ᴀʟᴘʜɪɴᴀᴜᴅ "ʙɪᴛᴇ ᴍᴇ" ʟᴇᴠᴇɪʟʟᴇᴜʀ (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
aetherflows) wrote2019-07-04 01:48 am
aetherflows) wrote2019-07-04 01:48 am
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Cᴇ́ ʜᴇ́ ᴍɪsᴇ ʟᴇ ᴜʟᴀɪɴɢᴛ?
thy tender eyes grow all unkind...
[Alphinaud has been settling in as well as one can expect with the loss of his magic and pretty much everything else he's built his entire academic career on. He doesn't like that they're trapped but he's ever one to make the best of a bad situation, so he's taken to helping the locals and trying to, perhaps, earn an ear on the Parliament. His eyes are reserved for one (1) friend in a similarly precarious position, a friend whom he has seen very little of since he left Ishgard. Would that he had time for leisurely visits before they were taken here, but the apocalypse waits for no one, nor does a Scion ignore the calling of some voice through some gate or whatever.
The point is that he's been keeping an eye on Estinien as they learn to navigate this new world. And that means... forging some kind of Bond, which he hasn't done yet. Alphinaud was tested as many new arrivals are after he failed to show any aptitude for his usual incantations, and he was told he was some kind of Monster. Not a monster, but still an indelicate term that made his ears heat up. How could they so easily toss around a pejorative like that? Why not use a term like... well, like they do with Beast Tribes? Though that'd do little to hide the rampant racism he's seen on these streets (and yet another reason for him to be quiet about it...)
It's something he's working on, for sure.
But not knowing what he was destined to become has taken its own toll. He wants to be useful, and not a liability, and he wants to be independent but-- this late morning, this godsforsaken twilight, with the rise of the nearly-full moon, he comes upon a problem.
Two problems.
Two problems that see him at the door of where Estinien is staying at around sunrise. He's wrapped in a tight cloak that somehow makes him look smaller than usual-- or maybe he did shrink a few inches, hard to tell-- but he can reach the doorknob, so he knocks. Is he out training? Is he set on ignoring Alphinaud personally for some slight he's not aware of (that's the fae brain talking, not that he knows it).]
Estinien? Estinien! Have you a moment? I apologize for the hour, but something very urgently popped out-- that is, popped up-- and I would like to discuss a course of action.
[Is he even there? Alphinaud knocks again, bristling with some minor anxiety like a nervous thing fluttering about a light.]
The point is that he's been keeping an eye on Estinien as they learn to navigate this new world. And that means... forging some kind of Bond, which he hasn't done yet. Alphinaud was tested as many new arrivals are after he failed to show any aptitude for his usual incantations, and he was told he was some kind of Monster. Not a monster, but still an indelicate term that made his ears heat up. How could they so easily toss around a pejorative like that? Why not use a term like... well, like they do with Beast Tribes? Though that'd do little to hide the rampant racism he's seen on these streets (and yet another reason for him to be quiet about it...)
It's something he's working on, for sure.
But not knowing what he was destined to become has taken its own toll. He wants to be useful, and not a liability, and he wants to be independent but-- this late morning, this godsforsaken twilight, with the rise of the nearly-full moon, he comes upon a problem.
Two problems.
Two problems that see him at the door of where Estinien is staying at around sunrise. He's wrapped in a tight cloak that somehow makes him look smaller than usual-- or maybe he did shrink a few inches, hard to tell-- but he can reach the doorknob, so he knocks. Is he out training? Is he set on ignoring Alphinaud personally for some slight he's not aware of (that's the fae brain talking, not that he knows it).]
Estinien? Estinien! Have you a moment? I apologize for the hour, but something very urgently popped out-- that is, popped up-- and I would like to discuss a course of action.
[Is he even there? Alphinaud knocks again, bristling with some minor anxiety like a nervous thing fluttering about a light.]
no subject
There is nothing to be afraid of as long as he and Estinien stay together. That's what he believes, and he hopes Estinien can believe that too. Sensing his friend's need for silence, he does not try to fill it-- only walks beside him, cloak tucked close against the chill morning air, and tries to imitate his example.
He watches the morning hubbub of the Coven with an alert gaze. If he sees Estinien's subtle tension, he doesn't remark on it. He merely responds with a confident nod when he's given that glance.
He leans in and keeps his voice low for Estinien to hear.]
This is what we need to do. Everything will be fine, I am sure of it-- better, even, for the Bond.
[He can't blame his friend for being anxious about magic, though, considering the damned dragon eyes that almost got him killed.]
I am told 'tis easy enough to nullify it should we have the need.
no subject
I doubt we will.
[ The possibility didn't occurred to him; he rejects it out of hand — but he can recognize in it the effort to put him at ease. Alphinaud, putting him at ease.
He makes an effort, afterward, to focus on the present: on the solid stone beneath his feet, on the echo of their steps, the boy's small and light behind him.
The room prepared for the ritual is solemn and dim, but somehow pleasant: incense burns under a stained glass window set high in the wall; a beaten-gold basin close to the door, filled with water, catches the light.
Estinien himself is quiet and gruff throughout; prickly and annoyed with the witches, and uncomfortable when he looks at Alphinaud — but he speaks the traditional words with perfect gravity, and manages to say nothing baldly impatient.
The knowledge that something is different strikes him as they're leaving the grounds, heading back through the high gate: he can feel, very faintly, another existence. It's almost nothing, a whisper that gives him no information, but it's there.
He rolls his shoulders as if to dislodge it, clearing his throat. ]
We ought to get your things. I'm not certain what a full moon entails.
no subject
He's so deep in his thoughts, he doesn't notice the unfamiliar sensation of another presence at the back of his mind-- not until he's drawn out of them by Estinien's voice.]
Ah, yes. I do not have much, as I have been staying in the barracks until I decided upon a permanent arrangement, but I have a journal and a few other things I can fetch...
[It was military, but it was better than sleeping on the street.]
... To be perfectly honest, the townsfolk made it sound very dangerous. Mayhap the risk has passed with the ritual performed, but to that end... Would you acquiesce to supervising me, to be sure I do not fall prey to some consequence we were not told of?
[It ought to go without saying and yet Alphinaud is careful not to force him into anything. He absentmindedly dusts some... fairy dust from his arm and realizes something feels different. What... is that? He can feel Estinien close by, and yet there's something more to it.]
The moons following this one should not be quite so... dramatic, I hope.
[Pity the boy who has no idea what is ahead of him.]