The Pleasure is Mine
MerlinHawk, Wind WildCrow, Amber, Akime, Cole
Day 3, Evening
Akime’s attention was all over the place and she had a hunch that she was grinning like an idiot. The reception was almost like a drug. She felt drunk on happiness and it wasn’t just from seeing so many familiar and unfamiliar faces in one place. It was also a stage where everybody’s auras were twisting and dancing around each other in a magical carnival of colour and texture and she felt like she’d have an epileptic shock any minute now even just from taking it all in.
There was Zachary! He always stood out and not just because of his somewhat frightening aura. Most often it was because of the grim expression on his face, the
grimmest expression she’d ever seen (and not because of the mask!). In this case, the reason he stood out was because the mask was off!
So she couldn’t help herself, attracted to his face like a moth to the flame. She almost
skipped towards him, well aware of how awkward he usually felt around her. Frankly, she’d always found that adorable.
“Hey there, gorgeous! It’s been too long since I’ve last seen that face, you know I think you’re very selfish to always keep it to yourself? Or have you finally found a lady to share it with?” She
did giggle like an idiot just now. It came as a bit of a surprise but it made her smile even wider, turning to Cole, whom had never met Crow before. “His name is Crow and as you can see, he’s heavenly. But he’s usually too morbid to share his looks with any of us.”
“That’s not good.” The griffin commented. “I think many females would be interested in his genes.”
“You’re such bullies.” Amber commented, smiling at Crow and offering a handshake. “Want me to distract them while you run away?” Behind her the other two were giving him even more reasons to consider the offer.
“Why would he run away?” Cole quizzed.
“Because he’s shy.” Akime explained shortly.
In his preparation to abandon Blackwing the trio had snuck up on his and Crow just about fell off the side of Blackwing from the shock. “It’s just because Shard told me I wasn’t allowed to wear it around his guests. Hence the hiding.”
A look of pure horror spread across Crow’s visage at the suggestion that he had found a woman. While he’d never openly admit it; the sudden convergence of females always made him uneasy when he was without his mask. This was the perfect example of such a situation with Akime peering at him like this along along with her companions. It wasn’t like he hated people it was just odd to see women go from looks of disgust to rapture when they saw what he actually looked like. It was clear that was all they were looking for. Which posed another problem which had resulted in the Wyrdmask.
Taking Amber’s hand Crow shook it. “I prefer not to be swarmed though if you must know. It's uncomfortable and let’s be honest I don’t exactly have a flock of women following me around when I look like I normally do. Is there something I can help you with?” It was clear in Crow’s face that he wasn’t at all comfortable with Akime; it was something between fascination and fear.
It didn’t help that she didn’t stop giggling and in the background he could still hear her and Cole’s hushed voices.
“I don’t think you can help me with anything really, it’s more of an offer for me to help you if I can. I have no idea what they’re talking about but I know Akime can be a bit... much sometimes. I think she’s trying to be friendly but she might be a bit drunk. Anyway, you don’t seem like the shy type. Why is she picking on you?”
“Because he
is shy!” Akime chimed in, Cole quickly covering her mouth. After the fit of laughter died down she added, a bit more composed. “I mean, look at his face. Do you have any other explanation?”
Everyone stared curiously at Crow now.
“Don’t take this the wrong way but this is the perfect example of why I don’t understand women.” Crow dropped the comment without batting an eyelash. “Additionally I avoid you in particular because I’m concerned Vulture will suddenly have the urge to ask for your heart. And not in romantic fashion.” Turning back to Amber he gestured at her. “I’m not sure it's just usually I don’t get the response that you gave me. Normally it's an invasion of personal space and outrageous flirting. Its even better when it's from women who have previously given me disgusted looks and turned away. Infact I suspect that there is a small subset of the Tower’s female Knights that have one day avoided me and then when I’m forced out of my mask thrown themselves at me.”
Crow gave Akime a long look. “And then there is her.”
“Hey, why the hell is everyone constantly worrying over that antique Yshenrook?! If he had a problem with me, he’d have found me ages ago.” Akime pouted a bit, throwing her hands in the air.
Amber’s eyes were wide as half of what that guy said was incomprehensible and the other half went right over her head. “Wait so… you’re some irresistible thing and the only way you can avoid it is to wear a mask that pushes people away?”
“You’d know what he means if you’d seen his mask. It’s anything but appealing.” Cole commented.
To prove his point Crow moved his right hand over his face replacing his Wyrdmask for Amber’s benefit. The face it presented wasn’t horrific it just wasn’t generally considered beautiful. It was the face of a Shaitan Djinn without their innate ability to project a sexual allure. Much could be overlooked with the right magics. That was the idea at least. That or Crow’s mother had had a different motivation for sleeping with his Father.
Crow casually left the mask in place, “I’m surprised that you’ve never seen me like this before but then again I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in the Tower before.” Crow simply let the remark hang as he gave Akime another glare.
Amber stared at him curiously and had to agree he looked better without the mask on. Being dead, she couldn’t say she had any hopes for any romance
ever but objectively he looked better without that thing on. Then again, she wasn’t one to judge people based on looks. Her own had to change every few years, she was used to the fact that looks had nothing to do with what’s inside. At his remark she had to look away slightly embarrassed.
To punctuate his next statement, Crow held out his left arm and Vulture landed on it lunging its head in Akime’s general direction. “I somehow doubt Vulture has forgotten you.” The bird made a strange sound. Almost like a laugh.
Akime rolled her eyes with a smile. “I’m hard to forget.” She joked, the irony being that she had erased her name from history quite successfully. She noticed Cole’s eyes fall on someone all the way across the room and slip away with a wave at Crow. “Anyway, I’m glad to see you’re doing okay.” She grinned at Vulture. “Both of you.”
Crow gaze a grimace of a smile. “Okay is the best you can hope for in all reality. Random chance dictates that your chances of being purely, okay, are rather high.” He was toying with her now since she’d felt the need to come and do the same with him. “Of Course not all of us can court death.” And even sicker grin tugged at his lips with the implication.
Turning back to Amber; Crow tilted his head to study her. “Wait..” Crow ran both his fingers over his eyes and peered beyond the Veil. Before he turned back to Akime with fury on his face.”What kind of a binding is that?!” It was clear he was not happy having found out that Amber wasn’t exactly alive.
Amber visibly started at his sudden outburst and while Akime’s expression had been that of mock-offense a moment ago, now it was quickly becoming more serious. The smile remained but there was a coldness behind it that reminded just what she could do to a person if they weren’t careful. She stepped forwards as Amber took a step back and wrapped her arm around the girl protectively.
“Be careful, little fledgling. You might be young but even so you should know how much words can hurt and if you still choose to launch them, then you should be well prepared to get some pain in turn.” Her voice was sweet but it seemed to fall to the ground like frozen crystals.
“It’s okay.” Amber mumbled, looking at her feet. “It’s not like I’m hiding it. And it’s not like I care either.” She lifted her eyes to Crow, a slight accusation hidden within. “I chose to be here.”
Crow shook his head rage boiling below the surface of his visage. “You fucking amateur” Crow practically snarled the words. “I see why I should have been concerned when it comes to you and why Vulture might send someone after you. There is a reason that Necromancers exist and why we are the priests and priestesses of Yishreenok. Others who tamper with Necromancy do things like this. I have no doubt that you chose to be here.” The anger faded from Crow’s face. “You just bound her; why didn’t you bother to actually come to a Necromancer?”
As if to prove his point Crow stepped forward with Violet fire covering his hands and pressed them gently to Amber’s shoulders. Running it through her form he purged the form of its current defects. “I’m sorry, you’ll have to forgive me.” His face looked almost sad as he ran his hand over his forehead. “I’ve seen too many poor attempts at Necromancy over the years. And too much pain.”
Turning back to Akime he sighed “Just don’t make Lazarus kill you; that would be unfortunate.” Wiping his face again Crow removed the mask. “I think I need alcohol.”
The two women, and a few innocent passersby, stared at Crow wide-eyed and shaken. His words were sharp as razors and had definitely made some cuts but Akime was in no state to dwell on them and apparently neither was Amber. His final words marked the end of his outburst in a rather bizarre fashion and the two couldn’t help but exchange puzzled looks.
“Rum or vodka?” Was the best thing Amber thought of saying.
“That’s not gonna be good enough” Crow, took Amber’s hand gently just above the wrist and made a beeline for the bar.
Amber blinked at the unexpected tenderness and let herself be dragged off. There was something odd about the way walking worked… something lighter. And she definitely wanted to know more. So did Akime, that’s why she followed suit.
Getting to the bar the two women sat on either side of Crow, with Akime well aware but generally uncaring about how he felt about it. It was obvious by now that he had a problem with her but like many necromancers he seemed to have a soft spot for the dead and she didn’t intend to stay long anyway. She just had some questions she wanted to ask before making sure Cole was staying out of trouble.
“So.. what did you do to me?” Amber started, feeling somehow awkward..
“Eldrian Firewater, or whatever stupid name you’re using for it. Daggerfall Firewater maybe.” The first shot of it Crow snapped back with efficiency without even looking at either Akime or Amber. Turning the shot glass over he pressed it against the bar and twisted it a half turn. There was a sizzle as the rim of the glass seemed to sear a circle into the top of the bar. “You know, this stuff makes you look like badass because everyone thinks you’re drinking some sort of acid or combustible but in reality they put some sort of chemical in it that reacts with wood in this manner. I haven’t a clue what it is.”
With that he gestured for the Barkeeper to refill the shot glass and turned to look at Amber. “I purged your form. You know how some asshole Death Wardens bring the dead back as walking corpses? The only reason they do that is because magically it’s cheaper. I think it’s disgusting personally. I mean; we’ve been given power over the dead and yet they have zero respect for the mortal form. If they really wanted they could restore the corpses completely.”
The Croweater’s whole demeanor had changed. Dropping any pretenses of being shy he took another shot and looked at Akime “You know, supposedly Lazarus can bring inanimate objects back to life if they had enough of a soul before they died. It’s the same thing; we can literally reverse death. It's not cheap and it's not easy but it's doable.” Crow wrinkled his nose at the third shot of the substance that smelled like an open flame might ignite it. The rim seared a third ring into the bar and he paused in his drinking. In mere seconds Crow had consumed enough alcohol to floor an Orc. The effect was a light buzz and some confidence.
Akime looked at Crow with quiet approval of how much alcohol he could pack. Despite everything she’d always considered him somehow endearing – hiding so much care for people behind all that logic. And maybe one day he would find someone to open up to but for now he didn’t seem to need anyone’s approval and that was another thing she liked about him.
Amber gaped at him and what stood out from the whole tirade was that he had called her disgusting. Maybe it was the alcohol? Or perhaps he really did have the shittiest people skills she’d ever seen. “So… you’re a necromancer and you just brought this body back to life… literally? Does that mean you can revive my own body?”
Akime shot her a weary look. Apparently Crow’s “no-nonsense” attitude was spreading.
Crow hiccuped slightly as he stared straight froward. “Maybe.” The silence dragged on for a moment as he stared straight forward. “It depends on a lot of things. “And for the record I didn’t bring your body back to life. I just fixed it. Sort of like how if you replace parts on a vehicle and clean it; it runs better.” A look of revelation spread across Crow’s face. “I’m not calling you a machine that is just a metaphor.” Zachary held up both his hands and waved them in front of Amber. “Don’t misunderstand I have no problem with you being dead and coming back to life. Thats pretty normal for me. I have an issue with how
she did it.” Crow whirled on Akime and stuck his finger in her face as he leaned in until they were nose to nose. Zachary stared right into her eyes with his strange violet and gold eyes. “You suck at Necromancy.” A chuckle escaped his lips as he leaned back enough to return personal space to normal.
Taking another drink he looked at Amber. “How old are you? And how did you die?” Two of the worst questions to level at a female, but it didn’t seem to halt Crow as he kicked back his fourth shot.
Akime didn’t say anything and just seized the opportunity to take in the unusual beauty of his eyes. It wasn’t the right time for morbid talk and so she didn’t point out that she’d never wanted to be a necromancer, nor that soon after she came to Galendar she’d considered hunting down necromancers a favourite job.
And pastime. But that was ages ago and the bird on Crow’s shoulder was probably the only one who remembered.
It occurred to her to ask whether it was possible for previous avatars to have left an impression on the mantle that were then transferred to the newest bearer. If it was, then that was bad news for her and Lazarus. Then another question arose: was Crow actually implying that he knew about them just then? And if so,
what did he know? It would be nice if someone explained to her as well why she’d been getting quite a few weird looks around the Tower lately, and not just because she’d been absent for a decade.
Akime slurped on her cocktail (‘virgin sex on the beach’, because she liked irony) and hoped Amber wouldn’t be too disappointed with her expectations. Akime had asked the few necromancers she’d met on a peaceful basis if they could help her friend but the answers were always negative. She wasn’t hopeful, even though Crow was special in his own right.
“I’m twenty two…” Amber started, the reassurance that he didn’t hate her helping somewhat with trusting him. While his looks didn’t help her concentrate, she had the weird feeling she was seeing a doctor. One that specialised with patients beyond salvation. She paused and corrected herself. “Was twenty two when I passed… which was about a thousand years ago. I… Shard killed me.”
“Her body was badly burnt when we found her.” Akime corrected, eager to avoid an anti-Christian rant on the man’s wedding. “There were stab-marks as well. ”
Crow made a face. “You mean bite marks right?” It was like he was hearing something that didn’t make sense. With a shrug he turned back to Amber. “This must suck then.” Genuine empathy in his eyes he reached down to his bag and produced a silver bell. Taking Amber’s face in his hand he rang the bell next to her ear and peeled back the veil for a moment. “Christian is a jerk for the record. Not because he’s actually a jerk but he’s a jerk in the same way that you call a tornado an asshole. Or you swear at a landslide. Unfortunately he just sort of happens to everyone else around him. It’s not like he isn’t trying but it's hard to co-exist with a force of nature, there are always innocents that get hurt.” A sad smile crossed Crow’s face as he sat back from Amber; his inspection complete.
“The simple answer to your question is yes. I can. The problem is that I don’t have the magic for it. Yet.” The look on his face said it all. He know that it was going to be a let down for Amber. “I don’t have a second path yet. I’m a Ghost Walker,I deal in spirits. Not bodies” the sad smile returned. “At least not on the same level that a Death Warden or a Pale Master. I need more training to do something like that.” It was all too clear Crow felt bad about not being able to deliver. It had been years since he’d found something he couldn’t do. “I mean. If you hadn’t passed so long ago it would be different but…” He trailed off before slowly returning to his drink. “Lazarus could do it but he won’t. Not really his fault either. Don’t put him on the spot by asking; he turns down lots of people all the time I’m sure. Guess that's the sucky part of being all powerful when it comes to life and death. You have to play by the rules more than those who don’t have all the power.”
Crow crooked his finger at the bar tender who leaned in while he whispered. The barkeeper took a bottle and something else and then set a glass on the bar. Crow carefully pushed it over to Amber. “Its called an Old Fashioned, they always tasted good in my opinion but they are no help for getting drunk.”
Trying not to flinch at his touch was hard considering some recent and past experiences and the temperature of his skin but to his credit, he was really gentle. In a way it made her feel worse because she’d asked.
“Oh…” Amber lowered her gaze and smiled bitterly, asking the bartender for one of Crow’s shots. “It’s okay.” She shrugged, her smile brightening a bit after the grimace the drink produced. She didn’t think it was just reacting with the wood. “To be honest, even while I was alive I was a shapeshifter so I suppose it’s a bit silly to be hung up on your own body after so long. Especially considering we have illusions and all sorts. But please don’t look so defeated. If there’s one thing death taught me it’s that looks don’t matter.” She smiled at him and put her glass out for a toast.
Akime smiled and slipped away from her seat, leaving the glass where it was. Amber was in safe hands.
