[Lhavit] Conflicting Friendships (Vendaril, Una Nox)

[Tao]

Early Evening, 60th Winter, 510 Near Solar Wind Apartments Another long day had come to a close. The sun was already almost set, and as the natural light faded the crystaline city began to glow. Clouds masked the approaching night sky and the stars that were splashed across it, buffeted around by a biting winter wind. The weather was quite miserable, hinting that perhaps it would get worse as the night wore on, bringing with it rain or snowfall. With his pack in one hand and the other holding the front of his jacket closed, Tao shivered a little as he made his way along. There had been quite a few storms as winter had sunk its claws into the mountains, and each of them was many times more nasty and vicious than anything he had seen before in his life. Even if it left him at risk of being home alone with his thoughts for the evening, he didn't want to dare think about being caught out in one. It had been another busy day at work, with more people taking advantage of the warmth inside the restaurant than usual, leaves all the assistants scurrying to fill twice as many orders. The hectic pace was something that he secretly enjoyed; it gave no time for gossip and chatter that he could barely keep up with, nor for his own thoughts to catch up with him. That said, it was still tiring. He was surprised when there wasn't a fight by the end of his shift, given how in shreds everyone's temper was. Arms aching and head still spinning with the mingled scents of twenty different meals cooking at once, the cold was doing very little to improve his mood. He very much just wanted to go home and curl up under the blankets. Perhaps even sleep would come easier tonight. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he couldn't help but snort. That was unlikely. The way back to the Solar Wind Apartments were quieter than usual, leaving only the crunch of the path under his shoes, the whistle of the wind, and his own breath, expelling in front of him like a fog. It was a narrow road between the houses, not far from Surya Plaza. If he turned and looked, he could see the lights from the hub of activity. Any other night, he would probably have loitered around there a while, but not tonight. Tonight was going to be quiet and filled with much needed rest. OOCI'm going to presume that Vendaril and Una are walking together, because it's a little too much of a coincidence if we all just happen to run into each other at the same time. Hope there's no problem with that. Also, the reason I took so long to post this is because I couldn't think of a title.

[Vendaril]

The city was aglow, and the breeze had a wintry edge to it. Vendaril walked steadily along the luminous stone, but inside he felt like dancing. This was hardly unusual though, Una always seemed to have this effect on him. A look up at the sky saw gathering rainclouds, a grey smear across the heavens. Deep inside him, the little part of him that was, essentially, him tutted at the thought of the tracks beyond the walls destroyed during the downpour to come. The last couple of months had been hard on him, his first alpine winter. On occasion he had stayed curled up in his home, swathed in blankets, waiting out the cold. Tonight was bearable however, and the icy flagstones on his bare feet did little to sap his buoyant spirit. The fresh air was doing Ven good after a long bout of hiding in his apartment, however as he glanced affectionately at Una beside him he knew he was making excuses. Not that I would need them he scolded himself, I’m allowed to enjoy myself, things will run their course and when it inevitably ends I will be none the worse for it. Still, the nagging voice that had waxed and waned since the duo had first met buzzed irritatingly in the base of the Symenestra’s skull. Notice you didn’t say “couple” the reasoning side of him said. It was currently holding sway over his actions. Duo, not couple. It’s just a fling. There won’t be any half breeds, no need for the web to hear of it either. A blast of wind that numbed his nose led Vendaril to selfconciously huddle closer to nice warm Una and wrap an arm around her. He thanked Viritas that he would not stink of the sick mutts he cared for – much scrubbing was needed before even he could bear it. Winter, he decided, was not nice. When Una had shown up at his door, his stomach was twisted in knots, so naturally he allowed her to do most of the talking. As the evening wore on however, he reverted to his normal chatty self and loosened up a bit. Now though a strange silence had developed between them, and not having much experience in this manner of thing Vendaril was worrying as to whether this was good or bad. Was this awkward? He certainly felt different to how he had earlier; should he say something? He heaved at a sigh and shook his hair a little. Symenestra weren’t cut out for romance, it was a biological fact. Relationship 101 back in Kalinor had been: 1) Find girl, 2) Do the deed and 3) raise child as mother dies in agony. He definitely preferred the current situation, if only because human girls were a lot more forward than his own kin. Still, nothing passed between him and her other than her fresh scent. It seemed different each time they had met, although he couldn’t tell, especially with his nose in its frozen state. Eventually he decided it had gone on long enough, and let loose one witty, insightful remark from his grand amassments. “Well, this is – nice.” Even the road and the night sky seemed to jeer at the weak statement. Oh well, that’s the evening ruined he thought as he awaited a reply. OOCI assumed that Vendaril and Una had met a few times over the last few months in this, hope it’s ok?

[Una Nox]

:)I am completely cool with everyhting you two wrote, and how i would like to ask of you the same approval once you read my post. I nudged a bit, by controlling your PCs a bit, because mostly i did not want it to take forever for them to start talking That's taking the initiative for you xD. Ever since she and Vendaril came out of the building, the weather seemed to be against them for most part. That however did not bother her in the slightest, it was not like she could affect it anyway. Vendaril was not used to winters like these, she could not blame him, she who lived here a couple of years still found herself shivering from time to time. She could see that he was thinking of something, so she let him be, he was probably nervous anyway, she could still not fully understand why was he always so deep in thought when next to her, but she gave up thinking on it harder a long time ago. They were not very far away from their apartments now, so Una thought about going back inside once more, as she could feel Vendaril clinging to her even more while trembling. He was definitely not your everyday prince charming, that much was sure, but he was fun to be around and that was somehow enough these past days, but …. Nah not buts and no ifs, she hardly had the right to plague him with any. Even as patient as Una was usually, when all that broke out of Vendaril after all that quite time, were a couple of short words, she smirked a bit before pulling him closer and planting a kiss on him. He was weird when he was trying too hard anyway, he should try to relax, or something along those lines. She teased him: “Was “that” nice too?” she giggled softly as she pulled him along the way. It was not long after that she could make out a person in the distance… was it really Tao? She could sense Vendaril slowing down, and now she was pulling him almost as if he was made out of stone; What was it that set him so off balance? Was he afraid of something? Did he see something that Una could not? When they were close enough for Una to see it was Tao after all, the other man stopped moving almost completely too; He looked scared too…. So they were both afraid of her? No, that thought was idiotic, they must have known each other from before, and by the looks of it, it was not the most pleasant of acquaintances. Pulling the stone like Vendaril she began to walk forward, yelling: “Hey Tao, you alright there?” as she got no response, she moved closer to the statue that was not hanging from her arm. She moved as fast as she could, but still, it seemed to stay at the same distance; It almost looked like the two of them were trying their best not to meet one another. They had a problem and they did not tell her? What’s worse she knew both of them, but did now know of any connection between the two. Growling slowly, she let go of Vendaril for a moment, so she could grab Tao by the arm and pull him back, verbal communication still lacking. Grabbing Tao by one of her hands and Vendaril by the other, Una looked a bit at both of them, whispering: “Alright, I do not know what sort of argument the two of you may have, but since you decided to pull off a stunt like this in front of me; Guess what, I just decided that it’s my problem as well, now would you please speak, I would like to hear it from both of you…” her voice rang strong over them, as she wondered should she use force if they refuse to speak, she could make the regret it to some extent, after all. She gave off a slight grin before adding: “You will tell me what the hell happened or I will beat you both to a pulp. If you dare resist, I will just yell rape, and see how that will work out for you two…” she was lying, even she knew it, but they needed to talk to her, or she would really consider marching off alone, leaving the two idiots to sort it out. “Well? Vendaril, why don’t you go first? Or should I get my knee acquainted with your family jewels once more?” she smiled slightly, even though she was actually angry. “Well that was something” she thought looking back at her words. Maybe she had gone a bit overboard? That thought was quickly discarded, as she threw herself another idea; She would indeed fulfill some of her threats if she had to, but not all of them, she could never…

[Tao]

OOCHmm. Alright. Firstly, Una, in the future I'd really prefer it if you asked my permission in a PM before doing something like this, as Tao is my character in the end, and you might not get his reaction correct, or put me in an awkward position as his player. This kind of thing is really picky in the most relaxed of RP circles, and does count as godmodding. That said, Tao's reaction here is quite in character, and I don't mind allowing it this time for this reason. If Vendaril has any objections, though, then I think I'd rather the post be rewritten. For now, I'm going to assume that we're going to keep going. Seriously though, in the future, a quick PM will make everyone's life easier. Everything had happened so fast. He hadn't exactly recognised the couple walking towards him as he had rounded the corner. It hasn't exactly mattered; there were always people on the roads, after all, and it was unlikely they were troublemakers this close to the Plaza. Then he took another glance, and the sight made him stop dead in his tracks. You. He had probably meant to say that aloud, but his throat was suddenly dry and his lips would not part to allow the sound to pass. Perhaps if he could have spoken, he would have screamed, and then perhaps if his legs didn't feel numb with fear, he would have turned and run. Vendaril, the man that had threatened his life not so long ago, was standing in front of him. He looked much the same as he remembered; tall, skeletal, with hair liked dried flax and a look on his face that was practically unreadable. He had slowed and come to a stop when their eyes had met on the street. The same man who had lent him a book and started to teach him Symenos. The same man who had aimed to tear out his throat. What do I do? Sucking in a shaky breath, his mind was already racing. He was close to the Plaza, certainly, but there was no possible way he could outrun a warrior in time to get help. And if he ran, who was to say that wouldn't kick in some predator instinct? But he couldn't let Vendaril get the first move; he was much stronger, much fiercer than Tao could ever be, and if he decided to finish the job he started, not moving would be his death. He was beginning to shake, and fisted his hands tightly in his jacket to try and hide it. There was the red haired woman with him too, looking between the both of them, evidently very confused. A victim to be? An accomplice? Would he dare act in front of her? There was only one thing he could think to do, and that was to get away. Run back to the Plaza, to where there were lots of people and Shinya. His ears beginning to ring with the blood rushing by, he forced his numb limbs to move and turned to go, ignoring the sound of someone calling his name. He didn't even have a chance to take a step, however; a firm hand grabbed his arm, pulling him back. He gasped and attempted to pull away, but the hold was strong. He whirled to try the pry the fingers off his arms, and came face to face with... ...Una? Vendaril's companion was Una? Why was she looking at him like that? Why was she... threatening him!? He attempted to jerk away from her again as she demanded to know what was going on, turning on Vendaril and threatening him as well. As far as he was concerned, the Symenestra could deal with Una and her crazy, and Una could deal with Vendaril and his. “L-let me go!” He protested, his voice cracking as it returned.

[Vendaril]

Vendaril was far too self-absorbed to recognise the distant figure until all of a sudden, it was not so distant. Tao’s face reverberated through his skull as it loomed out of the dark. The image sent a spurt of joy through the Symenestra, only to be shot down immediately by overbearing shame. It had been months since their last encounter, and yet still his guilt over his actions had lost none of its keenness. He tried a subtly yet firmly steer Una towards the nearest side alley but she seemed to be using the same manoeuvre on him – only minus the subtlety. For some reason she seemed determined to drag the two of them together. Mortified, Vendaril saw the undisguised fear forming on his former friend’s face. This was not good. Was this a set up? Una seemed to know Tao, maybe they had ganged together and lured him out to face a lynch mob gathering in the shadows. But wait, the weedy kid seemed just as surprised – what was going on? Panic fluttered haphazardly across his brow as he glanced about for a means of escape. Running out on Una would be very bad form on his part, but then this was promising to be a severely uncomfortable situation. No use though, Una had him on an iron grip, using the arm he had wrapped around her to lever him forward. Before he knew it, Vendaril found himself bound to Tao, Una acting as a pair of manacles holding them fast. A brief memory flared, waking on hard stone in the wee hours of the morn, drenched in sweat and the taste of metal pungent on his tongue. He could feel his palms coating in slick at the fearful recollection. Tao stammered a weak demand to Vendaril’s supposed beau, but his voice was shrill. Still, at least he had the guts – Vendaril was still fervently hoping this was a misunderstanding and that he could get away without having to square up with Tao again. But no, Una evidently had sensed their discomfort at the meeting and was now brusquely trying to find out what was what. For the first time since their meeting, Ven found himself annoyed with her, sticking her nose in where she had no business. He would have words with her later, if he got out of this situation outside of Shinya custody. Flicking Una a sinister glare her stopped biting his tongue and made the first move – or so he intended. “Hello Tao,” he stated in a steady tone; too steady, it sounded icy and distant. Still, the man had insulted him gravely, and Vendaril was no longer sure of who he really was. He clicked his scathing toenails on the road with frustration and shot Una another look, but her face was steady and unresponsive. What did she have to be angry about? Why was she forcing this meeting, when they could have so happily pretended that the other individual did not exist as they walked by. She had no right to do this to him, she was lucky he was infatuated with her otherwise she would be sporting an attracting pair of puncture marks on her neck. Returning his eyes slowly to Tao’s, he continued. “A little brisk for a night-time stroll, don’t you think?” He may have been forced into this parley, but he fully intended to make the other man do all the work in the conversation. OOCI agree with Tao on this Una, while I don’t have any qualms about what you wrote per se, and it did help advance the plot it was a little controlling. Still, I’m fine with the way things are playing out.

[Una Nox]

Una could feel her left eye twitch slightly as she was slowly starting to get annoyed with their subtle evasion tactics. It was almost as if someone had knocked her up and she asked them to take responsibility. She giggled a bit at the last thought, as it indeed was idiotic, but still her nervousness was not lost after that small hint of a good mood. They were acting as if they were made of stone, as if they had all the time in the world. That bothered the girl as she could not be so patient, nor could she be cool headed for such a long time. Opening her mouth for a bit, she just closed it silence; There was nothing good to say about where things were going and that did nothing other than pick at her brain. She could yell at them, sure, but not only would she then storm off, but nothing would get done, and she would feel like an idiot after it. Tilting her head to the side slowly, she smirked a bit, questioning the possible outcomes of this encounter. Why were they acting like this? One would almost think that they were enemies, as they both seemed somewhat intimidated by the other, but what was lacking was the hate or any reason for there to be a battle in the first place. Maybe they were friends? Maybe this was all a bad joke? Or maybe just maybe, they were in some sort of a predicament? Una did not know what was going on, she did not have a clue, and that bothered her, it bothered her a lot. She started looking at the ground, losing her aggressive posture along with her loud tone, as she was now speaking in barely more than a whisper: “Why can’t you just petchin’ talk dammit? Is it me? Am I bothering you? If I go, will it all be better? Could you work it out then?” her voice rang slow, the tone stern and her intonation disorganized. Normally she would just bust their teeth out for making her feel like this, but she was not really in the shape to do such things today. Getting her composure back together, she spoke again: “I can understand Tao not telling me a thing, after all, I never did imply that I was as close to him as I am to you” she looked at Vendaril confused, insulted a bit before continuing: “But why don’t you tell me?” her voice got from neutral to angry once more as she glanced at both of them.

[Tao]

It seemed that the other two had no intention of letting the chance encounter go. Una's grip on his arm had not loosened an inch, and there was no indication of emotion on Vendaril's face. His plea, squeaked out and pitiful that it was, went completely unheard, only serving to renew the sense of panic that was building up inside him. I have to get away. The thought rushing around inside his head was the only thing he could grasp with any kind of coherency, so he clung to it with all his strength. He was aware of Vendaril's voice, cold and laced with what could only be malice, of the frustrated scowl on Una's face and her tight fingers around his wrist, but he simply couldn't spare it a second thought, or even a moment of rationality. As they all fell into silence once more, broken only for Tao by the loud ba-dump of his own heart pressing against his chest, one thing became a little more clear through the rest of the hazy panic; Una was not following through on her threats. The realisation made him falter in his struggle for a moment, the situation shifting in his eyes ever so slightly. Perhaps Una was not as much of a threat as he had first anticipated... which meant that perhaps he could persuade her to let him go. It was a long shot by far, but the only way out short of resorting to violence himself, and he wasn't that desperate yet. She was getting more angry by the silence, threatening to leave. The thought of being left alone with the clearly dangerous Symenestra rose a panicked lump to his throat; she was quite possibly the only reason he was alive! “D-don't leave me alone with him.” He choked out, his mouth paper dry. “He wants to kill me.” If Una believes me, she'll let me get away... Please believe me.

[Vendaril]

Even as Tao said it, Vendaril dropped his eyes. Those words set his heart plummeting. Had he lived in fear ever since that night? Always on the look out for a pale face in the dark, a fell monster waiting to snatch him up and leech his life from him. Vendaril opened his mouth slowly, in his mind it creaked and protested as time ran slow. Words came hard to him for once, and when they finally came they were bourne on a hoarse rasping breath. "I'm sorry Una," he spoke. Well, here goes nothing he thought. "And to you Tao. I - I know it isn't easy to see me again, and I doubt you want to have anything to do with me at all - but I think it needs to be said." Looking up again to Una's questioning eyes, he began to explain. "Tao and I had a run in a few months ago. When we parted, well - we didn't part on the best of terms." Or he didn't, a snide voice in his multi-faceted mind snorted. You didn't part at all, waking in the gutter when everyone else was gone... The voice was quickly quelled. Vendaril kept a stony facade on his face, but now it wasto keep his sadness from showing, rather than the distress of a cornered rabbit he had felt earlier. He turned his glazed eyes straight at Tao now, taking in little of his fearful expression. "I know I did little to endear myself to you that night Tao, but you must believe me when I never truely intended to cause you harm. I can only ask for your forgiveness." With those words, the Symenestra hung his head in shame. OOCI (finally) have my computer back! Hooray!

[Una Nox]

I am sorry to have kept you waiting, hopefully it will not happen again. Una widened her eyes in disbelief as she heard Tao’s scared voice; The tone she could cope with, but did he just say that Vendaril wanted to hurt him? Kill him? She could feel her grip on the human male becoming loose, but could hardly do anything to stop it, as she was too preoccupied with strange thoughts of her own. As she turned to the Symenestra, she had managed to utter only a couple of words before Vendaril spoke up himself: “K…Kill him?” both her voice and her thoughts were then redirected towards the words that started to flow out slowly but surely from the mouth of the spider. As she started to fathom the words, she could not help but frown a bit, as it was all still much of a mystery to her, but she still did her best to listen intently. So they did not part on the best of terms? Una thought that saying something in that manner was a grave understatement. Shivering slightly as her ears nudged slightly, receiving new blessing information, she was unsure was it the wind getting to her, or was she really that shocked? Was Vendaril just like any other Symenestra? Was he a liar, a cheat and a trickster? Was it all a lie? She could find the strength to consider every one of those options, but when it came down to the most crucial question, she was left without strength or prowess; Weird as he was, he was no murderer, she might have not known it as a fact, but she still tried her best to believe that much. Her breaths still uneven as the man had finished speaking, she quickly came to her senses, as she reassigned certain force to the grip on Tao’s hand, he might not run away now, but still, better safe than sorry. Looking at the Human with slightly concerned eyes, she blinked a few times before getting her thoughts in check completely; Once she did however, she was quick to speak, facing Tao as she did: “Forgive him…” her words were gentle, but even with that light cast upon them, they still sounded more as a command than a friendly suggestion. Completely releasing the grip on Vendaril’s hand, she was running her fingers down his arm, as she caressed it gently, wondering what might become of the current situation.

[Tao]

It seemed like every moment turned the situation on its head, over and over again. One second, he was fearing for his life, and the next... Well, it was hard to know exactly what he felt after that. Tao's struggles with Una's iron grip eased and his eyes widened as Vendaril's entire fierce demeanour crumpled under the weighted words that he had thrown out in desperation, a wild chance to free himself from the frightening situation. He hadn't expected that. He hadn't expected him to feel guilt over what he had done. It had been the most terrifying thing that he had ever experienced. The tense few seconds when claws had been inches away from the soft flesh of his throat and the pure hatred filling the eyes of someone that he had almost considered a friend. The only way he had been able to take a step outside of his apartment the following night was the belief that he had instilled in himself that it had been a monster that had tried to kill him. Monsters had no place in Lhavit. The Shinya would have dealt with him, collapsed on the streets where he had been left as Tao had fled the scene and the other two he barely remembered had simply walked away. Monsters were tricksters, monsters were liars, and monsters didn't feel guilt. But here was one such monster, shame beaten into his very stance, apologising to him. Why can't it ever just be black and white? He practically hung from Una's grip, his mind completely blank on what to do next. He had never dealt with anything like this before. What if he were lying, and this was all just another trick? How could he tell a lie from the truth? If my father was here... The futile hope that he had clung to for quite a while was the first thing that came to mind. His father had been good with people, and he would know what to say. His father wouldn't have gotten into a mess like this in the first place, no doubt. No. He's gone. You're alone now, and you have to deal with this alone. By the gods, I wish that I wasn't alone. The initial fear of fight-or-flight was slowly receding, but there was still a pained dread that was weighing him down, the knowledge that a wrong move now could still mean his death, and that he didn't know what to do. The hand around his wrist tightened (and only then did he realise that he probably could have pulled away and run for it), making him look up at his would-be captor, the fierce looking Una, stuck in the middle of a situation that she probably knew nothing about. There was no doubt in her eyes as she firmly told him to forgive. Though his mouth was dry and he was shaking, Tao was quick to cling to the shred of guidance that the woman gave to him. Anything was better than letting another decision roll around uselessly in his head, especially one as volatile as this one. Swallowing in an effort to loosen his tongue, he took a deep breath and said it all in a rush. “I'm sorry. I forgive you.” OOCNo words can describe my lateness! Multiple apologies!