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Post by Elaine on Sept 25, 2017 5:17:19 GMT
To anyone that was not a fae, it would have seem liked a long time since Elaine had last left the mound to return to the forests that she knew and loved so much. Since she was a changeling, time felt differently to her than it may someone else. What was two years of staying in the Mound felt only like the equivalent of a few months based on a human’s concept of time. Even so, she was so grateful to have a small amount of time to herself, a break from the politics as it were. She maybe had another two hundred years or so before her body and energy would return to Litharia. Her looks were very deceiving to her age, however. Elaine looked to be the equivalent of a human in her late twenties or early thirties, but in reality she was over eight hundred years of age. She was reaching a time in her life where many of the other fae regarded her as a wise elder.
It was a beautiful evening in the Tangle. The moon appeared yellow and crescent in shape, but vivid and lively. It’s light bore down onto Litharia and produced enough light to where it was easy to navigate clearings and meadows. Places where the Tangle was most thick were dark and ominous, dangerous to anyone without a light source as the predators of the forest roamed and hunted.
Elaine was wearing a silk gown that was fitting to her breasts and waist, but became loose and flowy around her legs. It was a lush shade of teal and sleeveless. The only thing holding it up was the fabric tied around the back of her neck. Though it may have seemed impractical, the fae woman was fond of pretty and soft dresses. The humid air made her black hair thick, but frizzy around the ends. She had it down and all pulled over her right shoulder. Shoes were pointless, as she liked to feel the earth under her feet. To compliment her look was a simple, yet dazzling circlet resting around her forehead. It was simple, the metals twisted to looked like the shape of leaves and trees.
The woman was at the edge of the forest before it began to transform into small hills that would eventually lead to Spirit. She was sitting with her legs curled up, admiring the beauty and simplicity of life. Next to her was a massive dragon who’d grown considerably bigger since she’d last been out of the Mound. Her closest friend, Orophin, was curled up with his fan-like tail resting on his snout. The black dragon with an iridescent shine of aqua blue was at least five times bigger than that of an ox, but even so he was a mostly gentle creature. His chest rose and deflated with each slow breath, a calming sound to such a quiet night.
Elaine reached over, smiling, and gently place her hand on her friend’s head. Orophin shifted slighted and opened only one bright blue eye to acknowledge her before shutting it again. Elain left her hand there, but looked back out to the horizon. Dawn was a good few hours away, and she was looking forward to seeing the sun rise yet again.
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Post by Gabriel on Oct 15, 2017 1:37:21 GMT
"You're a long way from the Forest, Elaine."
Even at the edge of the Tangle the gloom beneath the trees pressed close, the shadows as weighty as a cloak draped over one's shoulders. His voice cut through the pre-dawn air long before he was visible, the tone a welcoming greeting that made it clear these words, which could carry many meanings depending on the context, should not be interpreted as a threat. No, the words were warm, jocular, friendly, though perhaps that's not how the man who emerged from the darkness would have been described.
He was recently returned from the Shadow world, and still dressed for that travel. Dark denim jeans and rubber-soled canvas shoes were out of place in Litharia, modern fabrics in an ancient world, salvaged from the ruins of a distant future. Still, the dark colour and the cuts weren't so out of place that the look was jarring, even if the black of everything he wore contrasted so strikingly against the pale silver of his skin. Beneath the trees, in the shade, it took on a subtle marbled quality, but as he emerged into thin moonlight the shadows on his skin turned to deep, iridescent blue. The shirt worn beneath a leather jacket was torn and ragged, evidence of some recent skirmish, but apart from this he looked relaxed, at ease. And he was smiling as he approached the Changeling.
They knew each other, of course. As the Daemon Lord Gabriel had brokered a formalisation of the Daemon's alliance with the Fae some years ago, and Elaine was part of the council representing the Fae as a whole. There had been endless meetings, feasts, council sessions, festivals, to form and maintain the bonds of two powerfully magical species against their enemies. Gabriel almost always dealt with the council en masse though; few of them fought on the frontlines, and none were empowered to represent the council as a whole politically. It was all very democratic. So he didn't know what Elaine's personal opinion of their respective political situations were, didn't know which way she voted on council matters, didn't know her from fighting alongside her. She had always been gracious, though - polite, welcoming when he visited the Mound, and he didn't hesitate to approach when he came across her, unexpectedly, in the Tangle wood.
He stopped a few metres away, inclining his head briefly in a more formal greeting. The dragon he didn't know, but he was aware of it due to Elaine's kith as a changeling.
"Have you grown tired of politics? You've been at the Mound every single time I've visited for, oh, I don't know. The last year or two?"
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Post by Elaine on Oct 15, 2017 2:23:25 GMT
As quiet as it was, it was hard to hear the approach of anyone with Orophin’s deep, heavy breathing. Even the dragon hadn’t heard the approach of someone until he called out, which then got the creature’s attention. His eyes opened, and slowly he brought his head up, which alone towered above Elaine’s height even as he was lying down, staring in the direction of the voice. A deep, yet quiet rumble came from him, his throat vibrating as he made the noise, but he otherwise did not move. It was a subtle warning to whoever approached.
Elaine, who was familiar with that voice, let go of her legs and stood, placing a hand on the dragon’s neck to re-assure him that the person who was there was not a foe. Even so, the dragon’s slited eyes watching Gabriel very carefully as he came into view.
The garments he wore were so…odd and unfamiliar to the fae woman, but somehow they seemed to fit him well. She’d always been fascinated by daemon’s natural beauty, though his was on a different tier as a bardic golem. He’d frequented the council’s more formal meetings and events, and if she recalled, he was most defiantly silver tongued and quite fit for his role as the Daemon Lord. Even better, he seemed to be quite respectful of the fae, and that by itself granted him great respect besides his title.
She mirrored his greeting with a slight incline of her own head, her shinning black hair falling loose over her shoulder. Elaine gave her greeting with a smile, amused by his question however much of a jest it might be.
“A break was well due, I believe. I’ve been so busy with the rest of the council and my people that I haven’t bothered to grant myself some personal time to myself. If, say, a few centuries ago, I was told that I’d be speaking on behalf of some of the changelings, I would have thought that person mad. I was much too infatuated with exploring and discovery.” She looked up at Orophin and nodded as if to reassure once more that he could rest again. The dragon snorted and returned back to its curled up sleeping position that it’d been in before Gabriel had arrived.
Elaine took a few steps towards the daemon lord to closen the space between them. As a fae, she was very comfortable being close to people, so she was a bit closer to Gabriel than a human or a shifter would deem comfortable.
“I can’t say I’m surprised to see you here, Gabriel. You’ve always been the ‘on the move’ sort. How coincidental it is that we meet out of the Mound the one time I decide to leave. Are there no pressing matters for you at the moment?” She said this with a sense of friendliness rather than formal-ness. Since neither of them of them were meeting for political reasons, Elaine was quite interested in getting to know the Daemon Lord on a more personal level. “Come, sit with me. I was just doing what old, fae women do best by sitting down and enjoying the beauty that Litharia has to offer us.” She returned back to where she had been sitting, but instead of curling her legs up, she sat on her knees and had them off to the side a bit.
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Post by Gabriel on Nov 5, 2017 3:06:12 GMT
Gabriel felt no concern at the presence of the dragon, even when it growled low in its throat as he approached. Even without his considerable magical protection against this kind of threat, Elaine knew him well enough that he trusted the creature would be called off if necessary. There was no hesitation as he strolled out of the trees; indeed, reptilian eyes might follow him wherever he walked, but Gabriel barely glanced at the dragon. He was more interested in its Fae companion, and what she might be doing so far from her ancestral and spiritual home.
Time flowed differently in the Mound, he knew. For him too, those times he chose to visit - it was easy for it to slip away unchecked, barely noticed, years melting into one another as the world around that magical place raced by. Elaine wasn't wrong in that she was overdue for a break; Gabriel hardly remembered a time recently that she, and most of the rest of the council, weren't always to be found when he visited their home. The recent changes to the Human monarchy in the last five years had kept them all busy, and Gabriel's increasingly fraught dealings with the Angels added another dimension of complexity. He imagined their meetings could wear on for days, the way that Fae could talk, and was - as ever - glad he ran something more akin to a dictatorship. He had little patience for meetings that lasted too long.
"All work and no play, huh? Though I seem to recall quite a few very rowdy parties over the past few years." A conspiratorial smile here; Gabriel might not like meetings, but he loved parties. He was popular amongst the Fae not only for his political nous and respect for their roles and traditions, but because he rarely missed turning up to the Mound and indulging when things turned to fun. The Fae were fond of letting their wild magic loose now and then, and he was fond of joining them.
"When you're the one calling the shots, you don't have to hang around for council meetings all the time," he agreed. Gabriel was frequently very busy with work associated with being the Daemon Lord, but hanging around in one place all the time wasn't part of the deal. Thank the Gods; he'd always been a restless type.
"I've recently returned from a touch of interdimensional travel. I'm owed some recovery time, though I'll need to return to the Tunnels next full moon." Gabriel accepted Elaine's offer as he spoke, sitting down in the cool grass looking out over the lake. Although, after a moment, the Daemon Lord lay back with his arms behind his head, to better admire the silver crescent moon lighting the lake and clearing.
"How long until you must return to the Mound?"
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Post by Elaine on Nov 11, 2017 5:58:29 GMT
Gabriel was an intriguing individual that fascinated Elaine. He was the embodiment of everything that defined a daemon; chaotic, unpredictable, dangerous in more ways than one. Daemons had a beauty about them very different from the Fae, and it was more apparent in the Daemon Lord than many others. From what she understood from politics, that was more due the type of daemon he was, but in general most daemons were beautiful and that inherently made them seem inviting. That, in turn, made them dangerous.
A gentle giggle came from her at the mention of doing all work and no play. He did have a point, despite the humor behind it. Elaine rarely had time off to herself like she’d mention, and after finally getting some time to enjoy what she loved best, she’d just realized how much she missed going out with Orophin. “Calling them rowdy is an understatement, I would say.” When it came to large groups outside of politics, Elaine tended to be a little more distant. “But they can be quite amusing and fun. Especially when the youth decide to blow something up and the other council members get upset.” Personally, she thought many of the other fae were much too serious all the time, but she usually kept that to herself.
Elaine leaned against one of Orophin’s legs, not minding the feeling of his rough scales against her soft skin. She shifted her weight so her legs were splayed out to the side. In a more comfortable position now, the fae woman smiled and looked over the Gabriel as he spoke.
“Well, I envy you traveling so much. It has felt like a lifetime since I last did any of that.” Realizing it sounded like she was complaining about her job, she quickly added, “But I digress, I do love speaking for my people. And arguing against the rest of the council.” It was just hard to get away, was all.
For a moment, there was silence has she pondered on how to answer Gabriel’s question. Eventually she just shrugged and gently rested a hand on Orophin’s head. “I suppose I will return whenever I feel like it. Which will no doubt be when I get hungry.” Elain used her other hand to rest on her stomach and she grinned humorously.
“But enough about politics. We talk about that enough at meetings and parties, and I did come out here to not think too much on it.” It seemed like a good opportunity to get to know the Daemon Lord a bit better and more personally now that they were away from politics. Elaine was naturally a friendly person, and social when it came to one-on-one interaction. She looked at the daemon as he relaxed, the light of the crescent moon only adding to the shinning features of his beautiful skin. “Tell me a bit more about yourself, Gabriel. What is it you enjoy doing for fun when you’re not busy working? You don’t seem the type to spend every moment of your life doing politics, however much you may enjoy it.” That much she had gathered from their few interactions in the past, which was a good thing. Who would be in a position of power if they hated it? Certainly not Elaine.
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Post by Gabriel on Mar 24, 2018 7:49:21 GMT
He smiled, noting her carefulness not to sound ungrateful for the work she did. Always diplomatic, the Fae, and Elaine with them, at least until diplomacy was well and truly off the table. Gabriel could be diplomatic when he chose, when it was necessary, but he lacked their patience and restraint. When he was bored with his duties he made it clear, and he frequently disappeared off the face of the earth (literally, lately) until he felt like dealing with it again. Amongst the Daemons, the only thing that could hold him to account was power; the only concession he'd ever have to make was if someone stronger than him challenged his rule someday.
She was right though. Enough thought of politics, they were both out here for a break. Gabriel revelled in the scent and feel of Litharia again, after a lengthy visit to an alternate dimension he knew only as the Shadow World. The grey, bleak, broken landscapes over there had depressed him. The place was also starving for magic, and being forced to hide his away as much as possible had felt imprisoning. The Tangle might be cold and dark, the trees pressed close around the clearing and the night bleached of colour under a thin moon casting wan silver light, but it was so much more alive than that place. He closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, appreciating air that smelt like grass and nature instead of dust and something sharp, metallic, toxic. Anyone watching closely might have seen a subtle, long-held tension draining away as he lay there, stretched out and relaxed.
He cracked an eye open and glanced up at Elaine when she asked her question though, a slow smile creeping over his features. True enough, he didn't know the Changeling as well as he might, given they had worked together in a fashion for years now. His other eye flickered open too, expression open and at ease.
"The activities of politics, no. Being the Daemon Lord is a lifestyle, though, and while it has its burdens I love the power." Gabriel was not afraid to admit this, had never been ashamed of the fact; the Daemons as a whole were obsessed with the concept of power, and he was more obsessed than most.
"Most of what I do serves that purpose, in the end, but I'm also only the Daemon Lord because I genuinely enjoy most of what it entails. I travel widely; I spend a lot of time honing my magic. I hunt, I train. I meet all sorts of people, and figure out how they might be useful or interesting to me. And I have fun." The last was a vague way to sum it up, but Elaine would know enough about Daemons to realise Gabriel was no different to the average in this respect; an unapologetic hedonist, he spent inordinate amounts of time drinking, socialising, seducing and sleeping.
"Do you have any time at all to yourself back in the Mound?"
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Post by Elaine on Mar 26, 2018 4:51:06 GMT
Elaine, amused by how honest Gabriel was, chuckled as he blatantly admitted his love for power. “I admire your level of honesty. In my experience, most tend to try to doge admitting any form of ambition for power. It has been a long while since someone has told me something like that so honestly.” Though honestly, she was not surprised. Elaine had lived a long, long time, and she was very well aware of the daemon lifestyle, at least from a political point of view. The fae were a lot different in that regards, not wanting power over their people to be bestowed onto any one person, but rather to be discussed among a council of representatives. And Elaine was quite glad for that too. Though for different reasons, she too was ambitious for her people, especially the changelings.
She was quite raptured with the idea of the sort of life that he lived. By no means did Elaine dislike hers; she’d done so much in her life and was very satisfied and happy even while in politics. She was merely entranced by other’s stories. Even though fae could live such long lives, there was simply no way to experience everything that Litharia, and beyond, had to offer. Every person had a different story to tell, and the changeling always wanted to hear about them, including any that were mundane.
Elaine smiled again, making eye contact with the daemon lord rather than focusing on Orophin as his breaths exhaled enough air to make leaves and grass blow in the same direction. “Nowadays, not so much. There’s always someone that needs help, or always something that needs to be done. When I was much younger, before my hundreds, I had a lot more time for myself. I had more time to explore and indulge. I was fascinated by customs of different cultures, especially when it came to other species. I even worked at a brothel for a few decades.” She was an open woman, and was never afraid to go into detail about her past. In fact, she enjoyed talking about it. Elaine did not have the chance to indulge in her past due to her high demands of work. “I’m sure you’re no stranger to understanding that sex is an efficient way to gain information on top of experience and pleasure. Sufficed to say, that was an interesting time in my life before I turned more to focusing on studying my magic as well as traveling.”
In a way, Elaine was considered old. Her looks did not show this, nor did she feel it. Did she feel experienced? Yes. And even wise, as some would claim. But old? Not in the slightest. She felt more like a human woman in their mid, or even late thirties than she felt closer to death. It was a perk that came with being fae. They were a beautiful people. Ageing was very different for them compared to other races in Litharia. Many fae could still look the human equivalent of forty when they died, though it was not unheard of for some to die appearing closer to fifty or sixty. Regardless, Elaine was confident in everything about her, and in no way shape or form felt her age. She still felt like that young, curious woman that was absolutely fascinated with human culture.
She felt Orophin shift, and knew that he was beginning to wake from his quick nap. Elaine slid closer to Gabriel to give the dragon some space to move. At first, he stretched out his front legs before lifting his head up and snorting, shaking his head much like a dog would. As a yawn escaped from the dragon’s maw, his serrated teeth were all briefly visible before disappearing behind a closed mouth again. He looked over to Elaine, then watched Gabriel for a few seconds and snorted again as he began to stand.
”Hunt. Fish. Hungry.”
Elaine placed one of her delicate hands gently on a one of the dragon’s claws, nodding at him as he spoke telepathically to her. Orophin was only semi-sentient, so only very basic thoughts and emotions could be conveyed as speech. But she was able to completely understand and was used to this.
“Da’hara mon sho, lethalan.”
The dragon once more eyed Gabriel before turning his back to the two of them to find a nearby lake or steam. There were plenty of them in the Tangle, and usually filled with fish.
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Post by Gabriel on Apr 14, 2018 4:44:43 GMT
Gabriel laughed.
"In that case you need to spend more time with Daemons. None of us mind admitting we're power-hungry maniacs." An exaggeration, since this applied more to born-Daemons than those changed, but power as a concept was culturally vital to Daemon society. Gabriel needed to hide his ambition even less than most, though; you didn't become the Daemon Lord without a near-pathological obsession with control and supremacy, given the mere act of holding the title meant being willing to lay down your life for it whenever and wherever you were asked to.
Gabriel tilted his head where he lay so he could watch Elaine while she talked.
"I forget how long-lived you are, given how young you still look." A trait the Daemons and the Fae had in common; the Fae from their magic, the Daemons from their immortality, even if they didn't get to keep it in this world. Elaine, though, was several centuries older than Gabriel, and it was easy to fail to realise how much living had happened in those long years. His brow quirked when she mentioned working in a brothel - not only a long life, but an interesting one.
"I would not have picked you for someone so...adventurous," he admitted, hands behind his head and expression playful. Very obviously, there was no judgement; the Daemons had none of the hang ups of the sadly repressed Human race, thank the Gods.
"What information, exactly, were you looking for?" Intriguing, definitely. The brothel itself surprised him much less than an admission of using sex in such a deliberate way to get something you wanted. Besides the obvious.
He shifted as the dragon stood, interacted with the Changeling he accompanied, and then made his way into the Forest, away from the lake. Off to hunt, he presumed. Quiet fell again, even more so without his sighing breaths to accompany the breeze as it ruffled the leaves of nearby trees, and Gabriel closed his eyes again to appreciate the peace. He had hardly slept in the Shadow world and it showed in the dark bruises beneath bright teal eyes, although he still spoke and interacted with an electric, seemingly boundless energy, barely contained chaos always bubbling just beneath the surface.
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Post by Elaine on Apr 15, 2018 7:30:22 GMT
“Ha! Yes, I suppose that is true enough. In most cases, I would argue against being too power hungry, but the mindset seems to fit very well with daemon politics. I would imagine it’s a bit difficult to get anywhere as the Daemon Lord if you were not power hungry. Or, at least, you’d be much less interesting.” Smiling softly, she briefly looked over at Gabriel with a kind expression, before looking back up into the sky, enraptured by the pure mystery of it and the stars in it.
Again, she chuckled at the mention of how young she looked. “You flatter me. I see my reflection and think I’ve become an old hag in comparison to those only a century old.” Elaine jested of course. She was well aware of how well the fae aged, especially in comparison to other species in Litharia. In her on way, she supposed she was rather vain. The idea of looking wrinkly did…not really appeal to her. Regardless of her youthful appearance though, there was an aura about her that screamed experience and age, as did her eyes. She was not nearly as intelligent or full of information as many other fae her age, but she was still one that received natural respect from many of her people.
Elaine figured her mention of the brothel would capture his attention. It was in her youth, barely a century year old, when she had lived that sort of life style. “I know! I do not seem the type. Or at I least put up a front so that I do not seem the type.” She wasn’t sure if the other council members knew about that, but she highly doubted it would matter. The fae were open anyways, including in matters regarding sex. “Of course I couldn’t do any work in the City, with the whole ‘torture and murder all fae’ and what not, even if I can alter my appearance to others. But Spirit was free game. Offering my services as a fae there put me in a higher class establishment, which was nice. Still had mostly awful customers besides the few good ones, but the other men and women I worked with were wonderful people.” It took a special mindset to work in a brothel, that much was true, but Elaine had enjoyed it enough.
“At the time, I was very young and naïve. I was not looking for any political advantages, or even secrets for blackmail from people or anything like that. I wanted to hear about people’s lives, their experiences, and maybe learn a gastly secret or two. I was also infatuated with other races and was dying to learn more about them. Something as simple as how a daemon differed from a human in bed, or even just how human customs were in comparison to my own. Sometimes I would even get some information about politics from clients, though I never did anything with the information at the time.” It had been a fun time in her life, but she was much past that.
“You’ve been the Daemon Lord for quite a while. I’m willing to bet you’ve used your natural attractive appearance and tempting sex-drive to get some information out of people. It’s a useful tactic.” Daemons were more sex-driven then a lot of races, that much Elaine was very well aware of. If she recalled correctly, Gabriel was partially a bardic golem, daemons that were masters at manipulation. Convenient for someone in such a high position of power.
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Post by Gabriel on Oct 13, 2018 6:30:44 GMT
A moment of seriousness, a ripple of power as Gabriel's magic curled out of the dark place it lived inside him, taking shape as an orb of flame the size of an orange that hovered over one outstretched hand, the fire not red but a deep, icy blue.
"Those of us with any kind of power are power-hungry," he said, his voice a rumbling murmur.
"It's something to keep in mind about us. We're always looking for more. For how something can benefit us. That first, before anything else." It sounded selfish, egotistical, put like that...but then those two things described Gabriel perfectly too, and he wasn't ashamed of it either.
"You know perfectly well you'll never be an old hag." The mood lightened again, abruptly, as was the way with moody, chaotic, ever-changing Daemons. Uttering chilling warnings one minute, playfully flirting the next. The fire winked out and ordinary moonlight settled over them again, if the molten cerulean of Gabriel's moonstone skin in that light could be called ordinary.
"A front? Do you mean to say, my lady, that you pretend to be something you're not?" He had glanced over again as he said this, wickedness gleaming in deep teal eyes. The teasing, though, was gentle, not accusatory like it might have been from one of the more honour-obsessed of her own kind. He listened to her explanation, unsure he really grasped her meaning, still surprised this apparently genteel and ladylike creature had willingly chosen the life of a courtesan. By the time she finished her explanation he was grinning, though, elongated canines a hint of the hidden fangs all his kind possessed.
"If you wanted to see how a Daemon was in bed, you needn't have worked in a brothel." That was a flirtation, the tone making it clear. Gabriel would have been in the Dream Land still, back then, or perhaps not yet even born, but even though the Daemons had a complex relationship with the Fae, like had always called to like on an individual level. The two near-immortal races, preternatural in their beauty, one wild given form and the other chaos embodied. Elaine could have found countless Daemons to share her bed over the years if she'd wanted to, he had no doubt.
He sat up then, running a hand through his hair to brush it back from his face. A smile, all easy grace and temptation, at Elaine's assertion of his use of sex as a weapon. Obviously, she was right, but he didn't need to confirm that for her. Instead he leaned close, close enough to see her pulse flutter at her throat with a predator's sharp gaze, so he could whisper his next words in her ear.
"Of course. I much prefer when it's just for fun, though."
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Post by Elaine on Nov 25, 2018 22:20:21 GMT
Elaine watched Gabriel’s mild display of magic, somewhat mesmerized by the beauty, but also danger of the blue flame he controlled in his hand. What he said about daemons made sense and in much of her travels, it had a lot of truth to it. What he said was a sort of foundation for his kind. Elaine herself had no such magic over the elements. Her magic pertained to her connection with aquatic dragons, and thus was harder to display. The light of the flames reflected off her bight eyes. “True enough. Though, your level of thirst for power is very different from that of humans who can also be power hungry and selfish. I much prefer that mindset of a daemon rather than a human, as chaotic and unpredictable as it can be.” Humans, to Elaine, were very curious creatures. Hate was too strong a word for her. She was not entirely sure she hated any living creature. Certainly, she was wary of them, due to the pending war and their superstitious and hateful fear of the fae. There was an underlying fear of them too, especially since it has been centuries since her last interaction with one of their kind.
Her eyes readjusted as Gabriel’s flames went out to the dark landscape before them. She chuckled at Gabriel’s comment, plucking a dandelion from the forest floor to study its petals with curiosity as she spoke. “Maybe to you I’m not. It’s quite different living among my own kind and comparing oneself to them.” Not that she did that very often. On the occasion however, her mind would wander there. There was so much time to spare after all. Though she had a role in the council, she was not as nearly political as many of the other fae representatives, and when she was not out in the Forest of the Fae, she was speaking with the Keeper of Beasts since her interests lay elsewhere when it came to fae interaction versus animal interactions.
She could see the playfulness in his eyes, the teasing. It was almost laughable to her how he could go from a strong and dangerous political figure, to a laid back and charismatic man, then change even from that to someone attractive and tempting. That, she figured, had to play a major role in what made daemons so dangerous and appealing. Their quick changes in attitude that can be quite tempting to another that they may even consider their prey. Elaine knew that was not the case in this moment, though she had no doubt he could turn to his more primal and deadly nature if needed.
The dandelion dropped from her hands as she smiled at Gabriel’s grin. She figured that he would have a reaction like that, amusing as it was. Elaine was a very open woman when she felt comfortable around others. In a sense, that was how many fae lived. She hadn’t realized she had spoken so much until afterwards and was curious if it was a bit overbearing for Gabriel at all. In many other customs after all, talking about such things was considered immodest. To Elaine, there was little she was not willing to speak of that would not harm her or others, such as political secrets.
It was very clear to Elaine when Gabriel started to flirt. There it was, another quick change in behavior. “Perhaps,” she responded in her own manner of teasing with just the slightest upward smirk of her lips. “Though I quite enjoyed my time in the Brothel. I was no prisoner and was there of free will, and I worked at some beautiful and high-end establishments.” In other words, Elaine had not been cheap. And unlike many of the women there that were essentially slaves, she had her ways of being picky.
He was close to her ear now, whispering with words of temptation and a hint of playfulness behind them. Elained turned her head to look him in the eyes, faces just mere inches apart from one another. Eyes gleaming with curiosity and, perhaps, a slight hint to her more lustful nature, she trailed the back of her hand just ever so slightly against his hard, gleaming skin, elegant fingers gently twirling a piece of his hair playfully between them. “Why don’t you show me just what kind of fun you mean, Gabriel?”
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Post by Gabriel on Dec 1, 2018 22:11:32 GMT
Unlike Elaine, Gabriel dealt with Humans on a regular basis. He might not go to the City much any more, but it was a little more accessible to him than the Fae - the ancient enemy, as the Humans knew them. Truth be told your average Human was just shit scared of the Fae, and for good reason given the age-old enmity, but as a collective he knew they were dangerous. There was a reason that he had strengthened the Daemon's alliance with the Fae during his reign as Daemon Lord - the Humans were a threat to the native citizens, and the Forest they depended on, and there were an awful lot more of them than there were either Daemons or Fae.
"They are too short-lived, and too numerous. An individual rarely lives long enough to see any changes in interactions for himself, and so he assumes there are no changes, and passes that on to his children. Their hatred is generations deep, and they rarely have the chance to learn differently." The last King, after all, had ruled for less than fifty years. A respectable tenure for a Human, but a blink in time for the Fae. What his son had learned from that madman remained to be seen. It was a forgiving understanding that Gabriel had, but then he had quite liked plenty of individual Humans, and he also hadn't been subjected to centuries of slaughter and burning by Human armies.
It didn't matter anyway. As Elaine said, she lived among her kind, and wrapped in a war that was not really a power struggle as much as a desperate battle for survival. And, the Daemons would fight alongside them, no matter that individual Humans could be interesting if given a chance. Wanting to dwell on more pleasant things, Gabriel seemed to shed the cloak of leader, and slip easily into a more relaxed demeanour. Relaxed, and flirtatious. Delighted to find Elaine willing to play.
Her touch felt cool to him, with his super-heated skin from a body temperature influenced by a Fire Elemental heritage. Gabriel had never given much care to whether it was wise to indulge in more carnal relations with those whom she shared a political connection, and the Fae knew that about him too. They rarely seemed to mind; the Daemon Lord was a frequent visitor to Faery, and they were hardly saints themselves. There was a reason the Daemons had been attracted to the Fae, right from the first Daemon to step through the portal into Litharia.
"With pleasure." This spoken in scarcely more than a whisper, before Gabriel followed the touch of his fingers along the column of her throat with his lips, teasing more than delivering on this promise. Alongside the moonlit lake they would look like a fairy tale, though Gabriel wasn't thinking about how they would look to others right now.
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Post by Elaine on Dec 2, 2018 4:55:09 GMT
The mood shifted greatly from a light, deep conversations regarding politics and a little bit of their personal lives, to something much more intimate and exciting. She had never been ashamed to express her interests or desires in other people. As a whole, the fae were very open with the idea of expressing one’s sexuality in many ways. They were not conservative as conservative and cautious as humans. And to Aranel, daemons were certainly one of the more enticing and fun out of all the species she’d been with. There was something beautiful about their chaotic nature, the danger that lurked behind how seductive they could be. It was something fae did not experience very often on a day to day basis and was in some manner an adrenaline rush.
Gabriel’s teasing kisses singed her skin with the feeling of light ecstasy, the desire for more. She too, however, knew how to tease. The clothes her worse were, she noted earlier, different than anything she was used to seeing in Litharia, but the questions for that could come later. With just the barest of contact, she turned her so that her palm was against his chest and slowly moved down to where the shirt hung loose. Delicately, Elaine allowed her hand to go under his shirt to make contact again with his hard, surprisingly warm body. Her fingertips just barely brushed against his skin as she moved her hand back up his chest under the shirt while her other hand was helping him remove the strange jacket he wore.
It easy for Elain to expose herself more in her gown. Silks were well fitted, but easy to get out of if need be even when well fitted. And the fae women was well versed in getting out of clothing easy for someone else. The movement was slight and could easily be mistaken as an accident rather than a purposeful, slow form of seduction. Elain’s left shoulder that was heling to remove Gabriel’s clothes loosened and relaxed enough to allow the sleeve to slide down her arm to her elbow, exposing her shoulder and the area around her breast without exposing it fully. To her, their environment only added to the passion that Elaine desired to feel. There was nothing more beautiful, more fulfilling than being out in the forest she loved so much, expressing her passions in more ways than just one. There was something beautiful about the idea of a creature of life and balance lying with a creature of chaos and destruction.
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Post by Gabriel on Jan 19, 2019 9:37:46 GMT
The clothes he still wore from the Shadow world were heavier, more restrictive, than those he tended towards in Litharia. Elaine, though, did not find it too much trouble to remove them, and the light brush of her fingers against bare skin was enough to make Gabriel feel even more heated. Flame flickered blue-orange in his irises, contained thankfully to his eyes, a visual hint of her effect on him. And soon enough he was shrugging off the jacket, cool night air soothing on over-hot skin, and his lips were following the trail of her exposed shoulder and collarbone-slow, utterly unhurried, as though they had all the time in the world.
Lying on his side, propped casually on one elbow, his eyes followed the path his lips had found. He made no move to reveal more, just yet, lest Daemon claws tear the tissue-thin fabric. Gabriel didn't usually bother to consider such things and he might yet lose patience any moment, but for now at least he was content to see what she chose to show him. Fire-filled eyes half-hooded, his gaze swept the length of her, stretched alongside him in the moonlight. Their legs were tangled already, chests rising and falling just a little faster than usual as lust wound its way into the lakeside clearing.
Gabriel was designed for this. Bardic magic, though it could be twisted to darkness and his often was, had first been intended for performance. It made him appealing, drew others in, made them remember, and for all his innate violence and undeniable cruelty, using his magic this way came naturally. The scent of night-blooming roses, floral and woody, but just a hint - not overwhelming or cloying - hinted at his own desire. He kissed her then, rolling onto his back and drawing her with him, toying with her lower lip. Exquisitely slow, almost to the point of taunting, his hands brushed her shoulder blades and the small of her back.
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