Who: Az and Care What: running into each other Where: the church When:backdated to Day 5 Warnings: Low/None Status: completed g-doc
Azriel found himself standing in front of the church after winnowing to get buckets of fresh water. He stood for a moment, deciding what he should do next. The Illyrian didn’t enjoy standing around not doing anything, and without his High Lord and Lady, Az felt unmoored by everything. Not that he wished for Rhys or Freyre to wind up in this place. Actually he didn’t wish for any of the Inner Circle, even while his heart ached to return home to the people he loved and things he knew.
Plus side? He didn’t need to use Truth-Teller or torture anyone yet. Kaz seemed to be an ally of sorts. And he did find his younger face- twin an amusing facet of life. Not that Az tended to look on the bright side. His past ensures that never happened, sadly.
He stretched his arms upwards and his wings outwards, pulled out one of his other Illyrian blades, and set to practice some movements.
Caroline spent half a day digging around through some of the dilapidated houses, trying to find things that were useful. She found some towels, some spare clothes, a hairbrush, and some books. It was enough to get by for now--until better things came along. She’d made a mental list, and at the top of it was a toothbrush.
The books were definitely a godsend. She was so bored hanging around here all day with nothing else to do. No friends, no cell phone, no television, no music. At least she had something to read now.
Care tucked the book under one arm and an old blanket under the other, then headed out to find a place to settle in the sunshine and read. On her way she came across… someone with wings. Someone who looked incredibly familiar.
“Oh. Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you.” She’d thought it might be Caspian, but he definitely didn’t have wings. …unless she hadn’t seen them before. And this man was definitely older than Caspian.
Azriel looked at the woman with the book and blanket. She reminded him of Elain, only without all of the history he had with Elain Archeron. Elain would be happy to read when not tending to a garden.
“No. It’s perfectly okay. I was getting in some practice now that I’ve gone on a water supply run,” he said as he indicated the plethora of filled buckets around him.
“I’m Azriel.” He offered a smile at the blonde and then suddenly realized he only wore pants, having removed his shirt. Az found the Illyrian leather a bit warm at the moment after all his winnowing, even in this somewhat cold and damp place. At least it still felt warmer than the Winter Court. He knew he had a younger face-twin here. Really, he thought it rather humourous considering.
He pulled his shirt back on, grateful to have at least one article of clothing which fit his wings.
Caroline nodded. She hadn’t really put two and two together about how water was making it to their camp, or even where it came from. She appreciated it nonetheless--they all needed clean water to drink. (At least, she hoped it was clean. It would be terrible if it wasn’t and people got sick.)
The man with the wings was quite handsome. Boy, did he look like Caspian, though. Just… older. Taller. Wiser? There was something deeper about his eyes. Caroline broke into a smile of her own when he smiled, and then nodded. “I’m Caroline.” It was strange to meet so many people here from so many places--a man with wings, no less!
“What sort of practice were you getting in?” She asked, finding it was hard to just say goodbye and go read. Thoughts of her book had been scattered from her mind.
Az thought if he could carry buckets of water for everyone as his main job for now. The Shadowsinger wanted time to explore, but he’d spent quite a bit grabbing water for the population here. Alyssa, the winged girl, assured him the plants said it was safe drinking water. Not the strangest way to ascertain information, he supposed, and he hadn’t needed to engage in torture.
“It’s nice to meet you, Caroline.” He grinned. The woman talking to him was pretty, although Az tried to think about something else. Anything else at the moment.
Considering he’d lived for 539 years, Az didn’t think it surprising to know something deeper existed in his eyes. Plus, he’d been held prisoner in his younger years and worked as Rhys’s Spymaster and engaged in torture when needed.
“Oh. I was about to engage in some blade practice, so I remain in shape for anything that might place us in danger.” Az was an Illyrium first and foremost, so he couldn’t relax on his training. Besides, what if someone else from the Inner Circle appeared? Az couldn’t stand to be bested by his brothers.
"Pleasure's all mine," Care said, and she wasn't just being polite. Not only did she love meeting new people, but in this place they had to make friends and allies to survive. Besides, he was nice to look at, and had a pleasant voice. There was something familiar about him, even beyond the resemblance to the other man. She didn't mind spending a few moments with him.
"...blade practice? What sort of a blade?" She asked, curiously, stepping forward. She wondered what that sort of practice would entail.
Az pulled out the sword he currently had on his back, and held it out, blade facing the ground. He did not want to accidentally hurt her, obviously. “Plus I have a few short blades.” The Illyrian didn’t pull out Truth-Teller, though. He’d shown it to Kaz and Nina and nobody else needed to know the full extent of its powers at the moment.
“If either of my brothers show up, I do not want to be bested or accused of becoming rusty. Rhysand and Cassian would never let me live down the shame,” Az joked. Something about Care reminded him of his High Lady and her sister…not Nesta, though.
He noticed the book in her arms. “What were you going to read?” The book made him miss the library back home and the sanctuary it offered the priestesses.
“Oh, wow.” That was like, a real sword. An actual one. Straight out of the Ren Faire. Though, since he was a being with massive wings, likely from some kind of magical world? She couldn’t be all that surprised. She wasn’t nervous, though. Not frightened. She was a vampire with ridiculous speed--she thought she could outrun the swing of a sword. At least, mostly. Enough to get away, if not unscathed.
“Then you’d best keep up your skills,” she nodded, breaking into a smile at the sound of his joke. He had a really nice voice, she thought. It was softer than she might have thought by looking at him.
“Oh, this is a collection of stories by Edgar Allen Poe,” she said, having almost forgotten she was carrying it in the first place. She offered him the book so he could see the cover. “Have you heard of him?”
He laughed. “I do appreciate the enthusiasm.” Az didn’t know what Ren Faire was, but since she didn’t mention it, the Illyrian didn’t ask. Not that he planned on using it against the blonde. She seemed sweet and kind.
“Oh I plan on it. Do you use swords?” Azriel asked with a smile. His biggest secret? He could sing very well, hence his nickname of Shadowsinger. Not that he planned on singing at the moment.
“My apologies. I don’t think we have him back home in the Night Court, and my High Lord has the biggest library. What kind of stories does he write?” Az didn’t mind continuing his conversation and he always wanted to know more, especially about people who interested him.
At the sound of his laugh, Care’s cheeks went pink. “Sorry, I just… I don’t often see people with giant swords. --Or giant wings, actually,” Caroline said it both playfully and apologetically.
“No,” she gave a gentle shake of her head. “I’ve never learned. Why, do you think we’re going to need to fight using swords?” Caroline was pretty sure she’d be able to handle herself otherwise, but being better prepared was always a good thing, wasn’t it?
“They’re dark stories. Spooky stories.” Caroline admitted. “I read a few of them when I was younger, but it’s been fun to take another look at them now.”
Somewhere Az heard his brothers making wisecracks and innuendos about large swords, but he tried to put that out of his mind. “I take it that winged people aren’t a thing in your world?” The Illyrian smiled, although he didn’t want to assume, especially with Alyssa walking around with her own set of wings. “I’d like to say I don’t generally walk around with a giant sword, but…that would be a lie.”
The Shadowsinger shrugged. “Let’s hope not. But, I’ve seen too much and experienced many things to just assume I can just let my skills grow rusty.” He considered her. “If you want to learn how to use a sword, I’d be happy to teach you.” The Night Court’s Spymaster found he wouldn’t mind spending more time with the blonde.
“Oh. Those sound nice. I’ve read a few dark and spooky stories, but my life at home doesn’t often leave time for reading,” Az admitted.
Caroline gave a gentle shake of her head at that. “No. Wings and swords are not commonplace where I come from.” Fangs on the other hand? Quite commonplace, actually. Not that Caroline was going to lead with that. She wasn’t a fan of introducing herself as a vampire.
Spending more time with the handsome man with the wings seemed like a much better way of spending her time than reading macabre stories from a long-dead writer. Caroline’s smile brightened a little at that idea. “I’d love to learn! I don’t have a sword, though.” They could share? Or… she had no idea how sword fighting lessons worked.
“Well, maybe you’ll find more time here,” she suggested. “Aside from giving sword-fighting lessons to random ladies on this island,” she added, teasingly.
Vampires didn’t exist in Az’s world as far as he knew. Various types of Fae seemed dangerous enough. Just look at Lucien’s family from the Autumn Court or Tamlin. No, Az would not think about the High Lord of the Spring Court and how he’d almost destroyed Feyre.
“I think it’s best we work up to swords anyway.” Az needed to know what kind of core, arm, and leg strength she had. Plus patience. “I don’t think either of us wants to be injured on the first day of lessons.” And he really didn’t think an excuse to spend time with the blonde sounded terrible.
“Maybe random, but I’d add sweet, friendly, and beautiful to the mix,” Az commented with a grin.
Caroline smirked softly at that. She wouldn’t really know the first thing about starting with swords, anyway, so perhaps working their way up to swords was probably for the best. “Good point,” she said softly.
Ah, there was a compliment. Okay, three compliments. Caroline’s smirk grew into a genuine smile--a bashful one. Her cheekbones went a little pink. “You’re certainly a sweet talker,” she said. “But don’t let me stop you.”
“If you want to start training, the first thing we start with is how long can you balance standing on your toes. Not like a ballerina, obviously.” Az smiled.
“I am all about complimenting beautiful women.” Except his High Lady. “I can tone it down if you’d like.”
Caroline grinned softly at that. She’d imagined being a ballerina a lot when she was little--complete with the pink tutu and everything. She’d even taken a ton of dance classes, and she was captain of the cheer squad, thankyouverymuch. She could balance on her toes until the end of the world, if need be. Oh, he was in for a surprise.
“No no, please,” she said, batting her eyelashes in a highly flirtatious way herself. “You can extol my virtues while I balance on my toes.”