A Future Beyond The Past (Lilium)

[Marcus Dymez]

29th Day of Summer, 512 A.V. The inn was a welcoming warmth in this cool night; a candle lit amidst a sea of docks. Marcus sat alone in the World's End Grotto, and watched the subdued atmosphere of the lounge with an observer's gaze. He had never spent much time here, but to be honest, he much favored the entertainment of the Kelp Bar than that of this crowd. But he had needed to go somewhere, before his mind went out of line any further, and he found the detached company soothing for this instance, when Marcus' mind decided to wander. Now, this wasn't the young scholar's usual musings or curious piquing of interests, this was a wandering that Marcus despised above all else. He loathed these moments with a true passion, one filled not by hate, but rather a medley of fear and anticipation. Was there a storm brewing before the young student? Were there problems at the University? No, and No. But there was one thing that he never dared glance back to in casual revelry. The past. That may be anticlimactic for some, but for Marcus, such a thing is nothing to jest about. He had lived through and subsequently forgotten his own terrors, and witnessed those of others as well. Why would one ponder the past when there was nothing to do about it? Why put in such fruitless effort? All of their problems lay dead in the past, and so Marcus had decided that he wouldn't dwell on such things, and as such, he had managed to maintain his cheery and curious disposition almost universally. Except for these moments... Except for his mind's idle wandering... It infuriated Marcus; tender moments of his parents coddling him atop a rough wooden counter, being caught by a shop-keep and given a slap on the wrist, and even his entrance to the university. He hated looking back on the past, as if somehow while doing so, he might trip on some nugget on the present, and shatter his future. But Marcus found himself quickly stumped on yet another bubble of the past. A curious ethaefael met by complete chance, just the way Marcus enjoyed. She was the epitome of how the past can stab at you and tear you apart, but no matter how hard he tried he simply could not leave this thought, and her gentle smile and rosy cheeks began to bore into him. Marcus hadn't truly forgotten her, but rather he kept her memory in the form of the present, he remembered her delicate face and sensuous form, or forms, and he remembered the tender moments. But never more than as fleeting memories, never more than as subtle reminders. For now he felt a prick of sorrow, as he had no way of contacting her, and it had been weeks since their encounter. Marcus feared she might have left Zeltiva, wandering off as she had told him was her nature. The young scholar struggled to keep his mind calm as the thought reverberated through his head, echoing hollowly with each strike. But all of this was soon silenced; the hatred, the sorrow, the fear. All of it was replaced by a small piece of hope, and Marcus' characteristic smirk. Marcus swiftly got up from his table, making his way over to a more-crowded corner of the lounge, where a new source of nightly entertainment had arrived. A sweet woman with a tender voice fell gently over the crowd of gathered patrons, but still Marcus pressed forward. His feet carried him to the closest row of tables, and then he stopped, as if he was faced with an exotic he did not wish to scare away. He sat down at a vacant table, and his emerald eyes gazed up at the entertainer, standing on stage. No words were necessary. Marcus simply watched with passionate eyes as the woman on stage finished her song, with only one thought now in his previously-conflicted mind. Lilium...

[Lilium]

Listening Fun! : It was a beautiful evening, dark and cool, and sheltered in her konti form, the ethaefal had returned to the World's End Grotto. The keep was run by a young woman now, taken over from her parents. Lilium remembered her as a little girl, and the keep remembered her. It had been her favorite place to sing in the past, and in the present. She had been welcomed to perform, for a meal and a room, like an old friend. The family knew her now, stories passed on to children and so on and so forth. Sometimes she didn't even need to offer to sing, but the shimmering creature couldn't take something for nothing. Taking her spot on the stage, the pale haired woman took a deep breath and began. "There's no time for us There's no place for us What is this thing that builds our dreams Yet slips away from us? Who wants to live forever? Who wants to live forever?" Lillium sang softly, eyes closed and heart in each and every word that left her lips. Everything she sang, every word, was something that dragged itself from deep inside of her and soared to the ears of anyone who would listen. "There's no chance for us, It's all decided for us, This world has only one sweet moment Set aside for us Who wants to live forever? Who wants to live forever?" Her eyes opened and a small smile crossed her lips as she began to think of her next words. They were inspired by both the past and the present, two men that had touched her heart and soothed the beast within. One now long gone and the other...well...who knew. After parting ways with Marcus those few days ago, Lilium hadn't seen the sorcerer. They had been in the same city, true, but the woman hadn't returned to his room for fear of finding someone different to the gentleman she had left behind after breakfast. Her heart was scared too, scared of what she was letting herself get involved with. Did she really want to subject herself to that heart wrenching pain when eventually, the mortal mans emerald gaze would cease to glow and she would once again, be left alone with her pain and sorrow? "Now touch my tears with your lips Touch my world with your fingertips And we can have forever And we can love forever Forever is our today Who wants to live forever? Who wants to live forever? Who waits forever anyway?" Sweeping her eyes across the patrons, pale blue eyes spotted a face in the crowd, smiling up at her and causing her heart to flutter suddenly. Marcus. Her smile broadened as she caught his eye, briefly turning to the audience and nodding her head gratefully. Taking her leave from the stage, Lilium walked down the stairs and made her way to the table. "Good evening kind sir, is there room at your table for one more?"

[Marcus Dymez]

Marcus strained beneath his veil of composure, his mind fighting tooth and nail to maintain the gentlemanly waltz he had assumed. His body urged him to stand up and kiss her in a way that would not be forgotten, not by a single soul in the room. But alas, Marcus had a part to play in this situation, and he was indeed quite fond of the role. A polite and noble smile gently graced his features, as the young scholar made a bow of his head and spoke. "I do pride myself on being a patron of the arts. How could a man such as myself ever refuse the company of such a wonderful singer." Marcus did his best impression of high-class chuckling, before his characteristic grin found its way back to sit on its usual mantle. It had been too long. For a moment, it was all Marcus could do to keep himself upright. He gazed at the woman beside him in all of her beauty, and wondered how he had not gone mad without her the past few weeks. Along with that vein of thinking, Marcus decided he had played gentleman for long enough, and deserved some spice of his own. Her chair was not far at all from his own, suited perfectly for watching a stage together, and now that her performance was over Marcus believed he would have to strike up a different form of entertainment. His voice was pleasant to hear, but carried with his usual tinges of curiosity and playfulness. Marcus spoke with a gentle breath as he leaned closer to Lilium, his words speaking for themselves as his lips pressed gently against hers for a span of seconds. "It has been quite a while..." When Marcus had returned to his normal posture, he couldn't help but flash a grin over to Lilium as his hands casually laid on the table. His words were an understatement; one week was enough to set his mind aflame with the thought of her, and three had done no better. But now that they were together again, Marcus found himself suddenly at a lack of words, as if he simply planned on sharing glances all night. It wasn't a bad idea, given her attractive appearance, but it was not the avenue for him. Marcus let casual words slip past his lips, hoping to strike up something to pass for normal conversation, despite how far from normal these two truly were. "So, how has this lovely angel been finding herself lately? I hope you've been looking into your own sunlight in my absence." A small chuckle graced the air between the two, as emerald eyes warmly motioned towards the stage for a moment. "I must say, that was quite an interesting choice of song there. I almost started laughing at the irony of it all." Whenever he had a chance to joke or jest, Marcus rarely let the opportunity slip by, although he did try and minimize the damage... Sometimes. Above all else however, Marcus was simply glad he had found her, this fallen angel who had stolen his heart. Perhaps he was being a bit dramatic about the entire thing, but he felt something indescribable in her presence, and he did not press that curiosity as far as most would. Marcus let his mind wander over his feelings and emotions as his body worked through subtle charm. He took Lilium by the hand, fingers gently interlacing with his own, and gave her the most genuine smile he could muster. It was the expression one could give only out of deep and heart-felt care for another person, and if some people decided to call that Love, Marcus would probably ignore them. "I've missed you dearly, sweet shadow."

[Lilium]

A faint pink blush crossed the ethaefal's cheeks as Marcus pressed his lips to hers for a moment of a heartbeat. Smiling still, she sat gracefully and exchanged glances with him. An awkward silence began to float between them, and the pale skinned creature opened her mouth to speak at the same time as the sorcerer. Closing her mouth with a small chuckle, Lilium listened to his words and felt her smile falter slightly. Her crystalline eyes turned away from his emerald ones and she found herself at a loss for words. Indeed, the sunlight had been easier to bare, but she wouldn't admit that each day apart from his influence it had slowly been getting more difficult to hold back the darkness. Picking up instead on his comment about her song, the woman raised her eyes and smiled again. "It's something I suppose only a few people can appreciate the irony of. I like to sing songs that speak to me, rather than the latest and most popular bards tale." Glancing down at the hand that took her own, the konti swathed ethaefal felt her smile widen and nodded. "And I you." Looking up again, the ageless creature waved down one of the staff as they walked past, ordering two plates of the house roast and sweet custard rolls along with two cups and a jug of sweet mulled wine. Turning her eyes to Marcus, the woman shrugged helplessly. "It's night time, I have to eat." As they waited for the meals to arrive, Lilium sat up straighter, a strange look on her face. "I'm glad your here. I wanted to come see you, before. But.." Looking away, she frowned slightly. "I was afraid."

[Marcus Dymez]

Marcus stifled a large laugh as his lovely companion found herself a waiter and ordered enough food for the two of them, knowing full well who the whole meal was going to. Instead what slipped past his lips was a subtle chuckle, as Marcus listened to the tail-end of her words. Her speech drifted off for a moment, and Marcus found himself curious as to what monstrosity had been holding this fallen angel away from him. But as Lilium spoke, Marcus knew exactly what kind of demon she spoke of, and it was the worst of all of them; a debilitating curse of a thing, that caused a man to doubt his own actions and rescind his own being. Fear was indeed a brutal thing, but that is only the case if one lets it take hold. There are ways of capitalizing on fear, and Marcus had been quick to learn such techniques during his childhood, shortly after his incident... Shaking off the dangerous reminiscence, Marcus flashed his usual grin as he gave Lilium a gentle squeeze of her hand, his words comforting and warm, a vocal embrace of sorts. "Nonsense, I never want you to be afraid of me Lilium, I want you to feel it completely ordinary to bash in my door at night, shake me awake, and pour water on my face." Marcus let out a small laugh during this pause in his words, before he continued with, "Now, that doesn't necessarily mean I will take it as such, but I assure you, any time spent with you is a grace I would never refuse." Marcus had explicitly avoided speaking his true mind, about how his heart had ached when she never came to call. The days went by without a single word of her melodic voice, or a single glimpse of her gorgeous form, and it pained him. But now Marcus had found her, and this time, he intended to drive the point home. At that moment, he felt he could stay with her until the day he died. Hoping to keep the mood jovial and refreshing, Marcus decided to have some fun of his own creation. If Lilium was afraid to visit him, things had not ended as well as he had thought on that bright summer morning. So, that only meant he needed to affirm how closely he regarded her, right? Yeah, that sounded close enough... Marcus couldn't help the devilish grin that came across his face as he took Lilium's hand, and extended it across his body. He hoped to lead her closer to him stumbling to her feet as he held her all the way on the opposite side of his form. Subtly pressing his chair out a bit with his foot, Marcus would take her by the hip and sit her gingerly on his lap. Easy as a delicious apple pie. Marcus' emerald sphere almost danced at the lovely execution of it all, as a few words of playful banter found their way to his mouth during the sweet dance. "Lilium, allow me to shine my rays of sunlight down on you." Once again, the innuendo was accidentally construed and innocently ignored. Marcus knew how to play his part.

[Lilium]

Lilium couldn't help but laugh softly at his comments about bashing in his door and pouring cold water on his head, reaching up to cover her mouth with her hand delicately. "Now, that doesn't necessarily mean I will take it as such, but I assure you, any time spent with you is a grace I would never refuse." Hiding her eyes behind her long platinum locks, the ethaefal shook her head with embarrassed delight. "Oh Marcus, stop. Your making me blush." She said softly, glancing up through thick eyelashes and smiling widely. Her heartbeat stuttered a little in her chest as they looked at each other, that same feeling of joy washing over her, marred slightly by the pain in her past. How she wanted to let herself love again, so easily she could drift into his life. But...when time finally slowed and stopped for the man, where would that leave her? A wicked grin crossed the sorcerers features, and suddenly he was pulling on her hand, tugging her out of her seat with a slight stumbling and embarrassed protest. Landing in his lap gently, the pale skinned creature laughed and glanced around the room, her face a deeper shade of pink. As he spoke, emerald eyes shining, the konti almost felt the heat from her face as the unintended innuendo seemed to expand his grin. "We are in a very public place..." Lilium whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her head in his shoulder to hide her face, a girlish smile on her pink lips. Giggling, she lifted her head slightly so she could see the smile on his face. "You forget yourself, sir." The shimmering creature giggled, before giving him a gentle peck on the cheek. Bravely, she raised an eyebrow at him. "And if you continue all these devilish promises, I can't promise I will be as ladylike as I should be." As the food arrived, delivered by an awkward waitress, Lilium reached over to steal a piece of potato and pop it into her mouth. "There was something I had wanted to talk with you about, when we met last time. However, with the events going not quite to plan, it completely slipped my mind." Licking her fingers, the blonde smiled a secret little smile.

[Marcus Dymez]

The young scholar found himself at home in this pose, a divine angel nudged up against him in a tender hold. It was as if things in life were suddenly piecing themselves together, falling into place with only the slightest bit of effort. At Lilium's mention of a lady, Marcus realized that while he always saw himself as a chivalric knight, the lady of his dreams was always vague. He didn't need a perfect lady, and perhaps he wouldn't even care for one so stringent on such matters. But Lilium was no ordinary lady, and Marcus only smirked to her words, eager to answer that challenge. Everything was going swimmingly, but Marcus knew what the real key was in this euphoria, and it would soon make itself quite apparent. Marcus couldn't help but flash a pleasantly polite smile over to the waitress as the food arrived, his mind eagerly seeking out her reaction to the quaint position the couple bore. The young scholar felt the wandering eyes of other patrons, and the couple's front-row seat did not help with such matters, but still there was not a single thread of hesitance in Marcus' mind. He reached down and brushed a few strands of brilliant blond hair behind Lilium's ear with a gentle hand, his other sturdily holding her in his arms as it carefully cushioned her lower back. His smile could not fade, gazing into this beautiful woman's features so close and personally. But the smile did fade, replaced with a quite solid playful grin as Lilium spoke, the smell of golden potato wafting through the air between them. After all, Marcus had only known this feeling for a few weeks, but his curiosity was as unbounded as ever. His mind began running through the vague memory of their previous encounter, in all of its splendid glory, and searched for anything that may give the man some hint. But he soon grew tired with this avenue of approach, and simply returned her devilish smile as he spoke, eager to hear what sort of ideas she held in her unique mind. "I see. So, does my lovely princess need me to slay a dragon, and perhaps gather some treasure along the way?" His voice carried a chivalric tone with it, despite its quiet volume, and his softly grazed against one of Lilium's soft cheeks with the back of his hand, for a matter of only of a moment. He had seen this woman eat, and he knew better than to get in between a shark and its meal. Still, Marcus' mind toiled under the weight of his curiosity, imagining various scenarios, some pleasant and some less-so, and all of them probably untrue. He waited with a patient expression and a sincere gaze while the mind underneath the surface simmered busily. Marcus hoped for an adventure, as he always did. "Surprise me."

[Lilium]

Chuckling softly at the sorcerer's comment about dragons and treasure, Lilium reached over and poured herself and Marcus a mug of the sweetened wine. Handing him the beverage, the ageless konti sipped her own as she looked at him, savoring the different flavors as they danced across her palette. Making a small hum of one content with their current situation, the blond creature raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps, good sir, you are not as far from the truth as you might believe." Sipping the wine again, Lilium looked into the deep plum liquid, swirling it gently in the mug and breathing in the spicy aroma. "I have a business proposition for you. A proposal, if you will. One that I believe you will greatly benifit from I think." Putting down the mug, the ethaefal kissed his cheek quickly, before slipping from his lap to sit back in her chair. Scooting closer to the table, the woman picked up her cutlery and began to eat the food laid out before her, gesturing to the other serving and indicating she had not bought it for herself, but for Marcus. After a moment, she lowered her utensils and took up the wine again. "There have been a great many places I have seen, and a great many years I have lived. I've seen civilizations rise up and perish in both my lifetimes, and Gods and Goddesses leave the ground we walk on to rise on high. I saw the beginning of the end and the rebirth of the world. And through out all of this, there have been...things." Sipping again, she smiled at her cryptic word, pausing to allow her words to weigh in the silence between them. Finally, she continued. "Old things. Pre-valterrian things. Sometimes..old magic things." Both her eyebrows raised then, her smile a wide grin, before she finished the mug of wine and placed the empty wooden vessel on the table with all intentions of refilling it.

[Marcus Dymez]

Marcus made a sarcastic pouting expression as Lilium slipped away from him, not quite sipping the wine, but at the very least not downing the glass in one swig. The young scholar never really had a taste for the stuff, and after years of rubbing elbows with elderly professors he had pretty much gone through the spectrum. All of it tasted like rotten, sour grapes to him, but still he maintained his composure. Now what truly surprised Marcus was when Lilium had motioned some of the food over to him; he had believed all of this was the meal of the night without a moment's hesitation. The young man let out a small chuckle as he playfully smirked over to his companion. "You mean you're not going to eat all of this?" Still, Marcus was not one to refuse a meal, and after it all, it would be rude not to accept, wouldn't it? Marcus found this place slowly growing on him as his angelic companion spoke, as if she were beginning a fae-tale soon to be filled with dragons and wizards and princesses. It was quick interesting to think that her words actually rang true, and it only reinforced his nurtured thought that all of this was indeed just like a story kids would hear. Marcus simple waited to hear for when the dragons would appear, as he slowly dug into the food before him. The meat was quite good, cooked in some sort of hard liquor. Much better than the stuff they cook in wine... Gods did Marcus dislike the taste of wine. The sweet-roll were delicious however, and this came to no surp- Dragons and Treasure... Marcus' fluidly running stream of thoughts was frozen as Lilium's word echoed into his mind. It was obvious she was teasing him with something, but the fact was Marcus did not have the luxury of being skeptical on such matters. Any lead on the artifacts he sought was worth pursuing by merit of existence. And so, perhaps that is why Marcus sat there, a subtle, playful smirk on his masked exterior, and roiling rapids running through his mind. "Well, I can't say I'm not interested. Any clue towards an artifact is worth investigating." But a catch... What was her gain out of all of this. Marcus knew the two of them had gotten along quite well so far, but how well exactly? He didn't want to insult her with the question, but either inside or out it burned. He held it within for the moment, pressing out another in its place. "What exactly am I going to be doing however? Am I going to actually need to kill a dragon and take its gold?" Marcus pondered that aspect as well. If this became a full-fledged expedition, the scholar may find his purse a little lighter for wear, but a couple helping-hands never really hurt things. Marcus would not bring this point up unprovoked however. After all, if Lilium wanted a romantic adventure with just the two of him, what kind of knight would he be if he refused? "Sunlight and Shadow, seeking stolen secrets of a celestial songstress. Brilliant." Alliteration was always a treat.

[Lilium]

"Oh, I could easily eat all of this. Well, I could give it a good try. But I've already had something small earlier when the sun first set. This is...supper." Chuckling at his words, Lilium refilled her mug and sat back with a smile. Marcus had a way of making even the simplest of things sound like a wonderful and romantic adventure. And she loved it. Of course, his words were warranted. Indeed, he should question her on what he would be doing, the ethaefal would not expect anything less from the schooled man. Sipping her beverage, the shimmering creature tilted her head slightly as she put the mug back on the table and picked up a sweet-roll. "Well, perhaps not a dragon. Depends on whether there is one hoarding all the relics of the world somewhere or not." Pulling off a piece of soft custardy goodness, the blonde popped it into her mouth and closed her eyes, allowing all of her senses to experience the sweet eggy dessert. Chewing carefully and swallowing before she spoke, Lilium allowed her blue eyes to look past Marcus, peering into the distance. "You might need to do a little digging, maybe a little lifting, certainly some travelling. And you have to allow me to accompany you." It was matter of factly said, and with a small smile her eyes refocused on his emerald gaze before she continued to eat her meal. Her heart pounded in her chest as she casually ate, ignoring the butterflies in her belly. It wasn't just that she wanted to come with Marcus on any adventures she might be able to steer him on, it was that she needed him. Every day the ageless woman was terrified of what she might do as the horned corpse took her over. Yes, she had maintained a semblance of sanity these past weeks...but it was hard. Especially if she was caught off guard emotionally, or if she allowed herself to daydream. Picking up her wine, Lilium sipped quietly, before allowing herself a quick glance at the sorcerer through thick lashes, crystalline eyes wide and unsure. And hopeful.