Ivory
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Pres 4 (Regal) - SL 1 (Noble) Fairest Hunterheart
Posts: 588
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Post by Ivory on Sept 5, 2020 13:12:56 GMT -8
Ivory listens with rapt attention, her expression turning almost coy as the Summer before her relays her philosophy, even at the tension with which Kai's colors pulsed. Passion was often born from tension - and violence was not always an evil. She was proving to be quite interesting indeed.
"Agreed," she offers, "Don't judge a book by the cover? Still... that doesn't mean the cover isn't worth the glance. Come for the looks stay for what's real, I think."
Kai's philosophy was one Ivory understood quite well. Many among the Fairest were far more striking than the dragon and yet many failed to draw attention beyond their sculpted visage. Passion and charisma were created through the nurturing of one's qualities, not a simple gift of genetics.
Even as Kai leaned out, Ivory remained where she was, leaned on the table. She forms a mock pout as Kai turns the attention of the conversation unto her before granting a soft smirk.
"That... is dependent on circumstances," she says as she ponders the question of fun, "I like people? What I do with them depends on trust and intention, I guess. Now that I have free time, I go out. I like theatre, music, the usual. Whatever I can explore that others are passionate about. Sometimes, among friends, its best to let their desires carry you along with them, you know? One of the best ways to truly know others, I think."
"As for who to know? That depends on what you want," Ivory muses, "I can't speak too much of your crew beyond the usual folks. And, for mine, you really need to understand what your intention is. We're... well, us."
Was there a better way to describe the children of Spring? Part of Ivory doubted it.
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Post by Kai Rose on Sept 6, 2020 14:38:44 GMT -8
Kai's initial reply to the first remark was a grin, and she leaned back in her chair as the second drink arrived. She swirled it once, twice, then stopped the ice abruptly with the straw to sip as she gave a nod to the notion of staying for what was real. The topic could pass from there onto the Spring speaking of her own interests.
Much of what she said was typical Spring, partying, making friends, meeting people. All of that was expected, as was the piece of who to know.
But there was one nugget in there that begged a follow-up. Her tone was gentle; an answer was not demanded, but the conversation was invited out toward something more Real. "I don't mean to pry. Were you missing out on free time, before? It's okay if it's private, I just..."
You never knew with Lost what had happened to them.
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Ivory
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Pres 4 (Regal) - SL 1 (Noble) Fairest Hunterheart
Posts: 588
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Post by Ivory on Sept 6, 2020 15:35:34 GMT -8
The question caused some pause in the Fairest, Ivory's molten eyes resting on the Wizened's expression as she allowed her mind to taste the woman's gentle words.
"Free time is relative," she says her tone nonchalant, "I'm sure it was there and, perhaps, I was too idle? I had other concerns..."
Then the gears started turning as Ivory began to consider the truth of her past. The plain reality was that Kai would have the means to find out in time. Ivory's past with Pendragon was not exactly a secret and neither was what became of him.
Thus, the Spring shrugged, lifting her glass and downing what remained of her cosmopolitan before signaling for another. Leaning back, Ivory would rest against the booth, her hands finding their place in her lap. Her face bore a more thoughtful, serious expression as she considered what to say.
" A loved one died," she said, "I was a widow. I needed time and I needed to look after another life."
And then came the cosmopolitan. Ivory would thank the server before raising the glass, her usual coquettish demeanor resurfacing. She took a drink, a muffled, pleased sound emanating from her lips.
"So I took it," she concluded, "but that time is done. I wouldn't allow myself out otherwise."
Ivory would remember Arthur fondly, likely for the rest of her days, but she was no longer grief-stricken. The death had happened two years prior. Perhaps for the mundane grief was expected for longer, but Ivory was of the Spring Court... and grief did not hold as deeply in her heart as other things. She would leave the constant despair to the Winters.
Arthur would have disliked the notion of being mourned for a lifetime and it would not be fitting for Anthony to see her roiling in grief.
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Post by Kai Rose on Sept 6, 2020 22:07:23 GMT -8
Ivory's story brought a tear to the Polychromatic's eye. She took a deep breath through her nose as the Spring Courtier related the death of her loved one, the loss of her husband.
A playful demeanour might deceive the mortal eye, but little things like hidden Wrath and inner thoughts were ever laid bare before the mind sculptor --
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Ivory
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Pres 4 (Regal) - SL 1 (Noble) Fairest Hunterheart
Posts: 588
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Post by Ivory on Sept 6, 2020 22:47:35 GMT -8
Ivory's look softened at Kai's response. A delicate hand moved across the table, finding one of Kai's and giving it a gentle squeeze if the Summer allowed. "Oh, please," she said softly, a gentle smile on her face, "He lived a good life... and I'll be damned if I ruin that makeup."
She punctuated the jest with a wink before releasing her grip. Ivory is laid bare to the Summer's supernatural sense and, to lend credence to the dragon's claim, she is bereft of even faint anger at the mentioning of her lost husband. However, such success on the Contract was not satisfied with these basic findings. Delving deep, Kai Rose notes that there indeed wrathful embers hidden within the Fairest's soul. She sees a woman as the source, faintly resembling the appearance of Ivory's Mask. Kai senses Ivory's immense betrayal at the hands of the figure, whose identity is confirmed with clear mental utterances. Mother. A betrayal that rewrote the path of the Girl-That-Was, as it caught the attentions of something ancient and old. Ivory was abandoned... then Taken. For this woman, her own mother, Ivory's Wrath calls for death - and a painful one. However... her vengeance is not without it's barriers. Ivory does not know where her mother is or if she is even alive. Such a betrayal has colored Ivory's rage. This Hunterheart bears a strong hatred for betrayal, especially when it includes neglectful guardians. It is not hard to understand, that such fire was also risen against neglectful persons of all types. However, it is her mother that remains the source. If they met... Ivory would not be the playful socialite Kai saw before her. She would be something... else. In the present, Ivory thinks nothing of Kai's lingering pause, assuming the Wizened merely needed to compose herself. "Truly, I'm fine," she assures, "So let's not let that damper our evening, agreed?"Her glass lifted again. "A second toast to lighten the mood?" she offered, "To new beginnings?" Success: The changeling instinctively knows the target’s greatest wrath, and any Conditions or Tilts connected to it. The target may be in denial about his anger, but the changeling can still smell it. The changeling may replace the subject of the wrath with one of her choice. The target’s anger toward the original subject, along with any Conditions or Tilts it engendered, turns toward the new for the scene.
Exceptional Success: The changeling gleans the details of her target’s anger, such as its origins and what’s holding him back from destroying the source of it. She may coax him into physically attacking the source without a roll, as long as the target doesn’t believe such an attack is suicidal.
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Post by Kai Rose on Sept 6, 2020 23:01:24 GMT -8
Kai allowed the squeeze of her hand, and a warm splash of gold and red flashed up her arm. She took a breath. The thing about Summer's scent was that it took only a moment to sense, but a lifetime of hurt and pain could come pouring through her nostrils and into her mind's eye. A mother's betrayal... had she been abandoned to the Gentry by some raw Bargain? There was always the notion of touching it off, letting the revenge be taken, but no -
No, tonight, the Sculptor did not exercise her craft. The fatal scrape would serve no purpose here and now.
"Still. I'm sorry for your loss. I can only imagine."
She was so far past the anger phase of her grief that it was in the rear-view, but what the Wizened had smelled was far, far more traumatic. The colors settled as the gold faded and the red lost intensity, shifting into something deep, a pensive blue.
"To choosing a new path and walking it with courage."
The glass came up.
"What will you do next?"
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Ivory
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Pres 4 (Regal) - SL 1 (Noble) Fairest Hunterheart
Posts: 588
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Post by Ivory on Sept 6, 2020 23:39:43 GMT -8
The soft smile returns as the Wizened stranger offered her condolences.
"Thank you," she said.
With the Wizened raising her glass, the Fairest's smile widens yet again, pleased that Kai was ready to move to happier things.
The glasses clink and Ivory takes a healthy drink.
"Well... here I am in the Entertainment Capitol of World. At the Jewel. In the company of a beautiful stranger," Ivory muses, "I think for tonight, the only thing I'll be doing is learning more about my new friend, Kai. What that entails is up to you, but, frankly, I have all night."
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Post by Kai Rose on Sept 8, 2020 18:47:35 GMT -8
"I'm an open book," she said with a little shrug, inviting whatever questions the Fairest wished to ask. She sipped at her drink, hooking one ankle delicately over the other. She was far from dainty, but the etiquette was all there. "I work in construction -- which is quite the job sometimes, mind you. I'm from Seattle. I like long runs, the heat and people watching."
Blink. Smile. Nobody ever said the interesting things about themselves unprompted.
"Turns out I don't spend a lot of time talking about myself. What would you like to know about me?"
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Ivory
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Pres 4 (Regal) - SL 1 (Noble) Fairest Hunterheart
Posts: 588
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Post by Ivory on Sept 8, 2020 20:05:45 GMT -8
"Construction? Well, that's a start," she says, "Do you do the framing or are you more in a supervisory capacity?"
The smile is returned as Kai shares little tidbits.
"Admittedly, there's some questions I can't ask here," she said. Too many mundane ears, "but... let me think."
The dragon ponders for a moment.
"What is your dream job?" she asks, "Feelings on brunch? Anyone special in your life?"
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Post by Kai Rose on Sept 12, 2020 12:32:10 GMT -8
"Landscaping, more like. I dig ditches," she replied with a casual shrug. It was the kind of work that Lost without identities could do - no ID required, assumed names, cash in, cash out at some day labor shop. It wasn't exciting work, but it paid decently for what it was, and she could do it invisibly. She gave an understanding nod to the questions she couldn't ask here - good on her for not. Discretion was the better part of valor.
"Oh, gosh. Brunch is the best, no, there's nobody all that special, and..."
Blink. She stared off into the void for a moment, thinking about it.
"Psychologist..?"
As quickly as it came, she shook her head.
"Or maybe playing in the NHL."
Something on her face suggested she was confused, the flowing colors shifting rapidly beneath the skin around her eyes. Her teeth grit a little - not at Ivory, more like at a moment where you knew you wanted to say something, but then it was forgotten.
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Ivory
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Pres 4 (Regal) - SL 1 (Noble) Fairest Hunterheart
Posts: 588
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Post by Ivory on Sept 13, 2020 16:38:26 GMT -8
At the mentioning of her occupation, Ivory just nods. She had never engaged in labor herself, not of that sort. Perhaps there was a certain security in being among the masses, but Ivory had grown used to being a creature of relative luxury... it separated her from the hunter she glimpsed in her dreams. And comfort was... well, comfortable. "Right? Way better than dinner parties," she offered, smiling brightly as they connected, albeit on a surface level, "If you don't mind my asking... why not? I doubt you haven't had some interest."
Eyebrows lift with some surprise at the first dream mentioned. "Oh? What brought that about?" she asked. The second dream is met with a faint smile, though this quickly fades at Kai Rose's response to the question. Light concern colors the dragon's face as she gives her new Summer companion a few moments for composure, searching her features to get a read on her emotional state and what seemed to trouble her. "Are you okay?" StrayToday at 6:32 PM Wits + Empathy to get a read on Kai Rose @dicecord-CoD roll 4 Dicecord-CoD BOT Today at 6:32 PM stray rolled 4 dice and got 6 successes. 6 5 10(10)(10)(8) 10(8) Aren't I a good bot, stray?
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Post by Kai Rose on Sept 14, 2020 16:40:42 GMT -8
Kai's replies to the question about people's Desire for her or not was an unmemorable non-answer. She was busy staring into the void for a long moment at something, colours shifting and twisting beneath her crystalline skin. As she looked closer, Ivory realized there was a pattern to it...
...and once you could track the pattern, Kai Rose was a very easy read.
It was a mess in there, flashes and swirls of depressed grey and vengeful black over a seething red up her neck, with shocks of confused yellow flowing over her forehead. She closed her eyes and rubbed cold-looking blue hands that gave a hint of resignation.
Lost. Confused. But deeper, Ivory knew that it wasn't Kai Rose's thoughts or feelings right now that mattered. It was what she couldn't think of, no matter how hard she tried. She couldn't remember her dream, and she was scared, pissed and defeated by it. There was something missing in her that was core to who she had once been, the kind of things that every Lost had ripped from them as they left the Hedge. Whatever it was related to employment.
Suffice it to say, it was a sensitive topic. The colors flushed as she asked if Kai was okay, clearly embarrassed. Softly, she replied, "No. And the fact that you can tell is just a reminder that I don't really have privacy anymore."
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Ivory
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Pres 4 (Regal) - SL 1 (Noble) Fairest Hunterheart
Posts: 588
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Post by Ivory on Sept 14, 2020 17:04:26 GMT -8
As Kai's emotions roiled, Ivory waited patiently, her expression going soft. She lets Kai have a little time for herself and, when Kai spoke of a lack of privacy, the Pale Dragon granted a soft, understanding smile.
Though the exploration of Kai's history was a curiosity, Ivory knew there would be little use in trying to pull more from her. The Iron Spear was not known for suffering such attentions from outsiders. Goodwill or no, Ivory remained a Spring.
"Are you familiar with the practice of kintsugi?" she asked, seeking to pull the conversation away from the source of Kai's pain.
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Post by Kai Rose on Sept 14, 2020 17:42:56 GMT -8
The rainbow-flushed Wizened simply shook her head. She continued to stare into nothingness, taking an absent sip of her drink, but she was there and wasn't giving off 'closed-off' signals, so it was probably fine for Ivory to continue.
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Ivory
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Pres 4 (Regal) - SL 1 (Noble) Fairest Hunterheart
Posts: 588
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Post by Ivory on Sept 14, 2020 18:18:38 GMT -8
Ivory gave a nod at the answer, before moving her gaze to the pulsating dance floor below.
"Arthur introduced me to it... It's an artform from Japan," she began, "Although it's probably more accurate to call it a system of repair first and art second, but I digress."
The gaze is returned as Ivory directs her intention.
"To put it simply, its a form of ceramic repair, as the idea of tossing out broken pots and lacquerware is a less than receptive ideology in Japan," she continues, "Thus, they create a lacquer from dust and precious metals - gold, silver, platinum... you get the idea. They use this to fill the cracks and empty spaces left by pieces that have been lost. By using the lacquer, the damage that occurred is not disguised, shining as it is with the metal itself, but promoted as a facet in the piece's history. A testament to triumph and endurance, even if some of the shards are lost forever."
Ivory searched Kai's face for understanding or, at the very least, acknowledgment. After all, it would not be wildy inaccurate to assume that some might think of parallels between pottery and the changed existence that the Lost now had to endure.
"How does that pertain to us?" she asks, though the parting of her lips shows the question is rhetorical, Ivory isn't expecting an answer, "It's all in the philosophy... There is nothing wrong with a shattered pot or plate beyond the damage it has incurred. What matters is how we gather the pieces and what we fill all that empty space with. That's the entire source of what we all disagree on, right?"
Desire, Wrath, Fear, and Sorrow had more of a place in the Lost mindset than reactionary forces meant to oppose the Gentry and the means to protect oneself. They defined their very existence and how they came to cope with the mundane world after they had been forever changed.
"We are all broken things. I... don't need to be the one to tell you that. And the unfortunate truth is there is something within every one of us that's lost, likely forever," she concludes, "It's natural to react as we do, none of us asked for our fate. However, the greatest challenge we all face is in beginning again. Whether that's on a path of remembrance or on the path to create a new life based on what remains, is up to you."
Ivory was leaning forward lightly now, delicate fingers wrapping around her nigh-forgotten cosmopolitan to bring to her lips. She sipped, offering her throat a reprieve from So. Many. Words. Then she returned the focus to the shaken Wizened before her, ready to offer a kernel of hope and comfort.
"Regardless of what you choose, you can't walk it alone," Ivory mused, "And it would certainly be my pleasure to help you find the trail."
An offer of friendship. The pair did not know each other well enough to form a motley, but the first steps to such a goal could be achieved, if Kai was willing to grace her feet upon the stones.
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