InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I'm not your girlfriend."

Elijah Clément (priceoffreedom) wrote in nosuchplace,
@ 2009-10-16 22:43:00

Entry tags:

elijah clément, rosalinda di palermo

Wednesday: February 13, 2008
Who: Elijah and Rosalinda
When: Evening
Where: The temple
What: Finding solace in turbulent times?

Elijah wasn't sure how to process the events that had taken place in the last couple of days. The only tragedy he had ever experienced, truly experienced, was Aubert's death. He couldn't say that he understood what Zach was feeling, or the thoughts that were probably running rampant through the alchemist's head; all he knew was that he felt bad that Zach had to go through any of it at all. All he could do was help with the search parties that were being sent out, and help catch the psychopath that had taken Zach's girlfriend. Elijah knew that if he saw the bastard that he wouldn't think twice about killing him. But that wasn't his place. If anyone should have the pleasure of killing the man it would be the girl's family, or Zach. They loved the taken girl the most, and they would no doubt do whatever they could for her.

Elijah should have been with Zach wherever the boy was, but he was at the temple instead. He was a water elemental, and sometimes he was bigger than life; but in here, in this place he felt small. He looked around with a sense of awe, and took a seat at one of the front pews. He breathed in deeply, and let out a low sigh. It echoed around him, and Elijah closed his eyes as he felt the vibrations bouncing off his skin. He looked up at the high ceilings, and laid his neck against the back of the bench. He thought he was alone, and it was only with that solitude that he dared to speak out loud.

"I wish I knew what to do," he said to no one in particular though anyone could guess that he was speaking to a higher power. "There has to be something more that I can do to help..."

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ophelos
2009-10-28 05:44 am UTC (link)

Rosalinda didn’t spend all of her time in the temple, but she was a woman of faith and now and then that meant seeking guidance from powers higher than her. She was kneeling before a Virgin Mary, the painted marble face gazing down at her with a look of mingled sorrow and hope. The words of her native tongue stole into the silence no louder than a whisper, filling up the hollow spaces in between. Speaking the prayer in her mind alleviated the pressure and calmed her soul.

She finished her prayer, signed the cross, and pushed herself to her feet. Though it was comfortable inside of the temple, Rosalinda’s close proximity to an open window brought in a ghastly cold that caused her to shiver and draw her cloak closer around her form. Rosalinda could see her breath like smoke before her eyes, and she began to walk.

Down a corridor she traced her steps back to the main room. At this hour of the evening, Rosalinda suspected she was the only one in attendance. It seemed the temple was mostly empty these days, even though it was open to all faiths. She had a feeling most prayed at home or didn’t pray at all. Rosalinda wasn’t judging, but it did make her sad to see so few people ever there.

Her footsteps halted when she heard a voice echo from somewhere inside of the room. Eyes sought out the location of the voice and the man who spoke with it, spotting a lone figure sitting on one of the pews. Rosalinda’s fingers tugged unsurely at her cloak near the shoulder as she watched him from a distance, brow furrowing and mind wondering if she should say anything to him.

Stepping out of the darkness, she quietly made her way towards him. Rosalinda spoke when she was within close earshot of the man. “There is always something that one can do,” she offered softly. Hoping it wasn’t an intrusion, she took a careful seat beside the man. “What’s troubling you?” Her voice was open and sympathetic, willing to listen and willing to help.

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priceoffreedom
2009-10-29 08:38 pm UTC (link)

It wasn't often that Elijah let anyone sneak up on him, but this was an instance where his mind was wandering to things he hadn't thought of before. He wasn't used to feeling helpless, but it was all he could feel at the moment. There was nothing he could do to help Zach, or Zach's girlfriend. There was no way his powers could find Dante even if he combined with every molecule of water in the haven.

Rosalinda's voice broke the silence around Elijah, and the elemental immediately straightened himself from his slouching position. He turned around to face the voice, gentle as it was, and stared at the woman as she made her way toward him. His brow furrowed, and he cleared his throat when she took the seat next to him. "Nothing," he answered. Elijah wasn't the type to open up to strangers no matter how gorgeous they were, and he kept up the facade in front of the woman. "Nothing at all." He shrugged, and propped his elbows on the back of the bench.

The elemental watched the woman carefully, and tilted his head to the side as if he were examining her. "Don't you know that we men don't talk about our problems?" He chuckled a bit under his breath, and turned to face her a little bit more. "We're supposed to let them fester for a little bit before he completely shrug them off. That's how we work. Dealing with problems is too much of a hassle." He smiled at her, and let out a soft sigh.

"Seriously though, don't worry about it. I'll be fine. But thanks anyway, I appreciate it."

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ophelos
2009-10-29 10:00 pm UTC (link)

Rosalinda felt the corner of her mouth twist upward into an amused smile, and she leaned back against the pew to relax herself. She wasn’t going to pry the truth out of him if he didn’t want to talk about it. After all, she was a stranger and she did come out of nowhere to talk to him, even if it was to deliver comfort. He seemed to not need it despite her willingness to listen. She could live with that, Rosalinda thought to herself, as she crossed her legs.

“I see,” she said, the smile still there on her face. “Well, as they say in my country, ‘a man’s own opinion is never wrong.’” She shot a glance at him from out of the corner of her eye. He appeared to be tired, and his face was worn around the edges. Rosalinda fingered the beads around her wrist and wondered if he was alone. He looked alone. She was not thinking of alone in terms of whether or not someone came to the temple with him. He seemed as if he was walking alone through life. Then again, Rosalinda could have been reading him wrong. It wasn’t as if she was some kind of expert on the matter.

“If I am disturbing you, I can leave,” Rosalinda offered in a kind voice, hoping he might say no instead of yes. Her interactions with people were few as of late ever since she lost contact with the few friends she had made while here. She felt quiet alone herself right now, and maybe that was the reason why she hoped he said no.

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priceoffreedom
2009-11-03 11:01 pm UTC (link)

After living for over one-hundred years Elijah was tired, but that didn’t mean he was going to give up so easily on life. Life was full of hardships, and the true character of a man was found when he could endure them. Aubert used to tell him that; hardships built character, and that wasn’t a bad thing. If he looked ragged, and worn it was because he was worried about Zach, and he hadn’t returned to his elemental state in a few days now. Elijah liked to become one with his element; he found that it rejuvenated him somehow. But little did Rosalinda know that she was right in her assessment. Elijah had been traveling through life alone; even when he was with Aubert he still felt lonely. It was part of the reason why he enjoyed spending time with Zach, and Constance. They filled the void that had nearly overtaken his heart.

He glanced over at Rosalinda, and smiled. “You’re not bothering me,” he said. “Pretty women never bother me,” he added with a chuckle. He looked away, and let out a soft sigh. “Not a bother at all…” he said under his breath as he admired the architecture of the temple. “I like the company. I mean, just because I don’t wanna spill my guts doesn’t mean I don’t want to just hang out, and talk, y’know?” Elijah smirked at Rosalinda, and then turned slightly in his seat.

“Elijah,” he said with an outstretched hand. He looked down at his hand, and nodded toward it in silent invitation. “That way we’re not strangers, or anything.”

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ophelos
2009-11-05 12:06 am UTC (link)

He flattered her by calling her a pretty woman, but Rosalinda didn’t say anything out loud to it. Instead, her mouth quirked upward in the corner to form a peculiar smile. “I never said you had to spill your guts,” Rosalinda told him in a casual manner, shrugging one of her shoulders. She turned to look at him, seeing a half-profile of his face in the slivers of moonlight and the faint candle flames of the temple. “Although, that would be messy, would it not?” Rosalinda joked, raising her eyebrows in amusement. She thought he looked familiar, as though she had seen him before, but she couldn’t remember where.

Rosalinda glanced down at his hand when he offered it to her during his introduction, though, and hers found it soon after he spoke. His hand was warm to the touch and strong underneath the flesh, and small sparks tickled her spine at the contact — definitely not the types of things she should be feeling or thinking about in a church.

“Rosalinda,” she introduced herself. There was a pause, and then, an inquisitive smile formed upon her features. “Have I seen you before? You look familiar to me.” She knew she had not ever met this particular man before, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of familiarity. It took hold in her gut, trying to convince her that she knew him somehow. Shifting slightly in the pew, Rosalinda gazed at him with unsure eyes as she pursed her lips in thought. Perhaps there was a part of her hoping the action would tell her where this feeling came from.

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priceoffreedom
2009-11-06 10:00 pm UTC (link)

"Very messy," he said with a laugh. "It wouldn't be a pretty sight," he said with a sideways glance toward the woman. Elijah liked that she was the type of girl who could joke around; he couldn't stand the stuck-up types who thought they were too good for you. Despite the somewhat laid back nature of the woman Elijah felt there was something about her that demanded a bit of formality. Not that he would be formal with her, but she held that quality about her.

He wrapped his fingers around her hand gently, and noticed that her skin was soft, and smooth. He probably shouldn't have been noticing such things about a girl while in a temple, but Elijah couldn't help but imagine that the rest of her was the same way. He banished the thoughts, however, when she spoke her name.

"Nice to meet you, Rosalinda," he said. Elijah cocked his head to the side at her question, and then shook his head. "Maybe you have, but I know I haven't seen you. I'd remember if I did." It was another compliment to her looks since Elijah believed she was truly beautiful. "So Rosalinda. You ever go by anything else? Ros? Rosa? Linda? Lin? Rosi?" His lips pulled upward to form an amused smirk. He wasn't making fun of her name as much as he was trying to make conversation with her. "Of course, Rosalinda is good enough as is."

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ophelos
2009-11-09 07:23 pm UTC (link)

Rosalinda furrowed her brow in thought as she stared at him. There was something peculiarly familiar about the man, but she couldn’t recall them ever meeting and it seemed obvious that he didn’t either. It felt more like she had seen his face before, or maybe not even that. Maybe he just reminded her of someone, though Rosalinda couldn’t rightly say who. She shook the thought from her head and focused on the present, which was far more important for the moment.

“Nice to meet you, too, Elijah,” she said, enunciating his name in full. It was one of those things of hers; she couldn’t help but speak in a formal manner when it came to English. Everything had to be neatly pronounced. She smiled slyly at his long list of nicknames for her, and she shook her head in response. “No, I only ever go by Rosalinda. Nobody calls me anything else.” Her face fell a little as the memory of her family came to the forefront of her mind. “Except for my family, they sometimes called me Anabella. It was a combination of two of my names.”

She normally didn’t share details like that with a stranger, but sitting here in this holy place, it was hard for her not to trust the person sitting beside her, whether she knew him or not.

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priceoffreedom
2009-11-10 09:26 pm UTC (link)

Elijah noticed the way Rosalinda stared at him, and it made him wonder if there was anything on his face. He cupped his chin in a subtle manner, and rubbed his fingers along his cheek. The stubble was rough against his fingertips; no doubt a sharp contrast to a woman's soft skin.

"Rosalinda it is," he said with a small smile. He noticed the way her features fell ever so slightly when she talked about her family. Elijah speculated that they must have been lost to the virus, and the war. Family was a sensitive topic with a lot of the people in the haven considering how many lives were perished in such a short period of time. "So Rosalinda, how many names do you have exactly?" He wanted to take her mind off of family if he could, but the solemn surroundings lent itself to solemn thoughts.

"Some people call me Eli," he added as an after thought. "Not many, but some. You could, if you wanted."

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ophelos
2009-11-13 03:39 am UTC (link)

Rosalinda raised a single eyebrow, indicating her thoughts that he might not have wanted to ask that question considering the answer to it. Instead of inquiring whether or not he really wanted to know, she was completely honest with him. “Ten,” Rosalinda said without missing a beat. A modest smile plastered itself on her lips afterwards. After all, not many people had ten names on their actual certificate of birth. For her family, it was a tradition—and an unbreakable one at that; being born into the Palermo family came with so many expectations from the day you were born until the day you were dead, and every last member of the bloodline was tied down by those expectations. Rosalinda was the last of her House, a piece of knowledge she would never forget.

“I like Elijah,” she said to him, in the sincerest of tones, and raised her chin. She didn’t see the harm in reminding him of the origin of his given name. “Elijah is a highly revered prophet and saint to many people.” Though her voice tapered off towards the end, Rosalinda didn’t turn her face away from his as she spoke. His full name was smooth and flowed easily off the tongue, and it sounded so much better than the shortened version he offered her. Perhaps it was the soft quality of it, even though he seemed to be anything but a soft man. Still, the name suited him greatly; he looked like an Elijah to her eyes as she gazed at him. Her eyes fell to her lap, though, and she realized she was inappropriately attracted to him. This was a church of all places in the world, and her thoughts were on anything but a pure track.

Rosalinda swallowed past the small lump in her throat and thought about excusing herself from his presence.

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priceoffreedom
2009-11-16 08:44 pm UTC (link)

"Ten," Elijah said with a little shock. It was common practice to have maybe one, or two middle names, but ten? Elijah had never heard of such a thing, and it was something that added to his curiosity. He wanted to ask her what they were, but decided against it. That could be a conversation left for another time, and Elijah made a mental note that he would definitely like to see Rosalinda again.

He smiled at her compliment, and refrained from saying anything in response to it. He was more subdued than usual on this evening with nothing snarky or sarcastic to say in return. "I think Aubert told me that once before," he said. The alchemist had been religious in his youth, but going to church had become a mask to hide the fact that he was an alchemist. He still believed in God; believed that God was the one who had given him his power, but it was never the focus of his life especially when he found he could give 'life' to elementals. It seemed a little ironic then (or appropriate?) that he had given the name Elijah to his last elemental.

"Well then you can call me Elijah," he said with a smile. "I think I've always preferred that anyway." He liked the way it sounded, too, or at least the way it sounded when it came out of a woman's mouth. And speaking of mouths he couldn't help but watch Rosalinda's as she spoke. Maybe feeling attraction in a church was wrong, but it was something that both parties couldn't stop from happening.

"So," he said, stretching out the word a little. "What brings you out here tonight?"

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ophelos
2009-11-20 03:29 pm UTC (link)

She heard the surprise in his voice and raised her eyebrow in amusement towards his reaction. Ten names were a lot for one person to have, she knew. Maybe one day he would ask to know all of them, though she very much doubted he would ever remember them. Few people asked about them, and even fewer people remembered them.

“The same thing that brings me here everyday,” Rosalinda said, gazing forward to the front of the pews and the altar beyond that. Of course, she didn’t mean every single day, just the same reason she ever came to this place. It was a comfort to her, even if for most people it wasn’t of much use anymore. Rosalinda still felt pride in her religion, and she found peace in holy places. “To pray,” she continued, “or seek guidance. Sometimes just to talk to someone who will understand. I was born a Roman Catholic, so these things are essential—coming to church. Most people, it seems, just pray at home.”

Though some might have been judgmental on the matter, Rosalinda was anything but. She wished for more like her, so she could feel the sense of a community once again, but she didn’t begrudge the different ways in which people celebrated their belief. It was strange, though, how she almost felt like a woman attending a funeral every time she stepped foot into the temple. This place had celebrated many deaths since its conception, but hardly any life.

“But I should probably go,” Rosalinda said, turning to offer Elijah a smile. “It was nice to meet you, Elijah.” She placed her hand upon his, gently squeezing it for just a moment. “Take care,” she told him. With that, Rosalinda rose from her seat and fixed her long cloak around herself to prepare for the cold night air she would meet outside the doors.

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