shylarah

Artanis

@TheMinorFall S'fine. ^.^ Although it is interesting that he doesn't really react to her claim that he felt hurt. *amused* Maybe another time.

Artanis

@TheMinorFall PFFT. She doesn't realize how deadly he is. There's still /plenty/ to fear. <3 Then again she's friends with a couple of the guards, but I think she sees them as protecting instead of killing, since, y'know. Probably hasn't seen 'em in action hardly ever.

Artanis

*giggles* He'll learn. Her feelings are just as strong as any child's, and she can be just as irrational. I wonder what he'll do if he has to deal with a temper tantrum. ...Eh, she's probably well-behaved enough that she wouldn't pitch a total fit, but she might shout at him, or try to get away.

Artanis

Amuné flinched at the contact. She couldn’t help it; there were very few people she was comfortable letting touch her. But once again Cain’s hand did not bring the anticipated emotional impact, and she let the sharp breath she’d taken out slowly. There was something in the touch, but it was still muted, and she didn’t recognize it on instinct alone. She’d need to make a deliberate effort, something she’d hardly ever done. If he noticed, he’d be angry at her, wouldn’t he? Except he’d seen touch enhance her ability, that day at the market, and he’d deliberately removed his glove. The girl decided to interpret that as tacit permission -- she could hardly make things worse, after all. She pressed her free hand over his pale one and closed her eyes.

His feelings were distant, but not beyond Amuné’s reach. Foremost was confusion. Cain could not explain his reactions, and did not understand what caused him to respond as he did. She’d been mistaken; he believed himself to be speaking the truth. “I hurt you,” the girl murmured, lifting her gaze to meet his. “I’m sorry...I didn’t understand.” She’d become so used to rejection that she’d come to expect it, and she’d misjudged. “I thought -- I was wrong.” No excuses. Adding an excuse to an apology made it less meaningful.

@TheMinorFall

Fae Courtis: The Wylde Hunt (Reboot)

@Prince of Seraphs Yeah, that was another thought. ^.^ But if you look what he said, he notes that Feoras will /never/ lose that base humanity. Perhaps that's because no Fey live that long nowadays, I suppose, but my initial reading was that it truly is never.

Artanis

She let the matter drop, but for a moment before the child schooled her expression, she looked more than just disappointed. She looked hurt. She hardly listened when he told her about why he’d come, just noting that he was supposed to see Ms. Primm. Instead, she was thinking. She recalled the Masquerade. She remembered the woman’s pain. The woman wanted to be alone, yes, but had she used magic, trying to get Cain to leave? Amuné wasn’t so sure about that. Even if the lady had used magic, that meant he could feel, though perhaps his emotions lay deeper. Either way...he was still lying, and there was no reason for it. It wasn’t even a /good/ lie. It didn’t occur to the girl that he might believe it himself. Instead, it seemed like he was deliberately rejecting her.

Just like the others. Once they figured out what she could do, they turned on her. They shut her out, and they repaid kindness with hate that stemmed from fear. Amuné had thought he was like her, and maybe that meant he would understand her better, but it seemed she’d been mistaken. He’d been kind. He’d helped her when she was in trouble. She had hoped he might become a friend, that she’d finally have someone who knew what it was like to be an outcast and who could teach her to be okay with it like he seemed to be. Her hope made his rejection more painful.

She lead the way in silence to the edge of the forest, and pointed off toward the front of the school, where the main gate was. “The entrance is that way. Someone will take you to Ms. Primm.” The girl sounded subdued, and she didn’t quite look at Cain. She knew she should return, but between not being completely over the taunting earlier and the man’s perceived lies, she was not ready. She made no move to leave the shade of the trees herself.

@TheMinorFall

Fae Courtis: The Wylde Hunt (Reboot)

@LadyRunic *squeaking* Ooh, it makes me wonder. I thought he was seasonborn, but now I'm not so sure. Or maybe there was an old technique to turn someone fully...or...maybe he had affection for a human but it wasn't enough because it wasn't really love....

@Belle *fuzzes* FEELS. *flailing*

Artanis

“Emotion isn’t weakness,” Amuné argued, brow wrinkling. She didn’t understand how someone could cut themselves off from what they felt. To someone who felt the emotions of others in so direct a manner, it was an utterly alien concept. “Not having any...that sounds terribly lonely.” Maybe it wouldn’t hurt so much, if she couldn’t feel sadness or grief or anger. But a life without joy and laughter and warmth seemed bleak indeed. She frowned as a thought occurred to her. “Besides, you’re lying. I remember the Masquerade. Your laughter might have been fake, but when you shed tears, they were real.” Certain details of that night had lodged securely in her memory, and a number of them were those that included Cain. The girl turned the mask she’d been given over in her hands, looking disappointed. She hoped the lie was well-intentioned, even though she couldn’t see the advantage in this particular instance. It was something even nice people did. But he’d just claimed not to lie, and in addition to the faint sting of the implied insult, maybe she had allowed herself the foolish hope that, this once, she’d found someone who really didn’t.

The suggestion of heading back was met with a heavy sigh. Amuné might be in a better mood now, but she didn’t feel ready to face everyone quite yet. Still, she knew she should return. “Very well.” Despite her efforts, her tone was glum as she got to her feet and started back down the deer trail she’d taken through the woods. “Who are you supposed to be seeing?” the child asked, assuming that he’d made arrangements in advance, as was expected. A school like the Liddell Academy didn’t let just anyone drop by, and she rather doubted he was family or friend of any of the other students. Then again, he wasn’t the sort of person most would be comfortable acknowledging, so it was possible.

@TheMinorFall

Fae Courtis: The Wylde Hunt (Reboot)

@LadyRunic Likewise waiting on Prince. ^.^ Plus I can't post with Sini again until two other people post, I think. What's the rule? I didn't see it when I checked the opening OOC post, but I know there was one mentioned because I asked if that was by person or by character.

I /would/ have Lei cause trouble, but she can't leave Max. x.x Clearly I did not plan that well. *shrug*

Artanis

The child’s mouth dropped open. He knew? Her heart sank. She really was terrible at keeping secrets, though the way he explained it made it seem so obvious.. Yet perhaps it was not the disaster she feared. “...It doesn’t bother you? That I can tell things like that?” Amuné wasn’t sure how she felt about him watching her, but that was a secondary concern at the moment. And for all that he’d figured out, there were pieces of the picture he had incorrect. “You’re wrong about some things,” she told him, sighing heavily. “I can’t always tell when people are lying. It would be easier if I could.”

She picked up the half-mask Cain had fashioned for her and ran her fingers over the smooth metal. “A lot of people mix it up -- I sense feelings far more than thoughts.” The girl’s voice dropped to hardly more than a whisper. “That’s part of why they don’t like me. They can’t be sure I’m not seeing through the smiles and the lies.” Her brow furrowed as she considered. “I avoid crowds because they hurt, but most of the students...I avoid them because they don’t like me,” she continued, a bit more steadily. “There’s a few I spend time with. The same with the servants and the teachers. ...I actually get along better with many of the humans than I do with the shifters. It’s just more magic to those that don’t have any, instead of something strange and frightening.” The thought of the lady that oversaw her group made Amuné wrinkle her nose. “Ms. Primm doesn’t like /anyone/ -- and she really dislikes me because I have no real rank and she doesn’t think I should be here. It’s not about their mood, always. It’s about who they are. Jillian’s always nervous, or gloomy, but I like her.”

She tilted her head at Cain. “With you...I don’t know. I think it’s because you’re different. At the ball, when you showed up, you seemed just as out of place as I feel. They looked at you the way they look at me.” Her fingers found the engraved flower and traced it lightly. “I don’t know why you’d say you’re a monster. Is it because people always call you one?” They called her a freak, and sometimes she felt like they were right. “That doesn’t mean you are.” Amuné put the mask up to her face and looked at him from behind it, her grey eyes solemn. “/I/ don’t think you are. You can be scary, but...you’re also kind. Monsters don’t care.”

@TheMinorFall