RP:Curse Catalyst
Summary: Valrae says the magic words to set Irenic's curse in motion.
Red Ogre Inn
You are surprised to say the least when you enter this room. From the outside, the Inn looked friendly, but a bit run down and certainly nothing like this. A marble counter is at the opposite end of the room, behind it a middle aged, cheerful looking man stands. He has a guest book, bound in red leather in front of him, and a peacock quill in his hand. A giant stands next to the counter, most likely to carry your bags and to dispose of any troublemakers. Lavish red carpets furnish the marble floor, and gleaming white pillars support the roof. Lining every wall are long luxurious couches with expensive looking polished metal armrests. Scattered all around the inn are small circular tables with marble tabletops around which are well-crafted wooden chairs. These tables have been placed at a decent distance from others allowing a comfortable sense of privacy for those sitting and conversing at them. Some of the chairs are empty but many are filled with patrons of the inn and a few locals who have popped in for a drink or meal. A few potted plants are placed around to add a bit more color. To the east, through two large mahogany doors, is the paved road.
Earthquake damage: Moderate
Irenic felt as if he could sleep for weeks after the last few days he spent in the rubble of the Towering Tenements and he did not want to stay alone, but he also didn't want to stay far from the tragedy for he had plans and Valrae still wanted to help the unfortunate. After their silent dinner he would have asked her to stay with him for the night even though it turned to day. Irenic slowly woke the next night gently pulling himself from the witch while feeling the soreness and all the bruising among cuts on his hands. Those mismatched eyes fell down in the dim candlelight of the room they shared at his deplorable continuation giving off a soft groan. "Wha-" his voice was barely a raspy whisper as the memory of finding the boy rushed back. The sheet covered his midsection for no reason really but those massive wings sunk into sadness next to him during which his elbows rest on his wings. He held his aching head in his beaten hands expecting more tears, but there will be none... Only a deep boiling rage which will only be satiated by revenge.
Valrae moved in the bed beside him. Her hand was tangled in the bed tousled strands of gold that were fanning over her pillow and coverlet. She sighed as the avian pulled away from her and without opening her eyes she frowned. The room smelled of hot wax, the tangled sheets of salt and water and sand from the avian who had been sleeping in them. The witch pushed herself up beside him reluctantly. It wasn't until she opened her dark eyes that she remembered what they'd done the night before. It tore at her heart again. Slowly, gently, she reached out to rest a hand on his back. "Irenic?" Her voice was barely a whisper. She had the blanket clutched in knuckles gone white to her chest. "Do... Do you need something? Water maybe?"
Irenic ran his hand through his hair as the woman settled next to him while this earned her an arm around her to pull her in close and plant a kiss on her forehead. "I just need you..." he repeated his sentiment from the night before while taking a gentle hold on her chin to connect their gaze. He would press a sweet kiss to her lips before touching their foreheads together. "I have to apologize... this is all my fault... You would never have known of him if it were not for me. Ultimately he would have never have been in harms way if I would have not been there to save him the first time...." he looks away from her now, "He made me softer... So maybe it wasn't just him in need of saving." He would pull her in for an embrace now, "But now that's taken from me. Will you help keep me grounded?" Which would be an odd thing coming from a man with wings to a human.
Valrae settled into his half embrace happily. It gave her heart hope to see that he wasn't so upset as to push her away. The kiss he pressed to her forehead made her chest ache with sweetness. Now he was tilting her head up to look at him. Her dark eyes met with his own unique gaze. A corner of her lip tilted in a sad smile before they kissed. The closeness they shared was comforting after so much loss. "No, please... Irenic, please don't apologize to me." She pulled away to look into his eyes again. "I only knew the boy for a short time but... Oh, I was happy too." Her eyes misted, she tired to blink the tears away. "I wouldn't take a second of it away, please don't say things like that." It was her turn to move, press a soft hand on his cheek to turn him back to her. "It hurts now, it always will. He was too young, too bright, and taken too early so it always will." Her voice was sure as she spoke. "It is a harder thing to feel, to love and to know loss. A much harder thing and so you're not soft." The witch gave him another half smile of sadness. "I'll be whatever you need me to be, Irenic. I love you."
Irenic felt his own smirk sadly start to tug at her kind words, "Thank you, Valrae." By now his wing wrapped around her lovingly and protectively. "I intend on staying here in Larket to find out if there was any foul play in what happened… I will exact a revenge on his death." Her admission of Quizical making her happy, "It makes it a little better knowing he had more than just me caring for him… I know he adored you if only for a short time of knowing you." He knows he did because that was just the effect Valrae had on people. Irenic starts to remember their first time the met, it was night and on the beach he saw her dancing around without a care. A hand went up to get lost in her gold hair gently caressing the silky strands when he thought further on how she was so curious about him, just like Quizical. When she was debating on his 'softness' a soft scoff was given right before he heard it… The words she said caused a skip in the beats of his heart an a look of near disbelief on his face, but she could easily tell in his eyes he was delighted to hear it. "Y-… You what?"
Valrae was snuggled into Irenic's wings and the warmth of him and the bed. She was comfortable even though it was a moment filled with grief, the tired kind, like what comes after a storm that shakes your house to it's foundation and you're left standing in middle of the mess wondering what was left to do. She didn't understand his need for revenge. What could be done for natural disasters such as earthquakes? Like some, Valrae thought it was unlikely that any force other than nature was behind it... She knew magic and it would be no small thing to make the earth shake. Who could be so evil? So, it was easier for her to believe there was no reason. She didn't argue with Irenic because it was easier for him to believe there was. His hand was running through her sleep mussed hair and she felt like smiling again. Her favorite moments were sleepy, intimate ones like these. In flickering golden light, she tilted her chin up to look at him and said again, "I love you. Without expectancy, without agenda. I love you." She gave him a slow smile, looking at him though dark lashes. "And I don't think it makes me soft."
Irenic has heard the words said his direction before, long before Hollow and the feeling was never returned. Those tired eyes blink slowly once as he was trying to register what exactly was transpiring here. Not that he didn't believe her or that the feeling wasn't returned when she said it the first time, he was just trying to make sure those long perfect hearing ears were, in fact, hearing right. Those mismatched eyes take in every little inch of her face as he couldn't even believe a gorgeous woman like her could feel such a way for the monster he is and without warning his hand held the side of her visage to pull her into a deep passionate kiss. His eyes close in the moment as he lingers there a moment and for the second time he felt his heart beat in a way as if it were shaking dust off itself and it hurt. Their kiss broke so he can lock their gaze once more, "I love you, Valrae." His long tattooed arms wrap around her small frame easily and pulled her to sit atop him in order to pull her into an even more passionate kiss. Those large velvety wings wrap around her as well while one of his hands reach up to caress the back of his hand down her cheek, but he quickly realizes how abrasive that might feel given all the scrapes and cuts so he pulls the hand away. "Completely and entirely… I am yours."
Valrae suddenly felt embarrassed and foolish as he looked at her. He wasn't speaking, why wouldn't he say something? And why was he looking at her like that? An overwhelming need to run, just roll out of the warmth of their bed and bolt away from it was creeping into her aching chest as quickly as color was to her cheeks. Three words stopped it all though. Calmed her nervousness, kick-started her heart. She wasn't sure how to deal with the overwhelming sensations that she had begun to drown in. The avian's mouth took hers though and her mind quieted. She returned the kiss, poured herself into with breathless fear and sincerity. Surrounded by him, the softness of his wings against the bared skin of her shoulders, she felt afraid and not. Safe yet in as much danger as one might be standing on the very edge of a very steep drop. With Irenic, it was very much like falling while being in love and suddenly she understood the phrase. The kiss ended. He held her and she would move to hold his hand to her cheek before he could move away, to kiss the scrapes there tenderly. "And I am yours." She replied after a long moment.
Irenic ran his hands up her bare back while she kissed at his imperfections and he never wanted this moment to end. He still felt such ache from the past days, but she made it better already by just being there for him. He was truly in love with this woman and he had not felt this way in so long if ever. He softly kissed at her neck and shoulders before pulling the both of them back into the bed seeing as the night was quickly approaching once more. He wanted to show her just how much he longed for her and loved her through the night in the special way he could. He wouldn't stop until they slept once more, laying one warm velvety wing under her to pull her in close and lay together in a blissful slumber.
Valrae returned his kisses, happy to be with him and comfort him, until her eyes could no longer remain open. She slipped back into dreams surrounded by he scents of her home and the warmth of him.
Hours Later
Irenic was in pain and his eyes shot open with a soft gasp. His wings have somehow dissipated and some of the feathers lay alone on the bed when he sat up. It burns where they used to meet on his back and he could feel something else taking place. His mind became scrambled and all he could do was to think, get out side, NOW! He would most likely not wake the woman next to him as they were so exhausted. He stepped from the bed to catch sight of himself in a mirror. Is that a beak!? What was happening? His back was burning and his skin felt as if he was being plucked of feathers. He quietly slipped out the window and that's when it happened: the head of a bird with odd human eyes and his skin grew feathers while his feet turned to talons and all his nails sprouted claws... He felt like the true monster he is... He cannot got back to face Valrae and he knows he deserves this.
Valrae slept soundly through the night, unaware of the change that took place or whatever strange magic prompted it. She woke alone in a bed empty of all but herself and feathers. Her eyes opened slowly as she reached out and found only sheets. Her alarm was slow to rise, for she looked around the dark room to see if he'd only gotten up, but when she couldn't find him it was enough to have worry clawing at her chest. She waited, wrapping the sheets around her and moving about. When time passed she called his name, once, twice.. When that didn't work she left the room they'd shared, clothed only in a blanket, and called to him there. She asked around, ignoring the looks she received.