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Re: Inspiration in strange places

Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 11:22 am
by Tigress
He smiled a little roguishly and tossed a look out towards the storming seas. They spoke true to the turmoil he felt inside now that this easy presence with the mare he'd always admired had turned to something more serious and intense. It wasn't that he missed that comfortable friendship between them, it was more he assumed she would grow tired of this new and exciting game, and he would then miss this feeling. "I'm hoping this will be another one of my 'attractive qualities' as you say." A grin was given towards the mare, standing like some great iron tower in the wind. Her strength was admirable, and he always felt insignificant next to her.

She seemed to be so intent on making him accept her kind words, and he didn't have the heart to explain why he couldn't believe them. It wasn't her, it was him. There were just certain things in life he'd come to accept, make peace with. Being bullied when he was young, well, it had taken a while but it all came together at some point. He would just forever be on a different level than most other Serians. He had words and books and reason, and sometimes it seemed like he'd sacrificed emotion and personality for the opportunity. Physically he was slender as a mare, not bulky and large like most stallions he'd ever met. She seemed like the kind of mare who needed a large warrior by her side, and this he could not be, thus her compliments were simply ways of dragging him along. But it didn't matter, he'd have followed her a willing slave, regardless.

"Unfortunately you do not seem the Juliet type. But then again, I would put your life far above mine, and I would never let you sacrifice it, so perhaps it is a fortunate thing after all." His smile was somewhat tender for whatever personal reason, his eyes downcast before they flicked up to try and capture her gaze again. "But you could be Athena, and I could be but a face in the crowd to admire you. That would suit better, I think." He laughed to take the self-resenting edge off his words, he didn't want to appear any more pathetic than he felt with the knowledge that floated through his mind.

As good as this was, this was all that would ever be for him. Being hopelessly strung along by strong and beautiful Serians that just craved the attention of a lesser being. No, that wasn't right, there probably wouldn't be anyone else. He would simply follow her around for these few meetings to give him some kind of strange hope.

Re: Inspiration in strange places

Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 8:28 pm
by Silverdust
She tilted his head at him, the sudden roguish, wanton charm that flashed in his eyes. "Perhaps."

It was a little strange, this subtle change in the tone of their exchange. Web had taught her to be observant of such things, but she still couldn't quite place why. It was almost like he was surrendering, but to what? Was there something beneath their words that had been a game, a battle? Did he think that she was playing with him? She cursed, mentally. It wasn't supposed to turn out like this. She had wanted to be honest, straightforward for once, especially for his sake. Perhaps she had lived too long in the shadow and deceptions of her Mistress's world, that they would stain her forever.

His words though, they were weighted with so much belief they might as well be truth. Elegant turns of phrase like the florid prose of old romances, but grounded by the stallion's innate honesty. And here she was, with nothing to give him in return. She wanted to, truly she wished she could for once drop her acts, but she didn't know how - and for now, scared to try.

"Athena is the goddess of wisdom," she replied, slowly, catching the tenderness in his glance. It sent a vague ache through her. "I...would not want to be worshipped, nor sacrificed for. I would not have someone die for me."

Especially not someone like this artist, someone who would be wasted on her. She kept her gaze steady, on his eyes and nothing else, ignoring his self-depecrating laughter, the doubt that riddled his voice. If nothing else, she wanted him to know that whatever game he though she was playing, it was going to end. "Make of me Persephone, if you must. A goddess without worshippers, whose name is never said. No one dies for her."

Re: Inspiration in strange places

Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 9:00 pm
by Tigress
Couldn't she see how he paled in comparison to her? Any sacrifice he made for her would be willing, just to let her know how he really felt. "Also a goddess of war. Far better known for playing mediator and planner, intelligence is as much a weapon as anything." He let his cool gaze try to connect with hers, contemplating how much to let her know. He didn't want to admit that she intimidated him and inspired so much awe in him at the same time, less she realize she was far better and tire of his presence. At the same time, he didn't want to hear her protest, it wasn't fitting, she should realize these things by now and he wondered why it wasn't so.

"But to die for you would be an honourable death, it would not fit a woman without worshippers. I would fall victim into any trap laid if it proved my words, because they say actions speak louder." He smiled a bit ruefully and didn't break contact with the mesmerizing gaze she held. "Besides, Persephone is too tragic, trapped, controlled. I don't think any temptation could coax you, nor could you be forced." He sighed then, the sound delicate this time with a certain admiration and longing. Maybe it had been love at first sight, because he couldn't remember when he had ever not felt like this. Only now was it starting to drive him slowly mad.

"Do you toy with me? I can't fathom how you find me of interest." He looked at her now with a sense of honesty in his expression, truly wishing for some explanation that made sense. He had just set her up on a pedestal so long ago and now he was just used to looking up at her, never knowing how to get up to be her equal.

"I've never honestly been good with words, I just use what comes naturally for me, things that have been practiced. But I can never truly expressed myself, at least not to you. I can only tell you how I see you, but not how it makes me feel. Do you know how this feels? It is... perplexing." His brow furrowed in thought as he went along, grasping for an explanation that normally came with practiced ease.

Re: Inspiration in strange places

Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 10:55 pm
by Silverdust
She took in his words in silence. She knew that there was a depth to his words, a confession. She knew the weight of the strangled feeling in his throat. She knew, she knew, she knew. And if anything at all, she wanted so badly to believe that she was worth it. But why? It always came down to the why. The thought that when he found out all the sordid little twists in her, there would be nothing left. She didn't want to lose him, this tentative tangle they had...but really, she didn't want him to lose himself.

She wondered if that's what it meant to really care about someone.

"I know," she answered, simply. "Sometimes there aren't words. And sometimes the right ones just aren't meant to be found. But I know what you mean, you don't have to say it."

Honesty stripped her words plain and bare, and she found herself a little ashamed she couldn't sound half as cultured as he. But this way, she felt there was no pretense. "I'm not playing games, Spindle. If I was bored I would've left without a word, like the graceless thing I am. But I am still here because, however deluded your perception of me is, you're not lying when you say all these things. I stay because I like you, and that's all there is to it."

Very blunt, and she didn't bat an eye, blush or stutter, befitting of the goddess he saw in her, but that she would probably never recognize. It was so much simpler this way, the truth and nothing else. "So now you see why your honorable death, noble in ideal, would mean nothing to me. I am no distant goddess - I hurt, Spindle, like any mortal, like any creature of flesh and blood. Were I to lose someone dear to me, I would not see sacrifice and glory. I would only feel the loss."

She turned her head to the sea, her earring singing with every movement. "So if you really want to prove yourself, live."

Had she been bolder, she would've asked that he live for her. But she was not that selfish, nor that vain. She just wanted him to stay, really.