< Oh Cassandra | Logs | Forms From The Last Whisper >
Elora is sound asleep. So what if it's the middle of the afternoon? This job is exhausting.
Autumn{v} kicks the door to Elora's Manse open, wiping some of the scratches and blood-lines in his face with a kerchief, before breaking into SONG! "EEEEE~LLL~OOO~RRR~AAAAA~! Oh, Elora, oh, Elora, your dirty mouth, your firm ass, oh Elora, who hates fun, who loves cursing, who eats Dragons, OH~ELORA~! Where is Elora?"
Elora "Grrregggggggmmmmmm."
Autumn{v} finds Elora, and soon she has an Autumn over her, whispering in her ear "I found out we are screwed. Want me to demonstrate?"
Elora is quite sleepy, but thankfully she is also well-trained in the art of defeating frisky gentleman while semi-indisposed. One foot leaps out of the covers to strike Autumn in the unmentionables.
Autumn{v} Autumn himself would not be so foward if he was not used to this, however, and he just lifts his body, a mere inch ahead of her foot at all moments, and then... his hands are still to either side of her face, but they are all that is holding him, now, his feet on the ceiling. "You are mean."
Elora opens her eyes, her glance into Autumn's firm but calm. "Off my bed. Don't make me bite you."
Autumn{v} "You know, it ought to be my bed nowdays, I bet I've given it more action than you have. Or... well, more creative action, at least!" Stil, he pushes the bed, using the force to leap away and land in front of the bed! And then throws Elora a comb. "Here, you need it."
Elora glowers unhelpfully. "What is it?"
Autumn{v} "Talked to Cassie. Apparently, Every Fifth Dove is quite a bit of a bastard. He hurt her so... and, well. She tried to control my will and make me spy on our little Convention for her."
Bishop The Bishop of Strife arrives, nay, erupts, into Elora's chamber, flinging steel-clad arms wide, and flinging Venus in before him. "BEHOLD! I HAVE NEWS!"
Autumn{v} blinks, and puts a mask on his scratched and cut face. "No flinging my maiden!"
venus{A} screeches, flying into the bed and landing once more sprawled atop of Elora. She hastily rolls off to one side once she realizes what's happened, muttering "Sorry, don't kill me!"
Bishop 's voice booms with an otherworldly echo, "THAT IS NOT IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW! I, THE BISHOP OF STRIFE HAVE ARRIVED! THAT IS IMPORTANT!"
Elora By this point Elora accepts it with resigned fate that every other member of her Circle is going to attempt to get her and Venus in bed together, so she doesn't glower as she gets up this time.
Elora winces at the Bishop's voice.
Elora "Alright. Everyone, ten seconds to get downstairs and start making me coffee. THEN you can all tell me your news."
Elora puts her fingers up in the air, spread wide, to indicate that she is beginning to count.
Bishop returns to a pleasant tone, like a professor lecturing in clipped tones. "The unfortunate downside to my news is that it is in a language I do not yet know."
Autumn{v} "... wait, then how do you know it is news, and not just... croaking? Or howling?"
venus{A} supposes she'll be stuck being the one actually making the coffee, and gathers herself with something approximating wounded dignity before attempting to sidle past everyone back out of the room.
Bishop booms again! "I KNOW WHAT I KNOW TO BE KNOWN! DO NOT QUESTION MY ARITHMETIC!"
Elora mimes, mouthing the words as she does so. Seven... six...
Bishop points accusingly at Autumn! "YOU, GO AND PREPARE COFFEE, TEA, AND A SHARP SWORD!"
Autumn{v} "... your news are numbers? Numbers suck." He stares at the Bishop and touching the point of his finger. "Well, um. But just because Venus wants me to!"
Autumn{v} scampers off after Venus - the one he mentioned or not? Greeting her with a swath to her backside. "Say, how good are you with bandage?"
venus{A} yelps! "I'm getting better every day with you."
Elora keeps going... four... three...
Bishop now points at Elora, "YOU!" His voice drops to normal. "Coffee?"
Elora "Yes please!"
Elora smiles sweetly.
Bishop offers the crook of his arm, quite the gentleman. The role doesn't really suit him.
Autumn{v} "I need some, then! My face is all scratched, I had to punch a mask in. Was ouchy. But, um, coffee first. I think I need some of that too." He nods!
venus{A} "Right, coffee. Uh." She stares at the kitchen. "How does that work exactly?"
Elora takes the hand and hides a girlish giggle behind one dainty (as if) hand.
Autumn{v} "Singing! Just sing for coffee beans. Watch the tone."
venus{A} looks askance at Autumn, "Please tell me you're kidding. I don't know what to sing... and I'm really not that good at it."
Autumn{v} "I'm not kidding!" Well, there WAS a singless way to do it, of course. But where is the fun? "Remember, if you do not sing well, Elora will be angry at you. And she will sic the Bishop on you! She is mean like that!"
Bishop whispers aside to Elora. "I am willing to bet that those two have failed to procure coffee. Do you want me to beat them?"
Elora whispers back, conspiratorially, "Let me take a crack at it first."
Bishop nods. "As you wish. I recommend beating Autumn about the head and face. Striking his genitalia would be so cliche."
venus{A} sighs heavily and if one could mutter and sing at the same time, she does so.
Elora Certain that Autumn is distracted -- he's flightly like that -- Elora stands behind the much larger Bishop for a moment, touching one of her tiny bird-chakrams below her eye, letting a tiny drop of blood onto it. (...)
Elora Sneaking up behind Autumn, she waits for him to lean jocularly on the table, with one hand outstretched, and when he does, she strikes without warning, stabbing the chakram viciously into his hand with the full force of the Pain Amplification Stratagem. (...)
Elora "ARE YOU FUCKING DEAF OR JUST RETARDED YOU GODDAMN MONGREL BABY? WHERE THE FUCK IS MY COFFEE?"
Autumn{v} "Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh! Bitch! That... that..." Eyes wide, he looks at his hand, panting... "Th... that... that HURTS! Tha... my... you really are... after..." He gulps. "My heart, aren't you?"
venus{A} 's eyes widen and she ... starts singing more loudly, if badly. They really ARE all crazy.
Elora looks at Autumn. It's clear she already feels really sorry for him, but not so sorry that he can't possibly imagine her ever doing it again.
Elora "Now, Autumn. We need to remember the ground rules, okay?"
Elora She pulls some gauze out of one pocket and offers it to him. "Ground rule one is that Elora is in charge."
Autumn{v} picks it from her hand, puts a hand in her pocket and gets more for his face, listening silent, bobbing his head up and down.
Autumn{v} ".. and I guess Ground rule two is the same as Ground Rule one, in caps?"
Elora nods.
Autumn{v} "Ma'am, you really should meet Cassie, ma'am. You'd be soulmates, ma'am!"
Elora "Now." She walks over to one of the cupboards and pulls a bottle of fine cream liquer from the top shelf -- she'd been saving it, but she feels pretty goshdarn bad about stabbing Autumn even if he WAS asking for it.
Elora "I'll show you how to make the coffee." She puts the liquer bottle at the center of the table and goes to find the Haltan Press.
venus{A} trails off her singing, and studies Elora...studiously. In case she asks again.
Elora "And then we will share a breakfast together. Like good friends!" She pulls down the metallic press device, along with a hand grinder, and then pulls fresh beans from her elemental-ice-enchanted freezebox. "Now, the Bishop, I believe you had news to share."
Bishop "Quite right!" He produces his notebook, open to a new page, and drops it on the table. Scrawled on every inch of the paper are arcane, alien numerals, but numerals unlike the others he'd used before. "Unfortunately, I cannot read it."
Autumn{v} pouts. "Ma'am, I had too, ma'am ma'am ma'am!"
Elora looks at the Bishop's papers with utter quizzlement. "I... see." She pauses. "Yes, Autumn. Please tell me what you discovered."
Autumn{v} "Ma'am, Cassie, your soulmate, tried to turn me into a double agent working for her and spying on our plans. She wanted it hidden, it was important enough for it, but she did not try to stop us later... it is shady enough that she couldn't risk our deaths, she wouldn't be able to explain it. But for her to tell us what she knows, um. We gotta find out what is Yu-Shan."
Elora attempts to work backwards through that. "What is Yu-Shan. What. What is Yu-Shan?"
Autumn{v} "What is Yu-Shan is what is Yu-Shan, what is Yu-Shan?"
Autumn{v} has finished bandaging his hands and already sounds a little insolent again
Elora blinks.
Bishop "Your news is vague. Elaborate."
Elora "So... Cassandra? Wanted you to spy on us. And she knew you when you were Every Fifth Dove." She pauses. "And you were a jerk."
Bishop "Now, as for 'What is Yu-Shan', that's easy."
Autumn{v} "Yeah, apparently I made her love me, hurt her, molded her, um. You know. What I do nowdays."
Autumn{v} "She's apparently trained me as his exact replacement on purpose. She promised him to."
Bishop "You should consider being someone besides yourself. You would probably be less troublesome if you were someone else."
Elora "Hmmm." Elora decides not to say anything at all that runs through her mind in response to that.
Elora "Bishop, what do you mean by 'that's easy'?"
Bishop "I mean that it is easy."
Bishop "Here, I show you."
Bishop sits at the table, flipping to a fresh page in his notebook, and begins drawing a diagram in five dimensions.
Autumn{v} "Bishop, I know you actually do love me. You can open your heart and saaay it!" He beats his fist to his chest... and then follows Bishop with his eyes to find out just exactly he thinks Yu-Shan is!
venus{A} tries to reconcile the extra dimensions with poor results. She settles for trying some of the booze.
Bishop "This plane here is Creation. Observe it's finiteness, and it's boundary. This axis is the Wyld - the axis of possibility. Observe it's infinite life. This plane is Malfeas, the prison realms, sealing away countless unknowables. This plane is the Underworld - note it's stasis. And this plane..." He indicates the last one and smiles, as though this answered the question.
Autumn{v} watches... and blinks. Blinks. Blinks. Then picks from of the booze from venus' lips "Yeah, but WHAT is it?"
Bishop "...you don't see?"
venus{A} "hey!" she sulks.
Bishop writes more fervently on the plane, explaining as he does. "Yu-Shan is the parallel of Malfeas. It is a prison realm, binding away the gods. However, it is cracked."
Elora "Time out." Elora makes the "T" gesture helpfully. "Why do we need to know what Yu-Shan is in the first place?"
Autumn{v} gives the booze back!
Autumn{v} "Because it ties with the statues. And because when we do, Cassandra will tell us about them."
venus{A} "Oh," she says, surprised. "Thank you."
Autumn{v} "She asked me to do her a favor first, that being this."
Elora "Alright, well." Elora takes a sip of the coffee -- excellent as always. "Might as well start the easy way."
Elora summons up a secretary. "What is Yu-Shan?"
Bishop also sips from Elora's coffee.
pigeon "Your request is too general to be easily answered. Please try using more specific keywords or rephrasing your question."
Bishop sets Elora's cup back down. "Yu-Shan is one of the Primordials."
Autumn{v} "... what?"
venus{A} "What's a Primordial?"
Bishop "Yu-Shan parallels Malfeas. Consider, if you will, the firm sense of boundary, the control of entry and exit, the nonsensical vastness. Yu-Shan is a Primordial."
Bishop "Why else would they have such mirrored structure?"
Elora "You raise an excellent point."
Bishop sips from Elora's coffee again. "Of course I do."
Elora tries again. "What is the Primordial identity of Heaven?"
Autumn{v} "... wait, that means... that. Who is the Fetich, then, the Dome? The Sun?"
Bishop "Yu-Shan."
Bishop "Ah, a common fallacy, Autumn!"
Bishop "Yu-Shan predates component souls."
Autumn{v} "... there is no such thing as predating component souls! Ligier existed before the war!"
Bishop "As did Yu-Shan."
Autumn{v} "My point! If it is a Primordial, no matter the era, it has components."
Bishop "Yu-Shan predates the memory of humans, Exalted, and even the Dragon Kings. It is no great stretch, therefore, to believe that it predates component souls."
venus{A} drinks more, completely lost.
Bishop "You have no basis for your belief!"
Bishop "Given the incontrovertible fact that I am correct, we must assume that you are mistaken, Autumn."
Bishop "Try to be less wrong."
Elora "Now then, Bishop," she says, (hopefully) heading offthe argument, "Tell me about all this.... math."
Autumn{v} "You are throwing wild guesses about. When you give me some proof for your crazy belief, we will seen. Until then, try to be less of a lunatic. You are a chosen of mars, not the moon!" He nods, watching Elora. "Any answer, El?"
Bishop drains Elora's coffee cup, "Which math?"
Elora "The math that makes up that 'news' that you 'don't understand.'"
Bishop "Oh. I just asked a former instructor about it. She rattled off some equations I wasn't familiar with, I'm working on solutions."
Autumn{v} "I once heard algebra is like an orgy, the more people you have working on it, the faster it comes. So maybe we should try asking for some help? Some god of meth?"
Autumn{v} "... I mean, math?"
Bishop "No, I think not. The gods do not use this math."
Elora "Oh. Well." She hands him a second cup of coffee. "Work faster!"
venus{A} peeks at the math
Bishop gestures dismissively at the coffee. "It only tastes good when it's stolen."
Elora shrugs and gets to work on drinking the Bishop's coffee herself.
Bishop then takes the cup from Elora and sips!
Bishop "Anyway, I've been working on this for a day and a half now. It's just a matter of time."
Autumn{v} "Also, Venus, Primordials are the architects of reality. They created everything that is, out of the Wyld, when there was only chaos. Gaia, the Dragons' mommy, is one of them. She joined the Gods and the Dragons in fighting the Primordials. We were created for it, and we won."
Elora "Well. Good. Good!"
pigeon "Your question has no apparent answer. Please try using more specific keywords or rephrasing your question."
venus{A} if possible looks more confused. "The Dragons have a mommy?"
Bishop "Yes. But they do not have a daddy. Unless they do."
Elora looks confused again. "Doesn't everyone have a mommy?"
Bishop "I do not have a mommy."
Autumn{v} "She shags the Moon. Who may or may not be a girl!"
Autumn{v} "What do you have, then? A drill sergeant?"
venus{A} "Ha..ha.haha..." she says uncertainly
Elora makes a skeptical face at the Bishop's lie, and summons up one more spider. "Who is Bishop's mommy?"
Bishop "I sprang into being fully-formed, roaring in a shower of blood and song, and I turned and slew all that I saw, and Mars looked upon me, saw this, and said that it was good."
Autumn{v} "My bogus story involves milking and being milked by all five maidens. You should make it more exciting!"
Bishop "Your bogus story is inferior due to its excessive bogosity content."
pigeon "Tepet Epoorva."
Elora "Ha! I caught you!"
Bishop "Did not."
Elora "Did too! Spider says so."
Bishop "You just found the name of my biological mother. I still don't have a mommy."
Elora sticks her tongue out at the Bishop.
Bishop pinches Elora's tongue and does not let go.
Autumn{v} is too busy laughing
Elora "Aaaaah! Thonne maaa meeeee dooo thooo youuuu uaaaa aaaaah thehhh thooo awthhuuum."
venus{A} covers her mouth, attempting to look more horrified than amused.
Bishop still does not let go! "If you try, I will do far worse in return."
Autumn{v} "Make her do it! Make her do it! Come on, Bishop, you're no taking her crap, are you?"
Autumn{v} "Ouch! Elora, you GOTTA show him!"
Bishop "Autumn, I have two hands, and the other one is a fist. Temper your speech."
Elora reaches up, pinches the wrist of the Bishop's pinchy arm, and carefully removes it from her tongue. She spits and then speaks. "AHEM!"
Bishop wipes his fingertips on Elora's chin while it's just barely within reach.
Elora Looking the Red in the eyes, she says, "You will under no circumstances manhandle me in such a fashion again."
Autumn{v} "Bishop, you'll be busy fending off Elora! No one an fight a war in two fronts!" He nods. "So I won't temper! I might put some sauce in it, though."
Bishop "Very well, Elora. With your permission, though, I should like to beat Autumn."
Elora turns to the Serenity. "Well, Autumn? How does that make you feel?"
Autumn{v} "I would very, very, VERY much like you to tell him not to do it?"
Autumn{v} "Pretty please with sugar and strawberries on top?"
Elora turns back. "Bishop, please refrain from beating Autumn until he has misbehaved slightly more than he has today."
Bishop "As you wish. I'll just have to find someone else to beat."
Autumn{v} does the V sign, and his scarves form a word behind him! 'BADASS!'
Autumn{v} "So, anyway, about Yu-Shan?"
Elora "Yes."
Bishop rises slowly, bones creaking, and retrieves his notebook. "I believe that my notes may contain some information. I will not know until I have invested more time."
venus{A} slouches down in her chair, as low as possible
Elora "You should go finish translating them and then we'll reconvene. How long will you need?"
Bishop "I cannot answer that until I have finished."
Autumn{v} "Den Bao had a plan, but he took a detour... to help prepare it, I think."
Bishop "But for now, I must be excused. My notes and my church demand my attention." He kneels next to Elora's chair just long enough to murmur something for only her to hear, then makes a surprisingly subdued exit.
Elora "Aha!" With the Bishop gone, Elora greedily claims the remainder of his coffee.
willows walks in carrying an interestingly folded bag. "Hey guys, sorry, the line at the origami cafe was a little long."
Autumn{v} takes off his mask and hands venus some of the bandages. His forehead is all criss-crossed with little cuts. "Can you help me with th... oh, hey, Serpent! Elora stabbed me, she is mean. Give her coffee when she asks!"
willows digs around in the bag and hands Elora a cream frog before taking one for himself. "So how are we all doing?"
Elora "Do anything when she asks," Elora corrects.
venus{A} carefully wraps Autumn's wounds with the bandages, dabbing away a bit of the blood. when he stops moving.
Elora "Oh, we're just fine. Coffee?"
Autumn{v} picks some of the blood and paints the kanji for 'psycho' on the back of Elora's hand. "Yes, I stand corrected. But not very good, Serpent, everyone felt like bleeding me today. Including myself."
Serpent "Thank you." He slides over his mug for Elora to pour.
Serpent "So I noticed we were a little behind on our impending disaster forms 7b."
Elora wets one finger and washes herself. "Behave yourself, Autumn." She pours Serpent a fresh cup.
Elora "Are we? I let Den Bao do all the paperwork."
Serpent pours in double cream, no sugar, and floats a pretty caramel swan on top. "Creamy and crunchy, just the way I like it."
Serpent "Mmm. I think he's up on all the other departmental stuff. This is new policy from the Bier, maybe the Ivy haven't picked it up yet."
Autumn{v} "Hey, Serpent. Tell me, what do you do if someone who's in love with you trains you to be just like you and trains to control you and make you not love you but love her so she can control you?"
Serpent "Can you do that one without pronouns maybe, Autumn? I suggest perhaps you illustrate with action figures or some of these origami cookies."
Autumn{v} "Aws, but then we lose the fun on you trying to figure it out!"
venus{A} gives Serpent a conspiratorial shrug that says 'I have no idea either'
Elora "What Autumn is attempting to say is that his previous incarnation, the infamous-to-us Every Fifth Dove, secretly encouraged Autumn's sifu before his death to train his next incarnation to be as much of an insufferable bastard as he was."
Serpent shrugs back. "Anyway, I can do them but --- Every Fifth Dove is Autumn?"
Autumn{v} picks the cookies and begins to arrange them on the table. He shakes one as a beautiful woman. Another as a beautiful, nondescript man who dominates the beautiful woman and hurts her and enthralls her. And then, he follows to make the man into a masked boy, and she does the same with him.
Elora nods sagely.
Serpent "Please have Den Bao send me a copy of all his paperwork so I can stay up to date on this crap."
Autumn{v} "... aws, Elora. You killed my performance. Why are you so mean today?"
Serpent crunches another caramel swan irritatedly.
Autumn{v} picks the Cassandra one and throws on his mouth, hands venus the 'Autumn'
Elora "I will be mean every day if you do not learn to restrain yourself."
Autumn{v} "Also, we need to find out what is Yu-Shan. Cassandra will tell us about my old self if wedo."
Serpent "So what you're saying is that Cassandra at Every's behest trained Autumn to act like Every?"
venus{A} takes the cookie thoughtfully, and nibbles at the edges
Serpent "Shitbiscuits."
Elora "My thoughts exactly!"
Serpent taps his pendant. "I need a break," as the silk swirls around him. "I think I'll be a girl for a while."
venus{A} blinksblinks
Autumn{v} "That is what she told me! Apparently, she promised him to do so." He nods. "But between you and me, I think she needs an Every, and would have done so anyway."
Cobra gets another mug and pours herself some coffee without cream. "I wish he wouldn't do that. What makes you say that about her, Autumn?"
Cobra plucks one of the figures out of his little puppet play and makes it dance before biting off its head.
Autumn{v} "Because that is how she came accross to me. She likes Every. And... well."
Autumn{v} "That is probably what I would do."
Elora "...aaaaanyway."
Elora sips her coffee again.
Elora "The Bishop is working on some hell numbers."
Autumn{v} "And we need a plan to find out what is Yu-Shan. But Den Bao's gone."
Cobra selects a stool and sits. Then stands, and sits, and goes to dig around in the vegetable chest for something. She starts slicing onions into rings.
Cobra "What's he doing that for?"
Elora "Apparently they contain some 'news.'"
Autumn{v} "Ah, yes. And we think Yu-Shan is a Primordial."
Cobra "..."
venus{A} pours some coffee, and adds some booze, and drinks.
Autumn{v} "Yay, I got Cobra speechless!" He turns to Elora, "Do I get anything, mom?"
Cobra dumps the onions in a pan and starts frying. "So what are the rest of us doing while Bishop does homework?"
Cobra "OH, I KNOW!" She puts her arms around Autumn and Elora's shoulders and says, with extreme sarcasm, "Let's have a slumber party!"
venus{A} raises a brow
Elora "Let's... not, and say we did."
Cobra "Hey, I don't think we have been properly introduced. I'm Adorable Cobra Maiden, or Serpent Ebb, or Kkutan. You are?" She holds out a hand for venus.
Autumn{v} "I'm in pain." He says in belated response to Cobra. "Hey, who told you of the slumber party?"
venus{A} shakes Cobra's hand, "I'm Venus, but not the goddess one. Nice to meet you." She smiles hesitantly.
Cobra "Charmed."
Autumn{v} "Cobra needs to meet people again? I need to keep that in mind."
Cobra rolls her eyes. "I'm just trying to mind my manners, unlike some people."
Autumn{v} "Serpent met her back at my manse, it's all I'm saying!"
Cobra "Serpent is some people too."
Cobra taps the pendant and makes an oddly strained face, "Hey don't talk about us like that!"
venus{A} "Well it is nice to meet you anyway."
Cobra "I hope you'll keep coming around!"
venus{A} "I'm sort of.. attached to Autumn. So I'll be around as long as he wants me."
Autumn{v} A scarf goes and taps her collar, to present to Cobra the Claim of Ownership
Autumn{v} "Don't worry, Cobra, that will be a long time, apparently. She is fun. And we gotta bug Ahlat for her."
willows "Well, you are always welcome in Elora's kitchen."
venus{A} smiles, "Oh, do you live here too?"
willows shrugs. "I have a key."
venus{A} nods and gulps some more of her drink, smiling at the pleasant buzzing going on in her head. "So..what do you do?
Cobra "Mostly I kill things. Sometimes I like to dance."
venus{A} "Which one do you like more?"
Cobra "Hm!"
Cobra "Well, see, that's hard because in the end they are not different."
venus{A} blinks, "That doesn't make any sense."
Cobra "The precious varnams passed down from the Maidens are not only great performances (it was my immense honor to witness one performed once) but also the most terrible weapons."
Autumn{v} "I kill with dance. Serpent dances to kill."
Autumn{v} nods sagely
venus{A} "Oooookay."
Cobra "With the Sanctum of Mars one can turn any living creature into a cloud of reddish mist, or grind a mountain into sand."
venus{A} "What's that?"
Cobra "It's one of the ancient dances. I don't think modern humans have the right anatomy to perform it, so it is somewhat unpleasant to attempt. Requires flexible bones."
venus{A} "do...you have flexible bones?"
Cobra stirs the onions and throws in some chunks of sausage that turned up somehow. "Not quite yet. Maybe soon."
venus{A} "Autumn is flexible."
Autumn{v} grins. "Cassie trained me since I was young. If you wait too much, you lose it."
venus{A} rubs a joint or two ruefully, reminded of the pain. "How old were you?"
Autumn{v} "Twelve. I was precocious."
venus{A} "Were you already an Anath...chosen then?"
Autumn{v} "That is when I received my second breath, Venus. That was when I was... reborn. But we... we starchosen, we are born anathema, pretty much. It is our fate from birth... and when we draw our second breath, they are there for us."
Autumn{v} "She... was there for me."
Autumn{v} "She taught me to be... flexible. Like I am teaching you."
venus{A} blushes, "Did you like it?"
Autumn{v} "I did. I was also terrified." He shakes his head... "It must be hard for a girl to understand."
venus{A} "Harder than for a boy?"
Autumn{v} "Oh, I did not understand. Boys or Girls, what she showed me... what I became... was very hard to understand. But I mean... the first thing she taught me. Girls.. it is hard to understand what it is like to be so terrified, and yet so willing, even when you know so little about it. It is something unique to boys."
venus{A} blinks, and giggles a little. "I have no idea what you just said."
Cobra touches her pendant again.
Serpent "I think that means she touched him in his inappropriate areas."
Autumn{v} giggles "Hello again, Serpent. As always, you are wise."
Serpent "Shitbiscuits. I think we have to get this woman off the sifu circuit for a generation or so."
Autumn{v} "To play, you must be played. To break, you must be broken. To dole suffering, you must suffer. To rule, you must be ruled. She taught me quite a few things." He shakes his head... "Would it have made a difference? This was a comission, after all."
venus{A} "I hear... there can be sex without pain." she grins, and knocks back the rest of her glass.
Serpent grumps. "Love has no rules, Autumn. You were lied to."
venus{A} "that depends on the love."
Autumn{v} "Who ever said it was love? Love is... what comes after all that."
Autumn{v} "And even that, has rules. It has a beggining and the end. It is the first thing they teach us, after all. How to end another's serenity for the good of the world."
venus{A} "How do you know what's good for the world?"
Autumn{v} "We just do. We look at the Loom of Fate, and know. Who we have to kill, whose love we have to ruin."
Autumn{v} takes a sip of the liquor. Hmmm, it really was a good one! "We also throw nice parties to save the world, too!"
venus{A} "What if you're wrong? What if you're killing the wrong people? Ruining the wrong loves? What if the ones you've always thought were the enemy, were the heroes?"
Autumn{v} "Um." He looks at the bottle, and tosses it to Serpent. "You answer first, what would you do if you were wrong all along?"
Serpent shrugs. "I don't really worry if the bosses tell me what I'm doing is right or not. It's my job."
Serpent "I do what's right for the world on my own time."
venus{A} bites her lip, "I would stop being wrong, and do the right thing. And try to help the people I'd hurt."
Autumn{v} "I use my own time to live. And groom bull-daughters to rule as war-queens!" He ponders, scratching his now mask-covered chin "And how would you know what the right thing is, then, Vee?"
Serpent "What are you doing in Heaven?"
Serpent "There are no people here."
venus{A} "I don't know. Maybe I'd look at things myself instead of only doing what I'm told... and I'm in Heaven because I want Ahlat to recognize me as his daughter."
Autumn{v} "There are now, Serpent. Venus is here."
Serpent "You seem to have a strong sense of honor."
Serpent stirs the onions and sausages. "Not what I'd expect from a follower of him."
venus{A} "what's that supposed to mean?"
Serpent shrugs. "Personal history. Nevermind."
venus{A} "What, do you kill followers of Ahlat for fun or something? To do what's right for the world?"
Serpent raises an eyebrow at the woman.
Serpent "Fun -and profit.-"
Autumn{v} "One of his daughters managed to dodge their end?"
Autumn{v} ((* Daughters = Brides))
venus{A} pales, and slowly flushes red again, her fingers clenching around her glass tightly. She's angry, but she's not stupid, so she doesn't move, doesn't say a word.
Serpent "Actually I prefer not to inconvenience living people whenever I am able. It causes awkwardness."
Serpent "Like I said, personal matters, not work."
Autumn{v} holds Venus from behind, arms encircling her belly, whispering. "Serpent is a Chosen of Saturn, Maiden of Endings. He kills people, that's what he does. He ends things. Don't be too angry with him for it..."
Serpent plates up some food. "Will you stay for lunch?"
Autumn{v} "I think it might be better if I take Venus back to my Manse now, Serpent. She needs to.. nurse me more."
Serpent "Autumn."
Autumn{v} "Me?"
Serpent stuffs some food in a jar as though to take it upstairs.
Serpent "Please do not continue to share the awkward details of your personal life with me."
venus{A} shakes a little in Autumn's arms, fighting herself for control. Finally, she stills, and lets out a long breath, pressing back against him for what comfort she can find.
Autumn{v} "... I meant my face, you know. And hand. In case you did not notice, this was 'beat up Autumn' day. I needed to splinter a mask in my face to get rid of Cassie's control, she put nails on my back, and Elora stabbed my hand."
Serpent "I'm sorry I missed the festivities."
Autumn{v} "If I wanted to share akward details of my personal life, I would tell you that after she is done, I am going to..." the description involved ropes, chocolate syrup and astrological powers. "But I was being honest. Geez, why do people always think I am being dirty?"
Serpent fumbles with something in one of his pockets and heads out the door. "Tell Elora I had to help Bishop do math."
Autumn{v} "I will leave a note." He then pushes into the bandage on his hand, and begins to write over the table on his own blood.
Autumn{v} finishes and looks at Venus... "Sorry."
venus{A} looks up, and looks down again.
Autumn{v} hugs her tightly
Autumn{v} "I want you to not stop being you."
venus{A} "I'm sorry, Autumn... everything is so different here." She hugs him back. "I didn't expect Heaven to be so..." she trails off, her voice catching
Autumn{v} "The twelve year old boy didn't expect it either."
Autumn{v} "This is the secret of sacrament, where nothing is sacred."
Autumn{v} "This is the city of sacrament, where nothing is sacred."
Autumn{v} "This is the city of virtue, where there is only vice."
Autumn{v} "I could make you love it."
Autumn{v} "Please. Never ask for me to."
venus{A} "I don't want to love something that's not real."
Autumn{v} kisses her brow, "What is real?"
venus{A} looks up at him, as a tear streaks its way down her face, "I don't know."
Autumn{v} takes off even the domino mask he still had on, and kisses her lips. "I want to teach you to be great. But I don't want you to change. You... I... I should do to you like Every did to Cassandra. But I don't want to."
venus{A} touches her choker, then runs her fingers through Autumn's hair gently, "I don't know what I want anymore, except that I want to be with you. Is that real enough?"
Autumn{v} "Yes." He does the same with hers', holding the braids on his fingers... and smiling. "Yes. It is."
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