WHO: Ophidia and Arkady WHAT: Ophidia asks for information WHEN: Backdated about a week ago or so? RATING: Low-ish, some swearing. STATUS: Complete (and long!)
Though she usually dressed up, cultivating her exotic flair even when not on the main stage, tonight Ophidia was wearing simple jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. She and Charlie had been...together, the previous night, but it was clear something had agitated the man; he'd been rougher than usual, and though it wasn't enough to make her push him away, there was no disguising the bruises that encircled her wrists, that matched ones on her hips. She didn't care as much about the bruises on her neck; he liked leaving "love bites", and...well...she was what she was.
But Arkady had to know what Charlie was, and Ophidia...needed to know. She needed to know what she'd gotten herself into, what on earth she could expect.
Coming to the ringmaster's trailer, she knocked, lightly. "...Arkady? Are you there?"
Arkady was on the couch in his trailer, studying the occult items strewn across the little coffee table; he had several little jars of powders, a few odds and ends, and an open spell book. He closed the book slowly, then looked over at the door when he heard Ophidias's voice. "Come in, dearest," he called, a tiny smile as he moved the book a bit less center-stage.
The succubus pushed open the door--why was it that she came to Arkady more in this form than her normal? She supposed it was somehow more...comfortable--and smiled, a little, at the ringmaster as her eyes took in the items on the table.
"I'm not interrupting anything important...am I? I can always come back..."
"No, it's fine," he said with a shrug of his shoulders, pushing his dreadlocks off his shoulders and looping a rubber band around them to help keep them at bay. "How are you?" he asked with a little smile. "Is everything alright? It's always a pleasure seeing you."
"I'm tolerably well, yes..." The young woman moved around the table and took a seat next to Arkady on the couch; she bit her lip, for a moment, as though in a debate with herself. Arkady seemed like he was in such a good mood...
"...Arkady, I...I need to know what Charlie is."
He looked over at her sharply then, and a faint bemused expression crossed his face. "Why? What happened to make you ask?" he asked nonchalantly, leaning forward to take a pinch from the jar of blue powder, sprinkling it slowly onto the tabletop and using his index finger to draw a rune in the sand.
"Ah...well..." Ophidia watched the vampire's movement, expression growing puzzled for a moment, before she turned her attention back to the man next to her. Her lips quirked upward, faintly, and she shrugged her shoulders a little.
"I just...I suppose I would like to know what exactly I've gotten myself into."
"Or what's gotten into you, I'd imagine," he said a bit cheekily, grinning. "You've been having relations with him, yes? I imagine it's a bit hard not to. He's quite persistent, from what I hear. I'm not his type, he's one of the rare straight boys around here." He pinched a bit of rust-colored dust, added it to the navy blue.
Ophidia flushed--quite prettily--and ducked her head a little. "I suppose he is quite persistent. He just...he seems to have a rather hot temper, and I would really...like to just...know. ...What on earth are you doing?"
"Runes for serenity," he sighed. "The gods know that I need it." He stroked his fingers across the figures, moving them the way one might rake sand in a tabletop zen garden. "He's a very interesting creature, Charlie is, and very tragic. We're lucky that he came to us, becaus eif he hadn't then he never would've survived out there."
"I've heard...some rumors. Just little things. People have been gossiping, though of course I know I can't trust half of what's being said. Things like he's been in prison, or he's killed a man before, that he's dangerous...he doesn't seem too dangerous to me. A bit...brusque, perhaps, but not...I don't ever feel like he wants to truly damage me..."
"He's been in juvenile hall in and out for most of his adolescence, and he's been in jail as well," he said quietly, not looking up. "Stories get embellished, you know that. But he is dangerous, Ophidia, make no mistake. He's very young, and very frightened of what he's becoming. Are you versed in the legends?"
"Which legends are we talking about?" Ophidia smiled, a little, but it faded at the expression on the man's face. "...Arkady...please..." She reached out, placing a delicate hand on the vampire's thigh.
"...Please...tell me..."
"It's entirely confidential, Ophidia," he said softly. "I haven't told him because I'm honestly not sure how. But I smelled it on him. Perhaps if you were another race you'd smell it too. He smells like... livestock. Like a petting zoo. The blood in his veins is not human." He smiled ruefully, sadly. "He is one of a long race of mistakes, abominations. Watered down to remove most of the physical traits, but I recognized him right away. The bull ring in his nose--- and he likely doesn't even know what's driven him to get that, he wrote it off as an urge, a rebellion--- the fierce tattoos and markings, the blindness... the excellence at mazes, the sensitive senses..." He watched her closely to see if she'd get it on her own.
"...Wait." Ophidia shook her head, a little. A bull-ring, skilled with mazes, he liked to hunt, to chase...
"You're not...he can't be...but he doesn't have a bull's head, or anything like that. He can't be a minotaur! That doesn't...that doesn't make sense. He doesn't look like one..."
But everything else fit. In a horrible, strange sort of way...
"He's generations removed, Ophidia... the most blatant of the traits have been bred out of them. Do I look like a vampire?" he asked with a lazy gesture to his tattoos. "Do you look like the winged demons that crouch on people's chests at night and seduce them in their sleep? Hardly. It's evolution, the same as a crocodile over the centuries and eons. He's of a minotaur bloodline, yes. He's a bull, and the older he gets the more dangerous he'll be. He's got rage in him, aggression, bloodlust... a sexual fever, a desire to conquer and claim and assert his dominance over his... territory, his domain." He spoke slowly, moving the sand into a new shape of integrated purple lines. "Does he claim you? Have you taken him on, then?"
"I..." Her hand rose, unbidden, to the livid bruises on her throat; the lifting caused the sleeve to droop, a little, and the edge of purpleish bruise was revealed.
"If you're asking whether or not I've slept with him...yes. I prefer keeping my...associations...within the carnivale; it makes things much easier if people know what I am, and don't expect...things I can't give them. But as for claiming me...how could he? I'm sure he's...been with other people, if his nature is what you say."
"Fucking doesn't mean claiming, Ophidia," he said with gentle reproach. "If you care for him, if you feed him and make him yours, then you are the keeper of the bull. His kind were used to guard something... and they were kept, like feral pets." He went silent for a moment. "He will become more uncontrollable as he gets older, Ophidia... he'll go completely mad by the time he's fifty or so."
"...Feed him?" Ophidia's eyes slid away from the vampire, then. "...Does...bringing him a specially-prepared steak from the kitchens count? Are we talking about that sort of feeding?"
What had she gotten herself into? She'd just been...beingherself with a new member of the carnival!
"I don't know," he said honestly. "I've never kept a minotaur." He was silent for a moment, and then moved his fingers across the table, clearing the runes, closing his eyes for several beats. "When he's older, he'll have to be put out of his misery," he said quietly. "He'll be a rabid animal. Completely unpredictable, and only his keeper will be able to control him at all, to reach him. Anyone else will be fair prey. He was going to be put in jail for assault and battery, among other things... he beat a man nearly to the point of death because he thought the man hit on a girl Charlie was interested in."
"...Oh, hells." Ophidia whispered the words, raking her fingers back through her hair; it was an agitated gesture, one that transcended her shape. Judas did it as well...
"I can't...I like Charlie, despite his flaws. The thought of...having to...to put him down, like that...Arkady...it's horrible."
"I know it is," he said softly. "I took him onto the carnival the moment I saw him, Ophidia.... I couldn't let him go to prison. Can you imagine? They'd treat him like an animal. He'd have no chance at a life, at an existence beyond the prison walls. He can't help his nature. Minotaur are... very rare, they are..." He hesitated. "They usually breed in... nonconsensual methods, and many mortal women choose an alternative to birthing the baby. That or they die violently when they're young."
Ophidia's hands went to her mouth, and the young woman looked near-tears. It was not a deterrent for her, though...really, it made her want desperately to get to know Charlie better, to find out if there was anything deeper inside of him, and to pull it out if there was...even if it was only around her.
"...He had...a rough childhood, I'm sure...I just...oh, the poor dear...it's not as though he had a choice in what he is...oh, Arkady. I just...I feel...dreadful for him...I almost hope that feeding him that steak did make me his keeper!"
"Be careful around him," Arkady said quietly, looking at her at last, his eyes very dark beneath his brows. "I know you're empathetic, and I am too, but don't allow yourself to... to get in over your head with this, Ophidia." He hesitated. "I know that after Faelan, you are lonely... you are... you are seeking a purpose, but... please understand how unpredictable he is. He's a child still, a manchild, but more than that, he is a bull, and he will see red at every turn."
"...He offered to beat up Faelan for me. ...Well. The nebulous person that hurt me." Ophidia met Arkady's gaze, though it made her flush again; after a moment, she dropped her eyes.
"...I've...been seeking a purpose my entire life." Her voice was nearly silent. "I thought...with Fae, I had found something. And then for a moment, though it was ridiculous, I thought maybe...you...but it was ridiculous. I know he's...unpredictable, and he has a hot temper, but...he doesn't even know what he is, Arkady, and that's just...that's so sad."
"It's incredibly sad," he agreed softly. "And the idea of us having something was not ridiculous, Ophidia. I love you, very much, and you're incredibly dear to me." He touched her chin with his fingertips, stroked her jawline tenderly. "You are so very deep in my heart. But I am not the one for you... there is too much darkness in me. You need someone who can love you back the way you deserve to be loved."
An almost-helpless laugh fluttered out of the young woman, even as she leaned into Arkady's touch. "I seem to consistently match myself with those with 'too much darkness' in them...even Fae had it, though he hid it from me. And Charlie...even if he loved me, it would be a different kind of feeling, and I don't know...if he would understand it. Or if he even...can."
She ducked her head, and wiped discreetly at her face. "...I don't...know what to do."
"Do what feels right to you, Ophidia," he said gently, his arm going around her shoulder. "There are no guarantees in this life, sweetheart. There are absolutely no set rules, we forge our own paths. You must find someone who you love back, who makes you feel complete and happy. Even if that time is brief, it is a gift not everyone gets."
"...What feels right is telling him what he is..." Ophidia leaned into the vampire, sighing softly. "Telling him everything, and letting him choose for himself whether he wants me to be his keeper or...not. But if you haven't told him, then...I don't think it's my place. So I...I suppose, for now, I'll just...keep doing what we've been doing..."
"You can tell him," he said in a low voice, "If you feel like you can handle the repercussions, then you can be the one to break it to him, to tell him what he is and what he'll become. It's a vast responsibility, Ophidia, but... he would be yours. He wouldn't leave you for anything," he said softly. "In a way that's what you want, isn't it?"
"...I..." It was...daunting. To think of having that responsibility...of being solely responsible for another person. A person who would descend into madness until she would have to put him out of his misery...leaving her alone again. It would be worse, that time...because they would have been together for years.
"...God...I don't know...I don't know what I want."
"Think about it before you make any decisions," he said quietly, sagely. "He is built to be a protector, Ophidia... he is a guard dog of the highest order. He answers to only one master, and their word is absolute. He'll be indebted to you." He looked at her solemnly. "You care for him... as a lover or as a child?"
"...I hardly think I can call him a lover..." Ophidia sighed, again, and shook her head a little. "...There is...a part of me that just...wants to make him better. But that's the curse of all people, I think, especially those of us with feminine sentiments. And I...he is so different than anyone I've ever been with, but how can I...how can I do this? He doesn't even know there are two halves of me."
She dropped her eyes to her lap, twisting her fingers together. "I...he is not a child. I care for him...as a friend. As a person...as someone I would...like to keep. ...Someone who...I wish...would want to keep me. I was never like this, before! I could go from person to person and not care. But the ones I've been with, here...Aden is my best friend, and I adore Riley, and I'm so happy for him...and then there's Mary, who I love, and you...and I cannot...discard any of you. Even if we're never...like that...again, I cannot just...walk away, and pretend I don't care because I do, I do care, I get life from this place like I never have before and...and I feel..."
She faltered, then, stumbling to a stop and clenching her hands together in her lap; the silence rose between them, as she shook her head a little.
"...I feel..." Her voice was nearly silent. "Like...my heart is breaking, even as it's getting renewed. I feed, and I am happy in the feeding, but...then it's over, and I...I go back to my trailer, or...lie in my bed, and I...am alone."
"What do you think he'd do if he saw you as a male?" he asked curiously, very gently, and he kept his hand on Ophidia's shoulder. "Ophidia, you're such a lovely person... such a big heart inside of you. It's rare to find compassion that pure, that... that unadulterated love." He touched her hair, stroked it back. "No one says you have to get rid of anything, sweetheart. We all still love you, every one of us."
"...I don't know what he'd do." Ophidia shook her head, a little. "Probably be upset. I don't think he does very well with other men. ...And...not everyone loves me, Arkady. Much as I would like to delude myself about that."
Her lips quirked up in a faint smile that was gone almost as soon as it appeared. "...I feel like...I need to tell him. Everything. But...I worry that it will be...overwhelming."
"It probably would be overwhelming to him, but he has to be told at some point. He's going to go completely blind, and he'll rely entirely on scent and sound... he'll go mad if he doesn't know why he feels the urges he does." He was silent for a beat. "He'll go mad regardless. If you don't wish to tell him, I will."
"...I don't...think he'd take it as well, from you." Ophidia's eyes lifted to Arkady, dark and unreadable. "Not...because you would be undiplomatic, or cruel. Just...because you are a man, and he doesn't seem to be...overly fond of men."
"You're a man sometimes too," Arkady pointed out with a small tilt of his head. "Does he know that about you, Ophidia? Has he seen that side of you yet?"
"Not yet. But...that's the thing. At least I could...tell him like this. Make it...easier...for him to absorb it." Ophidia sighed, softly. "...Or it could backfire horribly, and he could get upset, and decide he wanted to hurt me."
"He wouldn't dare," Arkady said quietly and his eyes darkened slightly at the mere possibility, pupils eating the dark irises as he stared at the succubus. "He would know that there were intense consequences for daring."
"Of course he would dare." Ophidia's lips quirked up, faintly. "Have you not met him, Arkady? He is...a violent creature. I do not think consequences matter overmuch to him."
"He is only truly a danger if he doesn't fear death," Arkady said in that same low voice. "Any creature that fears death can be reasoned with. Anyone who does not... well, then they are mad or fearless, and neither is a good trait to possess."
"Oh, Arkady..." Ophidia sighed, and rested a gentle hand on the vampire's arm. "There is no need to get so protective. Even if he does hurt me, what of it? It's not as though it would be the first time. Not from him, not at all."
Arkady's eyes went nearly black at that and he drew away from her hand, turning to face her. His fangs were bared behind his lips, danger in his pose. "What has he done, Ophidia?"
"Arkady, please!" Ophidia's hand lifted to her throat, again, unconsciously; it frightened her, when the Ringmaster grew angry.
"He...just...it is not as though he hits me or anything, it is just that...sometimes he can be...rougher...please, he just...doesn't...sometimes he is just upset..."
"You have to put an end to that, Ophidia," Arkady said, anger radiating in his voice even if his volume stayed low and calm. "You must, because I won't be responsible for... for cleaning up your corpse if something happens to you. I will not."
"...Put an end to what?" Ophidia stood, suddenly, arms winding around herself as though for protection. "Put an end to seeing him? And what if I have already claimed him, albeit unknowingly? What if I have made myself responsible for him, and then shun him? What then, Arkady?"
"To letting him hurt you, Ophidia," Arkady said, standing as well to keep himself level with her, to show her how serious he was. "Things can get out of control very quickly." His keen eyes lit on her wrist and his hand flashed out, snagged her hand, drew it out of hiding to flash the deep bruise. "As you seem to know."
"Let go of me!" Ophidia yanked her arm out of Arkady's grip, cradling it to her chest, and her eyes flashed in frustration. "Why is everyone acting like I am some sort of delicate flower? That I cannot take care of myself? If I can survive having blood drained in the midst of sex, I think I can handle a few bruises! Were you this protective when Gar practically broke Sioux every night, or is it just because you've fucked me?!?"
The moment the words were out of her mouth, the succubus flushed, mortified; she clapped her hands to her face, staring at the ringmaster.
"I-I...Arkady...I'm sorry, I didn't...I didn't mean it..."
Arkady stared at her, taken aback by her outburst and her violent jerk backward, and slowly his expression shifted into something else. One of weary, sad resignation, of the knowledge that he'd lost a vital part of her already. "I'm sorry, Ophidia," he said quietly, turning away from her and moving into the kitchenette, pulling down a tea kettle. He didn't even partake in food or drink, but the act of making it soothed him. Familiar motions he knew by rote. "Of course you're right. You can handle yourself."
Ophidia's eyes filled with tears, and she shook her head, backing away; what had possessed her? She never...she never lost her temper like that, especially not with Arkady, whom she loved...
"I'm...I'm so sorry..." The words were whispered, strained, and she turned, fleeing the trailer.