Closed manic.

[Adrienna Lynint]

37th of Summer, 514 AV ; continued from coquettish. It was as soft as if it had been the morning after, and in some respect, it had been. However, it was the most glorious 'morning after' that Adrienna had ever experienced, as every motion that she made, and every strain that rolled across her form, she was granted the beautiful gift of pleasure. It was a reward. She refused to make a sound and betray her enjoyment of the simple things, but it certainly traveled through her body. His shirt collided with her face. She recoiled and caught it in her hands, bringing them from her skirt that she had just wiggled over her hips. For a moment, she stared at the fabric within her hands. It was of poorer make than anything she'd actually had her hands on, coarse beneath her fingertips compared to silk and soft cotton, and she tossed it aside before seeking out her own shirt. The torn stretch of fabric was discarded as carefully as the first, but the first was reclaimed before he could take it up. Even in this strange high that the Fizz brought upon Adrienna, she felt that Tydus Tempest would be the sort to take back an offer, even if it had been refused in drugged stupidity. He might find perverse amusement in her walking through Kenash, as bare-chested as he. The shirt was loose upon her form. Adrienna did not like the way that it hung off her body, so she knotted it along its hem, which pulled it tight against her abdomen. However, her arms still swam in the sleeves. Tydus was no large man, however they were not built similarly, and she did not possess the robust curves one would find on women given the Nikali-blessed forms to bring pleasure to male senses. No, the shirt was fitted wrong, and this made it more manageable. Adrienna felt that Tydus spoiled the moment, right on cue. "What is that gibberish you are speaking?" As the question left her mouth, she had the disconcerting sensation of vertigo, and swayed. The light whispered, trying to drag her back down to that land of hazy pleasure and satisfaction. Never before had her lips brushing against one another given her such enjoyment. For a moment, she wondered if it would feel better should she kiss Tydus. The temptation was strong. Adrienna was soured briefly by the distraction of sudden Common words, however succumbed to the sensibility of them. She grinned, all teeth and blissful excitement. "No point in sitting here and talking about it," she told him. It took her a long few ticks to actually find the strength to stand, though, as every motion that let the fabric of their clothes brush over her naked skin beneath coupled with the act of moving itself flushed her with the simple sensation of bliss. It was managed, though, and in a sudden show of what she might label affection and others kindness, she offered the Svefra her hand so he would not need to experience the same bliss she did. There was no question of it: Adrienna felt the need to leave, to bring the bliss and excacerbate it, and to flee the dark hands that encroached upon the sheltering bubble of safety that the lighthouse provided. Quickly did she release him once she'd taken his hand. Adrienna did not wish to succumb again to the sensation of his skin upon her own so soon, not when under this faint sense of foreboding that weighed in with every flicker in the light. No, she leapt away from him to the stairs, leaving the scrap of her shirt behind. In a moment of foresight, she snatched up a lamp she could not remember being there before and thought to retrieve the Chalice from its innocuous position upon that lovely tray. She held it out to Tydus, in the hopes he had a pocket or something to carry it in. It was not something to be left behind. With that task done, and the opportunity to share the sensation of skin on skin contact within the glorifying waves of light satisfied, Adrienna offered Tydus a mischievous sort of smirk that blazed in her eyes- that faded when she saw the darkness that encroached upon the lower level of the lighthouse. She started down the stairs slowly, the lamp held out in front of her as a beacon and a ward to the shadows, the terrifying dance of light's absence that threatened to eat her whole. The warmth of the light above was forgotten almost immediately as she stepped from it, exchanged for the sense of foreboding growing more with every descending step. Adrienna was wholly focused upon the wavering light of the lantern, shaking in her shivering hand. "Let's go," she whispered. Hopefully, the Svefra was there at her back.

[Tydus Tempest]

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The feeling of satisfaction was all the more augmented in the Tempest scion. Chills erupted pleasure down the curvature of his spine as he rolled his shoulders. Each movement, each stretch set ablaze an intricate weave of bright pleasure, laughter emerging from his lips as wisps of sound. The woman had asked him a question, her words cascading through the room and upon his senses like a waterfall. Coming from all directions, loud and booming, yet silky. Lovely. Adrienna Lynint's voice was alluring in the midst of his delight, but he stayed his hand. Clothed already, Tydus Tempest was struck far more by a desire to explore an entirely distinct world than to engage the Lynint a second time.

However much he persuaded himself to the contrary.

The Svefra shook his head for a moment, almost reaching to her again. The woman was tying his shirt into a suitable size for her, and with that... it was done. Her 'assets' were stowed away and no more was the grip of their hold upon his mind. Rather, he set about to clearing his thoughts of the woman's body, swaying instead in the ever-changing setup of the light, a want to escape the unpredictable prison of the lighthouse emerging more than ever.

But, Adrienna took a head start.

She gripped a lantern, and the Tempest gravitated towards the light, taking solace in it, reveling in it, and with her request to leave the place, the Tempest was truck with a sudden desire. He would, if allowed, turn her in place, and directly set his lips upon hers. A natural dominance, a whim given course and form set upon him, and he pressed close to Adrienna. A moment's passing, lips upon hers, before he parted from her, a wink cast when he was of respectable distance, and with it, he called out.

"Let's. "

The Tempest turned for just a moment, a laugh and a smirk cast upon his lips before he felt the gripping apprehension of the darkening tunnel cast upon him. A spiraling staircase. It was illuminated, but in the bells that had passed since Lucian had lit the lanterns, the wax candles had begun to die out. Light flickered in the glass containers, Tydus welling with a fear, a fervent need to leave. Fire welled in his throat, pupils dilated fully, his heart racing in his chest. Blood coursed through his body, adrenaline surging within him as fear welled at the surface.

What the...

This was not the effects he had become used to. It was foreign, frightening, but most of all... it was thrilling. Tydus did not revel in the sensation, nor did he glory in it. He feared it, disliked it, but in the midst of the fright, he felt a surge of excitement. It reminded him of staring into the annals of the Rattling Chains. He feared it. Yet... he did not retreat. Tydus Tempest stepped forward into the dim staircase, and traveled down it. He pushed the door open a moment later and was met with... dusk.

The apprehension did not fade. The fear did not lessen, but he felt a momentary respite from it, motivated to continue onward,

"Where to? You know this place better than I do."

The call of adventure sang in Tydus' mind, though the scratchings of fear was felt upon his skin. Flickers of perceived pain, flares of fear... This adventure would not bode well, but it was one that must be taken. Perhaps there was a light at the end of the tunnel of darkness.

Fratava | Common | Vani
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[Adrienna Lynint]

Adrienna did not reciprocate, but she was receptive; the Dynast was a woman who yearned for love, to be loved and to give it, but she was not one to consider a romantic entanglement with an outsider as possible. She was fascinated more by the texture of his mouth and skin, both like silk against her. She did not seek to express her own desire to dominate- it had been donned when she'd been sober, when she'd wanted the outsider to know that he was not better than her. In her drugged mind, it didn't occur to try. It was a pleasant sensation, regardless. With him leading her, the Lynint grasped her lantern tighter and followed, keeping close to him. She would not say she was a superstitious woman, or even that she gave credit to the rumour of ghosts and other supernatural oddities aside from gods and werelights in the swamp. However, this darkness felt preternaturally menacing, like the winged terror presented by the Zith in their nightly prowling. It was a slavering monster with shadowy claws, and the only source of stability and safety was the bare back of the Svefra, with his strangely luminous mark-- remarkably similar to the one her own mother had, and his confidence. The ire returned and bolstered her, so suddenly that her back cracked, sending shivers of pleasure down her spine, when she straightened it. She'd not have him look back at her and smirk, smug in his victory. The apprehension did not dim, but it contended with her reluctance to express it. Her heart pounded, her skin blanched, and she startled at the flicker of light from the dying lamps, but she held her chin high and her shoulders back, presenting an image of brazen pride to Mizahar... and the lighthouse's shadowy monster inhabitants. He startled her when he spoke, and she gravitated to the open door and the freedom from those menacing claws as swiftly as possible. The breath came easier, outside. The apprehension mounted, but the outright fear was swallowed, and she shut the door with a loud slam behind her, locking away what had so terrified her. Let him question it. "Few places are open at this hour, but I'll show you the best," Adrienna cocked a smile and took him by his wrist again, immediately tugging at him. The lamp was placed aside in her haste to find a more trustworthy source of light. Before the night swallowed them in full.

[Tydus Tempest]

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When the portal to the light finally opened, Tydus felt that a hand had loosed itself from around his neck. Breath filled his lungs for the first time as light dilated his pupils once again. The world of darkness was one of terrors and unimaginable fear, not quite yet experienced with the lantern at hand, but its dying light had begun to worry at the Tempest's soul. Furthermore, it drove him further and further into the wall. Downwards, into a well. Inescapable, indomitable was the stone surface of the walls. But, Tydus was liberated, the wall had shrunken to the size that he could scale it. And, he was done with the fear, but even then, Syna threatened to hide her face from the world and Leth promised to show his.

Tydus began to notice how the Fizz was affecting him. In the light of the stormgem, Tydus had vibrated with the bliss of eternal light. Paradise given through illumination, safety guaranteed by it. The darkness, however, became a pit of destruction and the sanctuary of torments willing to spring up and attack him. Yet, Tydus noticed it before. He noticed it again. There was a distinct thrill in delving into the dangers. Tydus was a thrillseeker, and this thrill he would thrust forward into and explore. With Adrienna in tow, of course.

When Adrienna spoke, she referred to the best of what was left, and again, the night swallowed them. As they walked, Syna completely deserted the world that was Kenash and left her lover to preside, instead. Leth's light was pale and sickly in comparison, and the world encroached. Shadows were given life, dancing in his vision. Laughing horrors and tortuous premonition struck at his senses, his breath drawn away again. Tydus' heart surged in his chest, racing in the deeps of his terror as he moved forward with Adrienna. He clung to her hand and moved forward to enmesh with her presence.

Tydus was fearful.

Tydus did not want to be alone.

And so, the Svefra banished all senses of pride and matched pace with the Lynint as they walked for several chimes,

"Where are we going...? Will there be light?"

The Svefra quickly found himself craving the light, a hatred for the pure darkness of the world building in him as he stared forward and saw little more than indistinct shapes and constructs derived from the shadows. They watched him, ready to strike if he relented his vigil for even a moment.

Fratava | Common | Vani
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[Adrienna Lynint]

"Are you afraid?" Adrienna asked the question wryly, as if mocking Tydus for his discomfort and fear. She was proud, this Dynast. She was afraid, but she had a streak of pride thick enough to inspire her to hide it. It didn't mean she released his hand, though. If possible, she took a more secure grip of him, taking comfort in the presence of a flesh and blood person amidst the flitting shapes and unseen eyes that watched them traverse the dark street. "I'm bringing you to the Market." She responded as if he should have known already where they were going, as if he were particularly lower in her standards for not already catching on. Her mood had been altered by the drug. From the woman who sought the pleasure he could bring her to the woman who found enjoying his company unpleasant, she wished to convey the idea that this was not at all a good outcome of the evening. She'd not known what to expect with the Fizz, though, and would later credit it with her current attitude. Adrienna Lynint would never admit to it, but as her heart skipped with fear and her breath hitched at sudden flickers of movement, she simply wanted to feel the bliss of light and safety again, and now Tydus was along for the ride. In futility, Adrienna tried to ignore the movements and the rising tide of fear that welled in her heart. Even the points of light that were carved lamps and stars offered no comfort but perhaps even worsened the sensation. She was distracted for a long moment and went so far as to halt their walking, though she was hurried and intent on the safety the Market promised. Whatever had halted her passed and she started again, tugging the Tempest closer as if to use him to shield her before continuing on.

[Tydus Tempest]

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Of course he was afraid. Tydus was not one that was prone to fear of the darkness, but this darkness was rife with living shadow and monsters intent on his destruction. He saw them moving at the edges of his vision, swimming in the oceans of shade and the pits of darkness. They welled with their distaste, laughed in their mockery of him. He was terrified. His composure managed to hide the true depths of his fear, but even then, the fright was written on him. And he knew Adrienna Lynint to be full of the lie of bravery, as well.

It could be nothing but a lie, for she held to his hand more tightly with every woven word. The warmth of her flesh was but a small comfort, but it was the only present one that he could know. Her words were not reassuring in the slightest, but at the very least, they were there. He was not to face the living weapon that was the expanse of shadow alone. That alone could inspire him to follow her. The two made their ascent, and Tydus felt himself pulled closer to the Lynint, the reassurance growing, if slightly, but as did his fears.

Time wore the darkness and gave it prominence. The last lights of Syna were long gone and the eerie glow of Leth did very little to soothe his despair. It wove through him, gripping him into a vise that threatened to consume. It was several chimes, the entirety of their walk, that passed before the Tempest found his courage again, and immediately with it came a sense of clarity.

Tydus' djed was more than recovered at this point. Time had welled djed within him with each breath, the fatigue from his machinations upon Adrienna more than over with, for he had taken care to not expend himself so thoroughly. And so, the Tempest reached for his djed again. It was with the flow of djed that Tydus felt his confidence grow again. Pleasure surged through his senses with the tapping into of the power of the soul. He welled with it before he tapped into the flow of energy and sprang it through in his touch. Whispered words in Fratava also carried the swell of djed, the words meant only for him. Adrienna would hear them only if she was paying close attention,

"There is nothing to fear in this place... The sea is where your fear belongs..."

The Hypnotism inflected upon his own mind as he sought to instill confidence in not only himself, but in Adrienna, as well. He intended for the confidence to bring with it the ability to banish the fear welling in both of their voices. Tydus felt an immediate inclination to relax, and as a result, felt his movements slow, his mind caught both between the pleasure of casting and the calm that confidence brought with it.

His pace would not increase, but the pair arrived at the Midnight Market in time, regardless,

"So, what is this place? A market? I didn't see it here in the morning."


Fratava | Common | Vani
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