Closed [The Scholar's Demise] Fire and Secrets

[Halin'a]

20 Spring, 516AV, 19th Bell, Night Halin'a has been in Lhavit for a week. This city on the tops of mountains is quite different from Zeltiva, the city where his last mortal life had lived and died, and where he had spent the majority of his life as an Ethaefal; it's been odd, adjusting to being further from the sea than he's been in decades. Living on top of a mountain is new, too; he hasn't been this high since he was in Leth's realm. This particular night, shortly after the Dusk Rest, finds Halin'a in The Scholar's Demise in the Surya plaza. The clocks have just chimed the start of the nineteenth bell and Halin'a is fully settled in his Ethaefal seeming when he steps through the doors, glancing around the slowly-waking tavern. There are few bodies inside besides the owners, Aleah - another Lethborn - and Roric, a Synaborn. Lhavit has a talent for attracting Ethaefal of both origins, it seems. Halin'a approaches the bar with a smile, nodding at Roric who is working on some sort of dish that smells absolutely divine; Halin'a makes a note to order some later. Right now, however, he has a hankering for a drink; he rarely indulges in alcohol, but when he does it is always in his hardier Ethaefal body. "One Full moon, please," he requests, and Aleah nods, reaching for the bottles necessary. "How have things been going?" she asks as she starts mixing the cocktail; Halin'a is briefly distracted by the deft movements of her hands, and he gives himself a slight shake. "They could be better," he admits. "I haven't been accepted for that job I applied for yet, and I found something in my things that was... not exactly a pleasant surprise." Aleah nods understandingly. "Well, hopefully this will fix you up," she says with a smile, nudging the drink closer to Halin'a when the other passes over one kina. "Let me know if you want anything else." "I will, thank you," Halin'a says with a smile, tucking his money pouch into a pocket before heading for a small table near the hearth to nurse his drink, removing the llama's wool, fur-lined cloak he'd bought earlier in the day as he went; he doesn't have any plans for the night, so he might as well spend a few hours next to a fire and thinking. And that would be exactly what he would do, except for the small piece of folded paper sitting in his pocket, almost a burning presence against his thigh. The letter was old, the parchment faded, and it was a wonder that the ink was still legible, if only barely, after almost fifty-five years, but... Well, Halin'a had forgotten all about the letter and everything that had led up to its reception in the decades since. The reminder wasn't exactly pleasant. The Ethaefal strokes his new cloak absently as he drifts, lost in thought; for once, he doesn't receive more than a look or two from anyone except entering patrons. Halin'a has never really minded attention - a good thing, for he's often been told that even his mortal seeming is handsome, and with the addition of silver hair and white horns that curve in such a unique shape, actually intertwining at the back of his head before coming to curl under his ears, there were many clients in Zeltiva who praised his beauty and paid Madame Zana the highest of prices for a night with him. Madame Zana had not been particularly pleased to lose one of her star attractors, but she had understood Halin'a's desire to travel, to see more of Mizahar. Perhaps one day he would go back, even if only for a visit of a season or two.

[Agnusha]

Lhavit has barely awaken from dusk rest when Agnusha was ready to bolted away from Starry Chalices. She patted her dress a little to shrug off some powdery substance which she sure has came from some balm ingredients. She was wearing a simple undyed dress with a black cloth as a kind of obi at her waist. The dress was covering her knees and also quite a portion of her upper arm. As she always wearing protective coat at Starry Chalices, the dress was little bit untidy. She didn’t bring her staff these day. It was raining day and night now, snow was swept away by the downpour. Beside it looked silly to wield staff in a rainy day, not to mention her staff became slippery when wet. But she still brought her mantle for she did not know when the rain would greet Lhavit. “Bye Tian!” She shouted a from the door as she slipped into her mantle. Out in the open, She searched for Leth in his throne upon the sky. A smile bloomed in her face and she whispered a praise for the God of Thought. The night was still early and she was not going back to her house at Sharai. She walked her way into Surya Plaza instead. It was quite early and people still hasn’t been awaken from their rest. She didn’t meet many people in the street. But as soon as she was close enough to the plaza, her eyes was could spot some gathering that -- just like her, walk their way towards the Plaza. Surya Plaza located in the Peak of Zintia, and she enjoyed being there at night because it gave her a pleasant feeling of being nearer to Leth. But no, It wasn’t the reason why she came up there tonight. She needed to gaze upon the scribble on her book, and not the stars and moon. She did not know much about places to go, except for Mhakula Tea House, but she was kept hearing this one place being mentioned in the her customers conversation. The Scholar Demise. A bit of curiosity tickled her adventurous soul. It wouldn’t be bad right? However she would admit that she didn’t even have a clue about it, except it was famous. At some point of the Plaza, she turned right and then she turned right for the second time. There, she stood still for a tick to digest what was there. The Scholar Demise stood alone and mysterious among the festivities that is Surya Plaza. Light casted from the windows, she could even recognize a pattern of skyglass reflection from inside. It was just like another building around the Plaza save from a dim doorless entrance with “The Scholar Demise” embedded on a log above. The place was gave of an enchanting aura. She found herself walking towards the entrance and passed through. The dim corridor lead her to cavernous lounge and… -- this wasn’t something she expected. The first thing that caught her attention was, there were candles everywhere in the lounge. Thick and solid candles flickered steady as they burn. Her nose also told her a new thing, these candle releasing thin but unpleasant odor. They were clearly normal candles, and not scented one Tian loved to make. The second thing that bother her was, that most of the people set their eyes on her now. A chill came down to her spine. Ethaefal always drew attention here in Lhavit, but people alwayas treat her with great respect when she was in her celestial form. It was just, she did not fond to be the center of attention. Just walk Agnusha… walk and held your chin up high… “Can I help you with something” Ethaefal that seemed to be bartender greeted her as she walked towards the bar. The presence of a fellow daughter of Leth relieved her a bit. “Yeah… Uhm…. Something to relieve some nerve would do great, if there any….” She replied with a grin, hoping she would caught her subliminal message on those words. “That’s why they here. To loosen up.” She was mixing the condiments as she speak. Agnusha was impressed by how delicate and quick she moves her hands. It was like a series of haphazard gesture in her eyes, very different from Tian’s careful way. However it shared the same goals –mixing fluids. “Didn’t come here often, did you? You come alone?” “Yes and yes. It’s my first time.” She accepted her drink and handed over a Kina. She could smell sweet scent of alcohol on her drink, also a sour notes of a fruit… is that lemon or orange? She felt a pleasant “click” inside her head as a thought dawned. An alcohol drink, famous place everyone seemed to talk about… Scholar Demise was a tavern. A bit of disappointment tainted her expression for no more than a tick. But she kept it from the bartender. She did not know if she could study properly in here. “Hey, can you do me a favor?” A playful smile bloomed from the bartender’s lip. “See that handsome Lethaefal over there? He seemed to be troubled tonight… Perhaps he need a pretty girl to accompany him?” She added a naughty wink and left her when Agnusha could barely answer. She found herself grinning to the thin air. As she turned her head, she noticed a Son of Leth was sitting alone at a table by the fire. She could not see his face clear because of the fire casted a shadow at his head. Perhaps he was handsome, but thinking of other people facial feature sent a flush of heat to her cheek. “Also, he kind of hot, you know.” Someone whispered at her ear. “Fine then.” She took her glass and replied the bartender with another naughty wink. She might not be able to handle a whole lounge of people. But thought she could handle a fellow Lethaefal. She approached the table by the fire in a slow and graceful motion. She let her free arm rest on the table so she was little bit inclined towards the Son of Leth, right in front of him. “Hi.” She made sure her voice was heard by the Lethaefal. Her head then turned to the crowd and she added. “Quite a gathering aren’t they?” She gave her best to summon a smile and continued ”Mind if I join you?” Say good bye to studying…

[Halin'a]

Halin'a has been lost in his thoughts for the past chimes, and it's only when the woman - another Lethaefal, he realizes when he looks up - speaks and puts herself in his line of vision that his concentration is broken. He startles, nearly knocking over his own drink, and then glances about the tavern; it's gotten rather crowded since he showed up, and he hadn't even noticed. "Oh. I suppose it is a large gathering now," he muses, taking in the louder and now-bustling tavern room before turning back to the woman before him, allowing his gaze to roam over her face; his time at Loveless in Zeltiva had made him rather immune to the allure of most bodies, but he was intrigued by faces. It was most often the faces of others that held their stories. The young woman before him seemed to carry an innocence he had only seen in those who had not seen the absolute worst the world had to offer, but had still seen much of the world; it was a common look on Ethaefal. The thing that caught Halin'a's eye the most was her horns; most Ethaefal had horns that grew symmetrically, but this woman's were asymmetrical: The left horn was relatively short and had grown straight upwards, while the right one was longer than the left and bent slightly. "Oh, my apologies," Halin'a says abruptly, realising that he's probably staring and making her uncomfortable. "Of course you may join; there's an extra chair that I have no use for, and I wasn't expecting company." He waited until the other Lethaefal had taken the offered seat before offering her his hand. "My name is Halin'a; it's nice to meet another child of Leth. May I ask your name, and what brings you to this fine establishment on this rainy night?"

[Agnusha]

He was good looking for sure, the bartender didn’t lie. His face was sharp In her opinion. Sleek cheek and a sharp chin, coupled with a protruding nose and piercing eyes. Skyglass furniture biased playful lights into his skin and up to his white horns, those deepen his unearthy appearance. She couldn’t guess, among them who would attract more attention, him or her? – of course the bartender was an exception. But she could catch that the face in front of her was clouded. What was that? She didn’t sure… She only knew that he was quite lost on his own thought. She smiled as she watched him startled. Perhaps he was expecting somebody else? Or he wasn’t expecting someone to accompany him at all. “Thank you.” First she put her glass on the table as she speak. Then She removed her mantle and folded it in a way that it would suit well on her lap. She was practically just wore a simple dress. They were sitting by the fire so she did not bother. “Agnusha.” She was accustomed to bowing as it was a formal greeting in Lhavit, but she still took his hand. She was quite intrigued by his word of choice though, her left eyebrow tilted as reflection of her wonder. Quite a formal announcement to be heard in a tavern. He didn’t seems to be teasing her like the words was deliberate. She thought that it was a spontaneous reply. Something spontaneous tend to be more honest, no? “Mistake.” She gave an intententional pause after a brief and clear answer. She wanted to see how he would react to that answer. “Mistake brings me here.”

[Halin'a]

Halin'a watches the other Lethaefal with interest as she sits down, and listens intently to her answer. Mistake? he wonders, eyebrows raising in question at her answer. How could 'mistake' bring her here? Perhaps she meant that she had simply wandered over, without any intent to enter The Scholar's Demise, or perhaps she had been searching for some other place and been misdirected. Still, he would not get an actual answer until he asked the question, so that was his next move. "If you don't mind my asking, how did a mistake bring you here?" Beyond their little table by the hearth, the crowd inside the tavern was growing, and with each new addition they got just a little bit rowdier. The Scholar's Demise was a pretty popular place, and it showed; luckily the regulars were usually pretty good about cutting off troublemakers before they got to the point where they'd want to make trouble. Returning his attention to Agnusha, Halin'a spoke again. "I suppose, if we're going with cryptic one-word answers," he says wryly, making it clear that he is only teasing and not making fun of the young woman, "then I could say that it was melancholy that brought me here, tonight." Melancholy and a desire for at least a little bit of an escape in the form of a good drink, to be exact, but Halin'a found himself glad now that he had not decided to stay in his apartment and brood; one thing he greatly enjoyed was meeting other Ethaefal of both gods and learning their stories. His curiosity was roused by the woman across from him now, and sating it would be a better pursuit than thinking on the letter in his pocket. As he waits for Agnusha's answer, Halin'a takes another sip of his drink, savoring the taste as his other hand falls to his hip, his thumb sweeping back and forth across the fabric of his breeches and bumping over the envelope beneath the fabric.

[Agnusha]

“If I am to elaborate that. I’m afraid I’ll be sitting here with ‘embarrassment’.“ She made a gesture with her finger to indicated apostrophe on ‘embarrassment’. A little of her laugh slipped through when she caught he was teasing him. Not that she caught it on her own. He made it plain clear that he just was teasing her with that smile. “Mistake come to those who are not clever enough to elude.” She did not want to tell him the truth. At least not this instance. Mostly because she did not sure where to take the conversation if he would losing interest in the topic. However he seemed to appreciate her accompany for now. She tried hard to maintain her gaze forward, to Halin’a. The tavern has become quite noisy now and for one or two time she was tempted to look at what was going on behind her back. But she want him to know that she was putting her attention only to him. She endured. Beside, Halin’a’s eyes was always at hers so it was not possible to look at her back. He must have seen one or two uncomfortable gesture though. After a while, she rested her left arm on the table while she leaned forward abit and her right hand supporting her chin. She got a better look at the Lethaefal at that position. She little bit frowned upon his answer though. It was true that Ethaefal blessed with a body that won’t wane from illness. Most of their pain comes from either their thought or their heart. Melancholy was one of those things that considered to be ‘illness’ for them. “Melancholy doesn’t suit you, at all.” She kindly replied as the Son of Leth savor his drink. She imbued her answer with a plain disbelief. She was linking melancholy with Halin’a’s good looks and made sure he was aware of that. She didn’t quite know if he was just joking or dead serious with his word, and the truth behind it was intriguing.

[Halin'a]

Halin'a chuckles. "Embarrassment can be painful," he acknowledges, "but rarely is it anything more than a teacher." The Ethaefal notices that Agnusha has not moved her gaze from his face, and he feels slightly flattered, if a little uncomfortable; he never had a problem in Zeltiva with people staring at him, so long as he was working. He was a whore, the name of the game was to be noticed and draw in customers. When he's not working, however, Halin'a finds intense scrutiny as a general rule unpleasant, and he shifts uncomfortably in his seat under Agnusha's gaze. In an effort to distract himself from Agnusha's scrutiny, Halin'a focuses on her second statement - that melancholy 'doesn't suit you.' He hums thoughtfully. "Some would argue that melancholy suits us better than any other race," he muses. "We knew perfection - or as close as we could get - in Leth's domain, and now we are here, back in this imperfect world before our time to return. We have good reason to be melancholy." He chuckles again, but this time it's less humorous, more bitter. "My melancholy doesn't come from my fall - not tonight, at least. I found a letter from quite some time ago that contained some rather unpleasant news; news that I had forgotten about until I found the letter." Halin'a reaches into his pocket, withdrawing the letter in its envelope; on the front is faded ink scrawling the words Notice of Death in official-looking handwriting. He tosses it on the table with a sigh, the envelope spinning until the words face Agnusha, allowing her to read them. "I'd been in Syliras for a few years after emerging from the Suvan Sea when I got this," he tells her without lifting his gaze from the parchment, not seeing it as it appeared now, with water spots and other marks that showed its age - he saw it as it had appeared the day it was delivered, pristine and crisp enough that the paper barely crackled when he broke the seal.

[Agnusha]

Agnusha replied in a graceful nod. “A teacher yes, but sometimes it also comes with harsh lesson. Not tonight though...” It turned out that he was serious about melancholy. She wanted to disagree and was preparing to argue on the subject about being Ethaefal and melancholy. In fact the words almost escaped her mouth when Halin’a continued. Thing that troubled him tainted his sound with certain bitterness and darken his figure. She leaned back a little as she listen carefully. His voice soften in the slightest and she had quite a struggle to listen among the boisterous lounge. Quite some time ago has different meaning to each Ethaefal due to their gift of long life. Couple of weeks or a month counted as quite some time ago for Agnusha, but older Ethaefal would count years as quite some time ago. She just met him tonight, he barely knew nothing about him. As she was pondered over, an object came in to her vision. It was a piece of letter. Not an ordinary letter as she thought it was. The paper tainted as time passed, she could saw marks and dots here and there. The colour of the paper has changed yellowish. She also got a vibe of fragility just by looking at the parchment. She couldn’t assess how long has he kept the letter with him but it was clearly not weeks or months. Quite some time ago proved to be a long time for the Son of Leth. “What’s in it?” the writing on the envelope was faded. Notice of Death… She could read the writing but she have no idea of the letter. Why did the dead need a notice for the living?… She confused as she has not experienced death around her. Her hands unconsciously reach for the envelope. She felt the paper was dry and stiff. The seal was broken long time ago but she noticed the remains of what used to be the seal. Although he was putting the letter towards her, she still looked at him to look for approval as she tried to examine it – and if it was possible, to read it. She also wanted him to explained to her about the letter for she did not sure where this conversation would lead them tonight.

[Halin'a]

Halin'a watches Agnusha pick up the envelope, and when she looks at him questioningly, he nods. "It's a notice of a body found outside of Syliras - a body that belonged to someone I was responsible for," he explains. "A young boy who had been orphaned and who took a liking to me; I wasn't exactly his legal guardian, but we were very good friends. A notice like that was sent to his actual guardians as well." The letter inside, Halin'a knew, was marked Spring 465AV - just over fifty years ago. The letter opened with We are sorry to tell you that - and continued on to say that Marik, the young boy Halin'a had befriended - one of his first friends since falling from Leth's domain - had been found dead, savaged, on the edge of Mithryn Outpost, most likely the victim of a Zith attack. Marik had been twelve; he and Halin'a were going to explore the Outpost a bit, an excuse to get the boy out beyond the walls of the fortress city and get some exercise in a place where he could really breathe. "He left early," Halin'a says, staring at his drink instead of watching Agnusha's face for her reaction; it had been decades since he'd thought about Marik, and on a rainy night like tonight, so unlike the day that he and Marik were going to go on their outing, it was hard to distract himself from the renewed pain of the loss. He had not been the boy's legal guardian, but he had felt responsible for him nonetheless. "We were going to the Mithryn Outpost and were supposed to meet at the gates to Syliras at the tenth bell; he managed to slip out before then, and was attacked. It was my idea to take him outside of the city; he'd rarely been anywhere that wasn't the main hub of Syliras, and it was stifling inside the city if you could not regularly leave and wander outside of the walls. I was leaving my apartment to head for the gates when a messenger came from his guardians, saying that he'd gone missing. "I tried to find him, but by the time I realized that he had managed to slip past the knights at the gates... I found a group of knights and farmers gathered around what was left. He had made it all the way to the outskirts of the farmland, where no one was able to come to his defense in time." Halin'a has to stop then, his throat tight and eyes burning with unshed tears.

[Agnusha]

As she listened to his story, she took the envelope delicately. Her finger swept the forward to found the letter. She pulled it with care, frowned upon the fragility of the papers as she unrolled the letter. She found that the page was scribed by certain skilful hand. The characters was meticolously aligned. She could not measure the effort and time to produce such letter. The ink was fading just like the writing in the envelop but it was clearer and easier to be read. She found out it was marked Spring 465 AV and it was plain clear that he was way older than her. However, the news it brought was not as beautiful as how the letter was scribed. It was written in the letter that a young boy named Marik had been found deceased outside Syliras, savaged by Zith attack. She was frozen for a tick before she reached her glass and intuitively taking a sip of her untouched drink. She did not expect their conversation would came to this. She thought that he was just burdened by petty things, work perhaps but this was not such a thing. She watched him suffer as he repeat the pain that was bothering him. He might be greatly suffered as he was willingly share this secret with total stranger in a tavern. Leth.. help him... She listened through all his word, did not dare to interrupt. Hell, she did not even sure what to say to him. She was restraining herself to ask more question for she could not imagine how hard it was for Halin’a just to share those past with her. At some point though, he stopped. He did not look up on her but she has a feeling that he was at the limit. Both of them was trapped in a silence for a while. “I am sorry.” She found her voice a little bit shaky. Her hand reached for his and stayed that way for a time. She did not know how he would react to that but it was her way of expressing emotion, by touch. It wasn’t like he was clenched her hand on him. She was just resting her hand on his in a gentle way. He could pull his hand easily as he want. “I am very sorry.” She repeated louder but without less concern. She paused for to give him a breather, she knew he need that. It was gave her a chance to thought about what should she said to him. “I am not a right person to tell you this... It’s alright to mourn, and feel the loss of our loved ones.” She wanted their eyes to be met, so she waited him to looked up. “It’s not your fault… It’s never been anybody’s fault.” Oh she hoped she could cheer him up with better words. It’s never been anybody’s fault? A grim smile bloomed as she felt both sorry for him and her self.