Solo Dance For Me

Madeira takes her class to a haunting, Rothsam gets in the way

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The Diamond of Kalea is located on Kalea's extreme west coast and called as such because its completely made of a crystalline substance called Skyglass. Home of the Alvina of the Stars, cultural mecca of knowledge seekers, and rife with Ethaefal, this remote city shimmers with its own unique light.

Dance For Me

Postby Madeira Dusk on May 22nd, 2019, 8:22 pm

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    89th of Spring, 519
"Quills down, class! We're going on a field trip!"

Madeira barreled into her classroom at the Dusk Tower in a flurry of red velvet and sharp, eager smiles. She all but threw her rucksack across her desk in her haste to leave, knocking over a length of black beads and a dozen heavy iron nails that crashed to the floor. The six alumni students, ranging in age from mid thirties to nearly sixty, startled at their desk, and indeed many quills were dropped in their shock. But they were not moving fast enough for their professor's taste. The gold and ruby flames that dripped from her ears and that rose in shimmering sequins from the hem of her dress flashed dangerously as she whirled on them.

"On your feet! I'll explain on the way, now, move!"

It still took a nod from the enigmatically smiling Aldagre Dusk, patriarch of the Dusk Tower, to get these powerful men and woman to reluctantly follow their eccentric teacher as she whipped out the door again.

"Miss Craven, what kind of supplies will we need!" a dark, powerfully built man called after her, his voice dripping with confusion and no small amount of annoyance.

"None, mister Royce, come along", Madeira's voice began to fade with the tapping of her slippered feet.

Scrambling not to be left behind, her small class piled out of the room and together the most powerful spiritists in Lhavit thundered out of the dignified Tower and spilled out into Zintia Peak.

Leth hung high and bright in the sky, shedding his silvery light on the sleepless city. The constant rain was in attendance too, dripping from eves and collecting in treacherous puddles between the cobblestone. Most of Lhavit was indoors, and strings of music and laughter could be heard from bright, inviting doorways. After a few chimes of buzzing past every hope of a dry, quiet evening, Aldgare finally voiced what the rest of the class were to wary to say.

"I believe we were promised an explanation, my dear miss Craven." The taller man lengthened his stride and fell in beside Madeira. "Can I inquire as to the purpose of this outing?"

Madeira was squinting into the dark, but was obviously not following her eyes. Another sense was propelling the spatially defective Avalad headlong to her destination. Her eiyon mark itched under her glove, and she massaged it with the thumb of her opposite hand.

"We have a brilliant but extremely time sensitive opportunity for education, sir. One we must act on if we hope to keep it. I have found a truly fascinating haunting at the Basilika while on my way to Sesr. Unfortunately by the time I sniffed it out the curator had already sent for someone else." A flash of irritation sparked behind her black spectacles. "So I plan to beat him to it."

"Him, as in Rothsam the Curse Eater?" Aldgare was watching her from the corner of his eye in a way Madeira immediately didn't like. Petching aurists. He could probably see exactly what vile thoughts that name conjured. Rothsam was the Spiritist of Lhavit, he owned the shop people came to with haunting, possessions, and miscellaneous ghostly activity. They had gotten on each others bad side the moment she stepped onto Lhavit, when he cornered harmless little Emma and nearly killed Allister in the ensuing fight. Since then the Myrian had an uncanny ability to show up wherever she may be, and knew things about her that she only trusted to her those closest to her. Their battle was escalating, as they both tried to get the jump on the other and their parallel careers. Culminating when he had tried to kill her by indirectly causing her fall from the skybridge, and she retaliated by making him piss himself with fear in a little magic show she borrowed from the moon god himself.

She coughed delicately, buying time as she composed herself. Acting against her emotions was coming easier to her, and being smack in the middle of a nest full of aurists made that particular skill painfully necessary. She adopted a smug, arrogant attitude in the tilt of her head and the contact of her eyes, rolling her shoulders candidly.

"Rothsam and I have a rivalry that goes back seasons. Don't tell me you disapprove? Such things can bring a wonderful sense of motivation as we strive to be better Spiritists. Perhaps I find his personality irritating and his technique barbaric, but he is a good spiritist in his own right. Unfortunately for him, I'm better."

Aldgare's eyes lingered a moment longer. While she couldn't hide her feelings for Rothsam from the master aurist, she could hope to muddle their meaning. If her acting was good enough she might be able to attribute her intense feelings to a spirited rivalry rather than all out war.

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Dance For Me

Postby Madeira Dusk on August 28th, 2019, 3:55 pm

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    "Indeed, miss Craven, no doubt you are." Aldgare nodded and retreated, and she had no way to tell whether he had bought the act or not.

    It was a long, miserable walk to the neighbouring peak of Tenten. When the Dawn Tower's tall spires finally materialized from the gloom the assembled party grumbled with relief and picked up the pace. The Basilika sat in the Dawn's shadow, in the same grounds at the library. During the day the Basilika was alive with debate as scholars argued the finer points of philosophy, and at night it transformed into an auction house. The voices raised in passionate rhetoric gave way to the subdued hum of art aficionados, who spoke in whispers as if the art were sleeping things they dare not disturb.

    But tonight neither hum nor shout were present. The grounds were almost eerily quiet as Madeira led them to the roped off front door. The plaque hanging on the rope simply said: closed for construction. But she knew differently, and so did the men and women behind her. She turned to them, rubbing her gloved hands together eagerly.

    "This shall be great hands on practice. I trust you can all sense that this place is haunted?" There was nodding in the group. Madeira
    motioned to a blonde, middle aged woman who was one of the first to agree. "Missus Bisset, can you tell me how you know?"

    "Because Princess is sticking her nose in it."

    The dark night hid the dark Myrian as he came slouching up the path. Shirtless in the rain, the water trickled in rivulets between lean,
    hard muscles and across stark black tattoos. He was showing teeth, but not in a smile. His obvious displeasure at her appearance made her think that for once he was not expecting her.

    "Is there a reason you're disrupting my class, Rothsam?" Madeira deadpanned, deliberately bringing the lesson to a screeching halt so the assembled men and woman would turn to the interruption. Hopefully the Myrian would realize these were not little teenagers fresh from the academy that she had running around in the dead of night with, these were the kind of people that meant something, where his teasing would have consequences. She raised a brow behind their backs and smiled a thin smile, daring him to continue disrespecting her in their presence.

    "Rothsam, its a pleasure to see you again", Aldagre stepped forward to offer his hand amid a chorus of coolly polite but familiar hellos from the assembled alumni. "I had heard we might be expecting you."

    The unstable political climate of Lhavit was perfectly represented in that handshake, as the noble wealth of the old families clasped with the rough, battle scared hand of the independent mage.

    "I wish I could say the same. It's not like the Towers to respond to such... menial tasks."

    "The best teacher is experience", Madeira headed off before Aldgare could reply. "If you'll excuse us, our lesson awaits.".
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    Dance For Me

    Postby Madeira Dusk on August 28th, 2019, 5:59 pm

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      Holding the slackened rope high, Madeira ducked beneath the construction sign and waved the rest of the class through. Only once Aldgare, the last of her six students, were through did the Myrian speak.

      "Stay a while, princess. Let's talk."

      That gravelly voice sent a shiver down Madeira's spine. Even after he had lived so many decades in Lhavit you could still hear the dark jungle rattle in his words. She faced him with an easy smile, dropping the rope between them.

      "Certainly. Go on inside, class, I'll be just a moment."

      Aldgare lingered by the door as the rest of the class stooped inside out of the rain. He seemed to waver with uncharacteristic indecision for a moment, his unsettlingly piercing gaze flicking between Rothsam and Madeira.

      "Go ahead, sir. I'll be right behind you", Madeira motioned to the door. "Get everyone corralled for me and start sussing out the nature of this haunting."

      The aurist sighed mightily. "Of course, professor. And if I may be so bold as to ask a favour... Try to be civil. Both of you. I can read the history on you, but I know professionals such as yourselves would never let personal matters get in the way of your responsibilities."

      Aldgare Dusk nodded to both of them and ducked inside, vanishing from sight and leaving a palpable taste of shame in the air.

      "Well?" Madeira faced Rothsam, holding her cloak tightly closed with her gloved fist. "Sweet of you to stop by, but as you can see the situation is handled."

      The Myrian slouched forward, stepping further into the glow of the one lantern hanging above the door. He wasn't a large man, in fact he was quite short by human male standards, but something about him loomed tall over most other men. Madeira fought the instinct to step back as he approached the rope barrier. Leaning into her space, his breath ghosted in the chill air.

      "I've been fine with you soft handed little runts as long as you stayed in your ivory towers, reading your books and patting yourselves on the back thinking you know a thing about what Spiritism really is", he hissed, his voice whisper soft under the patter of the rain. "But now you're stepping into my territory. These are my jobs. My business. You think your petching pedigree means you can have whatever you want? Petch that. I've been working on the ground in this city for decades. Stay on your side."

      Stand your ground, she told herself. Channeling Lani's towering self respect she stood tall and looked the savage straight in the eye. A whisper of dijed ran in liquid currents through her mouth, knitting through her words with a sense of unshakable power.

      "You've been under my feet since the moment I've stepped off the boat, Rothsam. Look at you, throwing around words like "turf" and "runt" like we're playing by dog rules. You're not in the jungle anymore. If I want your jobs I will have them, if I want your "turf" I'll have that too. Things are changing in this stagnant little world you've built for yourself. Get out of my way or be swept aside."

      Her teeth clicked with the last word, the sizzling, electric power of the hypnotism cut off in a moment. But the magic lingers, as it always does. She squinted up at him, hoping to see the effect simmering away in his bloodshot eyes.

      The Myrian only smiled, shaking his head like he was dislodging an irksome fly and spraying her with water. "Now, that mouth wouldn't be so pretty if I smashed your teeth in."

      It didn't work. That was the second time he had shrugged off her magic. What was he? An act of bravado kept the uncertainty from showing on her face. "That's right, puppy. Bark when there's no bite left."

      "Oh, I'll do more than that. I'll howl. I'll throw my head back and let the world know there's more than just skeletons in your closet, princess."

      "What the hai are you talking about?"

      "What ever did happen to that priest? Perhaps the Shinya should... dust for clues?" The Myrian licked his teeth almost sensually, his eyes locked on Madeira's suddenly bloodless face.


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      Madeira Dusk
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      Dance For Me

      Postby Madeira Dusk on August 28th, 2019, 7:08 pm

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      "How do you-"

      "How do I what? How do I know?" He laughed, his voice poisonously sweet, savouring her shock. "How do I know Uldr is gunning for your skinny little ass? How do I know you're an opportunistic gold digger making moony eyes at Miss Dusk herself? How could I possibly know that you're a filthy little hypnotist?"

      "What? What, no, that's not-"

      "Do these petchers know their precious little prodigy plays with bones and body fluids in her spare time? Could it be that the cursed fetish that turned pretty miss Chiona Dusk into a drooling retard was one of yours?"

      "You know that's not true!"

      "Oh, but what if it is?" He was pushing forward so far the rope was cutting across his abdomen. His lips were pulled back in a sickle smile that looked to be ticks away from opening up and swallowing her whole. Madeira was trying to stand her ground, but her back was bent almost fully back in an effort to put some space between her and the foul things that poured from his mouth. Her head was swimming, her words finally failing her as she struggled to make a single coherent thought as all her closest secrets came pouring out of this creatures to pool completely exposed at her feet.

      "The Shinya might have a lot to think about, what with the nuclear weapon you have casually squirreled away in your closet, and the room full of cursed items in your basement. Oh, right, the basement! Do remember to tell the Shinya raiding your house that it could open up and eat them at any moment. It's only kind. But then, they might not believe the woman who keeps coming to the Catholicon babbling about being murdered by bears and rainbows and me, their trusted city Spiritist."

      "If this is a threat-"

      "Petch yes this is a threat. Stay out of my way. You elitist, old money shits think you can step over us like we're groveling in the dirt. But things are changing in this stagnant city, but not like you think." his eyes glittered with malice, water running like tears over his tattooed cheeks. "Your Ivory towers aren't going to stay up for much longer. And once you're in the dirt with the rest of us we'll see how long Madeira Craven is going to last."

      "Ma'am?" Royce stuck his mustachioed head out the door, squinting into the meager glow of the lamp overhead. Behind him came a cacophony of what sounded like very expensive explosions. "We could use some help- Is everything okay?"

      He blinked to see the dark, shirtless Rothsam and prim, glittering professor bent back like an armless waltz, close enough to kiss. The Myrian was the first to pull back, straightening up with a satisfied purr.

      "Everything's fine", Madeira worked to keep her voice steady as her heart roared in her ears. She beat out her skirts and willed blood back into her cheeks, keeping up the act that was suddenly so vital to her position.

      "You can take this one, princess. But next time you try to pull one over on me..."

      "Yes, yes, okay", she waved him off, busying herself with the collar of her dress as she turned to follow Royce through the door. But with those words they both knew he had won, and her stomach twisted to admit it.

      "You have yourself a good night, sweetheart."

      [b]WC: 589[/b[]
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      Madeira Dusk
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      Dance For Me

      Postby Madeira Dusk on August 30th, 2019, 4:48 am

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      Grades Awarded!

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      Madeira Craven

      Skills
      • Leadership: 2xp
      • Tracking: 1xp
      • Planning: 1xp
      • Acting: 3xp
      • Politics: 1xp
      • Intimidation: 2xp
      • Hypnotism: 1xp

      Lores
      • Leadership: organizing a group with haste
      • Aldagre: knows of the rivalry between Madeira and Rothsam
      • Acting: composing a character
      • Lore of attempting to hide emotions from a master aurist
      • Tracking: following Eiyon sense
      • Politics: the social consequences of powerful people
      • Intimidation: naked threat
      • Rothsam: pushed too far
      • Acting: channelling Lani’s attitude
      • Rothsam: knows about the Desolate One
      • Rothsam: knows Madeira is a hypnotist
      • Rothsam: has the upper hand

      Awards & Retribution


      Notes
      Notes here.
      User avatar
      Madeira Dusk
      long may she reign
       
      Posts: 1774
      Words: 1599220
      Joined roleplay: October 11th, 2016, 7:45 pm
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