RP:Temptations in the Tower

Summary: Quintessa and Kasyr sneak off to have a quick smoke during the Mage's Guild Commencement Ceremony. They have a completely innocent conversation where nothing bad happens.

Mage Tower

This room is huge, and the entire place is covered in blue and white marble, with many torches and eight pillars reaching up to the ceiling to reinforce the room above, and keep the tower standing. The columns are covered in mystical runes, probably magic to keep the pillars strong, making them able to withstand pressure that normally wouldn't be possible. In the center of the room, there is a spiraling staircase made of glass, and also inscribed with the same type of runes as the pillars, leading to the higher levels of this magical tower. Next to the stairs there is a small desk here with a sign on it. At the top the sign reads... directions for all new mages. There is a door to the south, and you now notice that it too, is covered in the strength giving runes, that leads outside and a door to the west leading to the dormitory, a place for young mages to rest after their studies here.

Kasyr has effectively followed suit with Quintessa, both figuratively and literally- having fallen in step with her almost immediately, his own cigarette produced from a suit pocket. Something stops him in his tracks, however- if only because he gets the rather distinct thought that he should perhaps set the platter off on a nearby chair before he starts up after Quin again. "I mean, I thought it was a symbolic thing, tu know. I've never really heard about it talking to anyone directly. " He wants to say more, he really does- but he can't quite bring himself to add more, instead taking in a deep draw from his cigarette.

Quintessa seems confused, even as she brings a black cigarette to her lips. "What? Are you sure?" the hex blade brings them near a window before casting her cantrip, lighting her clove cig before holding up the flame to Kasyr. "No, I distinctly remember words... They didn't come from a voice, mind you, but rather it spoke directly to my mind. When I'd meditate or study. Anytime I was alone, really, I'd hear it whispering. 'Quintessa should train harder. Quintessa should learn more magic. Quintessa should involve herself in conflict more.' I started hearing these things when I became Arh'Nuk's chosen. When crimson light from the moon bathed my entire body during the celestial celebration. I knew then, at that moment, I would go on to do great things. I would be somebody important. Somebody powerful. The words... They told me so." The changeling speaks with such conviction that it's clear she isn't lying. Whether these things were being spoken to her from Arh-Nuk or simply her own delusions, she believed them to be true. Pale fingers flick the ashes of her cigarette out of the window as she watches guests begin to leave.

Kasyr s' not even halfway through admonishing himself for forgetting to light the cigarette in his distracted state, when Quintessa's picking up the slack for him- a partial grin playing at his lips as he properly takes in a puff. The ensuing explanation, however, leaves the swordsman thoughtful, his bottom lip drawn in so he can chew on it, "I'm not the most indepth scholar, for this sort of thing. But, I have never heard of it before." He pauses, puffing out a breath as he attention starts to drift skyward, "I mean, you're making good time on a lot of that, vraiment. I .. just, I worry. Partly because there's things I left, " The pained look of concentration that slips across his features as he settles on the word is brief, but theres a lingering hint of shame that remains in it's wake, "unattended. Festering. Et I wouldn't want to see you caught up on it." It's a start, perhaps, but the Kensai still can't help but push his luck, "The outfit one of those whispers, or just a ssssstroke of inssssspiration, enfin?"

Quintessa furrows her brow at the swordsman when he adds an extra hiss to his words. Something about that was -too- on the nose. "As a matter of fact," she begins, turning to face him as she straightens up. "I saw it in a vision. Ethereal scales. Snake eating snake. Infinity imploding in on itself." She blinks, pulling herself out of the semitrance thinking about that put her in. "This is what I made of it..." Quintessa gives a slow twirl to show it off. "It's just stuff I found around House Dragana. Mostly from corpses of prisoners or tucked away in forgotten rooms." The changeling moves to press her back against the wall next to the window. "But I get the distinct impression that this means something to you..." The corners of her mouth turn downwards in a sort of frown, "You can talk to me. Just because I'm not an apprentice anymore doesn't mean I can't still learn from you."

Kasyr can feel his hackles rise, even as his ears fold back again, something cold coiling up in the depths of his guts. His feet are like lead as he turns to face Quintessa, the slump of his back to the windowsill more exhausted than anything. "You're not wrong. You could say I recognized it, even. It's called Gospel." The words are careful, and deliberate- in part so the Kensai can control the measure of his voice, but also so he can keep abreast of the room, to make sure that he can fall quiet should someone encroach on their relative privacy. "Part of why I was surprised my advancement wasn't blocked by Daath, to be fair. I ...mmm, banished something. To Ahr'Nuk." His gaze flickers between the stairwells leading to this room, and then back out to the window and the night sky, "Didn't...really tell anyone, when I figured that detail out. Just tried to sort it out on my own, while trying to figure out how to killing the damn thing. Daath knows, en fait, though I can't imagine he was keen on passing that on either, given how central a role Ahr'nuk plays in things here." He makes a faint hiss of his own here, the cigarette burning a bit too close for comfort, and thusly finding itself flicked out the window.

Quintessa can feel a slight tugging in her chest when Kasyr speaks, the changeling leaning in close so that his voice doesn't have to carry. "Gospel...?" she whispers, the name making her mind vibrate uncomfortably for a second before she shakes it away. She had never heard the name before, so why did it feel so familiar? Quintessa swallows hard, her mind quickly putting the clues together. "Arh'Nuk..." She moves back to the window seal after Kasyr tosses out his butt and she leans out to get a good look at the moon they spoke about. "I can see why you kept it under wraps." A very cold, empty feeling washes over her, and she steps away from the window to stand closer to the kensai. "Well, Daath isn't around to complicate things anymore. Things have soured in Trist'toth. Perhaps he finally saw that the Matron was wielding the authority here that he ought to have and cut ties." Her pale fingers flick her cigarette out of the window before rubbing her arms to keep warm. Autumn had come in full force, it seemed.

Kasyr s' head tilts upwards, if only so he can avoid meeting those mis-matched eyes as he continues, "It's how I got pulled along into aiding Gevurah. She stumbled into my problem- And it became slightly harder to ignore, since it somehow ended up tied into her own ..matters." Quintessa's theory crafting in regards to the recent change in underdark Politics does elicit a pensive look from the Kensai, "Maybe. Or damage control to distance himself from things if they come to the forefront. The timing es a bit...odd for a power play, given what's at stake. An errant Ex-husband es likely amongst the last of Gevurahs problems, courrament." As Quintessa tries to keep herself warm, Kasyr simply slips out of the jacket of his suit, if only so he can offhandedly extend it to her. This time, he manages to maintain his gaze, at least for a little while. "Here. ..And sorry. I, meant to say something about it earlier but. It never really seemed like the right time. ...Though, when is it ever, with things like this?"

Quintessa looks up with a slight smile before she slowly takes his jacket and slips it over her shoulders. "Thank you... " She wants to move closer to thank him properly but she knows she not allowed, so she simply stares at him. "You're right. Things have been pretty chaotic. I suppose things will always be chaotic, so I don't take it too personally." A wary smile is offered to him before she frowns again. "You want me to stay out of it, don't you?" Quintessa swallows hard, trying to ignore the lump in her throat. "I will, if you ask me to. I'll stay in Vailkrin and play politics while you deal with it... If you think that'll keep me safe."

Kasyr can feel an impulse to reach out for a moment, but tries to quell it by plucking at a cigarette- only remembering it's absence after the fact, settling on awkwardly plucking at one of his bangs instead, "Honetement, I don't know. If, I'm right- you're already in a deep, j'pense, et slipping away into Vailkrin es not going to..solve things. But, If I could avoid you getting pulled further in? If I thought that was a choice. . .?" The rest goes unspoken, his focus drifting down first to his feet, and then off to the the staircase leading downwards, "I mean, I'm still going to teach you, en fait. That's probably among the better ways to keep you safe. So, if you're worried about me avoiding you, don't be, d'accord?" He manages to offer her a wry grin, "Just...maybe Sssshed the snake theming, in future."

Quintessa lets out a sign a relief, "Good. I don't think I could handle you avoiding me." Her lips pull back to grin at him, "Don't worry, I'll do my best to stay out of trouble. I promise." To the snake pun the changeling raises an eyebrow. "Oh? Y'know, if you don't like my clothes that much you could always help me shed them right now." She adds an extra tease as the end by flicking her tongue like a snake at him.

Kasyr rolls his eyes, but there's a hint of a real smile there as he does, " The idea of getting all coiled up es tempting, Madamoiselle, but you were chilly enough here without me helping a bit more." His expression grows a bit more muted there, his posture shifting as he rocks back on a heel, "Was there, anything on your mind, however? When you asked moi up here, I mean. Concerns of your own, ou quoi-ce-soit, before I got us on this tangent? Er, the prior, tangent, I mean."

Quintessa gives him a devious smile, one that hints at the sharp teeth just behind her lips. "You could take me back to my room. I'm sure you could warm me up just fine. You were absolutely smoldering back in Vailkrin." She dares to move closer in the darkness of the room, her pale fingers timidly reaching out to smooth the wrinkles of his shirt. "How do you know this isn't exactly why I brought you up here? To get you all to myself..." She leans closer to whisper, "To coil around you... Sink my fangs into you and poison you with my venom."

Kasyr s careful when he takes her hands into his own, resisting the impulse to twine his fingers with hers as he draws them down. "Probably because if that was the plan, madamoiselle, I feel I'd already have fallen prey to those fangs of yours. Or es this the warning rattle before you strike." Offering her hands a small squeeze, he's careful to draw his own back, a rueful smile playing at his lips, "Because, as tempting as the offer of your hospitality es- " His right hand's stuffed into his pocket, the bit of bandage around it pulled inside for good measure- while his left serves as the focal distraction, gesturing between himself and Quintessa, "Well. I don't want to mar what you've worked towards."

Quintessa lets her hands return to her own body, her advances seemingly rejected. As hard as she tired she couldn't help but feel disappointed. "What I've worked towards..." Her mismatched eyes flicker away from him to gaze out of the window but she doesn't move away. "Do you think they'll care? Genocide is fine and dandy but this is where they'll draw the line?" she snickers in spite of herself. In spite of them both. "I guess it was worth a try... It'll be my last night there, y'know, since I've graduated and all. It's a shame that bed never got properly broken in." Quintessa offers Kasyr a flirtatious wink after that last remark.

Kasyr scratches at the side of his head for a moment, actually sparing a moment to seriously consider the question, "As much as their honor may feel impugned by the recent implications- it did serve as a opportunity to showcase their might et the extent of the research. The implication of improper student teacher relations though- er, that one es a bit harder to spin. Et I should know, I made a reign out of that." The Kensai pauses there, smirks, and allows himself to rock forward on his heels, " Anyways, I think you've already managed to break in a far more illustrious bedroom- et if I start here, I have a hunch you'll start to wonder if my office needs breaking in, too."

Quintessa begins to chew on her finger when she remembers Larewen's bedroom and the chewing intensifies when she imagines laying with her back on Kasyr's desk. "Oh I've thought about that already. If you'd rather head there...?" She grins before slipping his jacket off of her body and handing it back to the swordsman. "Eh, not even this can warm me from your cold shoulder," She teases, "Guess I should take the hint and head back downstairs. No doubt my handmaiden needs help with Berrentam. Beside, I need to speak to Karasu. I think she's avoiding me."

Kasyr manages a surprisingly straight face, even if his tail's being a filthy traitor and flicking about. Still, he does his best, cordially accepting his jacket back, if only to extend the crook of his arm to her, "Far be it from moi not to accompany you down, at least- Even if it's not quite where you'd rather lead me." That playfulness aside, however, the Kensai does add, "Have you talked to her since...well." His voice drops off for a moment, his expression briefly one of concern, "Because, that likely should take precedence, anyways. Et, despite how amenable I've been to getting distracted by tu- I should actually see about getting some more notes done for a lesson."

Quintessa takes his arm gracefully as they head back down together. "Yes! Let's actually be responsible for once," she leans her head against his shoulder as they walk and talk, "I haven't talked to her, no. She's taking it kinda hard, hasn't come out of her room in days, I hear. Word is they moved up the date to this ceremony to tempt her out of her room, so I should sweep in a catch her before she disappears again. We can save our sorted behavior for House Dragana. Those walls have bore witness to worse things than what we did."

Kasyr can't help the slight touch of a grin that crosses his face at her comments, "I'll have you know I'm plenty responsible. People say I'm responsible for all sorts of disasters." He can't help the chuckle, nor the simple sense of affection that passes in that moment, and makes it so easy to briefly cant his head towards hers, "But, it does sound like she needs a friend, et far more than either of us need company. Hopefully, I'll have some sort of lessons or notes that might help as a distraction, especially if tu get that errand I left you with done." The final element of what she says doesn't quite get audibly addressed, but the Kensai is doing the thing where he's suddenly very interests in the walls, and ceilings.