Play With Fire

[Hira Mitsae]

CITY OF IFRADEL​

[member="Alaysia Vacaryn"]​

​

The wind was manageable at this time a day in the City of Ifradel.

The previous day there had been rain and it cleared out the skies. The downpour causing a sensation of purity flushing through the air, until even the most sourly of sentients could walk through the streets and think to themselves: yes, today is a fine day. Even if they would never truly admit it outloud. Little did anyone expect that this was the exact day that things would turn a measure or two more complicated for their very own princess.

Alaysia of House Vacaryn.

She was presumably just putzing about in her garden on top of one of the spires. The air was fresher here, the water more pure and it was a haven of sorts.

Allowing her to see out over the city.

A modicum of peace, because who would ever find their way to here without permission?

Nothing presided the sudden rip of green emerald light that illuminated the grounds of her garden. No sound or lightning. Just a sudden burst of light and then from one moment to the next? A man stood at the edge of the building. He blinked. Twice. Looking around a bit, before realizing how close he was to that edge.

A quick step back gave him some space.

"Bredren, ya wan' me to tip over an' fall? Dem's not be da place to jump out of, eh?" Moment of silence as Julian took in the sights. The skyline, the city below. Then turning around to see the girl. Head tilted. "Shadowman, dis not Teta. Where be we?"

There wasn't anyone else besides the two of them, so he must be talking to her, right?

Noooo.

 

[Alaysia Vacaryn]

Confacta, The City of Ifradel, The Opaline Palace, Alaysia's Private Quarters, Undetermined Time
Sunfall | Interacting with [member="Julian Imani"] ~ Stronger Than Ever ~ "Hate me when I'm gone, I'll make it worth your while when I'm successful."
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Today was supposed to be her day off.

Supposed to be.

[member=Rosh Loran], the styled 'protector' of her life and station, had been nowhere to be found (She wasn't sure if that reassured her, or worried here -- Questions to be asked later) so, in the style she often did, Alaysia had left the Triumvirate's wheeling and dealing with outsiders to [member="Dainivhir Valeport"] & [member=Eshre], her cohorts in ruling this strange dark planet. Selfish? Yes. Necessary? Oh, yes. That meant she had some time to herself, which more often than not led her to the secretive tower located within Ifradel's Opaline Palace.

It was meant to be a secret, at least. Not just a regular secret, no, a military secret. Maze blooms needed a place to stay in between leaving Necropolis and being loaded onto Triumvirate exploratory vessels to continue charting efforts in the Unknown Regions, and one of those places was this particular spire.

Maze flowers normally disliked sunlight, but these would be fine for a time in the harmful rays for soon enough someone would come to collect them. Feeling their lure through their emitted pheromones that the flowers so often used to tempt wild animals into consuming, dying from, and ultimately housing them, Alaysia ran her finger along a soft black petal; and got the scare of her life in response.

She'd never been permitted to smoke Maze. Ifradeli frailty meant she could succumb to the side effects too easily, leave her people with no leader. But by the Banded Forge, she would have sworn up and down that she was higher than high upon seeing a man appear on her balcony. Just-- Just appear. A flash of green and Alaysia found herself illuminated too in shock at the sight. It was common knowledge-- At least on this world --That Ifradeli were bioluminescent. Hers often flared up in moments of high stress, and her skin was sheened green and her freckles glowing with enough light to be close to rivalling the portal flash as her heart hammered away in stress, staring incredulously.

Basic. That was Basic, wasn't it? Oh, on the veil... Was this some sort of joke? Alaysia remained frozen in place by a flower, eyes alight with the glow too now as she stared like some freaky sentient lightstick, only barking out one awkward word in the language she didn't know much of.

"Who?"

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Alaysia Vacaryn"]

"Lady la, wait be ya turn, ya?"

A finger pointed at her to shush her back up, if she started talking after that.

"Naw, naw, why you not listenin' to da words comin' outta mah mouth, bredren? Teta, dis ain't even in da same system!" That was about the moment that Alaysia began changing the colors of her skin at the tune of her emotions. Julian blinked. Tilted his head. Then completely forgot about his current predicament. He almost glided over towards the princess.

Stopped a few steps in front of her.

"Da line ended with ya... shackled one, I see you." Hand extended for a shake. "Name for a name, eh? Bargain, terms be fair, I promise dis."

The smile he flashed her was relaxed and free.

Everything she was not.

 

[Alaysia Vacaryn]

Confacta, The City of Ifradel, The Opaline Palace, Alaysia's Private Quarters, Undetermined Time
Chains | Interacting with [member="Julian Imani"] ~ Stronger Than Ever ~ "But when I'm here I need your kindness cause the climb is always stressful."
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You know, maybe Loran had been right. Maybe opening up Confracta to the outside galaxy had been a bad, terrible, no-good idea.

Because, presumably, that had some part to play in the fact a stranger had teleported onto a balcony most couldn't even see.

His accent perplexed her, the words spoken absolutely not helping with that either. Teta? What was Teta? Who was he speaking to? Were they named Teta? There was nobody except her and this stranger; at least, those visible. Alaysia's literally glimmering eyes swept the palisade nervously, weight shifting, ready to start a fuss; no doubt someone would coming running at a cry of distress. But before that plan could be enacted the stranger with a strange voice was roaming over to her, words bouncing around in her head before she started a reply, "Alaysia." She knew at least what names meant, and, seeing as this person seemed exceptionally lost, decided to obscure the bit about her title for now. She didn't want to start too much of a panic, here, after all, if he was just as lost as she felt in the moment. What had he called her... Shackled. That felt hollowly true.

"Human?" She remarked shortly, eyes narrowed; meeting Humans had proved interesting, and this man certainly looked like one. They didn't glow like her people, weren't winged like Illasians, or as greedy as Cerevessians. Just... Plain. A little boring. Unfinished books, they were. A heartbeat, before another question, asked a little abruptly "How did you--" A pause, her hand slid into his as he offered the handshake, an unorthodox and unfamiliar greeting to her as it was clear she took that breather to put words together, "--Come?"

The precious flower next to the High Princess was forgotten, for now.

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Alaysia Vacaryn"]

No one had ever described or referred to Julian as boring.

Probably a first there.

"Alaysia." Repeating the name once and then again. Ostensibly to learn it, but also to associate his voice with things she might think comforting. Most people believed their names to be that. Maybe they would reconsider if they knew how much power lay behind it. "I be Julian. Hm." The skin was still glowing as we're her eyes.

Head tilted again now that the proximity gave more detail.

His hand was already reaching out to brush her cheek as he leaned in. "Radiant skin, fair eyes glowing, shackled ya spirit is, ya ya, but ya eyes look to freedom."

Almost hushed his voice. As if he was sharing a secret.

"Come?" Eyes confused for a moment before lighting up again. Ah. "Dems truth is difficult. Ya belief strained at ya lack of want."

A shrug.

"Secret for secret. Da bargain I love best. Where am I, Radiant Eyes?"

 

[Alaysia Vacaryn]

Confacta, The City of Ifradel, The Opaline Palace, Alaysia's Private Quarters, Undetermined Time
Ropes | Interacting with [member="Julian Imani"] ~ Stronger Than Ever ~ "Clumsily gasp myself by thinking I'll be better off alone."
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"Huh?" Her freckles turned even greener as his hand moved to touch and the Princess instinctively leaned away but still allowed a touch if it came, more like a head-shy animal than a sentient being in response. There was a new frown across her face as she spoke, "Confracta." The way she said the word made it sound like a different language completely, which it was; A planet recently discovered, and even then, it's not like it was publicly advertised as being the new hip destination. It was all too likely he had no idea what she meant by that, so she followed it up with, "You call it Unknown Regions. I call it home. Very edge of galactic plane."

Radiant Eyes? Oh, the bioluminescence. She had no control over the way she glowed when under duress, even when darkness crept along or she entered shadows her biology responded to 'climatize' her. A good tactic for when you lived in darkness your whole life anyhow; bad for when you needed to hide from predators. No wonder her species was generally considered the weakest of three.

His words served only to confuse and steer the young Force Sensitive, but she persisted in her questioning, "How did you come from light?" Obviously, referencing the portaling. Her eyes narrowed then, and once again not exactly obeying the rules set forth by Julian moments earlier, she demanded, "What is Teta?"

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Alaysia Vacaryn"]

He paused his gesture.

Looked her in the eyes.

Then continued, until his knuckles softly brushed her jaw and cheek. Careful. Almost as if it was made out of a dream and Jul didn't want to shatter it. It was interesting to him. He had seen much in the Netherworld, but he had never seen one such as Alaysia before. It might have surprised him to hear that there was an entire people of her out there on this planet.

Disappointing maybe too.

That she wasn't as special as he thought right in this moment. "Confracta..." Julian murmured slowly. Stretching out the syllables in all the wrong ways to fit his own strange accent and garble of language.

Her first question came.

He was about to answer. Bargain done, was bargain made.... always. But then she followed it up with another question. That made him chuckle. Relaxed. His finger rose up, one digit, waving from left to right in the universal sign of: 'oh, no, not like that honey'. "Naw, Shackle, question for question. Ya dun' get two in a row." Then- he bopped her on the nose.

Maybe that is when she would notice just how close they were standing to one another.

Julian in relaxed comfort. Enough that their toes touched. His hand still holding hers. "Whitcha way ya go? Teta or Light. One answer, eh? Need da secret for da other, yah?"

It didn't seem like he was stepping back on his own account.

 

[Alaysia Vacaryn]

Confacta, The City of Ifradel, The Opaline Palace, Alaysia's Private Quarters, Undetermined Time
Burdens | Interacting with [member="Julian Imani"] ~ Stronger Than Ever ~ "I'll leave my peace in pieces all around the decent people back at home."
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He was acting far too familiar with her for her tastes.

Few ever invaded Alaysia's personal space quite like this. Everyone she had known had, well, known her first. Heard of her. Knew what to do when presented with her. Nobody ever so casually touched her like this. Few that she didn't permit to, anyhow, and she certainly hadn't permitted Julian to. That was written plainly all over her still-glowing face. The glow almost 'blinked' brighter when he boped her on the nose like some affectionate owner to a pet who had performed mischievously. It clearly led to a certain level of uncomfortableness, but she seemed unwilling to get hostile and end it, too. There were too many questions to ask, forced to divine on how he had managed to appear in a place only a few in Triumvirate leadership knew existed within the castle.

But, in the end, it came down to the choice he presented. To learn about something called Teta... Or the strange light that had led to his appearance.

For her, it was a no-brainer, "Light." She stated definitively. Her upper body leaned back a little then, to try and create some well-needed space between them at last. Her breath smelled faintly of something exotic and sweet, eyes somehow radiant and dim at once as they struggled to remain focused on him. It wasn't as though she couldn't; more that she wouldn't.

Then came the most telltale thing to occur in this chance meeting. Alaysia finally moved, if only to shift weight and side-step a little awkwardly -- considering how he held her in a grasp. The movement was just enough to hide the previously-visible dark flower behind her from Julian's view. Inadvertently, drawing attention to it as well, but, it had been a quick reaction, an afterthought to the remembrance of where exactly they were.

Military envoys would be here any moment to collect them for journeys to space. To see an outsider here among the Maze would be exceptionally hard for her to explain away, especially one with the quirks that he seemed to have.

Oh, why is it always me?

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Alaysia Vacaryn"]

It was clear that she was uncomfortable.

If this had been a flirtation Julian would have stepped back a bit and let her breathe. That wasn't the point of the exercise here. Clearly this one was someone of import in this society of hers. Confracta. The Unknown Regions. "Da Unknown Regions, Shadowman, how ya explain dat one, eh?" He finally called out over his shoulder. As far as Alaysia was concerned there still wasn't anyone there.

"Da light...."

Fun way to describe that one though.

His hand went from stroking her cheek to stroking the line of her jaw. The entire purpose was to put her on edge, make her uncomfortable and pushing against her boundaries.

"Ya ever thought about death, miss Shackle? Where ya be goin' when all ends?"