Raistlin Majere of the Red Robes (hourglass_mage) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2017-04-05 16:35:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, raistlin majere, regina mills (evil queen) |
Who: Raistlin and Regina
What: Regina comes by for a surprise visit, and is surprised herself
When: Sometime today
Where: Tas and Raistlin's apartment
Rating/Warnings Lowish
Status: Complete!
Raistlin’s sister, Kitiara, had given him three small stones for Christmas. It didn’t sound like a particularly great present. Until one mentioned that the stones seemed to actually glow with their own magical power. It was that magical power that had captured not only Raistlin’s attention, but the attention of the Other Presence that had taken up residence inside him. Both wanted to find out as much as they could about the stones. Raistlin for the sheer knowledge of the type of power he may now be in possession of. The Other for what that power might be able to accomplish.
Raistlin was aware, if only vaguely, of what this Other’s desires were, and they unsettled him. Especially considering how his Dreams had recently ended. But there was very little he could do. He was convinced that whatever he knew, the Other knew as well, including Raistlin’s own attempts to quell and perhaps even dispatch him. The increasing amount of times in which Raistlin had moments he simply couldn’t account for also raised his suspicions.
As such, the mage had started distancing himself from the friends he had only started making over the past year. This evening he had hold himself up in his apartment doing what he normally did in the evenings, research and studying
Regina wasn’t a stranger to the seduction of power - that and the thirst for revenge spiraled her into an unrelenting hunt for Snow White, had her be the catalyst for a devastating curse that lasted almost three decades, slaughter at the tip of her fingers. Familiarity with it also gave her the sense to recognize it on others; when they were standing over that slippery slope, the blurred line, the precipice of it all.
It was what brought her here. To check on Raistlin, who was close to that edge and could possibly trip and take that plunge. Unannounced, perhaps, but maybe it was best that way.
All she hoped for was that Tas wasn’t around. May the gods be kind to her in that aspect.
Her finger pushed the doorbell, just once. She’d patiently wait by the door.
Raistlin heard the doorbell ringing. It was one of several improvements over their last apartment. This apartment building also had an elevator and slightly thicker walls. No mysterious smells that came out of the carpets or walls. No peeling paint, mildew in the bathroom or cracks in the plaster. It did lack the certain charm of the old apartment, the flaws that had somehow managed to grow on Raistlin over the year he and Tas had lived there. But no so much that he hadn’t wanted to move out when the opportunity arose. If nothing else, cleaner air was better for his ill health. He was still coughing, but not quite as much.
The doorbell made him jump in his seat. He blinked his eyes a couple of times, clearing them of formulas and incantations. He glanced at the digital clock and realized how late the hour had gotten. Tas was out and Raistlin wasn’t expecting any visitors. He never got any visitors. Even Bella usually called or texted before showing up at his door. Raistlin rubbed his face for a moment before getting to his feet to see who was at the door.
”Don’t answer it.”
Raistlin stopped in mid step just shy of his bedroom door. He knew that voice in his ears. He’d heard it before, but only in the Dreams. He had wondered how long it would be if the Other here would speak to him as well and he had hoped - possibly foolishly - that it would never have the ability to speak.
”We have work to do. You have work to do for us both.”
Raistlin frowned. He shook his head and stepped from his bedroom. “It will only be a moment,” he answered back. “It’s probably someone looking for Tas. I’ll tell them he isn’t here and send them on their way. Then you can have me for the rest of the evening.” For as long as the Other proved to be useful.
He made his way to the door of the apartment and looked through the peephole. He was surprised to see not one of Tas’s many “close personal friends”, but Regina Mills. He had not seen or spoken with Regina for quite some time, she being one of those friends Raistlin was attempting to distance himself from. He frowned. What was she doing here? Raistlin turned to walk back to his room with the hope that if he ignored her, she would go away, but stopped again after half a step. Regina was not one to be put off so easily. Strong and persistent that one was. A sigh, and Raistlin opened the door for her. “Good evening, Regina,” he greeted her. “What are you doing here?” Not the warmest of welcomes, but that was a standard greeting for Raistlin Majere.
And quite ballsy too, if pushed to it - Regina could have flicked her wrist, enveloped herself in violet smoke to teleport herself from one side of the door to the other, but manners were important. It’d be a rude intrusion if she went with that method, wouldn’t it, and she thought it as a last resort in the scenario she suspected something particularly off.
More than what she was able to sniff out at the moment.
By now she was used to his stoicism, unphased by it, as that was his way. If she had a problem with it she wouldn’t have put in the effort to pursue some kind of friendship, hm? Her body, dressed in a leather skirt with name-brand boots and a blouse, leaned against the frame of the door as they came face to face.
“I was in the area and wanted to see how you were doing,” came her honest answer, regularly crimson lips curled into a smirk. “It’s been awhile, and I know you’ve had quite the ride with your dreams. I wanted to make sure to be present in case something caught you by surprise.”
By contrast to Regina’s impeccable presentation of herself, Raistlin was clad in a pair of chinos and a simple button down shirt which had been unbutton revealing the lightweight t-shirt underneath. No shoes. All of his clothes appeared baggy on his extremely thin frame. There wasn’t much he could do about that other than cinch his belt as tight as he could in hopes it would keep his pants from falling off his bony hips. There were times he longed for the more custom fit clothing his counterpart wore in the Dreams. He did have the red robes Raistlin of Krynn wore, but he wasn’t about to go around in those. At least...not unless he was practicing magic that may have needed the runes beautifully embroidered on them. Thankfully while he was at his day job, he could get away with wearing a lab coat and those looked baggy on everyone.
Blue eyes - eyes that Regina herself had glamoured to hide the golden irises and the hourglass pupils - looked her over, as if to determine if she had any other motive to be there that night. It was an odd thing to do. Regina had never lied to him before, however, of all the people Raistlin knew, Regina was the most likely to take one look at him and know something wasn’t quite right. Raistlin held no love loss for this leech clinging to his soul, whispering into his head, occasionally commandeering his voice. However, as of yet, he had not found a way to be rid of it. He was unsure if it was the influence of The Other, but he was starting to believe there might not be a way.
“Do you believe something will catch me by surprise tonight?” He asked her. He had not yet invited her inside and he had not yet made up his mind if doing so would have been a good idea. The Other had certainly taken an interest in Regina once the door had opened to reveal her standing there. Raistlin knew it was watching her through his eyes. That, he would admit, unsettled him greatly.
Someone needed to be fattened up, severely. Regina regretted at least not bringing by some tupperwares of leftovers as even just a kind gesture for him and Tas - she did cook plenty, otherwise Killian and Kenzi would resort to takeout or grilled cheese for most nights. There was something also peculiarly off about him, and even if she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what the hell that was, she knew well to not reject nagging instinct.
“Something can catch you by surprise at any time during the day, not just by night,” she remarked. “I take it you’re alone? Tas’ voice is very…distinct.” As in enthusiastic and loud, and if he were around he’d be bouncing up to the door asking Regina about his bestest friend in the world, Captain Hook. How he survived this long with the way he was would forever be one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of all time.
Something that might have been described as a smile touched Raistlin’s face. Yes, that was a very polite way of saying Tas was obnoxious. While Raistlin agreed with that fact, he appreciated Regina pulling her punches. Tas may have a habit of being annoying, but he always meant well. There were plenty of annoying jackasses in the world who knew they were annoying and thrived on it. “Yes,” he answered with a nod. “Tas is out doing whatever it is Tas does.”
He paused a moment. They could continue to have this conversation with Regina standing in the hallway just outside his door, but something was urging Raistlin to invite her inside. Yes, let the woman come in. Offer her a seat. A drink. Be a good host.
Raistlin resisted the urge, whatever hint of a smile drifted off his face. “I appreciate you coming by, Regina, but I assure you I’m fine.” But even as he said the words he moved out of the way of the door, allowing her inside.
Regina took that as an invite even if it wasn’t vocalized, and she assessed the inside of the apartment briefly - seemed much better than the hovel they’d been in before, and the neighborhood looked actually pleasant. Good for them.
“Are you?” she tossed back, standing around with arms crossed. “You’re more of a hermit than usual. If you want to me to go I’ll go, but if there’s anything you need to talk about then I’m here.”
It’s not like she could yank his tongue and force him to talk, but maybe a personal confrontation would urge him spill anything if anything needed to be spilled.
Raistlin wouldn’t have put it past Regina’s abilities to be able to make him talk. Of all the magic users he’d met, she was easily the most powerful, if not at least the most skilled with her craft. How many people had an actual </i>crypt</i> under their homes? This was probably why the Other took special interest in her, wondering just how big of a threat she could possibly be.
Raistlin’s eyes narrowed slightly as he closed the door. “My Dreams ended,” he informed her, taking a few steps into the living room and then past her towards the couch. “And they didn’t end on a particularly happy note for me. I betrayed my friends.” Here he paused for a moment and laughed bitterly. “No, I Iied. They weren’t my friends. None of them trusted me. The knight outright hated me.” He paused again, brows furrowing tightly in thought. Tanis had been different. Tanis’s patience with the mage had been thin, but Raistlin didn’t truly blame him for that. It wasn’t as though Raistlin hadn’t tested that patience every opportunity he’d gotten. They may not have liked each other, but of all their party members, Raistlin had respected Tanis the most. And then, of course, there had been Caramon. Raistlin’s twin brother. The only person in all of Krynn who had trusted him without question, even when Raistlin gave him every reason not to.
“Well, most of them did,” he amended carefully and not without bitterness. “Regardless, I left them to die, including my own brother, so you’ll excuse me if I’m not feeling particularly social.”
That certainly explained it.
It was a terrible thing, to see yourself become the villain in the dreams - in Regina’s case she was fortunate enough to have seen her other half wisen up and tread down the rocky, unstable path of redemption despite the fairytale world taking a constant crap on her (if she were religious she’d say the lord was testing her, but). To have it end seeing yourself as nothing but the nemesis, even towards your own sibling?
“I see,” came her slow reply, nodding with a quick raise of her eyebrows. “I’d hide in a hole myself if I was handed that card. But you’re sure absolutely sure they’re over? In my experience, it’s usually the good guys that win - I’ve never heard of anyone witnessing the victory of the opposing team.”
Raistlin felt a quivering within him. If the mage didn’t know any better, he would have sworn the Other was laughing, as though Regina’s words were somehow the punchline to a very amusing joke. She believes you to be good
Raistlin’s eyes narrowed slightly. “The ‘good guys’ did win, Regina,” he said. “The Goddess of Evil’s forces were pushed back. The old gods have been re-accepted on Krynn and peace has been restored. For the time being at least.” Balance had a funny way of shifting to one side or the other. There was no such thing as true balance. Just like the proverbial coin, one side was always facing up. “My counterpart may have lent a hand in the victory, but not out of any sense of justice or desire for peace. Rather, he had a debt to repay and prefered to have it paid sooner rather than later. He is an evil man, full of bitterness, hate and disdain for everyone he comes into contact with. While I understand his reasons for being this way, I despise the choices he has made and the man he is.”
As if you’re any better. The Other chided.
The frown on Raistlin’s face darkened. “I haven’t gotten a new Dream in a while,” he continued. “However, Tas has gotten a new set apparently back dated to a time before the War of the Lance. My sister is also Dreaming of that time period herself, so I expect to have another set start. Just when I don’t know, nor do I care if they ever start again. These Dreams seem bound and determined to turn me into him and I refuse to let that happen.” The last part of that statement was meant more so for the Other lurking within than for Regina herself. A warning of sorts.
You aren’t fooling anyone, the other responded. I’ve seen what you harbor deep inside. You are him, no matter how much you try to convince yourself otherwise.
Oh, well, forgive her for not knowing that detail - he hadn’t mentioned it, and the way he worded it sounded like it was the grand finale. It was oddly comforting to see that the constants remained when it came to good versus evil, even if she’d been on the more macabre side when her dreams began. Raistlin didn’t seem like he’d want that diabolical part of him to actually win in the end.
“Not turning into him, well, that’s easier said than done,” Regina sighed. “How do you feel as though you’re turning into him? Personality? Is it the magic?” It explained as to why he was being reclusive, but being alone lost in his own thoughts was arguably a terrible idea.
Raistlin wouldn’t agree. It was his opinion that the further away he pushed those he’d gotten close to away from him, he’d be less likely to hurt them should something happen to him. Should he lose control.
He was frowning again, much deeper than before. “Neither,” he admitted. “I wouldn’t trade my talents with magic for anything, but,” he cleared his throat, “it’s the other things my Dreams have seen fit to give me. My health and my weight. The cough isn’t so bad tonight. I managed to get some Theodasian herbs that seem to help, but it isn’t getting any better. And it won’t. I know it won’t. It never did for him. Same with my weight.” Regina would have been blind to not see how his clothes hung on him, as though he were some kind of understuffed scarecrow. “I feel as though the Dreams are attempting to embitter me, to take away what autonomy I have in this life. And there’s this...Other...that has taken up residence in my soul.”
Regina’s nose scrunched like she smelled the stench of something foul, and she reached to tuck that sable hair behind her ear. “So there’s someone else in -” A motion to his person. “There. Inside you. Right now.”
How very Dark One’s Curse-like.
“For how long, Raistlin? Have you told anybody else? Tried to do something other than herbs to rid yourself of it?”
It said quite a lot about what kind of place Orange County was when someone told someone else they had a soul leech and the other person wrinkled their nose as if they’d stepped in dog shit rather than call them crazy, or bolt from the apartment.
“I have told a few people,” he nodded. “Isabela and Garrett Hawke both know. Hawke was even fortunate enough to witness when the Other temporarily took control. Isabela has been nice enough to keep a journal for me so I can catalogue these...episodes among other things.” Ever the consummate scientist, Raistlin was.
“As for attempting to get rid of it,” here Raistlin’s frowned pulled at his mouth again, “that has been tricky. It knows what I know, which is why Bela has the journal. She hides it for me so I won’t know where it is. So it won’t know where it is. I’m not sure where it came from or why it’s here.”
“I take it a slow and calculative approach would be best than brute force,” she said, watching him closely - every change in his features, anything that could hint at something else from within taking over. Presumably, the conversation had an eavesdropper, so Regina made a note to remain careful with her words. “What’s he do when he does come out to play? Or does he do his best to keep his adventures a secret?”
The Other decided rather than allowing Raistlin to simply explain to Regina what happened, he’d show her instead. The eyes Regina herself had glamoured to be blue flickered back to gold. The pupils became pinched in the middle, creating an hourglass shape. Raistlin himself appeared to take a back seat. The voice that came from his mouth was still low pitched, but had lost the gravely quality that had made it distinctly Raistlin. The voice that spoke now was unnaturally smooth and confident, almost smug. “My, you are a nosy one, aren’t you. Regina, is it?”
Interesting.
An eyebrow went up, and she did very little to smother the beginnings of a smirk. Mostly a show of fearlessness - it wasn’t her first rodeo of dealing with an unwanted passenger within someone’s body. “You know my name, and I don’t know yours,” Regina replied, cooly, flexing her fingers. Magic was a subtle crackle and although she was without weapons, the woman was armed to the teeth with power. “I find that rather rude. Anything I can help with, or are we just doing introductions?”
The Other seemed amused at Regina’s display of fearlessness. The subtle feeling of magic being summoned to her also seemed to amuse him. He took the opportunity to asses the woman standing before him. She was powerful, there was no mistake. However, the Other showed no intimidation. He wasn’t without power himself. Raistlin Majere was no slouch, even if the young mage had no real idea the power he could tap into. It was really only a matter of time, and the Other was patient.
“You were the one asking questions,” The Other answered in that voice that was Raistlin’s and yet was not. “Rather than listen to the boy attempt to explain, I thought it was better to show you.” He did not yet divulge his name. Names gave power to people and the Other was not willing to give over the same.
“Care to indulge me on what your purpose is here, exactly?” Something without a physical body latching on to someone who had access to magic is what she was assuming - but it wasn’t her world, it didn’t have the laws she was used to, so this was a wild card she planned to treat with care.
Regina’s head cocked. “You’re something old,” she deduced. No one called someone like Raistlin a boy unless they’ve had decades beyond decades stacked upon their life. “With no physical body to call your own, so you’re playing the role of parasite and found yourself a host.”
An unnatural and uncharacteristic smile spread over Raistlin’s mouth. “Parasite,” he repeated as though trying on the word for size. “An unflattering comparison, but not completely inaccurate. Perhaps symbiotic is a better word. I admit, yes, I am syphoning energy in order to sustain myself, however, I am helping the boy tap into his potential. Potential that otherwise would have been wasted on his trivial curiosities, even providing him a bit of a power boost.” Raistlin’s hands found their way into the pockets of his trousers and his head tilted in a way that mirrored Regina’s own. “Are you satisfied? I apologize, I don’t have quite enough energy to continue our conversation much longer.” Yet.
“Parasite,” Regina repeated, countering his insistence on the insinuating that this was by any means a beneficial relationship for the both of them - because Raistlin clearly got the shit end of the stick in this situation, and that explained his withering appearance. “And somewhat, I suppose, but I take it we’ll discuss things another time.”
Raistlin wouldn’t remember this, would he? How much energy did it take from him for this thing to take the frontal reigns? Her concern at the moment was his well-being, and she didn’t want anymore zapped from him than what already was.
Raistlin’s mouth again was pulled into a smirk that was uncharacteristic for him. “Oh, I’m sure that can be arranged.” He told her. He was gaining more power with each passing day and he was looking forward to carrying on this conversation with Regina once again. “Until then.”
And like that, the Other was gone. Normal looking blue eyes blinked back into focus signaling the Other’s retreat back to wherever it lurked. Raistlin looked lost for a moment, as though he was aware some time had passed that he couldn’t account for. He felt drained, fatigued. He frowned a little as he looked at Regina. “He spoke to you,” he stated more as fact than a question.
That audacious smugness softened into worry. “He did,” Regina replied, not the slightest bit pleased at the situation - it involved cunning planning and smarts, not brunt force, so all she could do is motion to the sofa for him to settle down. “Sit, Raistlin, you don’t look too well. All he wanted to do was show off and make it known he’s there.”
And clearly watching everything. How to even plan a way to fix this, when the one person who could provide them the best information had his body hijacked by something old, sentient, and completely merciless.
Sitting seemed like a good idea, Raistlin followed Regina’s motion and sat heavily on his couch, his hands going to his face to rub at his eyes. He had no real idea what it was the Other was truly after other than having a body to live in, but he found that he was relieved that all the Other did was speak with Regina.
His obvious discomfort seemed to please the Other and that was an odd sensation. Raistlin sighed and looked up at Regina. “That is why I’ve become a recluse,” he told her. “It likes to show off. It likes to take control. I don’t think it can quite do it whenever it wants, I think it takes a lot of energy to do so, but, it’s getting stronger and I never know when it will or what it will do.”
“I think it’s moot to say you can’t live like this,” was her reply, all with a heavy sigh as she sat beside him - moreso at the edge of the couch, muscles too tense to really relax considering everything. “This continues and the only thing that’s left is it, not you.”
Regina nibbled her bottom lip gravely, thinking.
They had quite the dilemma on their hands, didn’t they. “We’ll figure something out. There’s no way you’ll give that thing the satisfaction of sucking you dry, Raistlin.”
Regina was right, of course. Raistlin wasn’t sure if he could stop the creature living within him from taking over completely, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to let it get away with it’s prize. He had certain contingencies in place should it decide it wanted to take over permanently. Those contingencies involved a certain pirate and her weapons skills.
He really would have rather it not come to that, however. He was grateful that it seemed as though Regina was on his side. He looked at her. “No,” he agreed. “There is no way I’d give anything that satisfaction.”