Real rain. Not slow motion, upside down, or on fire. Just cold, wet, and predicable. It was nice, another benefit to having left the insanity of Alvadas. Laszlo shrugged in surprise as the rain fell upon his shoulders, quickly soaking into his clothing and weighing down his hair. Though Summer was just a few weeks off, the chill it brought to the air was biting, and he shivered.
Before reaching for the sword, Laszlo turned his head and sent a cautious glance skyward. Syna's brilliant radiance was still there, lurking behind the clouds, visible through thin veins of light that parted the gray. For now she wore a veil, surrendering the sky to Zulrav, but she wasn't gone.
Laszlo exhaled into the wet air, turning to Elhaym again sitting in front of him. Thin streams of coursing water clawed over the black, sleek scabbard, caressing around the ornamental dragonflies. It almost looked innocuous there on the ground, laid out on soft, blue linen, but it was a weapon. Not wanting to incur the wrath of Elhaym's impatience, Laszlo leaned forward and pulled the remaining sword into his own lap. Grasping the hilt, he withdrew it from its sheath enough to get a glimpse of its silvery blade. Beautifully crafted though it was, it was designed to cause death. Magic was often described as a double-edged blade, but somehow this instrument seemed so much more deadly.
"A sword," he breathed thoughtfully, clapping the scabbard to the hilt again. "I've thought about learning to use one, if only for self-defense, but I'm not sure I have it in me to attack someone else." The mirror cracks into a perfect spiderweb. She gasps. Laszlo looks down to the dagger in his hand, its hilt pressed into her ribs. He can't see the blade. "At least, with Hypnotism, no one gets hurt but the user. Don't get me wrong, I'm not turning you down. I don't lack the gall to hold a blade. I'm just… apprehensive about the idea."
There was also the duality of Laszlo's existence. During the day and night, he was physically an entirely different person. If he learned balance and poise in one form, he may have to relearn it for the other. Would his Symenestra form be more agile, or would his Ethaefal form be more durable? Perhaps they would both have their advantages, and their weaknesses.
Elhaym had lent him a blade that belonged to her ancestor, to show her end of this arrangement. It felt unfair, even if Laszlo was holding onto a priceless artifact. Revealing the secrets of Hypnotism in exchange for holding a blade didn't sound like an even exchange. The Acolyte was teaching a man to fish. Laszlo was teaching a woman how to drain the lake. "Hypnotism isn't necessarily a weapon. It's more like a utility. It's an art of suggestion and persuasion, not force. That's why it loses its power when the target becomes aware of it. It requires a gentle hand."
With his free hand, Laszlo rubbed at his chest again through his wet, heavy shirt. Taking advantage of his day form, he applied his celestial talent to the newly born bruises still forming upon his reddened skin. The pain diminished, a little, but an acute soreness remained. It would have to do. "The manipulation of djed plays a smaller part than you might think. It operates more on charisma, body language, and observation. Hypnotism has to feel natural; the target has to think their mind is their own. If you try to instill the feeling of happiness to someone who's presently drowning, it probably won't work." He paused awkwardly. "Well not you-you. I'm not teaching you how to use it. But the general you, as in… oh never mind."
Laszlo lifted one hand, wet from the rain, and extended it toward Elhaym. He spotted a note of hesitance on her face, but he persistently waited. "Just take my hand. I'm not going to do anything to it." Once she complied, Laszlo gently closed his fingers around her smaller hand. She was a strongly built woman, but her fingers were still slender and feminine. As much as she knocked him around, it was easy for Laszlo to forget that she was just a woman. "Hypnotism doesn't use any grand gestures or incantations. It's subtle and deceptive. There are four or five primary ways of manipulating your target, but there's always room for creativity. A beginner hypnotist is easy to spot because he can only use about three different methods with any success: eye contact, voice and touch."
At the last word, Laszlo's fingers adjusted slightly. Elhaym was aware of his magic, so he would have to be more assertive to make her feel it. No single, subtle method would work, so he used all three. The djed prickled the skin of his hand, itched at his eyes, and tasted spicy and tingled on his tongue. Because it was easy, and Laszlo was prone to self-indulgence, he used his own handsome appearance to inspire a warm, fluttering feeling of attraction in Elhaym toward the Ethaefal. His gold eyes were intensely locked on hers, almost luminous despite the low light of this rainy afternoon. Rosy lips were gently parted, the rain dripping from the contours of his face.
He let go of her hand, resting it again on the sword's scabbard. "A beginner generally sticks to suggestions. He seems trustworthy, despite other traits that may suggest otherwise. He might be charming, or funny. Or he may go the other route and make himself more intimidating. A swordsman might add flair to the drawing of a sword by literally inspiring his opponent to fear him. Hypnotists generally avoid being overt, though. It's against our… creed."
Laszlo continued, but lowered his eyes, afraid that Elhaym might become angry at what he was about to say. "I'm not a beginner. Actually I'm quite good at what I do. It takes practice, but a good Hypnotist knows what to look for in another person before he tries to push them. I can make you feel whatever I want you to feel, and if you didn't know that I was doing it, you wouldn't think to accuse me. People don't understand themselves, and that's where a Hypnotist takes advantage. Many people are angry all the time, and don't really know why. They may blame others, or try to cure it, but they don't question that the emotion is there. Some people are lost, or depressed, or always hoping. Recognizing that and working with it ensures a Hypnotist's success. A target's best defense is a sound mind.
"You, for example, strike me as someone who is emotionally unstable. That makes you easy to manipulate. I don't have to understand you to control you, because you already understand yourself more than I could. All I had to do, the other day, was implant a strong suggestion that you should remove your foot from my shoulder. Your own mind invented the reasons why. Maybe you felt shame, or you just felt awkward. Hell, maybe you were even sorry. I didn't give you an emotion, because that would have been pushing too hard. I just needed to use a light touch. Less is more."
He paused, taking the moment to lick rain off his lips and rewet is mouth. The blond curls of his hair were thoroughly soaked and dark now, clinging to the sides of his face and neck, and plastered around the elegant curves of his horns. Water dripped from the tips of them continuously, creating a steady patter upon his shoulders. "Suggestions are easy. I can also put thoughts into your head, clearly worded in your own voice." Golden eyes flashed upward with a sudden flourish.
He can't do that, Elhaym would think at that moment, with a thought louder than any others in her head. She would have heard it in her own voice, with her own natural inflection: a hybrid mishmash of Syliran and Lhavitian accents.
"Yes I can," Laszlo remarked cattily, though he quickly winced. Pushing that thought into her head, so soon after pouring so much effort into making her feel, had sent a sharp spasm of pain into his temple. He grunted softly and rubbed at the base of his horn. "Those are trickier, because if I made you think, 'I wonder if there are flying wolf hounds', you'd know that thought wasn't your own." A desire bloomed in the back of Laszlo's mind, wanting to subject Elhaym to more Hypnotism. She was willing, and she had given her consent. Why not test himself, to see if he could manipulate a conscious target? Ever since revealing himself to Seven and Victor, he had wanted more of a challenge.
Laszlo shivered, but not from the cold. He bit his tongue before speaking. "I need a break before I show you more. This is far too tempting. I've overgiven before. It's extremely painful, and last time there was a lot of blood. I know it's raining but I'd like to avoid that for now. I like this shirt." |