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Private  - divinity stains like a pomegranate

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Played by Offline Syndicate [PM] Posts: 175 — Threads: 35
Signos: 125
Inactive Character
#1

divinity will stain your fingers and mouth like a pomegranate; it will swallow you whole and spit you out
Vercingtorix comes here because it is where she used to dance.

The tavern is ramshackle, old, on the lower end of the economic scale. He had been in Novus long enough to follow her here, one night; and it had been too difficult for him to mend the void, come forth from the darkness, and speak to her. She had seemed impossibly far away; planets; stars. Yes, Torix remembers. It had been like looking upon the cool, distant face of a star.

Her eyes had even glanced, briefly, over him. He had watched her dance, from the back. He’d worn a hood, of course, and stood among the thong of patrons. He simply looked as if he belonged; her eyes had not even lingered on him.

In her ribbons, and her war point, and the cry of her broken heart.

It was watching her dance that told Torix she didn’t love him anymore.

He supposes, of course, it was for the better. He never could have loved her the way he wanted to; the way she deserved to be love. He stares, now, at the stage where other dancers dance. They are outfitted in silks, painted with metallic colours, performing acrobatics. Yes. It was for the better, that she didn’t love him anymore. He could never forgive her, for the lies, for being—for being a woman, not his companion, not his trusted soldier in arms. 

But when Vercingtorix dreams; when he romanticises; it is always her. He hates himself for it, of course. But somewhere along the line, Bondike had become his dream, his partner. They were meant to have spent their lives together, twin sides of the same blade. They might have married; had children. But that was besides the point. That only kept up an image, a front. They were always destined to come back to one another—

The dancers bow, and file out of stage. The next performer comes on, and Vercingtorix goes to the bar. A seed of anger is growing under his breast; but the seed is an ember, and it burns, and burns, and burns.

Damascus is in the mountains, on the cliffsides, staring out at the city from a distance. He is watching, and feeling all of Vercingtorix’s hurt. Through their Bond he says, We could always find her. We could always apologise.

Torix is taken aback at how quickly he had gone from a singular “me” to a sudden “we.” He says nothing back; he only imagines all the ways it would go poorly and how in no reality does it go well. So he orders a drink, and watches the next set of dancers as they begin to perform in the tavern. He knows, of course, she is far from here; he knows, of course, she is taken by the sea.

And that, too, is something he cannot forgive himself for. But he is not so lost in his thoughts, in his regret, that he does not realise he isn't alone at the bar. No. There is someone else there, who seems as heavy as he feels. Quietly, he orders them a drink and toasts to them.

The broken find the broken. That's the way of the world. 

"Torix." ||  @Morrighan 

wine-dark and wanting. you will reach for it again and again, greedy human fingers clutching at everything you can reach. the divine will curl its way through your veins and take you over, and it will not leave you quietly. i feel divinity in my bones like aching; like fire.
CREDITS|| Avis










Played by [PM] Posts: N/A — Threads:
Morrighan
Guest
#2

am i beautiful
as i tear you to pieces?

She is as bitter as the drink she just finished. Morrighan slides her glass back to the bartender to indicate that she's all set for now. Although in her mind she's debating whether or not to order something else.

There are dancers in the tavern today - of course there are dancers. It's as if the universe or Caligo want to torture her more with memories of Al'Zahra. Fortunately, the woman in golden chains is not one of the dancers on stage, but she easily could be one day. Then what? It would give her a reason to leave, but this has become her safe haven as of late. Perhaps a little too often she'll find herself several drinks in and realize maybe she's gone a little too far. So far at least, she's been able to keep her composure.

As for holding her temper in, well that's a whole other story. When a strange man comes over and orders her a drink, she doesn't bother keeping her composure with him as embers spark between them. He does a toast, but to what? She's never seen him before. The Regent turns up her nose to show her disapproval. Bram, who is laying down about a foot away, lifts up his head to watch their conversation closely. He knows all too well how quick Morrighan is to anger, but he won't hesitate if someone turns out to be a threat to her.

"I can buy my own drinks, thank you very much," she says coldly, although she can't help but try a sip. Reluctantly, she likes whatever it is he ordered. Her eyes are narrowed as she looks him over. "Who the hell are you anyway?"

“Speaking.”
credits


@Vercingtorix <3
(This thread will be before the one where Antiope finds her super drunk at this bar, just to clarify timelines! Since I'm not sure how that thread will actually end)









Played by Offline Syndicate [PM] Posts: 175 — Threads: 35
Signos: 125
Inactive Character
#3

divinity will stain your fingers and mouth like a pomegranate; it will swallow you whole and spit you out
I can buy my own drinks, thank you very much.

Vercingtorix would be a liar if he hadn’t hoped for such a volatile reaction. Although there is no heat in her tone, the words are as cutting as ice. This, he thinks, is so much easier than if she had been quiet, soft, conversational. 

“I didn’t mean any offense,” Torix shrugs, as supple as a leopard. He finishes his drink. “I’m Torix, and—“ he looks at her more sharply; a grullo paint, with a necklace winking at her throat. There is nothing particularly remarkable about her, aside from the sharpness of her tongue. Then, his eyes flit easily over the wolf at her feet. “—who the hell are you?” 

There are nights when he cannot contain himself.

There are nights when the thing that is nestled, ravenous and rotting within his soul, screams louder than his reason. There are nights when it becoems unbearable and all he wants is to forget it.

Alcohol has always had the taste of his father in it. So Torix cannot drink to drunkenness, to soften his demons. Instead, he finds blood. He finds small wars to wage. 

"Speech." ||  @Morrighan 

wine-dark and wanting. you will reach for it again and again, greedy human fingers clutching at everything you can reach. the divine will curl its way through your veins and take you over, and it will not leave you quietly. i feel divinity in my bones like aching; like fire.
CREDITS|| Avis










Played by [PM] Posts: N/A — Threads:
Morrighan
Guest
#4

am i beautiful
as i tear you to pieces?

With the rising tension, Bram walks over to Morr's side almost immediately. He watches the man closely with his bright yellow eyes. There is nothing particularly special about him, but anyone who makes Morrighan suspicious naturally makes Bram suspicious as well. He is loyal to her through and through and she would just have to say the word.

The Regent does not say anything yet, but the pendant hanging by her necklace flickers like the fire it's named after. It's only a matter of time before real flames ignite out of thin air. She can feel the power rising in her like boiling water. Maybe this man didn't mean any offense, but Morrighan didn't like him one bit.

"I'm Morrighan, the Regent of this Court- do you even know where you are?" she accuses him with a sharp tongue. Morr finds it even a bit insulting with how ignorant he is. Unless he happened to just arrive in Novus moments ago, he probably should've done his homework before stepping into a Court's lands. This doesn't do anything to make her suspicions disappear. If anything, they're only growing.

"You also didn't answer my question," she reminds him, her eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"

Bram's hackles start to rise. The bartender looks on nervously, but keeps his distance to help other patrons for now.

“Speaking.”
credits


@Vercingtorix <3









Played by Offline Syndicate [PM] Posts: 175 — Threads: 35
Signos: 125
Inactive Character
#5

divinity will stain your fingers and mouth like a pomegranate; it will swallow you whole and spit you out
I’m Morrighan, the Regent of this Court - do you even know where you are? 

What had begun as an innocent gesture (as far as Vercingtorix’s standards went, anyways) quickly deteriorates. He doesn’t mind, however. There is a moment where something akin to anger flashes in his eyes; but then it is gone. He leans back, and offers a languid smile. “I’m sorry,” Torix offers, but there is nothing apologetic in the curl of his mouth. “Are you wearing a name tag? Your reputation doesn’t proceed you, Regent.” He takes a slow drink. “I’m in Denocte, trying to enjoy myself. But so far it doesn’t seem very welcoming to foreigners, despite your Sovereign’s open gates.” Vercingtorix cuts his eyes at her, sidelong.

Normally, he would leave.

Normally, he would de-escalate with a charming smile, or genuine apology. He would offer a real smile, not the caustic thing maring his face now. He would say he was only teasing, pulling a leg. Of course he had known she was the Regent! How could he not recognise her?

But tonight is not the night for that. Behind his eyes Boudika dances in ribbons and gilded gold; she is sun-bright and ferocious and everything he did not deserve to touch, but could not leave. 

“I already told you,” Vercingtorix answers. “I gave you my name; what else do you want? My life story? You don’t seem like the type to give a fuck about that.” 

The wolf’s hackles are rising; he is not the only one.Yet, for all appearances, Vercingtorix rests there as if Morrighan is not brimming with her rage, and her companion with teeth.

"Speech." ||  @Morrighan 

wine-dark and wanting. you will reach for it again and again, greedy human fingers clutching at everything you can reach. the divine will curl its way through your veins and take you over, and it will not leave you quietly. i feel divinity in my bones like aching; like fire.
CREDITS|| Avis










Played by [PM] Posts: N/A — Threads:
Morrighan
Guest
#6

am i beautiful
as i tear you to pieces?

It seems like the longer the man speaks, the more her blood boils and the stronger her anger gets. There's just something about this man that royally pisses Morrighan off, somehow more so than Al'Zahra had. His attitude and reaction to her title only makes things worse. If she had entered the lands of another Court, she would make sure she knew the leadership she was dealing with. To not bother getting that information is just simply careless. Just like this man is- a professional asshole that couldn't give a damn.

"Our gates are open, but we don't put up with just anyone's bullshit. If we did, we shouldn't even bother having guards," Morrighan snaps back, wondering how this man even got past the guards in the first place. He has a kind of arrogance to him and that's probably what's irritating her the most.

Bram snarls next to her as things get more heated. This man is just full of it, isn't he?

"A name is just that, a name. It doesn't tell me anything. A life story might help your case more if it makes me not want to kick you out, but I think we're well past that," she snarls in her own way, now getting out of her seat. He didn't hear about her before? Well, maybe she'll make a good impression on him now. She can feel more eyes on them, especially the nervous eyes of the bartender. The Regent knows she shouldn't let things escalate too much further inside.

"Why don't we take this outside, Torix?" it's more of a challenge than an offer, but she can feel the fire burning inside her. It had been a while since she had gotten into a scrap. While this man was taller and bigger around than her, the Regent feels confident that her fire abilities can make up for her small stature. She'd love to see him try to outmatch her.

“Speaking.”
credits


@Vercingtorix uhhh whoops?









Played by Offline Syndicate [PM] Posts: 175 — Threads: 35
Signos: 125
Inactive Character
#7

divinity will stain your fingers and mouth like a pomegranate; it will swallow you whole and spit you out

We are opposites, I think. The fury is fire licking behind her irises; her rage is fire caught in the amber of her eyes. But where her anger boils and then flares, mine cools; I stare at her with a detached, predatory type of precision. A practiced, militant stare.

Our gates are open, but we don’t put up with just anyone’s bullshit. With that, I finish my drink with a deft motion. 

“Oh, I’m sorry Regent. Where I am from, offering to buy a woman a drink has never been a sign of disrespect.” 

There is nothing simmering within my tone; it is unabashedly innocent, and in that suave innocence, utterly condescending. I stand and step back from the bar as her cur begins to snarl.

“Don’t bother.” I say curtly, with a smile that shows too many teeth. I know the expression is an ugly one, devoid of mirth.  “I don’t waste my time fighting women. They’re too emotional for my taste. It isn’t a real challenge. Maybe another time, when you cool off a bit.” 

And to me, it is as simple as that. 

No matter her magic, no matter her status, she isn’t worth anything to me.

Not even the entertainment of a conversation. I excuse myself with that same dark, wicked smile and begin to part the crowd in the bar to the door, my glass empty. And if she follows me?

So be it. But first, she'll have to navigate Denocte's busy nighttime crowd as I slip deftly through. 

"Speech." ||  @Morrighan 

wine-dark and wanting. you will reach for it again and again, greedy human fingers clutching at everything you can reach. the divine will curl its way through your veins and take you over, and it will not leave you quietly. i feel divinity in my bones like aching; like fire.
CREDITS|| Avis










Played by [PM] Posts: N/A — Threads:
Morrighan
Guest
#8

am i beautiful
as i tear you to pieces?

Of course, this man only sees one side of it. They always do, stupid men. It's not just about the drink, it's the principle of it, his attitude, his mannerisms. Morrighan isn't having any of it and she just wants him gone.

The adrenaline is coursing through her veins at this point (along with maybe too much alcohol) and she is truly ready for this showdown. Others are staring at them in shock and anticipation, but she doesn't care. Let them look, let them watch, let them see how much of an idiot this guy is.

But then he surprises her and turns down her challenge. Of course, not without lashing out more of his bullshit and by now she is fuming. The fire has come out of hiding now and is lapping at her legs. It so badly wants to reach out to the man and make him pay for being so disrespectful, but he's left.

Even when Morrighan storms out to follow him, fire snuffed out, he's somehow managed to evade her. "You're a coward, Torix!" she yells, at this point to the void since he's nowhere to be found.

Good riddance.

Too "emotional".

If she ever sees him again, he would be sorry.

“Speaking.”
credits


@Vercingtorix can't wait for them to meetup again some day haha









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