driftfleet | 004 // the house of sin

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004 // the house of sin

Who: Dorian and assorted guests
Broadcast: Fleet-wide, 3/10
Action: In a villa practically in the forest (THE HOUSE OF SIN)
When: Broadcast- 3/10 // Action- 3/9-3/31? Until we leave.

Broadcast:

[The broadcast goes out on 3/10, and Dorian smirks a bit into the feed.]

I believe I've secured lodging for myself, with room enough for several others. If you need a place to stay, do let me know. It's a quaint little villa a bit outside of town. ...please don't mind the suspicious glances, I assure you, I've done nothing entirely against the guidelines that were set.

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Action:

[Dorian has secured a villa, but the residents of Mor don't seem too keen on having an evil mage for a neighbor. As the month goes on, more and more villagers will show up to stand at the gates of the villa and threaten to come in after the "evil wizard".

Maybe he shouldn't have gone so overboard with the whole "contacting the spirits of the dead" thing.]

((OOC: Mingle post for the House of Sin. We'll pretend there are enough rooms in here for everyone! Even if you character only drops by to rest their feet a bit, everyone is welcome to visit and stay the night if they want.))

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[Fenris stills, when he hears Dorian's voice, his shoulders relax a little. He's awake, again. He wasn't dragged into the Fade never to return, never to awake this time. He exhales, turning to look at him, eyes glancing over, checking he was really still there. ]

It will give a little charm to the place.

[A pause, and he crosses over to the bed. ]

How are you feeling?

[He shifts a bit on the bed so Fenris can sit down next to him.]

Like my soul has been bled out. It's...

[His mouth is a bit dry when he thinks of it.]

Frightening. If he didn't stop...I'm not certain what would have happened.

[If anyone would have told him a month ago that he would give anything for a mage to have their power brought back to them, Fenris would have laughed in their face. And probably punched them for good measure. And yet, here he is. He sits down beside Dorian, his hand moving to brush a hand over his forehead, moving the sweat-soaked hair from his eyes.]

Well, he did. Is there anything I can get you?

[Anything he can do to at least pretend he can help, to make even some of this pain go away. ]

This is enough.

[He says it softly, closing his eyes and managing a weak smile at the touch.]

But you are welcome to kiss me, for both our sakes.

[And he opens an eye, looking up at him with a soft smirk, not nearly as cutting as it normally would be.]

Edited 2015-03-27 03:17 (UTC)

[It would, of course, be then that Jove chooses to check on the two of them. She'd grown accustomed to Fenris' permanent presence in Dorian's room, came to be thankful for it quickly. It let her leave Dorian's side long enough to see to his care, to how in the world they would fix this... whatever it had been, but more importantly it had been nice to see someone else had come to care for Dorian as much as she did. As much as he deserved to be cared for.

Of course, when she opens the door with a bowl of broth in one hand and sees the two of them so clearly in the midst of a very intimate moment, the assumptions of just how Fenris cared for Dorian quickly shift. She starts to back out of the room, a quick smile on her face that is real but tinged with confusion, because when did this happen?]

I didn't mean to interrupt. I'll leave the soup, Fenris, see that he eats something.

[Fenris isn't the best at public shows of affection. Behind closed doors, he's fine, but before others? His words tie in knots and he's as awkward as a teenager experiencing a first crush. He doesn't know why.

Still, as much as he'd rather awkwardly shy away, he knows that's the last thing Dorian needs. Dorian has been someone to be hidden, a dirty secret for his lovers past for too long. He had told Dorian he wasn't ashamed of him, of what this between them was, and he meant it.

So he gives Dorian his requested kiss, it's shorter and more chaste than he had in mind, but he gives it all the same. He's not going to hide this for anyone's sakes. Then he sits back, giving a nonchlant shrug. He was also very serious about not caring what other people thought, there's no concern or nervousness here. ]

It is fine, Jove. I'm sure he has missed you.

[He expected Fenris to pull away, braced himself when the door opened. Dorian was used to that, used to being the shameful daliance.

But Fenris didn't, and Dorian accepts the kiss gladly, settling back against the pillows with a weak but earnest smile.

It is a strange blessing, to have someone who would kiss him where others could see.]

Jove.

[One hand goes to Fenris's waist, his other reaching out, gold rings on his vanity for the moment and fingers bare save for the black polish on his nails.]

Consanguinea, I did miss you. I do hope that the others don't lament that I have the two most attractive people fussing over me.

[She doesn't begrudge them their sweet kiss, but it's not the sort of thing to inspire her to stay. She knows Fenris well enough that showing affection would be an intensely private thing, not meant for her to eyes when it so clearly meant far more than just I care for someone. There's more here, it's blatantly clear, and it's not her place to stay.

Until they ask her to, and her shifting backwards stops when Dorian reaches a hand out to her. There are a million questions all swarming in her head at once, but it's hardly the time. Instead of voicing any of them, she closes the door behind her and goes to the unoccupied side of Dorian.]

You may hear some complaints, lethallin, but they'd hardly matter under any circumstances. How are you feeling?

[Fenris recognises the name Dorian gives her, and a smile ghosts across his face, for a moment. He remains silent, not moving from Dorian's side, but not interrupting them all the same. He's glad that Dorian have someone to call that name by. If anyone deserves it, it's Jove. ]

Oh, wonderful. I feel wonderful. A bit like someone tried to rip my soul out of me. You can imagine that I am sleeping like a baby. Which, as I am led to believe, means that I am awake at all hours.

[His voice sounds a bit hollow, but he tries. The bravado and bluster are a shield, something safe.]

Fenris, help yourself, I'm not in a state to eat just yet. If you don't now, you may never, arcanus, and I doubt brooding and pacing is suitable sustenance.

[He gently pats him, fondly, and looks over at Jove as if to say "you know how much of a handful he is".

It was easier to hide behind the warmth, the joking, to pretend that everything was fine.]

[There had been softness in her eyes, put there out of love for Dorian and a real sense of contentment that he might have found someone for himself even despite her confusion over the quickness of it. Her hand had been about to rest on his shoulder gently. She wanted to kiss his brow and tell him she was pleased he was finally awake enough to speak to her.

The flippancy doesn't sit well, however, and her eyes go hard as her hand changes trajectory to rest on the bed instead. It's his nature to joke, she knows that. But it's her nature to care too much about people she probably shouldn't like at all and she wants to shout at him, demand to know what he was thinking, that he take this more seriously. She could have lost him and the idea leaves her feeling cold, numb.

But she's still hesitant to break the mood between Fenris and Dorian, so she hands the bowl over to Fenris.]

There's more if you're still hungry, but do see that he has at least a few spoonfuls.

[Fenris' brow furrows, as he looks down at the bowl in his hands. The flippancy doesn't sit well with him, either.]

No. This is for you, you will only do yourself further detriment by not eating it.

[Dorian almost protests, but instead he lets out a weary sigh, shifting to sit up in bed, tucking pillows behind his back.

He wants to argue with them, to insist he's fine and they're both fussing for no reason...or even to slung around sharp words.

Instead he gives them a look, almost like a sullen child.]

Everyone is so helpful.

[He looks aside and gestures to Fenris.]

Very well, but of either of you insist on holding the spoon I won't eat. I don't need to be fed like a child.

[Truly, the picture of maturity.]

[Jove helps him settle against the pillows, expression darkening even more at that tone. At least Fenris seems to be on the same page as her, though, and she shares a look with him before addressing Dorian again.]

You're aware we had no idea what had happened to you, aren't you? I hope you'll excuse us for wanting to be sure your brush with death will be your last for the next, I don't know, few months at least.

[There's heat in her voice, a steady simmer of it. How dare he act this way, as though they had no right to worry about him.]

[Fenris catches her look and rolls his eyes. He gets it, Jove, really he does. He hands Dorian the bowl, murmuring quietly in Tevene as he does so. ]

The petulant sulking does not suit you.

[Then, back to the common tongue, he looks at Jove. ]

I think a few months is being painfully optimistic. He seems to have a habit of actively seeking out trouble.

[It was easier to be a brat, for Dorian, at least, than to accept it when people honestly worried and cared for him.

Finally, he let out a weary sigh.]

Very well, I'll stop fighting you. Terribly stubborn, both of you.

[He looks down into the soup, fighting the sinking feeling in his stomach. He was so far away from anything even remotely resembling a "comfort zone" anymore that he was starting to grow snappish, like a frightened animal trapped in a corner.

Things are simpler when he doesn't have to think about them, when he can just act.

He takes a spoonful of soup, blowing on it to cool it down before putting it in his mouth. He thinks, for a few moments.]

I'm certain you both remember the dragon that we faced recently. Well, as it would happen...that was a member of the Fleet, as I'm certain you're both aware- Tek.

[He waves a hand to silence them, he isn't done yet.]

I retrieved a necklace from the corpse...something drew me to it. After a short time I realized that he was locked inside, somehow, like his soul was bound to it. I am...

[He looked down at the bowl in his lap.]

...not the sort of man to keep something like that. Much as you might find it hypocritical of me, Jove, an entire soul is an entirely different matter, to me. I will not keep those sort of things. So I set out and re-bound him, to this plane of existence. Not to me, no, but to his new body.

[He was omitting the part of cooperating with Robin. He wasn't fond of that part.]

...regardless, when he was all set and good, he turned on me and ripped as much magic from me as he could.

[He wants to sound fine when he says it, but he shifts, folding in on himself a bit, shoulders slouched and arms tight against his chest, wincing, the soup bowl shaking and broth spilling a bit onto the blanket.]

[She nearly interrupts him to ask him to stop talking when Tek comes up. She isn't ready to think about that yet, that she led a charge to murder someone who had become... what, she doesn't know. Something close to a friend, but certainly not someone she wished to see dead. Not by her hand, certainly, and what had she done?

Exactly that. In the end, the result of the fight was on her. Dorian's state is partly her fault and it isn't something she's capable of considering just yet. She needs time, distance, a forest between herself and this house so she can break down where no one will see it.

So she's prepared to stop him, until he goes on. Ready to insist she knows he's too good a man to keep something so terrible. But then he says something very, very important.]

He did what? [Her tone is ice, but her hand is gentle as she lays it over Dorian's to stop his shaking hands.] Did he know? Was it something he had control of?

[Dorian knows her well. He'll see she intends to kill Tek all over again, depending on which answer he happens to give.]

[Fenris listens, in silence. Of course Dorian would try to free a soul from a soulstone. Of course he would. It's further proof that Dorian is everything that their countrymen are not. There's a fierce sort of pride there, bubbling under his anger and frustration at the situation in general.

As Dorian folds over, he steps closer, concern crossing his features. He can't FIX this, and it's eating at him. But he can fix the people who did this to Dorian. He is, after all, an unrepentant killer. ]

He better not have.

[Tek's chances of increased existence aren't looking that great either way. A horrible little voice of self doubt (it usually spoke with Danarius' voice) reminds him that he killed the damn dragon-man in the first place. That he set off this chain of events. Once again, his inability to think ahead has got someone he cares about hurt. ]

[Dorian casts a glance to Fenris, a thin, apologetic smile on his face, that Fenris has to see him in such a state. He knows that Fenris is the last one to judge, but there is still a matter of Dorian's pride.

He glances over at Jove, uncertain, and gives her hand a shaky squeeze.]

What is done is done. I'd rather wash my hands of it- we killed him, I brought him back. I'd say that it balances out, in a way. Not that I don't care for a little bit of murder, it does keep things from getting boring.

I suspect that he was weakened. I, well, in the fight, there was almost a glut of death energy. I was in a state that he was almost only taking back what I'd acquired.

[Almost.]

I'm in full support of murdering people when they deserve it, but...I'd rather put this entire ordeal behind me.

[He can still feel the mana being siphoned from him, like the air being stolen from his lungs but felt deeper, in his soul.

He shivers.]

Edited 2015-03-28 02:30 (UTC)

[She wants to deny this, to claim bloody satisfaction and make Tek pay, but with Dorian looking at her that way, shaking the way he is... It's almost enough to put it out of her mind.]

I'll see what he has to say for himself. If he did it for a reason I can forgive, then I will. Otherwise, he's not at all fond of electricity and I've got plenty to spare.

[For now, she moves a little closer to Dorian and pulls the covers around him more tightly, trying to ease his shivering.]

I think Fenris and I feel the same way about people who would dare to hurt you, lethallin. I killed a man for threatening Josie once, and you've got two angry elves on your side this time. [She leans in to his forehead, trying to focus on the love she feels for Dorian instead of the hatred for Tek. Focus on the healing, let the rest come later.] It would be best if we could find answers, but only time will tell.

[Fenris wishes he could focus on the healing, that he could huddle close to Dorian and make things feel better. But he can't. He's not wired for that sort of thing. It astounds him how a touch, a few gentle words can be calming, can offer resolve and hope. These things are beyond him.

But bloody, terrible vengeance? These things are not. There's a horrible scraping sound as he picks his sword up from where he's propped it against a wall. ]

Please. He's a monster, he doesn't have reasons. He destroys, and that is all he's capable of.

[The irony isn't lost on him. Takes one to know one.]

What's to stop him doing this again, sometime?

Watch him, then, and if he makes any false movements, then we strike.

[He sets aside the soup, letting Jove pull him close, and he looks over to Fenris.]

Arcanus, much as I'd like to see you murder everyone who looks at you with crossed eyes, please let this be for now.

[There they go with their Tevintery secrets again, but Jove can't really hold it against them. They likely haven't had the chance to work out how to talk to her about this, so she can forgive them a few sentences passed just between the two of them.

She does stop Dorian from setting his soup aside, though.]

Eat, Dorian. You can still do it with me leaning on you and you'll never regain your strength if you don't eat.

[And you're gonna need your strength, for reasons. Naked reasons. Naked Fenris reasons.]

And anyway, until we know if what Tek did was an accident or a malicious attack, we can't do much. We'll have to wait for now.

[They are truly awful with their Tevintery secrets. Whatever Dorian said seems to have given Fenris reason to pause. He squares his shoulders, exhales and turns back, putting his sword down. ]

Fine.

[He'll go lean on the wall, fold his arms and sulk about it. ] Would could have cut his head off. That would have helped.

[Fenris no, it wouldn't. ]

[Dorian sighs softly at the sulking, but manages a scoff. It's endearing, in its own way, how Fenris wants to murder everything and everyone, and Dorian scoops up a spoonful of soup.]

At the moment, there's little we can do.

[He lets out a heavy breath. He hates to feel powerless, but right now he just has to wait.]

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004 // the house of sin

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