[Orchard]
La Noscean, it was something of a trip to make these days, no longer having a reason to come for work and living all the way in the Shroud. But Orchard still enjoyed visiting the island of Vyldbrand on occasion, feeling the fresh sea breeze on her face. The warm sun on her skin, the scent of orange groves off in the distance. It would always be a part of her she would regard as her one and true home no matter where she may actually live, and for once she was able to take it all in peacefully. No drunk father, no pressing military matters. Content just to take her time as she walked the road towards Wineport to pick up something special.
[Eligor]
And there was something special indeed to be found. Despite his somewhat out-of-character attire of a hastily fastened hair bun, a loosely fitting buttoned blouse, and a pair of patchy dark slacks, his aether was unmistakable. Instead of blood, his white gloves were stained with the lifeblood of carelessly squeezed grapes.
He made a show of wiping his brow for the miqo’te next to him, but there was not a bead of sweat to be found on his body. His hair no longer sported flecks of gray and white, and he was clearly brimming with more energy than he knew what to do with. Eligor had recovered.
He nodded his head as the woman gave him further instructions, not yet having taken notice of Orchard.
[Orchard]
It was hard to miss. In a world that seems so much more vibrant since she had come out of the surgery that particular color stood out to her clearly, at the same time though there was far less of a impulsive urge. She didn't reach for a weapon, her fists didn't clench. In fact as far as anyone looking at her was concerned she didn't even register Eli's presence, and why would she? They were two strangers doing completely different things. He was mashing grapes and she was here to buy some wine and so she continued towards the main group of buildings. Pointedly not looking in Eli's direction.
[Eligor]
Eligor continued to follow the instructions given to him, eventually wandering off to another part of the vineyard to complete the tasks given to him and falling out of sight.
[Orchard]
Orchard proceeds into a shop to find a nice bottle of wine, far from being a expert on the more sophisticated forms of alcohol she procures a bottle of what she thinks is best and leaves the store, stopping briefly to scan the area for Eligor. Seeing that he's wandered out of direct sight she doesn't waste and time in going on her way. Though she does seem overly cautious as she leaves the settlement.
[Eligor]
Fate had other plans, as he was walking down a path carrying a basket of something before turning to see Orchard, having no doubt sensed her with his focus no longer on his work. He waited a moment before approaching, half reluctant to do so at all if his expression was any indication.
“I thought you were more the type to drink tavern ale or something else cheap and plentiful. Is this an errand?”
[Orchard]
“It's a gift. You know, the thing you give to people when you appreciate them… or maybe you don't.” She replies simply. “Deciding to take up a fruitful career as a sommelier? Or did you discover that smashing grapes in a untapped source of arcane power?”
[Eligor]
“Onini likes drinking, and I have a friend that makes wine. Figured if I learned how to make it myself I could experiment and try to make something better.”
“If you have not noticed, I am not short on power anymore. I need distractions from it now.”
[Orchard]
“Oh has your flame gotten a little brighter? I could hardly tell…” She chuckles softly, looking Eli up and down with a rather smug look on her face. “I'm sure you are quite terrifying.”
[Eligor]
“Terror has nothing to do with it on my end. Despite all the trying and what should have been some kind of fate or whatever you’d like to call it…I am whole. Is this how you felt?”
[Orchard]
“Does it feel like you're seeing everything again for the first time? Do the colors seem new? I wouldn't expect you to have the sudden sensation of nothing gnawing at your insides anymore, but perhaps you feel something similar.”
[Eligor]
Eligor closed his eyes and adjusted the basket tucked under his arm, thinking.
“No, I do not feel like that, but I do feel…hesitation? How many people died so that I would not become this way? How much more can it possibly grow when I already feel this way? I feel like I can do whatever I want, and knowing that I am the only thing stopping me from doing so feels…off. Unfamiliar. There are no barriers or complications anymore. Just me. It’s both something like liberation and a prison. Maybe I just cannot describe it well enough.”
He lifts the basket, briefly showing it off.
“I seem to be growing stronger passively now rather than a pursuit of it. To remain in control of it I actively have to do other things. Keep myself busy. Not using the magic I feel bending happily at the edges of my grasp. Does that sound familiar to what you feel now, or is it something else?”
[Orchard]
“I wouldn't say I feel compelled to use magic, but perhaps that is up until now I've never had the option. Perhaps what I never had is not tempting even when I have it. I can use it, but it does not pull at me. I simply feel content… full, one might even say. Being able to simply soak in the aether and not feel so starved anymore has helped calm my nerves. It's astounding what the sensation of not starving does to level your head.”
[Eligor]
“Apparently it makes you buy gifts. Who is it for?”
[Orchard]
“An old friend of mine if you must know, though she does not prefer to say her name so I'm afraid we'll leave it at that. Perhaps you should try buying gifts sometimes, I hear it helps people like you more than trying to kill or experiment on them.”
[Eligor]
“I literally just explained that I learned how to make wine so I could produce it for someone else, perhaps if your friend's alcoholism hadn’t fried your brain you’d have retained some ability to listen.”
“What are people like me anyway? Forget that we are related already?”
[Orchard]
“It's not alcoholism you dolt. She's a doctor from Sharlayan.” “We're hardly alike, not as much as you would like to believe.”
[Eligor]
“Where’s all this aggression even coming from? You’d think I actually did something to you, and it seems more than a little unwarranted given that you very recently went out of your way to prove that we are, in fact, alike.”
“I just spent all of my morning submerged in fruity liquids so unless the prospect of my learning something new offends you, you should get to what’s actually bothering you. Or just carry on somewhere else I suppose. Not really in the mood to coax it out of you.”
[Orchard]
Orchard closes her eyes and exhales through her nose. “I'm just… in a particular mood, and seeing you is making some feelings bubble up inside of me.” She sighs. “It's not you're fault, and I'm not mad at you I'm just… having to process them and it's making me come off as bothered. I'm not going to start trying to start a fight with you if that helps put you at ease any.” She looks off to the side. “You've felt something similar before, I just feel a bit awkward saying it out loud.”
[Eligor]
“Alright, so what—you want me to stay away from you now? Because it’s going to be difficult to just intuitively guess when being around me is going to make you want to rip me in half or something.”
He exhales slowly.
“Maybe it would be better for you to be around Yami. You two might actually like each other.”
[Orchard]
“I told you it’s not that I’m mad at you, I don’t want to get in a fight. It’s just that being around you makes me feel some things that I don’t think I’m ready to process yet…”
[Eligor]
“I doubt it’s any worse than everything else that’s already happened unless the surgery is failing out of nowhere post recovery. Just tell me what’s going on.”
[Orchard]
“The problem is we are related by blood, I’m married and I know me and Langston have an arrangement but, I still feel… a draw to you. Like you said you did to me… and I feel repulsed by the fact that it’s there, but the fact is… it’s there.”
[Eligor]
“I’m not repulsed by it because it has no basis in logic to begin with. I tried at being productive about the issue, but it's not like the phenomena is replicated with any other blood relatives. For example I have been around Yami more than enough to identify whether or not it's a thing with her. It is not. Instead, I think it is indeed what you wanted to deny earlier–the notion that we are alike that is the largest contributing factor. We are similar, but I've no love of my reflection, so perhaps it is the small ways in which we are different that is causing the issue? Or else….”
He trails off.
“…Ultimately there are a number of reasons it could be causing the problem, but the thing is that we have identified it as a problem in the first place. I did not even really have a solid concept of blood relatives until a few years ago, so I'm not going to pretend I find what is essentially a curiosity gross. I'm just aware and choosing not to act upon it. Trying to ignore it only made it worse for me so I assume something similar is going on with you.”
[Orchard]
“So you want me to not ignore it? Just come to terms with the implications or do you mean something more, because you know I still have others to think about. I can't be so flippant as to just run off for a night with you without that causing some serious problems. And you and I both have had our fill of those sort of problems at least.”
[Eligor]
“I said there is no point in ignoring it, not that we should run off and do anything. Pretending a wound is not there does not stop it from bleeding, and this case it has already caught infection. I’m saying to absolutely cling to exactly what made you ready to kill me not so long ago. Your family is far more important to you than anything you will ever feel for me. I also am not going to throw away my daughter’s mother just to please my curiosity. Frankly, it’s not worth it for either of us with a half moment of foresight and reflection. But if you’d prefer we simply push it down and never speak of it at all I'd wager it’s akin to arming a bomb without a timer.”
“Does that make sense?”
[Orchard]
Orchard sighs and closes her eyes, rubbing the bridge of her nose for a few moments. “Okay so we can agree not to fuck each other, and just have to… what? Admit that we are attracted to one another and just hope that acknowledging it will be enough for it not to fester into something more… troublesome?”
[Eligor]
“I’m attracted to plenty of people I manage not to bed because I decided not to, is this not the case for you as well? I simply do not think it’s as big a deal if we do not dwell too hard upon it.”
[Orchard]
She exhales through her nose again. “Alright, so yes I guess I do find you attractive. There we go, all out in the open. Now we can continue on our way yes? No other complications need to be made, right?”
[Eligor]
“Not that I can think of, no. Do you like hunting?”
[Orchard]
“Of course, it's pretty relaxing having a chance to chase something down without having to worry about any complications.”
[Eligor]
“Then lets do that sometime soon. For now, I'll just go get Onini her wine.”
He pauses for a moment, shifting awkwardly before opening his arms.
“I do not hug often, but you can have one if you want. We can make sure this will not be a problem.”
[Orchard]
“… Ah… fine, might as well humor you while you're in good spirits.” Orchard says as she puts down her wine bottle and proceeds to grab Eli in a bear hug, lifting him up off the ground and giving him a tight squeeze.
[Eligor]
Eligor grunts but doesn't complain, realizing that he asked for this by not thinking it through all the way.
“Just remember that you do not need to feel alone. Just tell me when you want to hunt.”
[Orchard]
“Where do you normally hunt anyways… and uh… what exactly do you hunt? We aren't going to be chasing down random people are we?”
[Eligor]
“I haven't been hunting directly really since before the snow came to Coerthas. I'm not really sure what to hunt now.”
He looked down at her.
“…Gonna put me down?”
[Orchard]
Orchard sets Eli down, releasing him from her vice grip. “I suppose we can figure out something together then… something big!”
[Eligor]
“Sure, that sounds like the Steppe then. Plenty of big things around there. Unless you want more meaningful hunts.”
[Orchard]
“What do you mean by more ‘meaningful’? I’m trying not to kill people for sport, especially since I don’t even need to eat them anymore.”
[Eligor]
“Criminals did not stop existing just because your urges did. They are usually more amusing, and you can pretend it's for the greater good or whatever else you need to justify it. Still fun.”
[Orchard]
“Hmm, that’s a fair point. Aye, I’d be game for chasing a few pieces of scum about.”
[Eligor]
“Then that will do. Let me know when you want it.”
With that he disappears into smoke with his items, disappearing.
[Orchard]
“A goodbye would have worked too…”
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