angharad_of_lux (angharad_of_lux) wrote in birthrightrpg, @ 2020-09-08 14:37:00 |
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Entry tags: | angharad, tiernan smithe |
Reunion
Who: Angharad & Tiernan
What: Reunion
When: Current evening
Where: Lux
Ratings Complete, G
It had been an interesting day for Angharad, her ‘people’ having had some technology upgraded and all of them were quite excited that it had improved the delivery of sound when the venue was large, as for events such as the upcoming Samhain party, and still suitable when the venue contracted to its more intimate size. She had signed off on the changes with a nod and light touch of her finger to the glass-faced tablet presented to her for authorisation, retiring for a rest after the efforts of shifting the spaces back and forth.
Now she felt reinvigorated, and made her way out into the general area, taking in the ambience and atmosphere out of habit, gauging the emotions of the guests. One of them tweaked at her senses and she smiled to herself, walking up behind an old friend. She placed her hand on his shoulder and leaned in until her lips were just beside his ear. “Long time no visits!” she murmured softly, the smile on her face clear in her voice.
Tiernan grinned, turning slowly in place to greet her. There were few souls in the world who could inspire such a smile from the pixie, or inspire such awe and respect. Angharad had been revered long before Tiernan had blinked into existence, and, when he dared think about it, he was certain she would be long after his days had ended. There were some beings in the universe for whom ‘ancient’ could never be an insult, just a remark on their ability to endure. Angharad was, for Tiernan at least, a certainty, one of the few he truly believed in.
“Look at you, beautiful!” he exclaimed, perhaps a bit louder than necessary. He was in a good mood and two Churro Choco Taco shakes deep after hitting the Black Tap for dinner, and in the mood to find some fun. Better still to have found an old friend. “You sure know how to put on a shindig!”
Her laugh rose softly and caused a few heads to turn, smiles on the faces of those who heard the sound of pure delight. “And it’s all the better now that you’ve arrived, my handsome one!” she told him, perching herself gracefully on the stool next to him after giving him a hug. Her smile widened as she took in his face, the merriment in his eyes always giving her a sense of happiness like few others. As much as she loved humans, and enjoyed their company and what she could do for them, there was something special about seeing one of her own kind, especially one as mischievous and fun as Tiernan.
“What have you been up to? I can tell you’re in a particularly mischievous mood,” she said, head tilting as she openly studied his face. “And where have you been imbibing?!” she added, the scent of his desserts tickling her nose. As when humans partook of alcoholic beverages and emitted the scent that spoke of the intake, the sweet sugariness of Tiernan’s favourite tipple was evident not only in his smile, but detectable to her in the air around him.
“Oh, just getting back into the swing of things in Sin City,” Tiernan mused, swiveling in his seat to rest his elbows against the bar. “This place is alive, isn’t it? Not just Lux -- fuckin’ fabulous place, by the way, kudos on that -- but this entire city. It’s… seething. You can feel it, right?”
Vegas was fire. It was lightning. Tiernan had spent far too long feeling sorry for himself, keeping the rest of the world at an arm’s length; he’d let life pass him by. But no more. No, he was ready to find a life again. And Lux seemed the perfect place to start.
He glanced over at Angharad and winked, adding. “And maybe I hit up the Black Tap for a couple shakes on my way down. And I’m feelin’ that.”
There was something in his tone, his face and his words that made her pause, studying his profile as he talked and she looked past the mischievous glint this time, reaching out and taking his hand with one of hers and holding it. “Tiernan? What is it?” she asked, her voice now only for his ears. She was facing him, the fingers of her free hand reaching over and brushing the backs lightly down his cheek. It may have been many human years since she had seen him, but she couldn’t miss the sharpness that was disguising a pain he was burying beneath a bravado his soul did not feel. “How can I help you?”
His smile faltered just a little, but remained genuine as it ever was. Silly of him to ever think that Angharad could be fooled by the mask he had been wearing for so long; even sillier to try it, when a dose of her wisdom could be such a benefit.
“How do you do it?” Tiernan blurted, the words tumbling out unbidden. He cast his gaze over the crowd, going about their revelry with little notice of all that was happening around them. This one was going to cheat on her fiancé. That one was going to max out a credit card he couldn’t afford to use. The night would close in around them and by morning, none of it would matter. There was always another day.
“How do you let someone in? Knowing they could just…” Tiernan broke off and shook his head. “These… these people. They have so much, and so little. We have all the time in the world and all it’s given me is a weight to carry around in my heart. These people… they have so little time and they can just, just go for it. I don’t understand it.”
She heard his words as she listened to his heart. She inhaled deeply, his frustration and confusion cutting through the clear air between them and making her inwardly flinch. Her hand still held his, her eyes watching as he looked around the room. Every blink, each glance, heartbeat and breath told a story beyond the words and she listened to it all, the rest of the world falling away, Tiernan the sole recipient of her attention.
"It must be love, love, love," she sang softly, sad that her friend was feeling this way. "Tell me Tiernan, how many of them have you loved?" she asked, head leaning to one side again to give her a better view of his face.
It didn’t take him long to think back over the years, to find the names and faces of those he had loved most dearly. Tiernan was by no means cold; he enjoyed friendships and made many bonds with those with whom he found purpose and worth, but there were only two who had made his heart burn with the sort of passion that lingered for years after.
First there had been Mary, sweet Mary, who was happy to live out her days in a modest cottage, considered a spinster by most until Tiernan had found her. It had been a slow courtship, months long before Tiernan had realized that what he was feeling was the love and desire that had been absent from his long life until then. Mary had been a pure soul, but the plague had taken her, the loss leaving him wounded but not broken. And then there had been Felice.
Felice had been fire and yearning, almost from the start. She was carefree in a way that Tiernan had never experienced with a human and lived her life as though she were always dancing on the edge of a precipice, ready to fly or fall with every breath. Tiernan had loved her the way a man would love the sunrise or the very breath in his lungs: needy, explosive, and all-consuming.
Losing Mary to death had been hard; losing Felice to her whims had been harder.
“Two,” he finally managed, choking on the word as he spoke. “Just two.”
“And for each, you gave fully in return,” she stated simply, knowing her friend would, being the soul he was. The fact it was only two had surprised her a little, but also lent weight to the ache he was feeling now. But she knew for him to feel this sadness meant it wasn’t a parting through death, for that is something all fae learn of early in their existence in this world, and she knew he had experienced it before.
“And the second?” she asked, watching his face and feeling the pain was more than a simple mourning of a soul departed for another realm. “This is the one from which you have drawn this pain? Tell me of it.”
“Felice,” Tiernan said quietly, just loud enough to be heard over the din of the crowd. It was a name he hadn’t allowed himself to speak in over a century, and he felt as though he were betraying a promise he had made in saying it now. It conjured up images of her face, her daring smile, her deep brown eyes… Even the thought of her brought it all back, the pain and confusion he had felt so acutely.
“I gave her everything, anything she could have wanted,” Tiernan confessed, eyes taking on a faraway look as he thought of those days in Vienna, his days spent in smokey cafes and his nights in salons crowded full of artists and their muses. Their world had been changing, and the people there had known it. They gathered to look together towards a future that seemed only full of promise, no thoughts of the wars and heartache that would come in just a few short years. They surrounded themselves with beauty, and Tiernan had done the same. He had thought there was a bright future in store for him, too. He had thought Felice would be the one to make him welcome death, so long as he could remain at her side.
“I gave her everything,” he repeated. “And then she left.”
Angharad felt the sadness and pain that came from deep love and enchanting passion lost. She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes for a long moment to manage her own internal recognition of the emotions before slowly exhaling. Her breath blew gently across him, carrying the sorceress's own acceptance of the pixie's burden, offering salve to soothe his heart and a balm for that part of him that still ached. For the fae carried in her an ability to offer to share the burden of another, and even submit to carrying it away if they were willing to transfer it, once she had offered. She was offering, and knew that even if he accepted it there would still be a healing process only he could complete.
Tiernan could feel the offer that Angharad was giving. He hadn’t come to Lux to ask for it, or even look for her; he had just been, hoping to find some distraction, the same as he had found at Iris. In a way he felt guilty to impose, but still… the sense of relief to come was too great to give up.
He closed his eyes, a stray tear or two escaping, and let Angharad’s unique talent wash over him. When he opened them again, he felt light in a way he hadn’t in decades. It was still there -- Felice’s memory, the constant thorn in his side, the weight on his shoulders -- but for the first time in a long time, it felt bearable.
He blinked once or twice and muttered, “I don’t know what to say.”
She smiled, the expression on his face and the sense of him feeling stronger, and able to better bear the burden of his memories was all she needed. “Now that does have me worried!” she replied lightly, her own mind already processing the pain and taking the area of darkness and exposing it to her light to wash away those shadows. “You’ve always known what to say,” she teased, her fingers lifting his chin and turning his head toward her. She brushed away the tears with her thumb, her eyes meeting his.
“And you will again,” she continued. “You’ve carried this on your own for so long it will take more than just a moment for you to release the full weight. But you will, and tonight you can celebrate the beginning of that journey.”
Tiernan smiled, softer and more kindly than his usual rapacious grin. “You’re a gift, you know that? Maybe some of my luck has been rubbin’ off on me for a change.”
Angharad’s smile widened, seeing some of the shadow lift as his smile appeared, a more genuine, and happy smile than he had been wearing earlier. She turned and looked at one of the bartenders who saw her and her two fingers slightly lift, nodding and turning on his heel to disappear behind a curtain that concealed the area behind the servery.
“You carry your luck with you always Tiernan,” she told him, “it’s up to you when you choose to allow yourself to enjoy some.” She gave him a pat on the arm as the bartender reappeared from behind the curtain, carrying two shot glasses that contained something not normally seen in this realm, the elixir of Faere that was shared at times to celebrate. He placed one in front of each of the fae, passing a hand across the tops of the glasses that seemed to bring the contents to life, a myriad of colours swirling for a brief moment, before starting to glow as the colours merged to form a white light. She picked up the glass, holding it to Tiernan. “To your lucky future here in the City, and your knowing you always have a friend here in Lux.”
~~~~~~~~~