At the Stallion's Rear, Nixie comes across an inconspicuous tavern and steps inside. Turns out she'll meet Victor Lark.
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Considered one of the most mysterious cities in Mizahar, Alvadas is called The City of Illusions. It is the home of Ionu and the notorious Inverted. This city sits on one of the main crossroads through The Region of Kalea.
For a moment Nixie had to bite her tongue; was he chuckling? What was it he found so amusing this time; did he really think this was a joke? The idea that he might have found her words humorous frustrated her and kept her eyes fixed where they were. It wasn't until she felt him squeeze her hand a little too hard that she lifted her gaze to meet his. Wandering what might have been going through his mind in that moment. She had thought to remove her hand from his, but the longer she sat there like that with him, the more Victor felt like the brother she once had. His smile, his gaze, and his touch... it hurt. But she had gone so long without it, so long that while Victor was a mere imitation, she would revel in the pain he caused for as long as it would last. Only managing a weak smile in return to his.
When he touched again on a topic she preferred to keep to herself, instead of dread, she was surprised by the care he took to keep from being abrasive. His tender approach turning her cheeks a few shades pink and setting her heart to thump a bit faster. It had been thoughtful, unlike all the pushy and unpleasant questions from earlier. Silently she thanked him for the courtesy, but was still unable to bring herself to reward the effort, only answering his question with a slow and subtle shake of her head followed by a few delayed words. "I don't want to... Please don't make me, not now." They came in a whisper that rivaled the quietness of even his own words. It was strange though, somehow her refusal accompanied by his gaze made her feel something like guilt. That feeling persuading her hand from his. Lacing her fingers together, Nixie rested them in her lap where her gaze fell as well.
What she could give him though, was her name. However little or lot that would mean to Victor remained to be seen, but it was something not many had, so to her it held some worth. "What I'll tell you is my name though. It's Nixie." Where in normal crowds a name was something to be given at the drop of a hat, she was far more reluctant. And even when she was willing to share it, she often switched between two different ones. Her own name, and her brothers.
Right now my computer isn't working and am being forced to write posts on my phone. So please be patient with me. And sorry for any spelling errors or lack of post coding.
Victor wondered if this was what it felt like to fish, to wait for hours in the harsh serenity of the unknown in wait for a thing that may not ever come and then to feel it come like the tug at the end of a line, to ensnare a living and passion-feeling thing out of its own misguided volition. Someone else might have felt a jolt on their gut or a warmth in their spine, but Victor knew only a vague sensation of clarity. But he hesitated, and then he lost her. Not now. She trusted him, but only enough to taunt him with promises for the future. She liked him, but only enough to give out the secret of her name.
Nixie, was the peculiarly feminine title to this strange, distraught woman. Nixie was the creature who would nearly call him brother and Nixie was the thing he had lost as soon as he had caught it.
Victor cringed inwardly. If not now, then when? Was he expected to continue this mildly amusing but ultimately tiresome charade for a woman who had mostly glared stupidly at him in the first minutes of their acquaintanceship? Of course he was. His life was a charade; a prolonged one was no different. Nixie was not a happy person, and it seemed that even something resembling sincerity would not make her smile, not yet. If he could not make her happy, he would have to resort to his first plan. Angering her ran the risk of losing her, the mystery of her, to the tide of strangerhood.
But what was it worth, without a little risk?
He let go of her suddenly and harshly, moving into the space behind the bar with a careful degree of repulsion on his face, which was no longer masked in his attempt to imitate her brother. He heaved a loud sigh. “So much for that,” he mumbled to no one in particular. “What use are you, anyway? Why did you even come here?”
In the time Nixie had spent staring at her hands in lap, avoiding Victors gaze, it seemed he had changed into another person entirely. No longer was he the sweet, if not pushy, man that managed to tug at her strings in a way not unlike her brother had. Somehow transformed into a darker shadow than her parents in mere seconds. Not that he was worse than them, but that he was so much more bold with his words than her silent parents had been; spending all their time hidden behind masks of hardened disinterest. Victors words were the ones that they never spoke aloud, but inside she knew it was what they thought to themselves and between each other.
Looking back up just in time to see him step away from the bar, her mouth hung in confusion. What use am I? The question throwing her back to that scornful house of silent unpleasantries. How was she supposed to answer her parents cruel question when it came from her brothers lovely lips? How was she supposed to react? Was she to be angry with him? Sad? When no answers came she pressed her hands to the bar and stood; eyes glossed over and mouth slacked, her mind was in a place far from that tavern. "I-I don't know, brother. I'm sorry." Fingers searched blindly for the pipe until they accidentally turned it over, the bowl's warm contents spilling out onto the bar. "I'll... leave you to your training." With pipe in hand she turned, dragging her feet in the inebriated sway of her step towards the exit. Mind lost to a place in the past, she still wasn't sure what had just happened. She just needed to get away.
Right now my computer isn't working and am being forced to write posts on my phone. So please be patient with me. And sorry for any spelling errors or lack of post coding.
No matter how many times I read your writing Victor I can never accept that Victor’s acting is not sincere. Aw it about broke my heart to see poor Nixie’s comfortable trust being broken so easily in one sentence! Still I love your character though
So for Victor’s efforts to try and sway Nixie’s emotions I gave you a point in persuasion, but poor guy. Doesn’t he know that the hearts of women can never really be understood? You try to make them feel one thing and you get the opposite affect. Lol it was very fun to watch. I am definitely envisioning him as a serpent from now on .
Nixie, this was the first time I have ever read your writing, and all I can say is WOW. You are spectacular! The two of you together played your roles to perfection. I loved it, it was an amazing read, and the emotions there felt very real. I loved the thread guys, keep up the good work!
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