Summary:In a dream meeting, Cerin and Zahara explore the ninja's memories of the past.
XP:C1, V1
Tags:< A King in Rags | Sol Invictus Logs | The Gray >
zahara lays down finally, after a long day of pushing herself to the brink of exhaustion. She slips between the sheets, and turns so that her back is to the wall. Shortly thereafter, she slips into sleep.
zahara For a long time, there are no dreams at all, and then, the landscape shifts into view. The brittle castle is in the distance, just barely seen over the tops of the maze of hedges she paces through.
Cerin The hedges soon give way to a forest, though the paths through that are no less maze like. They split and rejoin, twisting deeper into the forest.
zahara walks on, letting her feet choose her path without deliberation. She is as a phantom, except for the glowing gold tracings of her scars.
Cerin There is the sound of a twig snapping behind Zahara.
zahara turns slowly, blue eyes seeking the source of the noise
Cerin is standing there, at the edge of the clearing. "Hello, my love."
zahara looks him up and down with some supsicion, just in case he is a nightmare creature disguised as Cerin then, satisfied, a smile crosses her face as she steps into his arms. "My love, I have missed you."
Cerin wraps his arms around her. "And I you. I have been busy."
zahara "What is so pressing that it keeps you away for so long?
Cerin "I have been hunting spectres. And, it turns out, Hekaton."
zahara "Hekaton?" She looks up, surprised. "I did not realize there were any in Creation."
Cerin "This is a ... problem the spectres are seeking to remedy."
zahara "Damnable things."
Cerin "Agreed," Cerin says as he starts to walk with Zahara through the forest.
zahara keeps pace with him in silence for a bit, before speaking. "I keep thinking that one day I will wake up and not be able to feel you."
Cerin "I don't intend to die soon," he says to reassure her. He doesn't mention how close the Hekaton pushed him earlier.
zahara "No one ever does," she says, but smiles a little and squeezes his hand.
Cerin The forest suddenly clears to reveal a low round building, which Cerin gestures too as he squeezes back.
zahara pauses to look at the building, then moves forward to find the entrance and go inside
Cerin The door is a round porthole set into the side of the building. Cerin strokes his hand across it almost negligently, and it rolls aside.
zahara "Thank you," she says, and steps past him, inside
Cerin follows her through. The room is ... odd. Most of the walls are covered in shelves, which are filled with books. There is very little floor though, a circular openning which seems to fall down a long way instead. And then, suspended with ropes in the middle of it, a small platform, with a desk sitting upon it.
Cerin Looking out over the edge, as the walls fade into the darkness, Zahara can see the thousands of tiny alcoves.
zahara "Is this where you keep everything?"
Cerin "Everything?" he asks, with a mysterious smile.
zahara raises a brow
Cerin smiles mysteriously, and holds out his hand for hers leading her towards the rope.
zahara takes it and follows him, eyeing all the alcoves and books
Cerin leads her out over the narrow rope, to the desk.
zahara balances somewhat uneasily on the rope as they cross, but her natural grace - while no where near Cerin's - is sufficient for her to pass.
Cerin helps her step down.
zahara "The desk is where you keep everything else?" she asks archly
Cerin "No, the desk is where I work sometimes when I'm meditating. The room is ..." he smiles.
zahara "Your cache?" she guesses
Cerin "No, nothing so impressive as that."
zahara "out with it then, boy," she says, with a playful push to his shoulder
Cerin shakes his head and kisses her.
zahara runs her fingers through his hair, "So you are going to make me pry it out of you then?"
Cerin "I might do, yes."
zahara chuckles darkly, "Well then, let us begin by putting your precious desk to a new purpose." And as it is, in dreams, what she needs is close to hand to fulfill her purpose.
Cerin some time passes
zahara As the moments flow along, time bends and twists with sensation and anticipation, building exquisitely painful love to a breaking point. It is then that Zahara steps away, pacing a slow circle around her bound victim. "Are you ready to speak yet?" Her face and voice shift to be perfectly calm and collected, as if unaffected by all that has gone on tonight so far.
Cerin "I suppose I could give you a clue ..."
Cerin whispers something in her ear. "There's another alcove filled now."
zahara runs her nails lightly down his jawline, "Mmmm I see." She smiles slightly. "So then, memories? Or dreams."
Cerin "Memories."
zahara "Perhaps I should just take a stroll around and look, since you're terribly... occupied right now, hmm?"
Cerin "You could do, I suppose," he says, looking up at her.
Cerin "After all, I am rather occupied right now."
zahara presses a kiss to his lips, and steps away again, scanning the alcoves idly for something interesting or unusual. Even as she crosses the rope away from him, the Bonds do her bidding, making sure that her absence from his side is felt in its own way.
Cerin Each of the alcoves, when it contains something, contains a small glass sphere.
zahara reaches out to touch one, gently, looking inside to see what it contains
zahara peers into the glass sphere in her hand
Cerin The sphere is slightly warm to the touch, the reason for which soon becomes obvious as the memory wraps over Zahara. It's a summer's day. Below Zahara spreads a city, somewhere in the East if Zahara is any judge of the architecture. There is a sense of calm, contemplation, attention occasionally drawn to those walking the streets. Weapons are noted and then discarded, until from a small temple there emerges a man. The attention
Cerin suddenly focuses right in on the him, a Dragonblood. Then suddenly theres a sensation of motion close to Zahara, an arrow flying, a splash of red and the man falling. Then the memory fades ...
zahara lets the memory wash over her, seeing the way the world looks to Cerin, feeling his calm confidence. The precision and the fall. As it fades, she takes a step back, the sphere almost falling from her suddenly clumsy fingers. But she recovers and places it carefully back in its alcove. "So, this is what it's like to be you..."
Cerin makes no reply, being otherwise occupied.
zahara looks over at him for a moment, watching, then plucks another of the spheres from a nearby alcove
Cerin This sphere is cold, the snow drifting through the memory from the grey winter clouds overhead. Across from Zahara sits a young woman with black hair in a bob and a gentle smile. They are talking, about how Cerin will be going away soon, to study. There is sadness associated with the memory, a whistfulness. The conversation ends with a kiss, a blush colouring the girl's checks, even as Zahara feels a rush of warmth in her cheeks
Cerin herself. Then the girl fades into the snow and the memory fades with it too ...
zahara holds the sphere until it cools a bit, then crosses the little rope bridge once more. When she reaches the desk, she leans casually over him, toying with the fragile glass. "So tell me, love, who was this?"
Cerin "Kaori," Cerin says softly, sadly.
zahara "You loved her?"
Cerin "I think so."
zahara "What happened to her?"
Cerin "She lived in Arranth."
zahara "Ahhh." She runs her fingers through his hair again, "I am sorry to hear that."
Cerin tilts his head into her hand. "It's an old memory."
zahara "Hmmm yes, true. First loves, though, are never forgotten." She smiles, and sets the orb down, resuming what she had started before. "But for now, let us finish creating today's memory..."
Cerin "As you wish," he says, quite powerless for the moment to stop that anyway ...
zahara * more time passes! *
Cerin Some time afterwards, Cerin and Zahara are walking hand in hand, down a long spiral to the bottom of the room, alcoves with their little glass spheres glimmering all around them.
zahara "So," she says curiously, "If these are your memories... what's that?" She gestures towards the void
Cerin "The future."
zahara "Have you ever been down there?"
Cerin "Every day, I get closer to the bottom, I assume."
zahara waves her hand dismissively. "Yes, but that's not what I meant. What happens if you jump down?"
Cerin "What does the future hold?"
zahara peers over the edge. "Darkness, from up here."
Cerin nods. "The unknown."
zahara produces a scrap of paper and quill, and writes something on it, then folds it into a little eagle and drops it down the hole.
Cerin "What was that?" Cerin asks, amused.
Cerin "What was that?" Cerin asks, amused and curious
zahara grins "You'll find out. Eventually."
Cerin kisses her, softly. "Thank you."
zahara kisses back, and grins. "Don't thank me yet, you don't even know what it says!"
Cerin "That doesn't matter."
zahara smiles. "I wonder how long it will be before it comes back."
< A King in Rags | Sol Invictus Logs | The Gray >