RP:A Re-Member
Summary: Irenic and Valrae becomes closer than ever.
Behind a Hemlock Grove
You begin to hear the soft sounds of water again, though you are far beyond the waters of Vibrance. Curiosity urges you forward, towards a particularly dark part of the forest and to a strangely well-tended grove of tall hemlock trees. A small path, one worn through the forest by travel, leads behind the grove and to a wide glade. Wildflowers and sweet grass grow hip-high in some places here. A stallion, easily twenty hands high and black as pitch, grazes lazily, unconcerned with his surroundings. A stream runs along the eastern edge of the glade and a well stands close to it. A stable of stone, the word 'Fury' carved above the wide open doors, rests between the well and the cottage. Standing tall in the west of the glade is a two-story cottage of the same stone. Smoke, white and wispy, floats from the chimney and the pointed top of the curiously crooked tower that seems to be attached towards the back. The wooden arched door is bold, berry stained red with a heavy owl carved door knocker of iron. The windows are wide, with diamond patterned muntin work and stained glass. A small pebbled pathway winds between flower beds, shrubs, and droopy branched willow trees. It leads behind the home and to a fenced garden. A fat, long-tailed inky black cat can be found resting drowsily on the fence in a patch of golden sun and watching you with heavy-lidded emerald eyes. Here, the heady scent of herbs and flowers in bloom greet you. The garden itself boasts plants of all types, both useful and purely aesthetic, in full and clearly enchanted bloom. The herbs and flowers are arranged in spirals around a bubbling fountain. The carved image of a woman stands in the middle of the water with hands cupped around a crescent moon and raised above her head. Cool and clear water tumbles from her fingertips into the wide fountain's base. The forest presses close behind the garden's fence, the tall trees casting long shadows. The rounded and slightly crooked tower is seen more easily from here. Its odd shape boasts a lower oriel window and a balcony on it's highest floor. Ivy climbs and covers the beautiful stone face.
Valrae | It all started with Valrae and company having too much wine. It was late. Late enough in fact, that the she had successfully completed a small meeting with the leaders of Larket's witch community. Afterwards, four women were clustered around the butchers block that crouched in the center of the glossy hardwood floor of the kitchen. After tidying up, they were rewarding themselves with the rest of the finger food and red wine that was leftover from the night. Darkness pressed around the little cottage as they laughed and gossiped. Ate and drank in the careless way women could when they were enjoying the company of other women. When they'd eaten enough to leave them all feeling guilty, they wrapped the rest up and hauled the wine and over full glasses to her living room. They moved the table and couches to dance, freed the cushions and gathered pillows and blankets for a pallet when they'd exhausted themselves from laughter. Maude joined them when they circled up to share a green cigarette and continued to gossip about men, read each other's palms, gush drunkenly about how much they loved each other.
Valrae | Willow was braiding the golden waves of Valrae's hair when the conversation zeroed in on her sex life. Maude was clucking her tongue, telling Crystal how much easier Val was to live with now that she was seeing a man again. The circle had a good laugh, Val had another drink while they grilled her for details on this mysterious avian and his sexual prowess. The conversation turns when she reveals, blushing, that while she might be getting hers there was no way he was getting his. An array of emotion rippled through the group. Willow took a drag of the dwindling herbal cigarette and sighed, "Too bad there isn't a spell for -that-," Which peaked Glenna's curiosity. What if they could find a spell just close enough, change the words a little, and make it work? Most witchcraft just involved sympathetic magic and ritual, right? Witches made adjustments and substitutions all the time! "Well are we witches or not?" Suddenly, the group is leafing through Val's spell books and looking for something close enough to regrowing a part of the male anatomy. "There would already be a spell for this if more witches were male," Crystal suggests dryly. Eventually, they settle on a gardening spell. They hastily tweak it and circle up again without the pillows.
Valrae | They had rolled up her rug and drawn a circled pentagram with black salt. Each of the five women stood at a point in the star with varying shades of red candles. Maude, being the only one who wasn't actually a witch looked nervous but held steady and proud. In the center of the star was a silver bowl filled with things she'd gotten from Irenic. His letters, a feather from his old wings, his name written on a folded piece of paper, and a cucumber seed. Valrae abandoned her point to walk around the circle, clockwise, and light each candle as she went. She welcomed the elements in before taking her point again.
"Lady of Life,
Lord of Seed,
Restoring thoughts sent in flight,
Bring the brightest blessings on this night
For desire,
Passion's fire
To grow in health once more,
As it was to restore"
Valrare - They chanted three times. Magic curled around them, expanded and dissipated almost as quickly as it appeared. They glanced around at each other questioningly. Val closed the circle with a shrug and peeked into the bowl. Everything rested as before, save the seed. On top on the paper and feathers, the seed was now a fully grown cucumber. The group burst into laughter. "I think something was lost in translation," Val said, brandishing the cucumber. "Maybe not, you've still got something to work with," Glenna quips, eyebrows raised. Laughter filled the room again. Crystal had too much wine and was sick. Valrae held her hair while she cried and they all reassured her she was beautiful. Eventually, they all nodded off in the early hours of morning.
Recovery Room In Frostmaw
A simple room to recover in after a serious surgery.
Irenic was just trying to rest and recover from having metal wings inserted into his back so he was getting some rest on his rented bed, on his stomach no less. He had let Valrae know he was going to frostmaw on some business as he thought it might be a nice surprise to return to her with something he’s lost… Little did he know the fleshy dabble at play and he had just finished his own green cigarette to help with the pain on his back. Even though his surgery wounds were mostly healed by now he was advised to keep his movements still and easy for these things can possibly reject… His head rested onto his muscular tattooed arms while mismatched eyes slowly close so he may dream. It didn’t take long as those eyes snap open… oh by the gods the pain! What in the actual heck. His face buried into his pillow to muffle the yelling and involuntarily those metal wings stretch and then fold closed again. More pain and it takes all the strength and focus in him to keep them still as to not ruin the work that was so painstakingly done for them. Immediately he blames his old master, cursing her name with a, “thatbitch, that bitch, that BITCH!” All the while his foot was stomping onto the footrest of the bed which caused it to break. He assumes she must have some magic over the severed part and must be slicing it like pepperoni wherever she keeps the severed part because that’s for sure what this feels like. Until he realizes the pressure there against the bed and causing his bum to stick up in the hair and eventually the screams had died down to exhausted heavy breathing because the pain stopped, mostly… A hesitant hand reaches down to adjust it out of the way so he may go back the Fock to sleep and he will deal with this odd happening in the morning. An hour of sleepless laying in bed goes by and curiosity gets the better of him. Slowly he gets up off the fallen mattress upon the floor to the desk to hastily check his things for any of that lavender paper. He found one and scribbles on the back, “where can I meet you two days time?” He folds it neatly and shoves it into his pants pocket before collapsing onto his front in his bed and then a groan of, “ow…”
Valrae | Around mid-day, Valrae managed to crawl from her bed and check the enchanted box that had been trilling at her since Irenic sent his letter. Through blurry eyes she scrawled, 'My house. Miss you.' and gave him quick directions to the cottage hidden behind the Hemlock Grove on the outskirts of Larket. She added a quick doodle of herself blowing him a kiss. Her living room was a mess, the bodies of her sleeping friends scattered like living debris the witch had to tip-toe over to find a glass of water. After drinking enough to make herself feel sick, she brushed her teeth and tired to sleep through the rest of her hangover.
Two days later back at Valrae’s place….
Behind a Hemlock Grove
Valrae | The minutes turned to hours, the hours turned to days. Valrae passed the time with chores and hard work, glances to the end of her winding dirt path when her mind strayed from what her hands found to keep busy. With Maude's help the cottage was righted after the drunken night of impromptu spell work. Though fall had brought a chill to the little clearing, the stained windows of the lower floors were opened wide. The sweet grass and wildflowers that filled the small meadow were still flourishing, even as the trees that loomed like walls were turning the bold colors of fall. Vibrant oranges, reds, and yellows surrounded the green and thriving home. The trees, carefully tended flower beds, climbing roses, and even the delicately styled garden nearest the cottage were all untouched with the change of seasons. The late afternoon sun slanted through the trees and sent autumn colored shadows all around. Smoke curled from the tall chimney. From the open windows came the scents of lemon waxed floors, the fire burning in the hearth, and the spiced pie Maude had cooking in the old oven. A pretty woven wreath of fall flowers, leaves and fat red berries hung around the old door knocker. Valrae's laughter bubbled out. In the kitchen, she was curled onto the bench seat of her table, feet tucked underneath herself, as she peeled corn. Neat rows of already cleaned corn rested in a bowl before her. Maude was standing over the kitchen hearth, waving the wooden spoon that had been stirring the simmering pot of soup that hung over the fire just moments before, and in her native language continued to tell Valrae a story from her childhood. The butcher’s block that rested between them was covered in flour with a cloth covered pan of rising dough in the middle. For the hundredth time the witch glanced out the window.
Irenic had not made an entrance like this in what felt like forever and all Valrae would hear at first was a loud thud or two due to a not so graceful landing upon the roof of her place. A muffled sounding curse word before booted steps make their way toward the front of her home, but if she chanced a look out the window she’d see a near seven foot something drop with ease from her roof and then the back view of beautiful metalwork wings. Each feather expertly crafted and obviously painstakingly installed to joints that move almost naturally to which were then surgically placed within his back. Once at the front door, his hand goes to twist the knob as if on instinct, but he stops himself and knocks. His attention gets stolen by a vibrant orange spot or two within the ‘feathers’ and he makes work of pulling free he leaves, but easily gets distracted by the feel of the feathers because even though he can't actually feel anything from the metal wings he’s impressed by the intricate work now in his possession. Slender tattooed digits caresses over the etched quills within one metal feather. He wonders if he will ever get used to the beauty of the wings while waiting upon Valrae’s door. He doesn’t know which knew appendage he’s excited about morso though. In the distraction he may have forgotten about a leaf or two stuck in that dusky gray hair.
Valrae | The sudden thumping on the roof had both women looking up before sharing concerned glances. Maude's gasp had Valrae's head jerking back toward the window in time to see the brilliant display of metal wings. "What...?" The witch sat aside the nearly cleaned ear of corn and hurried to stand as Irenic's knock sounded at the front door. She was in such a rush that she didn't manage to fully get her feet underneath her and fell to the floor. Beyond the door the avian might hear a thud followed with Maude's concerned chattering, a string of cursing from Val, and the shuffling noises of her getting back to her feet. When the door swings open, her face is a mixture of curiosity and suspicion that melts into surprise and joy. The witch's emerald eyes were lined lightly with kohl, her lips free of all but natural color, and there is a bright red mark growing on her temple above an arched brow. Her cable knit sweater, the color of fresh cream, is oversized and cropped, leaving a small tanned line of her abdomen showing above the high waist of her denim pants. Her feet are bare save a gold toe ring on her right foot. The honey and wheat strands of hair by her temples were braided back, the rest free and waving almost down to her bottom now. Overwhelmed with the miraculous sight of Irenic's newly fashioned wings, the witch stands agog in her door with her mouth slightly opened and her eyes impossibly wide. "I... You... What...?" She finally squeaks out. "You look... Those are..." Finally, because words refused to form in her mouth, Valrae just moves to throw her arms around his neck and squeal.
Irenic grinned down at her and her loss of words before he saw the red mark which got a light chuckle and a concerned, “what did you do?” He doesn’t look nearly as impressive as she does though since he’s just wearing his usual black slacks and black button down shirt (which probably has slits in the back for the wings.) He bent at the knee so it was easier for her to throw her arms around him and the wings bend around to gently close around the pair like they used to. He sort of picked her up and stepped within her home for the first time and was so lost in her, the smell, the touch, their embrace that he gave her one of those hungry ‘omg-I-missed-you-so-much’ kisses. At the clearing of a throat he freezes and mismatched eyes open while quickly breaking their kissing, “oh…” he gently sets Valrae back on her feet, “uh… Hey Maude.” He still recognizes her from the Inn, but he’s confused as to why she’s here. His hand smoothed the top of his hair back atop the apex of his head and he ends up pulling free a yellow leaf to which he tosses out a window. Both hands in his pockets now, “how are you, Maude?” He felt like they were two teens that just got caught by a parent, but he puts his focus on Valrae, “yeah I met this lady and she said she could make metal appendages. So we gave wings a try… Once I get the hang of how they fly do you want to fly with me?” He asks with that devilish smirk as he now realizes he’s referencing their first meeting, but the more the avian becomes comfortable within the confines of her home the man seems distracted. His expression falls as heavy footsteps bring him to sit at a chair in her kitchen and he looks a little pale, “I… just need to sit down a moment.” His mismatched eyes were slowly traveling from this to that while memories are starting to come back to him. What he is remembering is how she somehow made every place feel like a home, just as she had here, while they were on be run for three weeks and being here for the first time was making those memories coming back to him. How he’d comfort her and fight her demons while they slept when she got the night terrors, but he’s remembering how she went through hell in that jail and how determined he was to set her free.
Valrae is scooped up and into a long, stomach fluttering kiss, and she can feel the strange but familiar sensation of Irenic's metal wings surround her. The metal was chilled from the autumn weather but not unpleasantly so. When Maude clears her throat Valrae springs away with embarrassment. Irenic seemed to recover smoothly enough though and he and her matronly house mate share pleasantries while Valrae struggles to pull her eyes away from the avian and his new wings. She smooths her hair and ushers him in happily while listening to him tell her about them. "I'd love too!" She chirps honestly, excitement lighting her eyes. Maude had re-busied herself with dinner as Valrae gives him the grand tour. "It was hard work but we've gotten a lot done," She's telling him. The floors were old and a little scuffed but had obviously been re stained, shined and waxed painstakingly. Comfortable and cutely mismatched furniture was arranged around a wide stone fireplace in the living room. Shelves of books and crystals and other Val clutter covered most walls. There were fresh, fall colored flowers from her garden arranged on most surfaces. The kitchen was outdated, even by Hollow standards, but homey. The table was nestled into a bayed window with flower cushioned bench seats. Maude had taken up the corn and finished preparing them. Valrae thought she might show him the upstairs, maybe even the tower, but suddenly Irenic was looking worn. She led him back to the kitchen and he sat down. A frown tilted her lips. "Are you alright?" The witch asks, hovering over him worriedly. Maude, ever tactful, tells them both that dinner is ready but that she needs to go into town for something and excuses herself. "Can I get you something?" Val asks, in the new quiet. "Water? I could make you a plate?"
Irenic looks to everything thoughtfully, but it was hard to think through the thick fog of memories of them meandering through her new home like ghosts. Maude is leaving and he waves bye to her with a charming yet scarred smile. When Valrae walks near he gently takes her wrist and guides her to sit on his lap and those mismatched eyes look up into hers, “... Valrae.” That’s it! He remembered her first name on his own! “Yeah,” he gently clears his throat, “I’m great, actually.” His arm nestled around her waist and the opposite one gestures about the place, “I’m just remembering that it’s just like you always wanted… Without it being near the sea, though.” He paused as his free hand went for one of her own, “I just got this feeling like, deja vu, as soon as I walked in here and then a rush of memories of us on the run. You made every place we had occupied feel like a home even if it was temporary… I feel like,” he felt his heartbeat quicken, does he dare say it? What would she even say if he did, I mean - yeah they’ve moved pretty fast this time around, but it didn’t really feel like that. His smirk returns and he looks back up at her with a soft short chuckle, “forget it.” Leaning into her for a kiss now hoping that was a good change of subject, he doesn’t want to ruin it. He’s pretty much forgotten about his other regained appendage, but that’s how things have always been around her… things just fall away and the only important thing is her. She might be able to catch a glance of the joints of the metal wings rising and falling as if his wings were sort of preening for her. It was probably something he did before without realizing and something he’s told her, but doesn’t remember that when avian’s wings do such things it means they find someone within the room attractive. The wings are making sure they look good while reacting to emotions they don’t typically observe and this is usually looked at as a blatant flirt. Avians and their wings are a delicate thing.
Valrae's concern lessens a little when Irenic pulls her to him. A girlish giggle tumbles past her lips as she settles into him. "Hey! You said my name!" She chirps excitedly, her face bright and full of the happiness that seemed to pour out of her heart when she was near him. "You remember...?" She whispers, as if saying it too loud would undo whatever small magic had returned some of his memories. Rose began to creep into the color of her cheeks. "You think that of me?" She asks, moved. Her hands move to frame his face, her hair slipping over her shoulder to make a waving curtain of gold to separate them from the world... Even if it was only her little kitchen. "Ire, you're my home." She's still whispering. The witch moves to kiss him. Slowly, with the aching bitter-sweetness that she felt now. Valrae pulls back. "And this home?" Her shoulders shrug, "It's yours if you want it. No knocking, no invite needed. For whenever you can come back to me, you'll always have a place here..." She pauses, dark eyes searching his face. "So no, I don't want to forget it. I want to know what you feel, all of it." He pulls her in for another kiss and she loses herself in the feeling of it for a while, pressing herself against him and wrapping her arms around his neck. She pulls away to press kisses to his forehead and smiles at the small movement of his new wings. All this joy, all the love expanding in her chest felt surreal and almost wrong. How could she be so happy? Was this possible? The witch pulls herself away, climbing off of Irenic's lap, and crosses the kitchen. "You like vegetable soup?" She tosses an apologetic look over her shoulder. "Sorry, I don't eat meat. I don't know if you remember."
Irenic’s grin widened as if he couldn’t control it when she opened her home to him and it’s his rare turn to blush, “well… That finishes my thought process there. You took the words right out of my mouth… Must have been while you were kissing me.” He chuckles lightly and shortly before his eyes wonder on her for a long moment, “you’re my home and this feels like home.” He nods, “somehow I do remember that. I am hungry for some soup, but I think today you might make an acception?” His mismatched eyes look up at her across the kitchen allowing silence to grow in the distance between them while his expression gives a ‘catch my drift’ type look. Slyly he adjusts something over the cover of his slacks before standing up and making his way behind her at the stove and his form closes in behind her while gently pushing her hair from her shoulder and neck. He begins placing soft kisses on her temple and marking a trail down her cheek, her earlobe, her neck until he was at her shoulder. His one hand was caressing the collar of her sweater out of the way while the other held her around her waist to pull her closely against him… Maybe she’d feel something that wasn’t there before.
Valrae glances from the soup to wing her golden brows at the avian. "Oh?" She sets the ladle aside as his arms go around her. Another giggle bubbles from her as he trails kisses down her neck. Her stomach flutters. She leans into him and turns to look at him through sooty lashes. "What did you have in mind?" She's all but forgotten the drunken spell she and her friends completed two nights before. The witch loses herself in another long kiss. The kind that curl your toes and send long lovely cartwheels of lust through your stomach. But her mouth stops working. Something was pressing above the base of her spine. Was that? Valrae springs away from the avian suddenly. Her dark eyes zero in on his crotch region. She blinks at it. She blinks at him. Her mouth is swollen from kisses and hung in a shell shocked 'O'. "Do... I... What?" She's blinking at him. Her hands cover her mouth. "Icwetbuhlevethatwuked!" Her squeal was muffled by the sleeves of her sweater. The witch flings her arms around him for the second time and would move to pull him into another long kiss. "How about," She says when she finally pulls away, "I finish giving you a tour of the house. You can see my bedroom."