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year 5, quarter 3
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And If you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
He needed to find shelter, and he needed to find it fast. What at first had been just a few flakes coating his frame had now become blankets of sleet pounding at his exposed flesh. The sky had gone from a quiet blue to a murky grey faster than he had time to register what was happening. The temperature seemed to be dropping by the minute as the snow began to climb past his ankles and impeded his brisk pace. Mateus grimaced as he held his arm up to his face trying to block the torrent of thick hail obscuring his vision feeling the ice cut at his bandaged wound. Maybe he should have listened to that old woman and not trekked up the mountain, but what when he had ever listened to the voice of a commoner? Then again when had he ever been in the mercy of one? He began to think back trying to block his mind from the onslaught of the frozen tundra hoping to block out the cold for just a little while.
~ ~ ~
It had been quite some time since he had left Provo. The air hung almost like a wet second skin on him as made his way down the road only lit by the stars and moon. His jewelry glinted in the moonlight and his shadow demanded the same respect as its caster as the creatures in the high grass ran as it passed over. Aside from the local fauna, the night was quiet almost as if nature was holding its breath as the Emperor walked through it. Mateus was paying no attention to his surroundings his mind focused solely on his destination: Mt Hotan. He had heard tale that in the infested ruins of the cities lay powerful tomes forgotten by both time and those escaping their homes. Now there were few who would brave the monsters and deadly cold atmosphere to find them. Mateus had found the people of this country to be far from brave even when the promise of monetary gain had been presented to them. Feeble, breakable, disposable men. Although his aggravation on not having full access to his former might grew daily, Mateus could play a long game though, he would simply go up the mountain and claim the knowledge for himself.
He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't hear the first call out to him as passed a crossroad. It wasn't until he felt a tug on his arm that he was brought back to his surroundings.The Emperor peered down to see a girl pulling at his taloned gloves. "Hey, mister. You got any food?" Giving her just a quick glance he swatted at her hand and continued down the path. He hadn't made it far before the girl yelled out to him again, "Hey! Mister! I asked if you got any food!" Mateus once ignored the girl's question. It was not a concern of his whether the girl starved or not. For a third time she cried out and Mateus felt a small stone hit him square in the back of the head. He swung around immediately. The girl had gone too far. He would show her how to show respect befitting an Emperor. However before he could make but a few steps, he was ambushed from both sides by two men. As he fell, he raised his arm to try and knock one of his attackers back but caught the sharpened end of the rock the man was brandishing. He watched as his marble skin peeled apart and the blood began to rush out. He didn't have much time to watch as the man took the rock to the back of his head.
Something passing across his brow and a soft voice stirred the Emperor from his sleep. Almost as soon as he began to make out his surroundings, the pounding in his head made him cry out. Mateus found himself slightly reclined his back propped up in a bed, his hair lay spread across his bare chest save a couple bandages in a room he had never seen before. He had never felt this much pain before in his life. He tried to sit straight up but a wrinkled hand gently pushed him back down into the bed. He was surprised that he and his body submitted so easily to the gentle push. "There, there," the voice said. It was a warm and feminine voice but deep like it resonated from the bottom of a well. As his eyes began to adjust to the pulsating pain and the dimness of the room, Mateus could begin to see the form of the woman wiping the sweat from his brow. The woman before him was short only a few inches taller than the bed he was lying in. Her grey hair tied back in a messy bun showed off her wrinkled tanned face with small brown eyes that viewed him with something the Emperor didn't quite understand. Her noticed her hands were wrinkled and calloused as she moved them towards a small bowl and back to his mouth. "Careful, now. Don't strain yourself," the woman remarked tilting the bowl to his dry lips, "This should help with some of the pain." Amidst the pain he hadn't noticed how thirsty he really was and tried to drink the water greedily but slowed as his stomach contracted and his muscles strained as he swallowed.
Mateus tried to speak but was hushed by the woman as soon as he had begun. "I know you must have many questions, but let's get some of your strength back first." The woman gave him a slow weather worn smile, her eyes disappearing into her smile lines. Whatever concoction or potion the woman had given him was beginning to take effect, and Mateus began to really take in his surroundings. He appeared to be in a one room cabin. A black pot hung over a fire which illuminated the rest of the room. It was simply furnished with a wooden table, two wooden chairs, a bookcase used more for knick knacks than books. He appeared to be in the singular bed. He was brought back to attention as the woman began to check a bandage on his rib cage. Impulsively he recoiled from the woman's touch, but she just tutted at him and continued her checking. "You're lucky," she started moving her hands to the wound on his arm, "you were left for dead. Thankfully, my son and his caravan were coming back from their trade route. Found you passed out on the side of the road they did and brought you straight to me." She patted his hand before leaving for the pot by the fire.
Mateus didn't understand. What did this woman and her son think they would gain by attending to him? He didn't have much time to ponder as the woman spoke again as she stirred the pot. "If you have your strength yet, where were you heading down that road?" Mateus was shocked by insolence of the question. She had no need to know of his business. He was going to say as such, but his breath caught when he realized that he did have the strength to say so. It was if the pain he had been enduring had silently slid from his frame to bother him no more. Perplexed and begrudgingly amazed by this speedy recovery he simply let out a "hmph". The old woman chuckled at this response, "I'm no fool. You don't have to tell me anything. That road leads only to this small village and then to Mount Hotan." She tutted as she sprinkled something into the pot. The smell was something Mateus couldn't really describe. It was both mouth watering and gut wrenching. The woman grabbed a ladle and scooped some into a bowl and brought it over to where Mateus was lying. He scrunched his nose at the mixture but begrudgingly accepted the meal as his stomach began to grumble.
After she had finished feeding him, Mateus watched the woman walk to the other side of the room and pick up a basket from the table. "I wish I could stay longer, but it's time to get somewhere a little safer before the Reignstorm comes. I beg you not to continue your journey, but I feel as though my words will do nothing to stop you. There's still some broth in the pot. Drink it. And I pray you return to somewhere safe." As the woman began to leave, Mateus was able to get out one word, "Why?" The woman stopped, turned and smiled at him for just a second before leaving through the door. Mateus lay there confused. Why had this woman saved him? Was it really just a kind act by a stranger? If he had found a stranger on the side of the road, he would have looted them and made on his merry way. Over the next few hours as his strength returned he pondered about who she was and what her end goal was. Also, why was she so worried about a rainstorm?
~ ~ ~
The blizzard was getting worse. The snow had built to about his knees and the Emperor was losing his way. He thought of how he might die buried under the blankets of snow, unremembered, unimportant, extinct. No. He would not allow himself to go that way even as the winds whispered at his frozen flesh to lie down and sleep. Suddenly as though conjured by his determination and will, Mateus began to notice a dark shape emerging from the dark. He worried that he coming across a monster or worse one of the demons the villagers had been so worried about. He knew he would be no match for anything should it come to attack him, but as he journeyed closer, the shape grew until he recognized it for a cabin slightly larger than the one he had left. With all the might he could muster, he forged his way through the blizzard to the cabins door. Mercifully it was unlocked and he threw himself through the door slamming it to the cold behind him.
It wasn't much warmer in the cabin, but it at least provided some protection from the elements. He scanned his surroundings noticing a couch, a kitchen of sorts, and a fireplace with a pile of logs sitting close be. He immediately rummaged in the bag left to him by the old woman grabbing the flint and the kindling of wood she had provided. Hastily he struck a fire in the fireplace and winced as the warm flames licked at his cold flesh. He began to strip off his wet frozen clothes laying them out in front of the measly fire he had managed to build. The room was beginning to slightly warm up, and Mateus fed a log to the fire to help speed the process up. Mateus blew on his fingers as he sat next to the fire letting his clothes dry beside him. When he warmed up he would explore his lodgings a little more. For now this would work, at least until the blizzard let up and he could resume his ascent up the mountain.
Post by Celes Chere on Jul 19, 2017 8:12:18 GMT -6
[attr="class","oneword1"]
[attr="class","fromyou1"]@dust
So I did a thing...
Use your own eyes, and see for yourself which side I'm on.
The wind was a prison. The snow, her ball and chain. For days, Celes had followed the paths of Mount Hotan in search of a town she’d once done work for. She’d estimated it would take less than three days to reach it on foot, and she’d known the trails well enough that she hadn’t even bothered to stop for supplies on the way. Three days, she’d thought, she could make it on her own for three days.
And then the snow fell.
Celes was no stranger to snow. At first, she’d thought it no worse than Narshe, and she’d explored those caves with far worse dangers than this. But the snow was only the beginning. Then came the wind. The ice. Celes had always run cold-blooded (likely due to the power of Shiva coursing through her veins), but this was a kind of cold she’d never experienced before – not even through magic. She shivered with every step – teeth chattering, face stinging with unseen needles.
What had the people of Provo said to her? To expect extreme weather? She hadn’t really listened to them. She’d been too busy overturning every piece of flooded detritus, every rock, every last scrap of rubble, fearing with every passing hour that she’d find him – gray, mottled, and decaying in the water. She never found anything.
Zack was alive. He had to be, but he wasn’t in Provo, and she couldn’t stand the sight of the place any longer. There was the inn where they’d stayed together – washed out, flooded, and murky. There was the pub where they’d told each other of their damage – why hadn’t she ever told him more? Those streets, once filled with sunlight and his beaming smiles, were cloudy, damp, and decayed. No more of his ridiculous stories or his stupid jokes. His wild plans that she almost always shot down, even if she found them charming. Why had she taken it all for granted? Why had she kept herself so guarded? Why-?
Celes shivered violently. She should have stayed. She should have waited for him, but she hadn’t been thinking. Her feet had moved on their own. Surrounded by that grief and that loss and that destruction, that’s all she could think to do. Run, just like she always did. Run to the mountains where it was safe. Where she could live by herself. Where she couldn’t lose anyone. Where she could forget she’d ever lost at all.
And now she was lost in a blizzard.
Perhaps it was what she deserved.
Her boot slipped on ice. She took another weighted step forward. Ahead of her, there was nothing but white. Behind her – white. Before she’d left Provo, she’d had the foresight to buy a coat. Beyond that, she had her bag (with almost nothing left but a tent), and the civilian clothes she’d worn at the time of the flood. It wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough even as she stopped every few steps to warm herself with a fire spell. Her magic sparked in her blood, spurned by adrenaline and desperation alike. The cold had crept in like a poison. Numbing. Burning. The wind howled in her ears. Deafening.
One step. Then another. And another to she didn’t know where. Why had she left? Why couldn’t she stay to face him? Why-?
She didn’t hear the footsteps. Didn’t hear the swing. One second she was struggling to keep moving forward and the next something slammed into her from behind, knocking her five feet sideways into a sheer cliff face. Her skull cracked against stone. Her shoulder smashed into her bones – pain searing. She crumpled into the snow, grasping at her shoulder as she looked up to face the blackened silhouette above her – nearly ten feet tall. It looked like a man on two legs, towering, hulking, and covered in fur. Its face was ape-like and gray, canines bared in fury. She knew that face. Neither beast nor man and skulking about in snowy mountains.
It was a yeti.
“Stop! I’m not here to hurt you!” she cried, hand outstretched, but this yeti wasn’t Umaro. It hadn’t learned to speak, and instead gave a fierce-some roar. This time, she saw its arm swinging, saw the impending strike, and threw her hands together before it could land. A muttered word later and her blood burned with magic. Firaga. It unleashed from her with a roar all its own, like a sunburst of heat, light, and the licking tendrils of flame.
In that moment, four things happened: the yeti was thrown away from her, the snow around her dissipated, she caught sight of a cabin not thirty feet away, and there was a hideous cracking noise on the cliff above her. She threw herself to her feet, wincing at the movement in her shoulder, but stumbled as the ground beneath her trembled. Above her, another crack. Louder this time like the earth itself had broken. Celes stared in horror as the cliff’s icy sheets gave a terrible shudder.
An avalanche.
She was running before the thought had landed. Before she could catch her breath. Her boots slipped in the puddles of snow – quickly freezing. Every movement was agony in her shoulder, but she didn’t feel it. There was only the cabin. The cabin and that terrible crackling like the mountain itself would swallow her whole. She ran even as the wind whipped against her. Even as her vision darkened and her head spun. Celes didn’t bother with the handle as she reached the door – just rammed into it with her good shoulder and forced it open, throwing herself to the floor as the wood gave way. There was a great roar above her and the ground trembled again. Cursing, she grabbed for the door’s edge and threw it closed with her entire body, bracing herself against it as that roar grew louder. Louder. And then-
The cabin shuddered. Screamed. The whole world was shaking as the walls bowed and the snow howled. Celes nails dug into the wood, eyes closed, teeth tight as the air left her and her face heated.
Falling. Falling. The earth would swallow her. That roar – that terrible roar-!
As quickly as it had come, the cabin fell to silence again.
Celes’ breaths slowed. She forced her eyes open. There was a wooden floor beneath her. Wooden walls, and rustic furniture lit in firelight. Slowly, Celes let go of the door. Her fingers trembled as she grabbed at her wounded shoulder. The arm attached to it wouldn’t move right. Dislocated, likely. Celes let out a slow and shaking breath.
And If you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
It took awhile and many logs but the heat from the fire was beginning to make him drowsy. As the flames brought warmth to his unclothed body and a comfortable temperature to the room, Mateus felt himself involuntarily lying down his head setting against the hard wooden floor. As he began to lie he noticed a pillow on the couch and forced himself to grab it before returning to his spot in front of the flames. A loud yawn echoed from him as his eyes drooped and sleep began to overtake him. Hopefully the flame would last until he awoke once more.
As soon as unconsciousness had overtook him, Mateus was violently awakened by the shaking of his surroundings. At first he took it for an earthquake quickly looking above him for the danger of falling objects. He rolled out of the way before a vase that slid off the mantle above the could come into contact with his head. His breathing grew shallow as he continued to try and diffuse the sleep fueled grogginess from his mind and react to the adrenaline pumping through him. All too suddenly the trembling stopped. He wouldn't have admitted to any living soul to how relieved he was that the cabin had not collapsed in on him before his eyes wondered around the room for signs of structural damage. His grogginess instantly lifted when he saw a figure standing by the door frame. He chuckled softly.
"So," he began looking toward the woman with both disdain and humor, "does chaos become you or is this your idea of a grand entrance?" Mateus stood and stretched himself to his full height as he surveyed his new companion. Making it a point not to seem to interested in the sudden stranger, he walked to the window by the door. Feeling how wet his hair had become from thawing in front of the fire, he gently undid his horns until they fell like bangs towards his pelvis blending in with the peach fuzz of his navel. The blinding white from the window caused him concern, and he marched to the other end of the cabin to only find the same predicament from that window. Snowed in.
"Damn," Mateus growled in an accusatory tone. His tiredness and frustration melded into a singular hostile mood. Marching his way to the intruder he wanted to begin in on them but noticed the stranger was clutching their arm as though it were to fall off without the support. Scheming a plan he let his anger subside as he stared at the woman. What business did this person have up on the mountain? Were the simply lost or had they come searching for the same thing he sought? He decided that until he could gather more information it was best to keep her near, and with the avalanche he thought he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon anyway.
"Excuse my earlier rudeness," he began giving her a slight bow, "being forced awake tends to sharpen my tongue unnecessarily." He once again cast his gaze to the way she was holding her arm. Mateus knew that pain was always a viable option to gather knowledge, but had learned from his time in this land that helping led itself to greater rewards. He could always resort to torture later if need be.
"I'm no doctor, but we should probably attend to your arm," Mateus noted letting his words drip with honey like sweetness. "Come sit by the fire, and let's see what we can do." He placed one hand on the smooth skin of his hip while waving over to the fire with the other before walking over and sitting down once more in front of the flames.
Post by Celes Chere on Aug 15, 2017 14:05:05 GMT -6
[attr="class","oneword1"]
[attr="class","fromyou1"]@dust
Well this is going well.
Use your own eyes, and see for yourself which side I'm on.
Celes jumped, grabbing at her sword with her good hand as a laugh echoed from further in the cabin followed by a voice. ”So, does chaos become you or is this your idea of a grand entrance?” There was a shadow by the fireplace. Someone was trapped in here with her. A man. He rose to his feet, slowly unfurling himself to face her.
Celes felt the color drain from her cheeks. A fully naked man.
Time slowed. Her mind numbed. For a moment, there was only herself and the terrible sight in front of her as her eyes failed to grasp what had happened. Why? That was the first thought to return to her followed by What? and How? The Who? didn’t come until after the man had turned away from her and started towards a window. She stared after him in hollow terror.
She had seen naked men once or twice before while enlisted in the army. She’d walked in on Setzer changing once, and it wasn’t like the male form was a mystery to her, but those experiences had been short, mortifying ones that she’d quickly backed away from and avoided. There was no backing away now. She tried looking away, cheeks hot and breath shallow, but that wasn’t an option either. Not when he stood so confidently. So unabashedly as though demanding attention. Not when he could very well have been a threat..
So she stayed where she was, watching him in silent horror as he moved around the cabin, idly checking the windows and confirming that there was no escape. Celes flinched as he turned towards her again, her fingers tighter on her sword with every step he took closer. Then he just stopped. Looking at her. Why was he looking at her?
”Excuse my earlier rudeness.” He gave an almost formal bow, and for the first time, Celes noticed the elaborate jewels in his silky, waist-length hair. ”Being forced awake tends to sharpen my tongue unnecessarily.”
Celes stared at him. It was bizarre more than anything. His formal mannerisms. His complete confidence. His air of disregard all while being completely naked. She opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was a kind of strained, uncertain hum. She closed it again as his tone softened to something almost compassionate.
”I’m no doctor, but we should probably attend to your arm,” he said, and Celes blinked.
”Oh! The word popped out without her thinking. She’d forgotten about her arm. It throbbed painfully against the nails embedded in her jacket. ”Ah, that’s alright, I’ll-“
”Come sit by the fire and let’s see what we can do.” His hand touched at the smooth skin of his hip as gesture elegantly towards the fireplace. Celes opened her mouth to object, but could manage nothing more than an uncertain ”Uh…?” The man was already moving without her, settling onto the cabin floor with his knees folded casually. Celes stared at him blankly, swallowed, and tried to find her voice again. When she managed, it had gone up nearly half an octave.
”No, no!” she squeaked. ”I’m fine! I’m-!” Celes closed her eyes and took a long, steadying breath. She was alone in a snowed in cabin in the middle of a blizzard. She was trapped inside with a mysterious and potentially helpful naked man. Those were the facts and she needed to approach them sensibly. When Celes opened her eyes again, they were as sharp as a viper’s glare. ”Will you put on some clothes already?!” The command cleared her head almost instantly. She struggled to her feet, wincing as the movement rattled her shoulder. She gripped it tighter, jaw tight.
”It’s a dislocated shoulder. I’ve dealt with it before, and I can do it again, but you’re not touching me until you’re clothed.” Celes let out a hissing breath between her teeth. There were still several feet between them, and while she longed for the heat of the fire against her numbed fingers, she refused to take a step closer. Hypothermia hadn’t claimed her yet, and she wouldn’t cozy up to a naked stranger for warmth until her life depended on it. And she wasn’t entirely certain about the idea even then.
”I’m sorry about the avalanche,” she added almost as an afterthought. ”We’ll have to wait out the blizzard before finding a way out of here.”
And If you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
Mateus sat on the floor waiting for his new companion to join him. His plan of action was to help her with her arm, suggest they search the cabin for any sustenance, and then he would woo her with conversation over dinner until she bore her secrets. It was a simple plan, but he hoped it would prove effective. He gave a chuckle full of mirth under his breath. Usually that was enough to get him what he wanted. He hoped he would not have to use anything more harmful to coerce her for information, but he was ready to do what was needed.
He had almost responded to her ignorant remarks about being fine with a flippant wave of his wrist before the demand caused him to spin on the spot to face his companion. He laughed casually at her indignation. How stupid did this woman have to be. "My dear," he said casting his arm towards his clothes, "I wondered upon this cabin cold and nearly dead from frost." He hoped she could connect the dots from there but decided to elaborate his point further. Couldn't be too careful with a stranger though, and commoners tended to not be the smartest individuals. "As I don't care to catch my death from hypothermia, I don't see me adorning those clothes until they are completely dry." He affixed her with a very dry stare hoping she knew he was firm on this, but forcing himself to try to be polite, "I suggest you do the same unless you have a spare set of clothing."
He hoped this would be enough to squash that argument. He was not going to die because of modesty. He then remembered that those of common blood were so afraid of the flesh that they shunned nudity and sexuality so he added, "And don't worry. You'll find I'm," he fished for the words that would sound tamer than the ones he thought of her female physique waving his hand in the air to further his point, "not stirred so easily by the flesh." Mateus gave a smirk before positioning himself to face the fire once more.
It wasn't that he had never enjoyed another person's physicality, but often he found most people to be so trivial and dull that carnal desire never materialized. Others though, were easily swayed by the idea of such physical intimacy. A murky memory lazily stirred in his mind as he remembered planting a Lamia Queen in the place of Princess Hilda to try to seduce and hopefully dispose of... Who had been so troublesome that he had to hatch the plan himself? The harder he tried to remember the further the character seemed to slip from his mind until he began to form a headache from his intense concentration. He rubbed his head as he let go of the notion, for it mattered not. That was then and this was now.
Mateus continued looking into the fire casually adding another log as it began to dwindle as he addressed the woman, "Seeing as we're most likely to enjoy the evening together in this," he cast his eyes around the cabin trying and failing to keep the judgment out of his voice, "humble dwelling; we should become acquainted. I say this because, as you said, you have trapped us, and I imagine even if we could leave by some happenstance, again as you said, the storm rages outside. Also, I believe even if that should let up, night will be upon us soon. Seeing as your arm is still in need of attention, it begets a suicide mission I'm not ready to undertake even if my clothes were suitable. Are you?" He let the question hang in the air believing he already knew the answer before continuing "As such you may call me Mateus. Hopefully it will be a pleasure to have met your acquaintance," The lack of honorifics stung at his pride as he gave her the grace of calling him his plain name, but he had learned all too quickly that Palamecia was far far gone and no empire ruled here. Yet.
Post by Celes Chere on Aug 18, 2017 12:47:23 GMT -6
[attr="class","oneword1"]
[attr="class","fromyou1"]@dust
Oh god. You've unlocked Celes' SUPER PISSED OFF RAGE
Use your own eyes, and see for yourself which side I'm on.
The man laughed at her. Even as her gaze sharpened. Even as she barked her orders like the general she was, he laughed.
”My dear,” he said, gesturing at a point behind him. ”I wandered upon this cabin and nearly died from frost.” The words didn’t land immediately. She was still too shaken from the avalanche, too thrown by his nakedness, too enraged by his patronizing laughter to fully understand what he meant at first. ’Well that makes two of us,’ she wanted to snarl, but stopped herself before she could make the situation any worse. Instead she watched him as he explained his situation with all the smug pretension of a college professor arguing the color of the sky. He didn’t want to “catch his death from hypothermia.” He couldn’t wear anything until they’d dried. All of that was fine and well, but he acted as though she were the irrational one for not wanting to share a cabin alone with a naked stranger. If her teeth weren’t chattering, the words would have burned off her tongue. If she wasn’t still shaken, she would have scolded him a hundred times over for his sheer, infuriating cockiness, but she didn’t get the chance. Not until he’d affixed her with an almost forceful look and made the worst possible suggestion imaginable: ”I suggest you do the same unless you have a spare set of clothing.”
”What?!”
Her cheeks were on fire. She took a step back in recoil. Her tongue fell heavy as she stared at him, those words echoing hollowly through her head. Was he suggesting what she thought he was suggesting?
”And don’t worry. You’ll find that I’m-…” He hesitated, struggling for the right words. ”Not stirred easily by the flesh.” He smirked at her as Celes felt her jaw fall slack.
”Excuse me?”
He continued on. Adding another log to the fire and talking about how they should “become better acquainted” and how they were trapped. ”I say this because, as you said, you have trapped us,” he pointed out, and Celes’ hand darted once again to her sword. She had so many words for him then. Even with her cheeks flaring so hot that they could have melted snow. Even with her complete shock. Even with his off-putting nudity, she wanted nothing more than to let her tongue strike sharp as her sword – safety be damned.
She wanted to slap that smarmy pretense off his lips. She wanted to teach him that there were consequences to his words that she wasn’t one to be trifled with. She wanted to belittle this man. This overconfident, unbelievable man who had the gall to suggest she cozy up to him naked.
This man who had told her not to worry because she wouldn’t interest him anyway.
Her fists clenched.
”As such, you may call me Mateus,” the man concluded. ”Hopefully it will be a pleasure to have met your acquaintance.”
Celes waited. She waited to see if there was any more. She waited for her own thoughts to catch up to her. She waited until all sound from his speech had faded and the cabin was completely silent but for the crackling of firewood. For a long, dreadful moment she waited.
Then she took a breath.
Counted to five.
And looked at him.
”I’m sorry that I didn’t die in an avalanche outside,” she started. ”And so sorry that I wasn’t expecting to find a naked man in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. You know. How silly of me! To be shocked by that!” Celes turned on her heel and started towards the other side of the cabin. She found a cabinet in the corner and knelt by it, opening the doors and rummaging through the supplies. ”The more I think about it, I shouldn’t have expected anything else! It must be karma. I’ve done something terrible and so I was caught in a blizzard with the most repulsive company imaginable!” She pulled out a box of candles, a handful of packaged beef jerky, and a lighter before standing and moving on.
”So no, I doubt it will be a pleasure. I don’t care much for weak men with their heads up their own asses.” She forced open a closet with her good arm and grimaced as her shoulder jerked from the effort. She hissed in pain, grabbing at her elbow to stabilize it. She needed to get it back in socket, but not until she’d deal with more important matters.
Her heart jumped as she caught sight of what she’d wanted most folded at the bottom of the closet. She grabbed it with her good hand and dragged it back to the fireplace. ”Here,” she said as she unfurled the quilted blanket and thrust it at him. ”At least spare me the sight.”
Her heart pounded with her own fury. She hadn’t talked like this since her days in Vector, and even then, only to the most impetuous of soldiers. She felt her cheeks flare with red even as her eyes narrowed. ”And don’t talk to me like that again. Telling me to…do the same..” Her mouth tightened in an uncertain line. ”I don’t care what you’re stirred by.”
And If you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
Mateus sat absentmindedly near the fire waiting to see if the woman would join him or not. It wasn't much concern to him what she did as long as she remained passive. He was still tired and really wasn't looking for a fight and from the looks of her, Mateus assumed she didn't have anything of real value with her either. He yawned as he threw another log into the fire. The flames licked at their new fuel and it reminded him of the many cities he had watched burn to the ground. Fire was a cleanser an exorcist of the unwanted and unwilling. A smirk spread across his face as he recalled how Fynn had burned as he watched traitors and rebels burn along with it.
But before his memories could engross him much further, the woman began on a tirade. Bemused Mateus circled to watch her and pretend like he cared about what she was screeching on about. As she pranced about, Mateus checked his nails which had chipped and cracked as he had made the perilous climb. He grimaced at their horrible condition. He continued to half listen as once again began undoing the knots in his hair the wet and ice had formed. Mateus became so absorbed in this activity that he didn't notice the blanket hurdled in his direction. Caught off guard the blanket covered his head like a child playing hide and seek.
Mateus could feel the indignation bubbling up inside him. What a impudent, wretched wench. Caught up in the moment, Mateus raised his palm in her general direction readying himself to release a barrage of flames but as he willed the fire to burst forth the distinct lack of flames brought him back to his senses. He clenched his palm into a fist as he tore the blanket from his head. Standing he fastened it about his torso and midsection before making his way over to the couch to sit and watch what other antics this girl would get into.
"My, my, what tempers the common folk possess," he started making himself comfortable on the couch. "How foolish to believe in a thing like karma. For that ,as well as luck and happenstance, are merely for those too weak to seize their own destiny. Might I suggest it's your own inability to adapt to any surprises that has caused such an uproar?" He smirked letting his fingers crawl down the flesh of his forearm. "And lo, your own indignation has done nothing for you, but has benefited me with more warmth while you still stand broken and tattered."
Mateus yawned and proceeded to recline stretching his legs out over the couch. He decided to not respond to her insults as it would only bring him down to her level of simplicity. As a pinnacle of the human form, he thought she should have shown some reverence at seeing him disrobed. Not many had and fewer had lived to tell the tale. Anyone who could tell of any vulnerabilities were to be disposed of swiftly. He cocked his head back at her direction, "How quaint. You speak to me with such disrespect and have the nerve to tell me how my speech should be," Mateus began, "and all this after I extended a helping hand." He threw his hand across his brow for dramatic effect before standing.
He made a show of walking by her without looking at her before tending to the fire once more. "Your presence here bears no consequence to me unless you wish to impede me come time for our departure," he stated plainly adding another log to the dying flames. Mateus then began to roam the cabin once again raiding through the drawers and cabinets as well. Opening a drawer he found a small pot, a can opener, and a mixed collection of various canned foods. He crinkled his nose at his options but starvation was not part of his plan. He rather clumsily figured out how to open the can of black beans and sat again next to the fire cooking them slowly. "Maybe your red hot temper could melt the snow about us and we could depart sooner," he taunted hoping that they wouldn't have long to wait. He had a city to find and magic to discover. One woman and some snow would not stop him for long.
Post by Celes Chere on Jan 29, 2018 8:13:57 GMT -6
[attr="class","oneword1"]
[attr="class","fromyou1"]@dust
I think she realized that he's completely useless in this environment.
Use your own eyes, and see for yourself which side I'm on.
The entire time she spoke, the man just sat there, eyeing his nails and smirking as though he was above every scathing word. He was so distant from her, in fact, that he barely noticed when she pulled out the blanket and didn’t see it hurtling towards him. He made a displeased noise on impact as it draped over his entire head, and for the first time, Celes smirked her own satisfaction. Then the moment passed and he grabbed it furiously. Their eyes met and for the first time, Celes found something there other than smug indifference. Something dark. Something vicious. He raised a hand, and Celes’ good arm flew instinctively to her sword, but nothing came from it. Silence passed between them, his fingers twitched, and like a switch being flipped, his expression cleared. Celes kept her hand on her sword until his hand was safely lowered again, and she eyed him carefully even after that.
Had he tried to cast magic?
He grabbed the blanket and stood, wrapping it around his waist and tying it at the side so it wouldn’t slip. Something in Celes breathed a sigh of relief, but it was drowned by whatever it was she’d just seen. What exactly had gone through his head? Had he considered killing her? She didn’t like it -- not in the slightest -- and the return of his haughty indifference didn’t help anything.
”My, my. What tempers the common folk possess.” Celes felt her fingers twitch into her palms as the man positioned himself on the couch. He berated her for her apparent belief in karma (it had been a joke, or couldn’t he tell?) before suggesting that the problem was her. That she was weak. Unable to adapt to change. Her lips thinned at his suggestions, so wrong and misguided and utterly ridiculous. She hadn’t led armies against the last independent holdout on the continent because she’d been weak. She hadn’t joined a rebellion against her own emperor because she’d been unable to adapt. Celes let out an uneven breath between her teeth.
Steady. Keep yourself steady. He’s not worth the trouble.
He sprawled backwards on the couch, laid across it like he expected to be painted. ”How quaint,” he began, cocking his head in her direction. ” You speak to me with such disrespect and have the nerve to tell me how my speech should be, and all this after I extended a helping hand.”
”A helping hand?” Celes stared at him in utter disbelief. Did he honestly think he’d tried to help her? When? Her mind reeled even as he tossed a dramatic hand to her and stood again. Is that what he’d been trying to do? She played back the conversation in her head, slower this time. He’d berated her for reacting to his body and complete lack of shame. He’d suggest she come join him by the fire. And he’d…
Had he offered to help her arm? She blinked and glanced at him again. All of his smug pretense had completely burned it from her mind.
He dismissed her again, telling her that she didn’t matter so long as she didn’t plan to stand in his way. For once, Celes held her tongue except for a quiet snort of laughter beneath her breath. Why on earth would she ever stop him from leaving? He didn’t seem to notice, and instead busied himself in a cabinet, wrinkling his nose at a can of something before struggling to open it. Celes crossed her arms and watched, eyes burning with amusement.
It was like he’d never used a can opener before. The task took him far too long, and once he’d gotten the jagged shard of metal of the top, he poured it out with a delicate and awkward hand that seemed far too concerned about the positioning of his nails. He hung the whole concoction carefully above the fire before sitting in front of it and eyeing the flames. ”Maybe your red hot temper could melt the snow about us and we could depart sooner.” His voice dripped with sarcasm, but Celes let it slide off her with a single twitch of her lip. She took a breath, a deep one, and let it out slowly.
”You know, ’common folk’ are good for more than our tempers.” Celes walked to the fire and peered inside to make sure he hadn’t somehow made a mistake. Since the task was nearly foolproof, he hadn’t, but she still reminded him to ”Watch the fire and make sure you don’t dry it out,” anyway. Then she walked to the window and eyed the wall of snow beyond it carefully.
”I don’t know if I could use my temper,” Celes said as lightly as she could manage, ”But my magic should do just fine.” She glanced back at him, fixing him with a look that carried more heat than she meant it to. ”If we wait for the snow to die down, then I’ll melt a path out of here. You can go your way and I can go mine. I wouldn’t want to impede you, after all.”
Celes turned to consider him, sitting there half-naked by the fire. She glanced from his long and silky hair to his long nails -- chipped where they’d clearly once been painted. She’d known men like him before in cities like Vector and Jidoor, and she’d hated every one of them. It wasn’t his confidence or glamor that bothered her -- Setzer had owned both of those in spades -- but rather his complete dismissal of anyone but himself. Celes took another breath to steady herself.
Whether she liked it or not, she was trapped her until the snow stopped. Shouting wouldn’t make it go any faster and it wouldn’t exactly improve the night for her. Maybe, just maybe, he hadn’t known what he was doing. Maybe he lacked the social awareness of a child, and maybe a man who went around referring to “common folk” wasn’t used to handling criticism.
The sight of him still made her skin crawl, but maybe showing that wasn’t the best tactic for her at the moment. Celes felt her lips thin as she sat by the fire, leaving a healthy two foot gap between them. She didn’t want to give this man anything -- let alone the benefit of the doubt -- but it was better than fighting until morning. So long as he kept his distance and tamed his tongue, she’d do the same.
”I’m Celes.” She glanced at him before quickly looking away again, lips as tight as ever. ”Since we’ll likely be sitting here until morning, you might as well know my name.” She pushed back her hair irritably and tossed it over her shoulder. ”I used to be a general. I can be a little…harsh when I’m surprised.” It wasn’t an apology. She’d never apologize, but it was something. Hopefully enough to appease him.
She touched at her shoulder -- still useless. Still throbbing in pain. She bit her tongue and grasped at her elbow. Could she get it back at this angle? ”If that offer’s still on the table, I guess I’ll take it,” she said, though the words soured on her tongue. ”Have you ever popped an arm back into socket?”
And If you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
He eyed his culinary creation with all the attention he could muster. He didn't think he had ever had to cook for himself. It couldn't be that hard though if peons could do it though. Still a prickling sense of despair began to set in. He wouldn't be able to deal with the shame if he let these beans burn with this woman watching him. Thankfully the woman decided to dole out a tip. Mateus scoffed but quickly removed them from the flame after she had started staring out of the window.
Mateus was only half listening when he heard that the woman was capable of wielding magic. Taken by surprise, he stopped blowing on his sad beans as he looked at the woman again. Unfortunately, she had decided to affix him with a stare. Now knowing the woman could help him get out of here, he quickly went back to trying to cool his supper down dropping his gaze from hers. If she really did possess some innate magical talents, now was the time to back down, wait, and observe. She might prove of use after all.
He began eating his beans and grimaced at the taste. He coughed trying to get the taste of them out of his mouth. How could something taste so bland? Was this really what people ate day in and day out? Mateus forced himself to swallow the first bite before hesitantly eyeing the second. Sadly this was the only swill available so he forced some more of the mushy flavorless mess down. Retching at one point he slowly put the pot down and noticed that the woman had finally sat relatively nearby offering her name and rank.
"Celes..." he let the name drip off his tongue letting its lightness hang softly in the air. A slew of scathing retorts festered about his mind but there were answers he wanted, and if she were willing to calm down and behave, "A general capable of wielding magic. Either your commanding officers had no fear or were fools to let one have so much power." He shone a whimsical smile in her direction to show her this was a positive statement. Still, with what he had seen from this world he guessed that she was not of any standing army this place would be capable of scrounging up. "And with such power, it's safe to assume that you and I are more similar than first thought." He let the statement sit in the air for a moment both as a compliment and a threat that despite the current circumstances he was not to be trifled with.
"Are you displaced as well? Adrift in a world not your own?" Mateus twirled his hand in the air as a he spoke hoping that his guess was already correct. The lost tended to flock to any guiding light, and maybe, just maybe, he could be her lamp and she his sword. "I guess that's what has lead us both to this stormy mountain. Trying to find something we've lost, a sense of purpose, perhaps?" He forced another sly smile her direction hoping the open-endedness of his question would lead to her explaining more of why she was here.
Mateus was pulled from his line of thought and speech when she asked if he could, or now more importantly would, help fix her shoulder and if he knew how. The question had his mind reeling back to the torture chamber in the Castle Palamecia. One of the more minor forms of torture he had concocted was popping joints out of sockets for every time an answer was not forthcoming. Now hadn't he learned how to pop them back in for the pleasure of ripping them back out? "I've had some experience, but be warned I'm no medic," he warned surveying her shoulder. He looked back at the pot of beans he had been eating and was definitly not going to partake anymore in. Mateus didn't want her passing out from fatigue while he handled her shoulder. "Here," he said tentatively sliding the pot over to her, "You should eat for strength. It'll help."
"If you trust me, we should get this over with. I'll need you to lie down somewhere. The couch is probably our most comfortable option at this juncture. After we'll get to know one another as comrades," Mateus stood from his position and sat on the arm of the couch waiting for her to join him. He hoped this would be as quick and painless as possible unless she lipped off to him again. It might not be so painless then.
Post by Celes Chere on Jan 31, 2018 7:53:52 GMT -6
[attr="class","oneword1"]
[attr="class","fromyou1"]@dust
Celes is awkward. Always.
Use your own eyes, and see for yourself which side I'm on.
Whatever the man had been expecting from the canned rations hidden in a cupboard in the mountains for who knew how long, it obviously hadn’t been accurate. The man winced as a spoonful touched his tongue. He chewed as though it physically pained him to do so, and rather than swallow, he retched as though he was going to lose it all the second his throat was finished with it. Celes could only smirk as he struggled against every baser instinct just to eat something as unremarkable as a can of beans. Part of her almost pitied him, but it was such an insignificant part that she ignored it completely. She’d always hated weak men far too grandiose to back it up, and she’d hated this man from the outset.
For the sake of the peace, she didn’t say anything. But for the sake of herself, she enjoyed his disgust endlessly.
”Celes.” She didn’t like the way he said her name -- as though he could feel her very essence on his tongue. ”A general capable of wielding magic. Either your commanding officers had no fear or were fools to let one have so much power."
”What?” Celes gave the man a strange look. The whole thing sounded like a very pretentious and very specific insult, but the tone was wrong, and when the man looked at her, it was with an odd kind of smile that she couldn’t quite make it out. ”I...guess?” she tried because she didn’t know what else to say. He certainly wasn’t wrong when she looked at how it had all turned out. They chose two generals to give magic, and what did they get for it? A traitor and a madman. But it was certainly an odd point to bring up after an introduction.
”And with such power,” the man continued with a small smile, ”It’s safe to assume that you and I are more similar than first thought.” He paused then, looking at her, and Celes wondered what it was he wanted. Was he trying to imply they were both from somewhere else? Because that had been clear to her the moment she’d spotted his silky hair and painted nails. ”Are you displaced as well? Adrift in a world not your own?” he asked finally, though it was all far too poetic for how obvious she’d found it. "I guess that's what has lead us both to this stormy mountain. Trying to find something we've lost, a sense of purpose, perhaps?"
He glanced her way as though she’d been let in on some kind of secret, but Celes couldn’t see the point of it for the life of her. Instead, she just gave him a wary look and muttered the first thing that came to her mind which in this case was apparently, ”Er...yeah…”
Celes had never claimed to have a way with words.
At the very least, he seemed to have some kind of experience with first-aid. That was surprising considering his reaction to the beans, her feelings, and socialization in general. But she’d take it so long as he wasn’t lying. He even thought to pass his horrible pot of rations along to her with something almost echoing actual human concern. ”Here,” he said, thrusting the thing at her. ”You should eat for strength. It’ll help.”
For once, he’d said something she could actually agree with, and she rewarded the minor act of decency with a nod of approval and an actual, half-pleasant word. ”Thanks.” He went on to tell her to lay on the couch when she was ready, and she nodded again until he finished with something about “getting to know each other comrades.” ”Ah…” She glanced from where he stood waiting -- still half-naked, still as unpleasant as ever, but at least genuinely helpful -- to his pitiful offering in the pot before her and bit her tongue. There were so many things she could have said and so many ways she could have berated him. It was ingrained in her every instinct, but it would get her nowhere now. So Celes steeled herself, she let out another breath and swallowed back every harsh word on her tongue. Unfortunately, that left her only with another awkward and simple, ”Thanks.”
The conversation was truly riveting.
But he seemed done, for now at least, and content to wait for her at the couch. So she took the spoon in her good hand and filled it with a scoop of the rations in front her. She eyed it distastefully before shoving it in her mouth.
”Ugh.” She grimaced the same as he had, but kept chewing anyway and she certainly didn’t retch.”That’s about what I’d expected,” she said, and nearly laughed at her own reaction. The beans weren’t terrible but the consistency was like waterlogged insects and the taste was nearly nonexistent. ”Can you believe there was a time I would have loved to come across something like this?” That had been after the Floating Continent. After Kefka had engulfed the world in fire and wrath. Celes shook her head and took another bite of the flavorless mush. ”These are worse than battle rations. I wonder how long they’ve been here.” Longer than she’d been in Zephon, probably. The time here had clearly softened her if this made her wince.
Still, a life in the military and a year of surviving the apocalypse had a way of sticking with a person. She managed about a fourth of the pot before shoving it away with a smirk. ”There. That ought to stave off starvation at least.” It was almost like a joke with herself. It’s better than nothing. It was a mantra from the old days and one she’d exchanged with just about everyone with varying degrees of sarcasm.
Locke had hated the roasted monster bits they’d resorted to back then. His first night on the airship, he’d grabbed his throat and pretended to choke, flailing dramatically though she knew it had all been for show. She’d laughed along with everyone else anyway, and then fixed him with a stern look and told him those same words. It’s better than nothing.
Celes smiled sadly. How long had it been since she’d been able to think of Locke without her heart wrenching in pain? Maybe she was doing a little better after all.
”Well, there’s no point putting it off.” Celes grasped her arm, supporting it from the elbow as she stood. ”It’s only dislocated, but I might as well be crippled for all the good it’s doing me.” She gave the windows a sharp look as though her attacker could still see her -- buried somewhere beneath roughly twelve feet of snow. ”I was taken by surprise in the storm. A yeti if you can believe my luck. I knew one once so I tried to talk it down, but it wasn’t exactly eager to listen. I had to drive it back with magic, and that’s when the ice cracked.” Celes sighed, shaking her bed before perching on the edge of the couch. She glanced at the man, biting her tongue before stiffly laying herself back. She didn’t like the position it put her in -- vulnerable and at his mercy -- but she didn’t have much of a choice. ”I could do it myself,” she assured him with a careful look. ”But it’s harder to get the angle right. As long as you’re here and know what you’re doing…”
Why was she talking so much? Maybe it was the nerves. She steeled herself for what she knew was about to come, gritting her teeth with one hand clenched and the other ready to summon magic in case he tried anything she didn’t like. ”Alright.” The word came tense through gritted teeth. ”I’m ready when you are.”
