RP:The Past, the Present, the Future

Summary: Meri learns about Rumiko’s history with Kasyr and how it may or may not affect current happenings with the Syndicate of Shadows. The two women also chat briefly on Meri’s future with Magik.

The Syndicate Grand Council Hall

Rumiko couldn't remember how long she'd lingered within the Hall. Carefully placed feet left her footfalls silent as the surrounding room, and green eyes moved over each of the decoration and runes as if seeing them for the first time. In truth, she sort of was. The meeting was the longest she'd been within the Hall, and she'd been too focused on... other things, to really take in the subtle magics that lined the walls and walkways. The fairy lights were a nice touch, and she'd reach out to tap at one with her end of her finger to test the temperature of the spell. She would have to find the creator and see if they would be willing to teach her. The softer lights would work well at the castle, much better than the flames that continued to extinguish too swiftly. Her right hand rose to twirl one of the stones hanging from her neck, the citrine on the longer chain that she often used as a worry stone when lost within her own head. Eventually she wandered closer to the bar, and a tap upon the counter would have the barkeep supplying her with a stem of red wine.

Meri’s appearance within the Hall was a silent one for the lift that is powered by Quintessa’s enchantments via runes was not a noisy one. Rumiko might hear a soft tap of the heavy slab connecting with the ground floor but Meri would be sure to make her presence known to the nymph soon enough. She was never the shy sort, as Rumiko has likely come to learn. Still, her approach of the red head was not instantaneous, she’d watch the Lyastri woman observe the fairy lights and then move to the recently upgraded bar. The blonde saunters up to the bar, coming to stand beside the shorter woman. While Rumiko orders her wine, Meri orders her preferred drink of whiskey. While the two women wait for the barkeep to grab a short glass for Meri’s whiskey and a wine glass for Rumiko, along with the appropriate bottles to fill each glass, the blonde greets the Lyastri woman with an easy curve of her red lips. “Surprised to see you down here,” Meri quips, if only because Rumiko seemed to be the sort to keep to her own business. “How have you been since the last time I saw you?” The last time Meri saw Rumi being the meeting that was held not too long ago, which was something she was hoping to speak to the other woman about. Yet Meri is trying to have a bit more tact with these conversations, it was probably not a good idea to dive straight into Meri’s concern over how Rumiko was reacting to certain members. Best to wait for their respective drinks along while getting through the typical ‘hey, how are you’ small talk.

Rumiko was used to silence; total and absolute. Her wing of the castle was not one many ventured down, if only because of that very privacy that Meri had picked up on. The sound of the slab landing alerted the nymph of another, but it was that mark she'd left upon the blond that told her the 'who' of it before Meri came into view. Rumi offered her own half smile in silent greeting as she waited for her beverage. "Attempting to give you and my brother some privacy." Which explained the why of her presence. That, and she only went home when she was needed, at least lately. "I am as well as one can be, I suppose." A tilt of her head sent crimson locks spilling over her shoulder and into her face. "And you?" The druid was under no illusion that her expression of angst and worry during the meeting had gone unnoticed, though she wasn't often questioned for her feelings. She would play the part of ignorant to the deeper meaning of the question. When their glasses arrived, thin fingers wrapped around a thinner flute to pull the red up towards unpainted lips.

Meri offers a wink to the barkeep as thanks for fetching the two of them their drinks, but no payment. That was not needed in this space; anything the clan members consumed while in this space was on the house. Meri maintains a smile when Rumiko explains that she has been trying to give both she and Magik some space but that smile only remains for so long. “Appreciated, but not really necessary. I am sure Magikrios has opened his home to you for a reason, you are family after all. Besides, he has been busy as of late. Don’t quote me on it, but I think now that the Mage’s Tower has been reclaimed he has been helping to make repairs to the meditation center?” The blonde can only offer a shrug on this part, showing that she wasn’t entirely too confident on what Magik’s days were spent doing since the battle. “Point being, your presence out there is welcome.” The blonde gives her glass of whiskey a light swirl before it is lifted to her own lips, sipping slowly from it. “Anyway, I am doing fine. Trying to keep busy myself, which is not too hard to do given that I have a daughter to raise and a gallery to try and keep filled with paintings. Plus the occasional tattoo request, it seems that the public won’t fully let me retire from that profession. I suppose I should be flattered, since it means they appreciate my work.” A faint smirk that is stifled as Meri presses her glass to her red lips for another sip of that whiskey. “Back to you though...I am curious to know about your history with some of our members. It seemed to me that you had a pretty strong reaction to the presence of one particular individual during our little get together. Is everything alright…?”

Rumiko dipped her head, "He did, yes. But I am also aware he isn't the happiest with me currently." The nymph had gotten them into a spot of trouble, and though she was happy to see the lycan standing on her own two feet, there was still that nagging in the back of her mind that, had things gone a different way, had another Order member arrived... Meri might not be here now. "I have been keeping myself occupied though, so worry not. I do not feel displaced." Anymore than she always did, anyway, but that part she left unspoken. "I did not know you did skin art as well. You are quite talented." Rumi knew a couple of tattoo artists, but none of them had their own galleries as well. The glass was brought back up to her lips and nearly choked on it's contents for the question asked. She should have known it would come up at some point. "Ah, that is yet to be seen. Though I recognized the hunter, he did not seem to recognize the prey." Her stem was placed upon the bar-top, and a heeled foot hooked around the leg of a seat so she might climb into it. "I do not know how much Magik remembers of my youth here, but I ran with a very... bad crowd." She didn't want to offer more details than she had to, for fear of marring her image. "It landed me in all sorts of trouble. One of the members at the meeting the other night had been charged with... eliminating me and mine." Rumiko wasn't sure how many Kasyr had managed to take out, and she wasn't about to ask him. "He murdered my partner, right in front of me."

Meri can only address the point that Magik was unhappy with Rumiko with a shrug. The two in truth had not spoken much of Rumiko and Meri nosing into a battle that the elder Lyastri tried to convince Meri was not her’s to fight in. Meri was -pretty- sure that Magik was over any upset but she was not about to speak on his behalf. Hopefully the two siblings would come to their own understanding soon. A soft smile was given in light of Rumiko’s compliment but Meri does not dwell on the topic of her various forms of art. The blonde instead focuses on Rumiko’s account of her past with Kasyr, half wishing Magik was here to weigh in on the situation. It seemed very complicated and Meri could not fault Rumiko for any uneasiness she was feeling around Kasyr. Meri could not even begin to imagine how it must feel to have to be in the presence of the man who murdered her partner. The tone of Meri’s voice is measured but gentle as she presses this topic a bit further. “No, I don’t think reminding him of your shared history would be the best approach….” Red lips are pressed together. “But if he has forgotten and comes to the realization later...do you think that it would be an issue…? Would he want to make good on his previous task?” Meri crinkles her nose up at just a bit as she continues to mull over these details. “And if you two end up working together on the same tasks in the future? Side by side? Is that...a situation you would prefer to avoid as much as possible?” This does not feel like one of those ‘ let bygones be bygones’ scenario, Meri herself would not be able to let such a thing go easily. She’d hold a grudge, probably for life.

Rumiko's shoulders rose and fell, her shrug all she could really offer as she mulled over the questions asked. Could she work with him? It had been a very long time, and the nymph had changed and grown quite a bit since then. Mayhap Kasyr had too? "I think it is a bit too soon to tell, in any of those scenarios." Rumi was no longer the child she had been, willing to talk the talk and hide behind bigger forces rather than deal with her consequences. She had grown not only mentally, but magically as well. It was very likely she could defend herself now, where she wouldn't have been able to before. "I do not think it wise to place us side by side and alone, for the time being." She frowned slightly then, "Not only because of his reaction, but knowing he is here now, I cannot say a mood will not strike." She could not promise that she could be peaceful at all times either. "He looked at me once that night, and I did not see recognition. It s possible I am overly cautious for no reason."

Meri meets Rumiko’s answer with an even-keeled nod. It was a complicated situation, “I suppose that we do not have to have all of the answers to these questions at this exact moment. It is perfectly understandable if it is too soon to tell.” Meri drains her glass of whiskey but rather than waiting for the tender to refill it for her, the blonde just reaches across the counter and grabs the whiskey bottle. The cork is removed and the tumbler is refilled with about an inch of whiskey. Just an extra little something while the two women converse, the blonde was not really looking to return home to her daughter entirely sloshed. Besides, there was always plenty of whiskey stocked at Magik’s home. The drinking could just continue there once her young one is put to bed for the night, if Meri so felt the urge. “But I hope that you will at least feel comfortable with coming to me once you find some more answers to these questions. I don’t know Kasyr very well, but I am hoping that one day I will count you as my sister-in-law.” A title that Meri is hoping that Rumiko will get to keep for a very long time, a second divorce is not something Meri is really wanting to go through any time soon. “I may not always be the most moraled woman, but I do my best to look after my family. I don’t want to see you hurt because of any poor decisions made in the name of our little group.” Meri motions around the surrounding Hall to signal which group she speaks of. “So if you do ever find that you have to work with Kasyr for some reason? I want you to know that you can count me in. I will go and back you up.” If not Meri, then surely Mahri will too.

Rumiko wasn't completely sure Mahri even knew of her past with Kasyr. The two hadn't spoken of anything in the meeting after they'd wandered off, but then again, her bonded sister was never one to pry into personal affairs. "I will be sure to keep that in mind." Having Meri there would make her feel better, if only because she had seen the psion in action. A smirk split the woman's face then, and she decided she was finished talking about her past and was more keen to know more about the other woman's future. "Have you two spoken any more on that?" Not that she was planning to rush them. "It occurred to me the other day that, being he is bonded, will he try to do the same with you? Or can he even, with the wolf already within you?" Rumiko hadn't met a whole lot of Lyastri in her life, but she dis not remember any of them being lycan.

Meri does not see the need to push the subject of Kasyr any further, not since Rumiko explained that they would likely need to wait to see how this story unfolds further. The redhead shifts the subject back to Meri’s relationship with Magik which has Meri turning her blue eyes down to the whiskey in front of her. Maybe she should have filled it just a bit more than she did, for Meri was tempted to drain the cup. “In truth we have not actually had any in depth conversations about our future. Most of the talking that we have done is usually done in the form of jokes. Which is probably my fault. When we first started our relationship, I was still sore about my recent divorce and if I felt like the tone was getting too serious, then I would get a little squirrely. Luckily for me he was pretty patient in that regard and understanding of my behavior. We’re basically living together, Fleur has been set up with her own room, so I think he was probably serious even though he was ‘joking’?” The blonde shrugs, relationships were complicated. “We’ve never made any jokes about bonding, though. I’m not entirely sure how it would work, since I was bitten. Would it break the curse of lycanthropy if I was bonded? That might not be a good thing. I’d be human again if it did break the curse? And he’s an elf. I would grow old and gray long before him. I might have some rage issues as a lycan, but there are some serious perks to this curse.” Meri makes a cross-eyed expression as she heaves a deep sigh, only to drain her whiskey in one deep drink before finally saying. “In the end, it’s probably better I do not think about it too much right now. No sense in getting ahead of myself. He hasn’t put a ring on it yet. Something about not counting chickens before they hatch…” People fall out of love all the time.

Rumiko knew a fair amount about lycanthropy, given her best friend was one. The bond however, was an unknown, and because of such the nymph would refrain from speaking on it in too much depth. "Should it free you of the curse, there are ways to retrigger it." None that would be pleasant. "Magik might know more about that though. I am sure you will both speak of it in time." Rumi's head tilted to the side then, her gaze finding the tattooed woman and studying her for a moment longer before speaking once again. "My husband and I...um, well..." She twirled the black and crimson ring on her finger as she tried to navigate what she wanted to say. "When he and I first met, we were complete opposites. He was strong, confident and knew exactly what he wanted in life, and exactly how he was going to get it. I was still a child, struggling to be seen. I was constantly in trouble and hunted, ran with the wrong crowd." She shifted in her stance, fingers curling around the stem of wine that she'd gone too long without drinking. "Eventually I was captured, and placed in servitude." If Meri had noticed the redhead squirm at the mention of slavery during their clan meeting, she would now understand why. "I was passed around and traded like an object. Like I didn't matter. Until I was gifted to Diiroehn. He didn't have much use for a slave, so he freed me with the agreement that I would aid in his cause. Of course I agreed, if only because it took the collar off my throat, but things slowly began to change." A swirl of her glass captured her attention for the briefest of moments before the liquid was brought to her lips and downed completely.

"Slowly, after years of working beside him I found myself -wanting- to do things to help him, out of desire, not duty. I was blind to my feelings for a long time, until I realized I was shunning eligible pursuers in favor of staying in the cathedral I called home just in case he needed me. I never expected my feelings to be returned. Many had tried to gain his affection and failed, but I chose my path knowing that." Her gaze was downcast, green eyes watching the last few droplets that hadn't left the glass. "It was the first day of winter, I remember it like I was yesterday. I was gathering herbs with another of the acolytes when he kissed me. It was completely out of the blue and I froze rather than react. I explained that I was not interested and we parted amicably as I returned to the citadel to store our find. Diiroehn was waiting for me as soon as I shut the door. He was furious, the inside of the throne room had been thrashed; pews and stained glass littered the floor." Rumiko paused just long though for the barkeep to refill her flute, a heeled foot hooking the leg of a stool so she might climb upon it. "He screamed at me about betrayal, of turning my back on him and I was so confused. I'm not sure how he realized I had no idea what he was talking about, but he told me he needed to remove the filth, and then kissed me." Once more her right hand moved to twist the ring upon her left hand, her gaze lifting to return to her companion with a sheepish grin. "What I mean to say is, if it is meant to be, it will be. Despite the jokes, you both remind me a lot of what Diir and I had. I do not think you need to worry about chickens."

While Meri wants to learn about Rumiko’s past, as the two were basically family at this point in time, the blonde’s gut could not help but twist into knots when she listens to these details. Meri was not usually one to pass judgement based on someone’s past but the blonde could not help but feel for the redhead when Meri learns that at one point in Rumiko’s life, she was a slave. The frown that crosses Meri’s lips is testimony of her open dislike for anyone being used in such a way. At least Rumiko was freed though, but Meri knew this story did not have a happy ending. They had already spoken of Kasyr’s involvement in her husband’s death. When Rumiko finishes explaining the ups and downs of her life, Meri places a hand on the nymph’s shoulder and gives it a squeeze. It was Meri’s attempt to offer comfort, especially since she was not usually the sort to get all huggy. “Thank you for sharing,” Meri says, “I know from experience that it can be tough to open up. It can be easy to talk about the good times. But the rough times?” Meri kept those bottled up tight. “I promise though, when and if your brother and I get to talking about these big decisions? I will do my best to make you one of the first to know.” If not the first, but there was so much foot traffic through Magik’s treehouse that Meri did not want to make promises. “Speaking of your brother...I am thinking it is about time for me to wander back to the treehouse to see if he is home yet. Plus Mirshann probably would not mind being relieved from her duties of watching my spawn.” Fleur. “Drop on by soon though, yeah?” Once Rumiko had a chance to say her own goodbyes, Meri would slink on over to the runic lift so that she could start the walk home.