A Time To Heal. (Closed)

[Lysander]

There had been days where he’d promised himself that he’d seek out Seodai; that he’d tell him, show him, the man—the boy—he was before he died. The body in which he would spend half of his life; a life with no end, he’d been told, barring disease or mortal wound; a life free of age, however badly he would come to want it. Whenever he managed to shuffle his iron-weighted feet to the bend in the road that lead towards Theo’s farm, he stopped, and that familiar sick feeling in his stomach sent him running home. It felt like deception, and because he could never rationalize what motivated him, the game inspired as much confusion as it did guilt.

A careless stumble seconds earlier could have very well brought a means to end it—and despite his reservations in continuing the facade, Lysander was positive that a public festival was no place for such an unveiling.

Lysander had opened his mouth to yell at Talen, stupid Talen, for shouting his name like some meat-headed oaf, but something drew the very breath from his lungs and bathed him in blinding light. He was deaf to the shuffle and murmur of the immediate crowd as Leth claimed him, aged him, made him beautiful as day officially rolled over for night. When the light petered out, and Lysander was left in the glory of his autumn colors before Seodai and Talen—gold on gold on gold—he smiled sheepishly. “Of course I came.” The truth was he hadn’t planned on seeking out the farmer until he had safely changed elsewhere. In private. Discomfort rotted the lining of his stomach. He had felt the eyes on him, but the sensation passed as the hum of a thousand conversations at once started up again.

The Ethaefal dipped and swung his legs over the long bench to sit beside Seodai before rolling up a set of sleeves that were too short on a shirt that was almost suffocating across his chest. “I will have a drink, thank you,” his belated reply to Talen was far calmer than his initial instinct. When the mug of degtine was slid across the table to land in the junction of his palms, he lifted it and drank deep, aching for that tingling burn on his lips, hot fingertips reaching down his throat, through his chest. When he tilted his head sideways, gravity pulled him further than he intended, and curvaceous horn grazed the gentle slope of Seodai’s shoulder. Lysander jerked away almost immediately, lifting his mug back to his lips with a chuckle. However apparent it was to the rest of their tiny world, the fallen knew naught of the fire he lit in the poor blonde’s heart.

“You sound surprised,” he added, turning his honeyed smile on Seodai’s sun-kissed face, “that I’m here, that is.”

[Talen Stirling]

Talen stared in curious awe, less blinded but at least as surprised and amazed by Lysander's sudden change of form. It was shocking to see the boy he had met become this unearthly man, taller than Talen himself and almost luminiscently handsome. In this guise, he seemed more confident and older, yet the same look of mischief and glint of childishness seemed hidden within the clear and clean features of his new visage. Quite the fascinating change to be sure. Talen reached back and filled another pint of degtine swiftly, sending it gliding across the table into the waiting hands of the manchild fallen from the sky alongside a friendly, acknowledging smile. He turned to his cousin to ask him what he thought of the change before him, yet Seo's expression and Lysander's question stopped him before words came out. He'd never, ever seen Seo with that expression on his face. It seemed foreign there, yet somehow intimately familiar. What was that intense look he graced the Ethaefal with? It reminded him of something, yet he had no imagination to guess the origin of Seodai's feelings. The very fact that they could be directed at a man was a mystery to him, and his cousin had never shown interest in anyone. Talen was oblivious, and thoroughly confused as to why his cousin did not even have the time to look at him.

[Seodai]

In a breath Lysander was beside him, close enough that Seodai could feel the warmth of his handsome frame. He watched, utterly bewitched, as Lysander accepted the mug and tossed back a healthy drink of its contents. His remained untouched, as it likely would. The ethaefal was all the drug he needed. Seodai gave a small, secret smile to the golden one beside of him when that horn brushed his shoulder. Really, he had nothing to give to the conversation, to the social interaction around him, except but to stare. Until, of course, Lysander spoke. His voice was as commanding as the fine features of his face, the unfair and otherworldly beauty he possessed. Seodai suppressed a shiver, curled his fingers around his mug, and shrugged his shoulders with an impish smile. Had Lysander been a normal person, and Seodai less subdued, he might have ranted about the two plus weeks he had spent looking for Lysander, to no avail. Neither were true. "I am," he admitted, in a tone that would likely be quite foreign to his cousin. "You're impossible to find. Where do you go for so long? Where do you hide?" And why? Talen made a noise across the table, and it broke Seodai's fixation, his gaze shifting from Lysander for the first time since the ethaefal had joined them. Gazing at the normal human face across from him, Seodai realized that he might not be so good at being around other people, if he was around Lysander too. He grappled with words, with thoughts - trying very hard to remember what his cousin had been saying just before Lysander had joined them. He failed. He couldn't think beyond the twinkle of moonlight on the golden locks that were close enough to touch. Instead, he desperately grasped at the first thing that might make sense. "You know Lysander?" A dangerous road, this discussion, but Seodai had no idea.

[Daroes Murphy]

Murphy watched as all the people came to the festival. He stood slowly intent on making his way to the food and drink table. He stood, stretched slowly and walked off toward all the other festivities. He saw Lucy look at him then she looked like she daydreamed a minute then rejoined all the conversations around her. Murphy didn't know what to think at first, he knew that there were other Kelvics around, Lucy and her brother, so he was more at ease. He walked over to the food and drink table and saw no one particular that caught Murphy's interested. The Kelvic boy sighed and look at the fresh food, all of it looked delicious so he chose very carefully at where he would start. "Wow, only if I could have it all." Murphy said hungrily, he sighed and grabbed an apple and rubbed it on his shirt, "So," He spoke to the apple, "I shall start with you." He took a bite out of it hearing the crisp crunch when he bit off a piece.

He walked towards all the people hoping someone would just walk up and start a conversation but he knew his hopes were false, everyone was talking to someone so he stopped looking around for someone to talk and converse with and instead turned his attention to the apple he held in his hand and took another bite savoring the juicy meat of the red fruit.

[Galio Keln]

Galio grinned, while he had at first gone through food with gusto he was now feeling full. The food Syllke ahd broguth back had disappeared quickly amongst the group, at this point Galio was debating on getting up and bringing back another platter for them. While he was amongst friends he decided to stay near Lucy, almost afraid that if he left for more than a minute that she would disappear. Glancing around he spotted Seodai standing with two other guys who seemed close to his age, or at least where the same height as Seo. Then there was a flash of light and the boy was now a man, much taller than before. Deciding against leaving the table he focused on the conversation around him. After a few seconds of listening to everyone talk Galio wasn't really catching on to it, his attention shifted once more, this to Lucy. Even if he wasn’t keeping up with the conversation he could tell Lucy was avoiding it all together. She did that a lot, just thought about things without speaking them aloud. He figured it was because she had been in her other form for so long. He knew the feeling, after spending so much time without speech you just got used to not talking. “Lucy, you feeling okay? You‘ve been quiet ever since we arrived.” Galio directed his gaze to Syllke, giving in an encouraging look and nod towards Lucy. He knew that the Vantha would catch on and help him get his sister talking. Syllke was good with talking, it was one of the reasons Galio had followed him when he first met him.

[Lysander]

Alcohol’s dizzying hug had its hold on Lysander, wrapped warm across his chest and loose over his lips. The questions had come on quickly, and the fallen had little time to react before another half-truth trickled out like a dribble of warm degtine. “I’m busy a lot, during the day. Helping Sitka, or sleeping, or …” he trailed off, furrowed his brows, and wrenched himself loose of Seodai’s oceanic stare. “I’m sorry.”

It was not the soldier, but Lysander that intoned a hasty response before Talen’s mouth could move to react, “We’ve met before, not long after I fell.” A finger lined the rim of his half-empty glass and his gold-speckled gaze flickered shortly to Talen before drifting back to Seodai, fearing whatever disappointment he would inevitably draw from that face. The farmer’s smile was contagious, and his fleeting grimaces twisted the innermost depths of Lysander’s stomach—he always feared that he’d be the cause of such a countenance. Since their last meeting a fortnight ago, Lysander had vowed to be more careful with his words.

But the past was the past; did it matter that he had kept himself shut in for the past several moon’s turns, now that he was here, reunited with his friend—and another that, Lysander had neglected to realize, was seeing him in the eyes of his god for the first time—having a glorious time. Weren’t they? The mug lifted and its weight tested before he took another quaff of his beverage. “Have you ever bobbed for apples?” The question seemed to drop from the sky itself, but Lysander motioned in the direction from where he’d come, “I was getting pretty good at it.”

There was a strange sense of pride in his admission; it was childlike and refreshing, even if it left peculiar cracks in his god-given porcelain mask.

“Want to try?”

[Syllke Skyglow]

Syllke had been eating steadily, watching Murphy get up and wander away towards the tables laden with food, and talking to Vanos around mouthfuls of bread and meat and fruit. At Galio’s pointed look, he looked at the quiet, dark haired girl and had just swallowed and cleared his throat to ask Lucy if she was finding Denval quite changed from when she had left it. At that moment, without thinking, his gaze casually drifted off to the side where he knew a short ways off, Seodai was chatting with his cousin. What he saw made both his thoughts and his mouth come to a crashing halt, and he sat there, dumb founded. Seodai’s cousin was seated across a table from him, his back to the little group Syllke was eating with. But next to Seo was . . . a creature – a man – or perhaps a god? It took a moment for Syllke to clamber past the astonishment and think that, of course, this was a creature like Nashira, and every bit as beautiful, though in masculine form. Breathtakingly, achingly beautiful – with horns and hair and skin shimmering in the soft light of the evening which was now upon them. As he looked, Syllke saw that touch, that almost nonchalant, inconsequential brush of horn against shoulder, and that in turn led his eyes to Seodai’s face. His heart constricted, knowing immediately who the other-worldly creature was. Lysander. It could be no other – for no other being could inspire that look of utter rapture and enchantment in his friend – not even Bala. That was what Seo had been trying to convey the other day. That was what had brought Syllke’s own hopes crashing down around his ears. For a long moment, he could not look away. Then, not wishing to see Seo’s face for another second, his head swiveled back around to the others, his mouth clamping shut with a snap, his eyes rippling with deep bands of indigo and violet. Without saying a word, he rose abruptly and walked away, not hastily but with a purposeful gait.

[Daroes Murphy]

Murphy watched the crowd as he ate the apple. Looking it was like he was in another world everyone just surrounding him but not making contact but it was like he could hear and see everything, at least that's what it felt like. He looked down the bar at a group of three people one was Syllke's friend and the other two he couldn't recognize at first. He stepped away from the table to get a different look at the scene. the three boys, or two boys and one tall man were at the bar area talking away. He looked at them all and inspected them closely. Two normal looking people and one, a person who just was breath taking, he stared and notice two ram like horns on the side of his head, "Oh my I've never seen something, scratch that I've never heard about someone like him." Murphy proclaimed. He started to walk over to the bar to talk to the three and then looked at the long table and saw Syllke stand and walk away.

Murphy stopped where he stood spun on his heel and headed straight for Murphy's hunched over, dreary eyed friend. He tried to catch up but the crowd surrounding Syllke was to much for Murphy to catch up to him he turned to see if anyone else had noticed that Murphy's friend had dashed away from the party scene, at first it looked like no one but Murphy knew if he tried to gain someone's attention or wait for somebody to notice Syllke would be gone, so he turned his head back after his friend and dashed after him. "SYLLKE WAIT UP!" Murphy yelled over his the loud noise that the people made. Murphy sprinted up to him "What's the matter, Syllke?" Murphy asked eyes wide.

[Lucette]

Lucette crept along the outskirts of the crowd, almost nervously she watched the throng of men, women and children. The celebration was noisy, its people too animated. Having spent the majority of her life in more intimate, enclosed spaces, the Kelvic was unused to large crowds and their movements. Prowling around the periphery, uncertain in her comfort or safety, Lucette stayed in the back. At first the slave girl appeared agitated, but as time progressed and nothing frightening happened, the tension in her long limbs began to ease. Many faces she recognized from Nakali’s Temple… other slaves and guests alike. None of them seemed concerned or worried to her almond shaped eyes. Her head turned on her shoulders. Curiosity blossomed, and then got the better of her… she could no longer hold herself back. Softly, so lightly upon her feet Lucette wove into a break in the crowd. Immediately, a child offered a cup of degtine to the Kelvic, lifting it high. Lucette, tried not to startle at the suddenness of his gift. She could smell it easily, while memories of the degtine’s powerful taste wrinkled her delicate nose. “No… no thank you…” she said with a light, throaty rumble to her voice. The boy only shrugged and danced away to the next person, who had no such qualms concerning the strength of the drink. The crowd moved. The procession lead to the Temple, and Lucette trailed at the end of it, drawn along with them, but yet separate. Her path was circuitous, and methodical. And when they reached their destination, the Kelvic was unsure what to do… Silent and unblinking she observed the others as they lounged and laughed, and ate. Slowly Lucette wound her way through crowd. Shifting her body, she passed small groups of people, barely brushing against one or two of them in her slow, fluid movements.

[Syllke Skyglow]

Syllke did not slow down or stop when Murphy called out to him. But he wasn’t walking fast anyway, and soon enough his Kelvic friend had fallen into step beside him. Murphy’s voice held a sincere concern that Syllke did not wish to ignore – but he sure didn’t feel like discussing what was going on either. So he opted for a simple, “Oh, just felt like I needed to stretch my legs for a bit. Bit crowded back there.” At least both statements were true. He felt like taking a long, long walk – far away from the festivities. And there was at least one too many people in the crowd for his tastes. Forcing himself not to look back over his shoulder, he looked down instead, seeing Murphy’s boots striding along next to his own, as he had so often seen these past six months or so. With a very small smile, his blue-violet gaze went to the boy who walked beside him. His hand went lightly to Murphy’s upper arm. “Come if you like. But if you want to go back and hang out with the others, that’s OK. I’ll be alright. I’ll be back – in a bit.”