gin in there, no doubt. Grab enough bottles of whatever you want for, uh, let's say a couple of days of unrestrained festivity. And some whisky for me, if you don't mind. Six or seven bottles should do."
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Post by Hadjara Astaeldr Er on Apr 29, 2017 5:52:31 GMT
Hadjara found a natural shelf formed out of a thick tree root and put it to good work as a seat. She left Levent on the floor and swung her legs over his head, waiting for Gabriel to finish eating.
She couldn’t hear Malak anymore, she could only feel him like a peach pit, dark and poisonous with all sharp edges and venom. But his inherent skepticism about everything Gabriel ever said ever had worn off on her a little and she folded both her arms and her wings across her front and frowned. “I thought fae were all, y'know, hoity toity smart folks. Ain’t none of them ever tried to study the portal t'their own … home world? Is that what it is?” She unfolded her wings and used them to brace herself against the tree behind her while she leaned forward and let her arms hand between her knees. She still had her wits about her, even as close to the Faery as he said they were. Surely a race of scholars would have had someone interested in figuring it out.
If she wanted to know then one of them did too.
“I told ya I ain’t gonna get hungry. Not unless ya wanna spend the next three months in there and I gotta say, I don’t think I got it in me to party for that long,” Hadjara gestured vaguely with a wing. She supposed she could always take off early but the idea of being alone at a party was somehow worse than the idea of being at a party longer than she wanted in the company of a friend. She already felt lonely enough without the usual voice in her head growling and arguing about everything. “How long are ya plannin’ ta stay anyway? An’ I get the whole lose track of time thing but gimmie an estimate at least.”
She did actually laugh when he complained about speaking in tongues. She swung herself back down to the ground and folded her hands behind her back. “Gabriel,” she said, ”I've been speaking in tongues for years and you know it.” The shadow language was harsh and her accent was suddenly proper and cold – the sound of her voice felt wrong in the mound. Like a mangy coyote in a fine court, stark and out of place. But Hadjara's eyes were bright and her toothy grin spread across her face as she slid up close to him and draped her arms around his waist. She kissed his shoulder which was as high as she could reach without climbing on him before she buried her face against his arm. He smelled nice. She wondered what would happen if she did try to drink a fae's blood in the faery. Did that count as food?
“Do their pets count as food?” she asked, figuring that would answer her private question as well. “He won't anyway – we're all the same an' I don't want one 'a us ta go mad if the rest don't.” She made an affectionate sort of humming noise. “Can we have sex in the faery?”
She lit up at the mention of alcohol and she darted away to the cabinet, taking off her necklace and shaking it out into its net form, which she double folded over itself so she could safely stash bottles in it. Whiskey and gin she could do – at least that's what she saw before she got a look at was on the shelves. Brilliant and oddly shaped bottles with strangely colored drinks she couldn't name even if she knew how to read the labels. With a wide grin she grabbed a bottle with something dark blue swirled with silver glitter, a pale pink bottle with hot pink wine(?), a brilliant gold one that felt hot to the touch and then the green one that felt freezing that had been sitting next to it. Just to be safe she grabbed the black one filled with bright rose petals of thousands of colors and a pure white one too. “Okay! Ready ta go?” She asked, slinging her bag over one shoulder.
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Post by Gabriel on Apr 29, 2017 6:42:32 GMT
Gabriel hadn't noticed Malak's silence, because truth be told he tended to forget the adumbrate entirely unless Malak was actively trying to make his presence known. Hadjara had gotten so good, with time, at keeping him stashed away when she wanted to that it didn't occur to Gabriel that Malak's quietness now was anything more than a self-directed break, or Hadjara's own choice to keep him under wraps. Which was probably fortunate for Malak, since Gabriel would no doubt exploit the adumbrate's aversion to Fae magic whenever possible if he knew about it. As it was, though, he was enjoying the relaxed atmosphere in the Mound, sans snarky parasite, with Hadjara in her usual cheerful yet volatile mood.
"Oh, the Fae are that, for sure. You should see their libraries. I'm sure there are plenty of them who could go into great detail about the portal, it's just me that hasn't bothered learning the details." He grinned, dipping sheathed claws delicately into a jug of water to clean them after he finished eating.
"I focus on Daemon things for the most part, but if you're really curious just corner one of the Elves in Faery and they'll talk your ear off about it all. They can get a bit long-winded and boring though, and remember you're not allowed to punch anyone just for being dull."
Satiated, Gabriel stood and stretched luxuriantly, his back making a faint satisfying cracking sound as he did. He was full, and well-rested from a lengthy stay in the tunnels where he'd caught up on political matters for some time after they returned from the Dream world. He felt great and he was ready for some fun after the weeks of mostly boring leadership work. The Angels had gone quiet and the Shifter leadership was in disarray, so his main interest at the moment were the Fae, and in a way attending the Spring Equinox was a kind of diplomatic work. Solidifying and clarifying the Fae and Daemon alliance was currently amongst his main goals, and with Hadjara recently claiming the title of Strongest Daemon and therefore becoming Gabriel's default war strategist, taking her into Faery was a logical next step. Which of course meant her behaving herself was all the more critical, but Gabriel trusted her. If she wanted to fulfil the role in the way he hoped she would then being able to do things like attend important Fae events - even in a casual capacity - was important.
But, though there was an element of work to the visit, really Gabriel was here for fun. As such, he was in an excellent mood.
"Yes, and you know it pisses me off. If you lose total control of it because you decided to snack on a winged mouse I'm dropping you off at an asylum and calling it a day." He was teasing, a jubilant note to his tone as he absentmindedly plucked mint-green petals from the flowers around his neck.
"Fae food? Uh, not sure. If they originated in Litharia probably not, if they originated in Faery, definitely. You won't be able to tell the difference and I don't know what would happen if the Litharian ones eat the Faery food, then you eat them. Anyway, you'll upset their owners, many of whom are little kids. Don't be that person." He wasn't watching as Hadjara loaded up with booze or he might have protested at the total lack of whisky that she actually chose, but as it was he wouldn't find out until they were in Faery and he was forced to drink bright pink wine.
"Oh yes, sex in Faery is definitely on the cards. It's the Spring Equinox, the main theme of the celebration is new life. And you know how new life comes about..." his smile was markedly salacious then. Without further delay he took Hadjara's hand and headed out of the little side room, back into the main passage way where the portal thrummed quietly, an inviting doorway of magic and wildness.
"Ready?"
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Post by Hadjara Astaeldr Er on Apr 29, 2017 9:19:46 GMT
Hadjara chewed her lip thoughtfully before she shrugged. “I ain't heard no one but you speakin' a language I understand so I don't think it would do any good.” And he raised a good point. She got bored quickly if she was told to sit still, shut up, and listen. Even if the fae spoke to her in common she would only be able to pay attention for an hour and no more.
She feigned offense and put a hand to her chest. “You wouldn't dare,” she said, “how could ya even suggest such a thing?” She had met more than a few mad people in the world, and she was more dangerous than most of them already. It didn't really make much sense for her to b afraid of those poor souls.
“Alright, aright,” Hadjara finally relented “I got it. Don't hurt nobody and don't eat nuthin'. I can do that just fine.” Probably. Maybe? Yeah, probably. With term and conditions. “So what'd they do if someone does die in there? Just leave 'em I'm not - I ain't askin' ta see if I c'n get away with it but like what if one a' the animals in there eats somebody or sumthin'?”
The bottles clinked loudly in her net as she trailed along after him, keeping her limbs and familiars close so no on would brush against them. There were so many people, more than she had seen since the last time she had gone to the city and it set her a little on edge, even if she was reluctant to admit something like a crowd could phase her. But she couldn't help pressing closer and closer to Gabriel shying into him as he flirted. “Gabe you're shockingly good at makin' sex seem unappealing,” she said drying. Children was the last thing she wanted to think about when she was cuddling him.
“An' I mean what I said before. If someone touches me an' keeps it up when I tell 'em ta stop I'm gonna break their fingers.” She was adamant on that account, at least.
But the idea of touch was quickly driven from her mind as the faery came into view.
The doorway repulsed her.
It wasn't just Malak, at least not anymore. Now the parts of her that had been warped by her time in the Shadow World were convulsing as well, throbbing in her thoughts and causing a physical ache. Her instincts screamed at her to sprint in the opposite direction. Leave this place and its sour feeling and run until she could feel properly like herself. But instead she winked at Gabriel and walked straight in instead of answering him.
And gods help her did she regret it. As soon as she walked through her head throbbed so badly her familiars reacted, Levent snapping his jaws at nothing and Yed hunkering down against her skin. Her ears buzzed and her senses felt muted, even after shaking her head a few times. Was this an effect of the Faery? It felt worse than she thought it would but with any luck drinking would help with that. "Why is it so loud?" Hadjara asked as she rubbed her ear with the palm of her free hand. It looked like they were in some sort of glade sort, filled with Fae but their sounds seemed to distort in her throbbing head, warping like she was listening from deep underwater rather than ten feet away from them.
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Post by Gabriel on May 15, 2017 6:26:23 GMT
Gabriel shrugged.
"They all speak the common tongue. Many speak a bunch of other languages too. None speak whatever the hell Malak does, though. Up to you." The whole point was to have fun - Gabriel intended to. If Hadjara's idea of fun was an Elf going into long-winded detail about Fae magic then more power to her. Gabriel mostly intended to get drunk.
"Wouldn't I?" Gabriel teased as they wandered slowly back towards the portal, pausing at the doorway to the room they were in to wait for a break in the steady stream of excited, chattering Fae. A dark-skinned male Elf with silver tattoos, so tall his head nearly brushed the rock ceiling, paused in the crowd and turned pupil-less silver eyes on the Daemon Lord.
"Gabriel, as I live and breathe. You're coming to one of our little parties? It's been a while."
"Too long, and yes. This is Hadjara, the newest member of my team. I'm introducing her to the fun, and you know it's not going to be a little party."
"Gods I hope not, that would be embarrassing. I'll see you both in there."
Gabriel waited a moment longer until the tall Elf disappeared.
"That was Dalyre, a Fae scholar and historian. Fairly high up, not on the council but works for it. He'd bend your ear about the portal if you asked." There would be plenty of chances for meeting Dalyre and many others who Gabriel knew in there once they were inside, though. The pulsing magic of the portal as they drew closer was deeply appealing to Gabriel; he felt a faint physical pull towards it, weaker than the pull to the Daemon portal but there all the same.
He paused at Hadjara's comment about sex, though, turning to glare at her with an expression of mild affront.
"You take that back," he growled, a hint of amusement in his voice taking the edge off the threat. He wrapped a lock of dark hair around a finger, extended claws brushing Hadjara's throat, but the jostle of the crowd now splitting around them rather ruined the mood. Oblivious to Hadjara's repulsion Gabriel drifted closer to the centre of swirling magic, revelling in the thrill of magic sparking over his skin. It felt incredible. He followed Hadjara in.
While she felt disoriented, dazed, unsettled, Gabriel felt enlivened. The magic intertwined with his own, curious and friendly. Flames flickered briefly over his skin in response without any prompting from him, although it was a joyous response to a sister magic rather than a loss of control. For Gabriel being in Faery also came with a faint power boost, nothing like the Daemon World and perhaps not even anything real or measurable. He just felt awakened, alive, refreshed...like waking up from a long sleep without the initial grogginess, with full magic charge.
"Loud?" Puzzled, Gabriel tilted Hadjara's head up gently to peer into her eyes. There was soft, pleasant music playing somewhere further into the glade, some mix of harps and flute-like instruments. It was soft and playful, a tune for the spring time. The crowd noises had, if anything, faded now they were out of the crush of the tunnel, though plenty of Fae were tumbling from the portal behind them and into the gentle golden-pink light of this current version of Faery. They ignored the Daemons, flowing around them, light and effortlessly joyful. Their laughter was musical to Gabriel's ears.
"You've gone all pale again. Paler than usual. Maybe a little green? Are you sure you want to be here?"
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Post by Hadjara Astaeldr Er on May 15, 2017 8:21:37 GMT
She had triple vision. But . . . not in the way that people usually had triple vision. Triple vision in that she was seeing three things from three different sets of eyes that saw the world in three very different ways. At her feet Levent let out a whining growl and shook his head. He snapped his jaws and thumped his tail against the ground as Yed shook his head then covered his watery eyes with his tiny hands. He croaked miserably in her ear before Hadjara gathered all her strength and pulled herself back into herself. She hadn't realized that he had turned up her head and that made her feel cold. She really, truly, hadn't felt a single thing.
Hadjara raised her chin and leaned back a little to lift her chin away from his fingers. She was feeling too much and too little. Her head felt like cotton, the laughter was too loud and scratched behind her eyes.
“I'm . . . fine,” Hadjara said. She blinked hard a few times before she only saw with her own two eyes. “This place makes me feel weird. My magic's not workin' the way I'm used to.” She didn't tell him that she was starting to feel sick. He wouldn't get it, he barely understood anything about how familiars worked. And, unthinkingly, she added, “this place is kinda like poison ta Malak too, he ain't talkin' no more and it feels strange. But I like it here.”
After a pause Hadjara flicked her tail around his thigh and she leaned in closer, tucking her head into his arm. “So whatcha do in a place like this?” She asked. “How far in can we go?”
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Post by Gabriel on May 21, 2017 8:49:19 GMT
Gabriel growled, irritated, as Levent's tail smacked into the back of one leg a few seconds after they passed into Faery. The crocodile didn't appear to notice though; he, like Hadjara, seemed distant and agitated.
"That's going to bruise, you stupid lizard," Gabriel muttered, but his attention was back on Hadjara as he waited for her to recover from whatever had happened from passing through the portal. He didn't understand it; entering Faery had never been anything but a positive experience for him. But, he had not been born Human, and he also was blessedly free of parasitic sadists. Presumably one or both of those things was messing with Hadjara, as she eventually confirmed. The way her eyes had been all glazed and unfocused freaked him out slightly but she seemed to shake it off, returning to herself slowly and with some effort.
"Does that mean I can bring you here whenever I want to shut Mal up?" Gabriel tried, and failed, to hide the glee in his voice at this realisation. As it happened he didn't come into Faery all that often, though he spent a great deal of his time at the Mound and the thought of Malak being even a little uncomfortable every time Hadjara accompanied him was a pleasant one. It put him, if anything, into an even better mood than before.
"I'm glad you like it," he grinned, though he was serious now. His relationship with the Fae as well as the broader Daemon-Fae relationship were vitally important to him. He linked his arm through hers, relieved that she seemed to have regained equilibrium, and steered her down a path decorated with softly glowing lights of indeterminate source. Knowing the Fae, they were some kind of exotic bug trapped in a pretty glass vessel and suspended in trees that looked like cousins of the trees in the Forest. They were twisted, ancient and quietly but unmistakably sentient. They differed from the Forest back in Litharia in their colouring, though - the whole landscape looked like a child's imagined treescape, with leaves in various jewel tones and trunks of smooth, flawless white.
As they walked, rejoining the trickle of party-going Fae, the path broadened until it joined a small clearing. Whatever forest they were in seemed to have many of these clearings scattered throughout it, some near enough that you could glimpse the goings-on in the next clearing over through the purple and orange leaves and coiled tangle of branches, others further away down winding, tempting paths. The first clearing they came to held an assortment of Fae children - all of them tiny, perfect miniatures, doll-like and delicate. They were handing out more flower garlands and bouquets - a welcome, of sorts, to the rest of the festival beyond. The trees edging the clearing were so thickly draped in flowers they could hardly be seen through them, and the air was heavily scented.
"We can go as far as you like, though if we go in too deep it will get harder to find the way back out. Faery likes people who visit, but it doesn't always like to let them leave. At a guess each clearing will be themed. Some for drinking, some for eating, some for dancing...some for other things. So, the idea is just to explore and go where your whims take you." Gabriel knelt to allow a tiny Changeling child with bright yellow wolf eyes to perch a crown of woven willow and lily of the valley on his head, the flowers stark white against the inky dark of his hair. Matching bracelets for each wrist were likewise procured, to go along with the white and green garland he'd been given back in Litharia. He submitted to the gifts with good humour; he liked the floral scent, and he liked being part of the fun.
"So, Jara, what would you like to do first? A drink, a dance, a story?"
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Post by Hadjara Astaeldr Er on May 21, 2017 9:50:31 GMT
Levent understood that Gabriel was being snippy with him. And she knew he knew. But the reptile was uncharacteristically still and complacent. Instead it was Yed who puffed up indignantly and croaked into her ear.
That wasn't right. Hadjara had pulled herself away from them but they were getting all muddled and confused still.
But Gabriel's obvious delight at the revelation of Malak's silence caught her attention more thoroughly. “Well. I mean I guess but it don't make me feel very good neither. It ain't like he just goes away he's just hidin' out in my guts instead a' my head.” But so long as he didn't poke any holes in her organs she could suck it up. She did lay a hand across the upper part of her stomach, right below the sternum but he still didn't react. “Guess he effectively ain't here if that's what ya wanna know.” She dropped her hand sheepishly. She didn't like it, and dully she wondered if she should resent that he didn't seem to care about that.
She only hummed when he expressed a genuine emotion though, and she was silent as he led her deeper into the Mound. Levent was almost listless as he trailed along after her and Yed was still and silent. At first Hadjara looked around at the scenery but as they kept walking a dull haze started to creep over her eyes, and her pupils slowly dilated eerily wide. It felt like she was floating. She couldn't really feel her legs. There were six in motion, and four still but only two belonged to her. What was wrong? Her head felt like it was full of cotton and it was getting harder to focus on anything at all.
It wasn't until Gabriel spoke again that her eyes snapped into focus and she took a few seconds to register what he said and another twenty to process it. “Well I don't wanna get stuck in here forever. I have stuff I'd like ta get done.” What exactly she wasn't sure, but hoped saying it aloud would convince the trees not to trap her forever.
She went stiff as a board when a child came by to give Gabriel flowers and he knelt, but she was so short that someone just dropped a crown of bright pink day-lilies over her head as they drifted past, and she had to straighten it out over her black hair so it didn't cover her eyes. She waited for the child to scamper off before she leaned in closer to him and teased, “oh 'other' things, hm? I thought ya hated exhibitionism.” She took the crown of flowers that had been dropped on her head and stuck it on his instead, piling it on top of his most recent one. “I wanna dance.”
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Post by Gabriel on May 22, 2017 8:55:21 GMT
Gabriel had a complicated relationship with the fact that hurting Malak necessarily meant hurting Hadjara. He naturally didn't want to hurt her, but at the same time it was deeply satisfying to contemplate Malak's discomfort. That they were so inextricably entwined was extremely bothersome to his enjoyment of Malak's pain, which of course only made Gabriel hate the adumbrate more. It was tiring to contemplate, so Gabriel chose to live with the cognitive dissonance by not looking too closely at it. He could be both gleeful at Malak's misfortune and fiercely protective of Hadjara at the same time; it didn't make sense, but it didn't have to if one didn't examine it too closely.
"A break from him is certainly welcome," was all he said, although he had to resist the impulse to look delighted at the rare absence of Mal from his favourite role in life of being an enormous pain in the arse.
"Oh, I do, but when in Faery..." Gabriel was a source of intense interest to the Fae, and as it happened he was a popular attendant of the carnal Fae celebrations when he felt like being part of them. As fascinating as he found them they were equally curious about Daemons. They would be fascinated by Hadjara, too, if she cared to indulge them; they liked a wild kind of magic like hers, and were aesthetically very drawn to the harsh, wild Daemon beauty.
"In that case, follow the music." Gabriel tilted his head, listening for a moment of clarity through the general, not unpleasant din of the festival. Fae chatter and laughter, the breeze in the leaves, and behind all that the strains of various songs coming from all directions. Some were fast, cheery tunes, others darker and softer. Not all would have a visible source; some, created by magic, were hauntingly beautiful and strangely entrancing. He picked one of these and let it steer him down a path, darker than most. Instead of fire bugs in jars it was lit with huge lanterns bearing candles that smelled like cinnamon and musk. As they walked, it seemed to turn to soft twilight around them.
They passed through some clearings, and close enough to others to see through the branches and leaves what was going on. If Gabriel felt even a hint of curiosity about one of these clearings a path would always appear, unbidden and without searching, as though it had always been there to lead him into the celebration. It was difficult to hold a singular goal in mind in Faery; one found their mind wandering, led astray by temptation. The music Gabriel had picked was powerful, though, and held his focus past all the distractions. As he'd hinted there was drinking and feasting in some of the clearings, and more carnal occupations in a few. Most simply held groups of laughing, chattering Fae weaving flowers into their hair or sunbathing in golden light. The time of day did not seem to be very fixed; the path grew darker and darker, but some of the clearings seemed to be bathed in bright early morning light.
Eventually, though, the music led them to a clearing packed with dancing Fae. There was hardly space to enter and the crowd ebbed and flowed as one. The source of the music was a breathtakingly beautiful Bardic Muse seated in the centre of the clearing, singing and playing some strange instrument. His skin was as dark as charcoal and electric blue hair framed a delicate, full-lipped face. His eyes were closed as he sang and many more instruments than just the one he played could be heard. The clearing was hot from the press of people, all swaying to the beat of the music, many entirely entranced by the melody with glazed, unfocused eyes.
"Let's dance, then?" Gabriel offered his hand.
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Post by Hadjara Astaeldr Er on May 23, 2017 10:22:20 GMT
Hadjara burst out laughing and thumped his shoulder lightly with one curled fist. “Oh come on! At least I just don't care – ya just wanna show off!” Fucking incredible. She wouldn't forget this the next time he complained about her kissing his throat in public. “What, are all ya elf buddies just really bad at fuckin'? Ya had a bad time with a fae girl and now ya wanna prove a point?”
She fanned the hem of her shirt coyly, raising it to show off her pale skin, glittering with the bright gems around her navel.
Quickly she dropped her shirt and hooked an elbow around his arm as he agreed to find a place to dance. She pressed her head against his shoulder and kept herself close. It was important that she leaned against him, her head had started to spin and with every shift of her perspective a new wave of nausea made the world slide sideways. After a moment she turned and buried her face against him, closing her eyes fully as they walked. Was this normal? It was a similar feeling to when he took her to the circus in the Dream World – only there was nothing to help keep her grounded.
Why is he touching me? Came a sudden thought, unbidden, he's not supposed to touch me, he's supposed to touch her!
“Hmmrng,” Hadjara grumbled. She hadn't thought that. Had she? No, that didn't seem like something she would think. Levent waddled closer and she turned her head a little to glower down at him. 'Stay in your own head,' she mouthed at him before she buried her face back into Gabriel. At least he felt nice. And she, unquestionably, was the one touching him. Not Levent or Yed. That had to be grounding to some degree.
If he won't stop touching me I will bite him, she thought again and this point she actually turned and kicked him in the shoulder.
Why would you kick me??? came another thought, this time softer and wavering in confusion as Yed croaked sadly in her ear. Hadjara had to bite back an apology, and she had to remind all three of them that she kicked Levent – who was built like a mountain and could take it.
When Gabriel stopped walking Hadjara tripped and stumbled, and she buffeted him with a wing as she steadied herself. Yed croaked nervously before he jumped down to sit on Levent's head so he could croak more reproachfully. “Oh hush you two, you're fine,” Hadjara said and Yed croaked louder at her in protest.
Hadjara turned away from them and knitted her fingers with Gabriel's before she swept in close, grinding her hips against him and she slid her other hand on his waist, imitating the way some of the other pairs were dancing without really noticing that it tended to be men who put their hands on hips while women threw their arms around their partners shoulders. “Lead on,” she teased.
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Post by Gabriel on May 25, 2017 8:36:21 GMT
Gabriel refused to take the bait. He smiled indulgently, shrugging one shoulder.
"The Fae are like anything else, some of them are rubbish in bed and some are excellent. All depends on your preference, really, but they live longer than anyone else. More time to practice." Hadjara found his whims and decisions confusing sometimes, but in all fairness to her Gabriel found his own whims and decisions confusing sometimes too. The nature of chaos was that it was inconsistent, ever changing. Gabriel reserved the right to be hypocritically unstable whenever he so pleased, and as per usual he wasn't particularly apologetic about it.
"Actually, if you want to get into sweeping generalisations it's Humans that suck. So uptight. Think they're sinning, obsessed with purity. Very sad. Aren't you glad you're a Daemon now? It's so much less boring." Not that Hadjara had been that kind of Human, but her own fortune hadn't been much better in that incestuous swamp before she left and then turned.
Hadjara perhaps thought that she was hiding whatever was happening to her well. And it wasn't completely obvious, Gabriel would admit - she often entwined herself with him as they travelled, and had always been physically affectionate with him. The way she clung to him as they ventured deeper into Faery felt like less of a choice and more of a need, though. Each time he thought about asking - yet again - if she was okay and wanted to leave she seemed to rally, though, and he was beginning to sound like a broken record. So, he kept his mouth shut for now. She was physically balanced enough to give Levent a kick for some unknown reason - eliciting a high pitched gasp and scandalised glare from two passing Fairy women who looked as though they wanted to bend down and soothe Levent's hurt feelings. Gabriel guessed they thought the crocodile was some kind of odd pet, since Fae kept all sorts of creatures as companions, but happily for them they appeared to take in Levent's quiet, simmering anger and steak-knife, yellowed teeth and think better of stroking his snout. Gabriel himself could feel an odd vibe coming from the reptile, who was eyeing him balefully. Levent often eyed him balefully but usually not for such long periods of time; his beady lizard eyes were burning a hole in the back of Gabriel's head. Gabriel stoically ignored the crocodile, which was about usual - he didn't have the kind of burning hatred for Levent that he had for Malak but nor had he ever really seen eye to eye with Hadjara's first familiar. He liked the frog better but even Yed appeared strange and unsettled.
And when they started to dance Hadjara seemed enough like herself to make him forget his concern. The press of the crowd was suffocating, the heat of the clearing intense, but neither of these things were unpleasant to Gabriel. He was pressed close to Hajdara but equally others pressed against them in a confusing, heated tangle of bodies, almost all Fae. The cinnamon smell was stronger here and heady to the point of being slightly dizzying. It was easy to get lost in the experience, but wasn't that after all the point? The music was sometimes powerful and angry, sometimes slower and seductive, though it was never music for swaying. There was an energy to the dancing and Gabriel was glad of his own tolerance to and enjoyment of heat, because Daemons didn't sweat and he had no way of regulating his body temperature in the press. He leaned down to press a kiss, soft but edged with the bite of his fangs, to Hadjara's collarbone.
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