RP:A Lie in Ernest
Summary: Larewen's memory fails her and she mistakenly tells Shishi that Aarika is dead.
Hanging Corpse Tavern
This once-timber tavern has been rebuilt in sturdily vitrified blackstone and imbued with powerful protective magics that prevent occult fire and several other potentially harmful spells being cast within its walls. No effort has been spared to make what might otherwise be a bleak interior comfortable. The bar is made of polished stone with an oaken inlay, the space behind filled with a bustle of attractive barmaids, sundry barrels and a dazzling array of coloured bottles that glint in the light cast by a large wrought-iron candelabrum suspended from the ceiling overhead. Here, the one-eyed Steadman stands, ready to take orders for food or drink. Beyond the bar, stout tables are firmly bolted to the floor, though the high-backed chairs are freestanding. The hearth is a true feature, seeming to be cast from black lava into the shape of a colossal, laughing goblin's head, its maw gaping wide and deep, usually containing a merrily crackling fire. A delicious scent of roasting meats drifts in from the kitchens and a winding staircase leads to rooms upstairs. To the south are set cellar doors, usually kept locked unless a special event is taking place. The walls are hung with thick, richly woven tapestries depicting persons and events in the history of Vailkrin and the Vampiric race. There's also a notice-board near the entrance, where one may leave messages. Unobtrusive but ever-present are the security staff, staunch fighters ever ready to toss troublemakers out.
Larewen sat near the hearth, her lips pressed into a thin, contemplative line. The faint reddening as a result of drinking bloodwine was evident on those pale tiers, and the near empty glass in her hand supported that notion. In her lap, a tome was settled, opened to a page covered with eldritch glyphs. The elf's gloved fingers ran over the pages, and there was the steady thrum of magic in the air. She was using her mana to study. It was far more taxing than simply reading, but it was the best she could do. Her face was mostly obscured by an ebon veil pinned to her fedora.
Shishi is dressed in his usual style; unkempt shirt and tie, maybe a little bloodstained splotch on the collar. What's a bit unusual today is the lack of Leralynn and Yellow, odds are the pair is only a few Undead City blocks from here in the home left in their names. Also, maybe not unusual, but at least a sign that something has the vampire in a mood, his eyes are that accursed shade of red. Have they been like that since the last time these two were together in Vailkrin's Tavern? Life is breathed into the shadows flickering around the establishment by the assassin's proximity. "Ey. Lar!" he calls out when he sees someone by the fire, probably too quickly for him to even have identified her. Was he just shouting that every time he enters a room?
Larewen was too engrossed in attempting to study that tome to have taken immediate notice of Shishi's arrival. Normally the surge in dark magic within the shadows, the very smell of her ex-husband, would have drawn her attention. When he shouted, the elf started and the glass fell from her hand to shatter upon the floor. Good thing it was mostly empty, right? The elf's head turned in the direction of his voice, blind eyes missing him entirely. Her heart skipped a beat - or would have if it still functioned. What did happen, was an imaginary pang in her chest. Her expression was, thankfully obscured so that the other vampire would not see the longing and anguish upon those pale features. "Shi," she breathed softly, her voice a silvery peal that carried through the room.
Shishi flinches at the glass shattering. That was twice in a row she's broken one when he enters this place. She's going to get him banned. A roll of his finger is sent to the cycloptic barkeep to pour another for the elf. On his way over, the Blue Demon plucks a chair up in one hand and drags it over to where Larewen was sitting two of it's legs dragging against the floor and making whatever sound that might make, surely this will give the newly blind vampire a better sense on where her twice fiance was. He drops his seat into place, before sitting down be moves behind her chair and slowly shoves the thing away from the broken glass and minimally spilled wine, giving some staffer room to clean up the mess. "We left you pretty quickly with that bug last time. Did you end up smashing it?" he asks while finally falling into his seat, within arms reach, facing her.
Larewen blinked, her head turning in best effort to follow the male. "Bug?" she echoed, perplexed. Her features would have reddened, were it not for the lack of blood. Truly, the elf actually hadn't fed in quite some time. She didn't have the need to as often. When he settled, she could feel his nearness and part of her wished to reach out for him. Part of her wanted to feel his embrace; his lips against hers... Silently, she berated herself before frowning at him. "I don't remember a bug."
Shishi waves his hand in the air trying to pantomime a pixie, "The bug guy? Was freezing cold? Eh. Nevermind. You probably smashed em." The assassin forces his usual fake smile to no effect at the sight of her frown. He hardly fulfills her hope when he reaches across the gap and drops a hand over one of the elf's. He gets right to the business he had been seeking her out for and it isn't exactly romantic, "I didn't know... About Aarika. Did she really say that to you? About taking care of Orange and Yellow?"
Larewen blinked at Shishi a few more times. "Irthos?" she asked, as if it clicked suddenly. Her head shook from side to side. "No, if only because his magic can be honed, and I prefer to make allies, regardless of my own alignment." Then, Shishi's hand fell over hers and the necromancer visually stiffened. Her heart leapt in her chest, much as it did whenever she was near Emrith. It was an emotional torture of sorts, to be torn between two men as she was. If anything, the elf was certain that Shishi was her soulmate; why else would she always be drawn to him? But Emrith? She helplessly loved the elf too... The train of thought was interrupted when he spoke, and her head dipped downward slightly, gaze falling to her lap. "Yes. She requested my presence, at the house in Kelay... And not just the children, but you as well, my love."
Shishi sinks in his seat, enough that Larewen might feel him sulk. A chair and table elsewhere in the Corpse shake, rattled by shadows that the assassin briefly lost control over. Internally they were mocking him, berating, blaming, shaming, all with voices only he could hear. He let's out a light sigh at the fact he had been included in the former Red's request. Perhaps it's only now that he comes to realize out of everyone in the world he was probably cruelest to her, the mother of his children. All because of his longing for the woman literally in arms reach of him now. Memories are closing back to him now of that house in Kelay, the twins birth and its barely not enough for him to lose composure completely, more things shaking now, including the elf's own seat. "How did it happen? Did they bury her there? The house?"
Larewen felt the tremor in the establishment, heard the sigh and his words and from there, two and two were put together at last. "You didn't know," she stated, more than asked. A frown weighed the corners of her lips and a moment later, the blind elf rose to her feet. Her tome fell to the ground, its blood-lettered pages turned toward the heavens as she closed the very short distance between her chair and his. There was a flare of her own magic that surrounded him, caressing the male's body as she sought to locate him and then, a gloved hand extended outward to cup his cheek and gently tilt his head up toward herself. "She seemed at peace, knowing that she could trust me to take care of you and the children. I do not know if she was buried there or not; I did not move her body, and left after she drew her last breath. I failed her. At that moment, the necromancer only wanted to wrap her arms around the assassin and after a moment's hesitation, she leaned down and did just that - tightly.
Shishi doesn't hesitate to reciprocate her embrace. She'll feel him shake against her, not from the shadows poised to wreak havoc, but from something like a silent sob from the assassin. He takes a no moment or two or three to hold her, or allow her to hold him, probably both, before he speaks again, still not breaking the embrace. "They don't know either..." obviously. "I'm going to take them to Kelay. To see that place again. " as much as he'd love Larewen to come with him, her last run in with an upset Arius did not go well, it was a disaster even, so it was probably best if she wasn't present when the kid finds out his mother is dead. "Should be a few days. I... When we get back I'll see you again." His inflection ends that as a statement, but there's a wavering in his voice that begs her to confirm that she'll still be here when he returns. Figuratively, not in the same spot in The Corpse, dang.
Larewen felt his quivering, and was in a way relieved that she could not see it. The return of the embrace warmed her, despite the circumstances and she listened as he spoke. The quiver in his voice tempted her; the elf wanted nothing more than to provide Shishi with comfort, even if it meant stealing his wavering voice with her lips. "I am sorry..." she murmured, to the realization that she was the only one that knew of Aarika's passing. It pained her, knowing she'd so unceremoniously dropped that bomb on the vampire and his children. When he speaks those last words, the elf dips her head to him. "I will be here." The elf had nowhere else to go, and far too much to handle. She would allow him to leave, when their embrace finally ended, a fang sunk into her lower lip. It would be a hard line to walk, remaining faithful to her elven lover.