Helayne Ilirium Hel made her way inside the blacksmiths shop. The usuals suffocating heat had died down to a light smother. The scent of smoke and oil still filled the air as she made her way to the back. Halfdan smiled at the sight of her, his mismatched eyes looking over her carefully. “You seem to be in one piece still, lass!” He laughed, reaching out to tug her into his burly arms, crushing her against him in a fierce hug. Hel gasped slightly, choking on a laugh as she embraced the old man back. “Still in one piece for now. You said you’d found a dress?” The blacksmith sat her back on her feet once more, his expression changed, suddenly serious. “Aye, I have something in mind… are you sure you want to keep doing this though? You’re walking into a den of vipers, lass You may never find what you’re looking for...” His normally stoic face was darkened with worry. His creased forehead exaggerated the already scarred skin, the pale moon eye staring blindly back at her. “You know that answer,” she held her voice firm, gaze unwavering. “I have to keep trying.” He only nodded, turning to grab a box off his cleanest work table. “This belonged to your mother. I did have some changes made. You’re much taller then she was, but she brought this dress with her from her own world before she joined ours.” She found herself without words, shocked he’d have kept such a piece from her. Opening the lid she found a gold collar attached to simple black silk. She ran her hand over the fabric fondly, the garment so foreign from the customs she grew up knowing. A knot formed in her throat envisioning her mother young and happy, entwined in a dance with her father. She looked up at Halfdan and smiled sadly at him, “Thank you… How do you have it?” His own smile mirrored the pain of hers, but he simply nodded. “She’d asked me to sell it, er, well after everything happened and she just had you and her younger brood…” He coughed, hating to dredge up the memories for either of them. “You’re welcome to get ready here, I’ll be out in the shop when you’re ready.” Hel jumped on the change of topic, “That’s okay, I’ll take Freya.” “Freya?!” He barked back in reply, “That hell beast is not fit for this occasion. Besides you’ll be in your gown, how will you ride and look like any sort of lady?” He tossed up his hand, flexing the stumps of his missing fingers as if to emphasize his point. Hel laughed, “The kind that rides hard and fast.” She turned from his red face and made her way back into the house to avoid any further argument. …………. Standing in front of the broken mirror, she pulled the thin wisp of a gown up over her hips, wrapping the collar around her throat. It covered most of the ancestral tattoo. She frowned at its absence, but perhaps it was for the best to keep it hidden. The black silk slipped down to wrap around her lean frame, showing curves she never knew were there. It barely hid the side of her breast and fell low to the crest of her bottom, trimmed in gold that chilled her skin at its touch. The tight braid she’d woven her hair into revealed her bare back and the thick deep grooving scars there. She turned to see them and grimaced. Refusing to let the memories resurface she quickly shook her long silver blonde hair out and draped it across her back to try and hide them. It would have to do. At the bottom of the box was a beautiful headpiece that she had vague memories of her mother wearing, something more familiar to her family. She pulled the thin threads of gold onto the top of her head, draping across her nose and gathering at the nape of her neck. She hardly recognized the reflection staring back at her. Too much felt wrong. Too naked without her bows familiar weight at her back and the weight of her blades at her hip. She’d only just managed to hide a few silver daggers at each thigh. Her hands were not a lady’s hands, they were callused and scarred, a hunter’s hands. She rubbed them together self consciously, as if she could find a way to hide them. There was no more use waiting, it didn’t truly matter what she looked like anyway, so long as she blended in. Halfdan was waiting with a shabby looking carriage that she couldn’t imagine what bog he’d dragged it from. “I’ll drop you off, Freya will be hidden nearby if you need a quick escape.” Hel smiled, allowing him to drop her off at the houses front door. Before she could make her way into the gate, he grabbed her hand quickly, his eyes brimming with moisture. “Don’t forget you’re as good as any of ‘em in there, lass. More then. You are the blood of Valthira, you make us all proud. Be careful,” and with his warning, he was swinging himself up, the tap of his wooden leg signaling the horses on as it lumbered off. Hel held back her emotions at his words turning to face the house once more. The mansion was unlike anything she’d ever seen. Finery that she and her people had never known. Oh, she was so very far from the mountains she thought. Her gaze traveled over the rich clothing and jewelry with stones big enough to feed entire villages. Most of all, she searched the faces, tried to recognize family crests and significant players who may have some information. Doing her best to blend in and disappear in the crowd, she made her way carefully through it, listening as she went. ooc: no poison wine yet?! sorry, got long and rambly and kind of rushed it at the end . also going to say this dress is black since we at a wedding >.> LOL

art by EpsilonWheeler

No matter how helpful the witch may have intended to be, plans hardly had time to rise to fruition before being spoiled and Evanora found herself other… distractions. Those in the form of one far too familiar. Unsurprising he supposed when it came to that woman - or any of those he tended to label as friend for that matter - as many seemingly held eyes for a particular fox. While action may have strayed from their initial musings this would still keep at least one set of eyes from him. And with all which blossomed around the estate this day it would be easy enough to evade a father’s searing gaze.

It wouldn’t be hard to find replacement for the company lost.

Rose tinted gaze flickering over the sea of unknowns, so many entirely unfamiliar to him while others held a minor sense of knowing. Faces glimpsed in gatherings one was made to attend at Valerius’ side though amongst them came surprise. A different spark of familiarity, a little more than just a passing visage as recognition blossomed over the frame of the hunter. A woman decorated in far different garb than when he’s first beheld her in the woods. Drenched in a cloak of blood rather than the scant flow of fabric and clamp of glittering gold. Yet even without crimson streaking against flesh, other assets caught his eye.

The goat content to watch her for a moment. Drinking in motion as he chased after her own gaze, watchful to the way it flickered over those who drifted her by though she would not be left to wander. Unspoken lure guided steps as so easily he glided to her side. Free hand offered, hoping to slip beneath her own in greeting his parents might find proper. Though even if touch was granted those fingers would stop short of rising to his lips as instead a name would escape, “Helayne, it is nice to see you again.” However, the goat had hardly approached for unneeded introduction.

Lyrics dropping in tone, a honeyed whisper so that only she may be privy to them, “Are you looking for something?” The roving dance of her gaze something noticeable to one who stared, flickering and never resting upon one place or creature for too long. “Or do you just have a wandering eye?” Silent tease as the vibrancy of his stare peered toward her own.

mild symptoms surfacing: dilated pupils, eventually further vision issues
will add whatever else crops up later

Helayne Ilirium Hel glanced around, taking in each carefully painted face. She tried to keep her stares brief, avoiding eye contact with most and the glares of those who felt her class unwelcome here. Her mind was steadily matching names with faces she’d never truly seen before. More than that though, she couldn’t help but look around in disapproval. You’d have never known a war was taking place by the glamor of the gilded halls. Servants hurried around with food and drink, tables lay carefully decorated and arranged around the room with even more trays of things she didn’t even recognize. To allow the entrance of everyone though was at least something, she supposed. The hollowed faces of hunger were scattered around the room just as much as those flush and full. Her slow progress brought her to stand next to the fountain, where she watched dark shadows lurk in corners. She imagined there would be all manner of bargains struck within these walls tonight. Hunting for pieces that may link to the desolation of her home so many years ago seemed unlikely, even to her, but she couldn’t give up just yet. Memories pulled at her focus, bloodstained snow, violent hands and teeth… The scarred flesh of her back seemed suddenly too tight. She took a steadying breath, forcing her mind back to the present, meeting a familiar crimson gaze as he came closer. The warmth of his hand slipped beneath her own in greeting, ”Helayne, it is nice to see you again.” He leaned in closer, his voice dropping so that only she might hear, ”Are you looking for something? Or do you just have a wandering eye?” She smiled slyly in return, her gaze split between his own and those that still made their way around them., ”August, it is good to see you as well.” She met his gaze, noting the reflex of his pupils, a wine glass in hand. ”Oh, I’ve just never seen something quite so grand,” she tried at a light laugh, not exactly a lie, but not exactly the truth either. ”I suppose congratulations are in order though, how are you faring?”

art by EpsilonWheeler

He knew there were eyes burning into his back, those watchful of any interactions held and just who it was he chose to keep the company of. Curiosity, disapproval, it didn’t matter which. Let them stare, let them forge falsities upon whispered rumors. Nothing said before had ever deterred action in the past why would he let it start now? Often times it merely fueled what so many claimed to be ‘misbehavior’. Shameful. When the reality of it all was typically far tamer than those imaginations may weave for their own entertainment.

But now, with the huntress temporarily snared, it was her focus alone that he cared to keep. An easy smile tugging at his lips as still that crystalline gaze flickered before finally fixating upon his own. Horned crown shaking lightly as a soft huff of disbelief fled his lungs. Never she claimed. Never beheld something so grand, while the goat remained certain there were far more resplendent things out there than some glimmering estate. Though her laugh appeared genuine, one no different than the feigned politeness encountered time and time again. However, unlike they, if she truly hadn’t been in such a place before it could easily be placed upon nerves. Unease drawn from lingering in unfamiliar terrain.

Something that could be remedied should she wish to explore.

“I could show you more of it if you’d like,” he needed to get away from the feeling of so many eyes anyways, “I know no better guide.” Wink offered upon teasing lyrics for these decorated halls were more than familiar. A childhood home he had yet to forget. Past dwellings where a path would not be halted by those placed guards and servants for unlike the masses - his face was known. One glimpsed within these walls for years before slipping off on his own. Though all it takes is a simple query for mood to falter. Any budding delight fading from his eyes as they fought the urge to roll, a scoff subdued before it could rise.

Augustus knew how others wished for him to respond. Phrase that would have found approval by their standards and yet he held little desire to lie. No will to weave the fabrications another desired. Many who knew him were already aware of the goat’s distaste toward such arrangements and with it the now looming ceremony. What was one more? Steadying breath before bitter sarcasm laced each word, sign enough of his true feelings toward it. “As well as one can I suppose. Don’t we all wish for an unhappy marriage?”

Especially to one who was no more than a stranger. One who had made it so very clear that she wanted nothing more to do with him the moment a name had been known. A chance encounter that - in his mind - had gone rather smoothly until the truth of shared fates had tainted the air. Still he could not blame her… he’d have hated him too. “Hardly know the lady,” an understatement. Nothing more than those fleeting moments held in conversation, learning of her own desires to escape it. Hell, he hadn’t even learned her name until eyes had lain upon the papers proclaiming the union, “Though I”m certain she hates me.” For one could not forget the way she’d looked at him last.

Steadying sigh as once more a crown would shake, “Not that it matters.” At least to those who forged a bond in the first place, the very guardians who kept it hidden for as long as possible. Thinking of it all now spurred a glass to rise against his lips, the subtle sear never enough to quell the mind but at times it helped… now was not one of those times. This night it only seemed to heighten misery. “If it’s all the same to you Helayne, I’d rather find distraction from it.” To speak of anything but the very reason so many had been called to gather for, to do anything but this.

Helayne Ilirium The warmth of his smile seemed to convey he believed her lie and prying eyes, never something so grand. It was beautiful, she couldn’t deny, but her mind drifted to the world she came from. High in the freezing mountains, surrounded by tall peaks covered in snow almost all the time, hidden in steep valleys that managed to grow just enough to feed their sturdy herds. She could still see the rough worn wooden homes her people made, intricate carvings adorning their doorways and beams. There was no gold or glamor there, but she knew the hands and the stories told in every beam. How Halfdan had lost some of his fingers, how her father and uncle had fought a bear when they’d wandered deeply into the woodland, her younger brothers chasing one another with hammers to their mother’s horror. No, nothing would ever be so grand as home she thought with a painful ache in her chest. ”I could show you more of it if you’d like. I know no better guide.” He winked playfully, and Hel could not restrain her own smile in return. Walking with him may draw attention, something she was trying to avoid, but she also thought she may manage to gleam or overhear something the more they explored. His gaze also held a tension, perhaps it was nerves.Maybe he needed a breath as much as she did. ”I would like that,” she said, offering her hand to take as they began their tour around the estate. ”As well as one can I suppose. Don’t we all wish for an unhappy marriage?” The sarcasm in his tone was such a shift, she turned to look at him sharply. ”Hardly know the lady. Though I’m certain she hates me.” Helayne suddenly felt a deep sympathy for him and his bride, clearly both coerced into something neither of them wanted. She herself had almost faced such an arrangement. Her mother had been set on a match within their small village, a husband who could protect her she said. Hel had never needed someone to protect her though she’d argued, having learned to ride and fight right alongside her brothers from the time she could barely walk. They’d argued over it for weeks. He sighed heavily, shaking his head, ”Not that it matters. If it’s all the same to you Helayne, I’d rather find distraction from it.” She squeezed his hand in silent support, if he’d allow. ”I’m sorry August, marriage is not something that should be forced on anyone…” She looked away, mind racing before she faced him again. Perhaps this was too much, but she hated the idea of his misery, or anyone’s really. She’d been a captive before, and a cage was a cage no matter its gilded bars. ”My horse is hidden outside if you want to leave. You don’t owe anyone anything… Living that way is not this…” she looked around the room, indicating all he had here. The money, the servants, the warmth and promise of food. ”But what it offers is more than what is offered here.” What he could have in its place was his own path, his own choices, his freedom.

art by EpsilonWheeler

For a passing moment August’s expression brightened considerably and without hesitation an offer was taken. That free hand slipping nearer, no matter the sharp pain such a motion sent through the faulty limb. A touch hardly felt through deadened nerves but there was enough to capture the snare of her fingers, to register contact and offer a gentle pull in hopes of steering a path through the loitering unknowns. Creatures he prayed would pay them no mind, would not attempt to halt a course in hopes of hardly riveting conversation

Even if they tried, strangers would be brushed aside as focus lay upon Helayne. Someone he actually wanted to speak with despite the dread and gloom which threatened to consume the mind. A haunting notion one could not be rid of. Because of this perhaps he’d said too much… none of this concerned her. It was not her burden to bear. He should apologize, turn conversation away from this and allow it to fester in his mind alone. Yet before lips could part again the pressure coiling about his hand bid him to silence.

It drew that rose-tinted stare fully toward her and brought paces to pause, yet for a time he says nothing. Real consideration placed upon the offer made for to he it was irresistible and the want to simply say yes - of course he’d like to leave now - reflected behind that gaze. A spark ready to betray any lie that dared flee his lips. Though no matter how one ached to accept, to perch upon her horse and simply vanish, he knew it wouldn’t be that easy. It never was.

So instead the goat swallows back all he wants to say. Breath fleeing softly then, a quiet sigh as denial touches upon whispered tone no matter how he may crave escape, “I can’t.” Not without placing unnecessary risks upon those who assisted, upon her. “I would love nothing more… truly, but I’m sure you know as well as I, they’d come looking for me. Some won’t let me just disappear.” Not easily, not without some sort of fight for gods knew he’d tried before. Even during mercenary jobs a father’s hounds always seemed to find him. Wolves who knew which scent to track, to pluck out of a crowd and ‘guide’ those steps back home.

Each failed attempt planting seeds of doubt. “To tell the truth, I don’t know if running would bring freedom or merely stall someone else’s plans,” though there was never certainty without trying even if it was met with failure. Eyes pulled away from her, “I just - I don’t know,” an emptied glass placed upon the clatter of passing tray as fingers nearly reached for another though he thought better of it. Instead allowing the limb to drop back at his side, “Let me think about it?” Despite how clear it was on what one truly desired, “Besides this is something better spoken of in private.” A place without the eyes and ears of the main halls. Never knowing just who might be listening. However, no matter how he wished to guide her path - pull her away from the bustle of the crowds - he seeks approval, “I know a place… if you’re willing to trust me.”

Helayne Ilirium He took her offered hand easily, leading her through the growing crowd. She followed the path he set, carefully avoiding prying eyes and focusing only on making her escape from so many prying glares. Hel could almost hear his mind turning, as he processed the offer. This could not be the first he’d thought of it. It seemed so long ago now, but she could still remember her mother insisting she find a husband or she would fine one for her. And she had. Tired of waiting, her mother had made arrangements. Hel could still remember the young man’s face. She’d grown up right alongside him in those snow covered mountains. He’d not been a bad man, and truthfully they’d known each other already in too many ways. The idea of being forced to him though had brought out a reckless anger she couldn’t control. The last she’d seen that sweet boy, he was broken and bloody in the snow. A sharp pain of guilt nearly took her breath away. His pace slowed, the intensity of his gaze falling to her once more. ”I can’t. I would love nothing more… truly, but I’m sure you know as well as I, they’d come looking for me. Some won’t let me just disappear.” Hel squeezed his hand gently in what little comfort she could try to offer him. ”I suppose you are right. You know your captors better than I.” She tried a weak half smile, listening as he continued. ”To tell the truth, I don’t know if running would bring freedom or merely stall someone else’s plans. I just - I don’t know.” Her expression softened still, but held an edge of unease. She should know better, this was not simply of a whim. There were alliance surely being made, prominent families that would benefit from their union. He set his glass aside and looked at her once more. ”Let me think about it? Besides this is something better spoken of in private. I know a place… if you’re willing to trust me.” Despite the numerous voices that warned her against trusting any man, she nodded. Curiosity also pulled at her, wondering what deeper concerns he had. ”Of course you can think about it. I will be here,” she smiled, turning to follow him, ”Lead the way,” choosing to trust him.

art by EpsilonWheeler

Muted huff fled his lungs at such a descriptor, gaze briefly flickering away. Captors. Never something he’d heard them referred to as before - at least not to his face. Guardians, parents, protectors; those were the usual callings which graced another’s tongue. Title granted upon woven phrases hoping to soothe the mind whenever either figure’s actions had lain questioned and while at times such address rang true, other moments left the goat to wonder. Even so, her proclamation was not one Augustus could deny especially when it came to one known as father.

So he would not. Merely keep to the lyrics already slipping free.
An askance for time and with it a moment of privacy.

I will be here. Phrase which brought a light smile to tug at the corner of his lips and with it came agreement. The very permission sought before a path would shift away from the crowd, careful to evade the steady flow toward where so many twirled upon the dance floor. Stepping in tune to music he personally would not have selected had this been an occasion planned with one known. Instead this was all chosen by another, set to their tastes. The elegance, the tone, the beverages and platters served, the venue, the only surprise had come upon the allowance for all to attend. Invitation cast toward the very beings a father so often referred to as vile beasts.

Vermin. Creatures who brought the city to ruin and plagued the streets like rats. Those August had been instructed not to entertain the company of. Yet, much to Valerius’ disdain, such ideals had never sunk into the goat’s mind. Many of those proclaimed as ‘lower’ class were just the type he found himself drawn to. Pretty lies seemed less likely to lace their tongues. However, such thoughts are left to fester with all else which swirled within. It was all better left unsaid. Bite his tongue and pretend that a sire’s notions did not exist and did not linger to gnaw at the subconscious.

A mind wrenched out of as a familiar voice rang in his ears, bringing them to swivel lightly as focus partially turned. The silent judgment clear in the keeper’s gaze as it shifted between both Helayne and himself, a steady clink of light armor as it moved against itself, “Ser is now really the time for this?” An easy yet practiced smile forged its way across his visage, banishing the worries that shone so freeily when he’d spoken with Hel alone. “You worry too much Castiel. They’ll hardly miss me,” yet the guard interjects, their tone a bit firmer, “Isn’t the ceremony just hours away?” To this a façade nearly drops though a tongue is quicker with crafted excuse, “And that is why you should let us have our fun. Just don’t tell Lady Eiko, she’s already had a scare this evening.”

It just wouldn’t do to have her poking around looking for him especially with the risk of happening across a potential plan for escaping the very arrangements made. Without another word paces turn to slip around the sentinel’s post, Castiel offering nothing more than a sigh. Doing little to stop one from leading a presumed fascination away from the crowds, someone temporary in their mind. Merely a passing fling, however, in these moments it couldn’t be further from the truth for she offered a different kind of escape. One still heavily considered despite brewing doubts that it would all work to plan.

Steps never faltered, a path known far too well as he guided another through the sparsely filled halls. There were no eyes of nobility up here this evening, only the passing glance of the occasional worker as few still tended to assigned duties yet in time even their gazes would vanish.

Free hand rising to press open one of many decorated entrances, a minor slip at first as fingers graze the door frame. Slight adjustment all that was needed before that threshold was crossed into the sanctum of a mother’s secluded study. A place he knew others would not wander to and if somehow they did it would not be a journey made easy for the guard and housekeepers should turn them away. Escort them back to the permeated zones of the estate if necessary. None should hear them here, none would see. There was less of a risk for any to overhear.

And as that rosen gaze flickered about the room, it appeared no different than when he’d last beheld it. Perhaps a few additional adornments placed though nothing out of the ordinary… except the ways titles etched upon spines of leather appeared unreadable. Fuzzy and blurred no matter how eyes hoped to find focus. He knew what he’d drank wasn’t enough to cause this but perhaps the brand chosen had been stronger than it tasted, served as a mask to the true nature of its contents. At least this was not something he wasn’t used to handling, to hiding and keeping under wraps. Helayne’s hand released as weight instead braced against the arm of a plush sofa, leaning against it in hopes to shake the way vision made a head swim.

Though no matter how it may blear attentions focused solely upon the gilded woman now. August knew of passageways out of this particular room, however, before he divulged too much more there was one thing he wished to know. Lyrics quiet, holding a twinge of disbelief, “Why are you so willing to risk your own neck?” A question that was never easily answered it seemed, one he would accept refusal over. She didn’t have to tell him anything and yet it was a burning query, “You offer a sense of freedom that is very difficult to refuse, and I’m sure you already have more than enough to worry over without becoming entangled in my mess.” So what was there to gain other than more trouble for herself?

If anything at all.

blurred vision, lack of hand-eye coordination, and partial loss of balance starting to come through
private study/library vibes

Helayne Ilirium Hel followed him through the growing crowd until they came to the guards, protecting areas the royals felt were clearly off limits. She watched their eyes roving over the crowd and couldn’t imagine the nerves that must be working there. So many they must see beneath them lurking in their fine halls. One stepped forward, meeting August’s gaze carefully, ”Ser is now really the time for this?” His gaze flitted to her briefly, taking in her attire, her class. She almost laughed. ”You worry too much Castiel. They’ll hardly miss me.” The guard’s careful mask began to slip, his tone firm. ”Isn’t the ceremony just hours away? August stood imobile though, waving off his concern. ”And that is why you should let us have our fun. Just don’t tell Lady Eiko, she’s already had a scare this evening.” The guard sighed, and Hel couldn't resist playfully leaning into August, furthering his exasperation. He brought them to a rather grand study, that once inside the music below became nothing but a dull hum against the fine walls. Her gaze moved around the room, taking in the sight of so many books, their gilded spines covered in titles she’d never seen or heard of before. She slipped from August’s hand, stepping around the room, taking them in. Her fingers trailed over the finery here, and despite the vast difference, she remembered a brave young man who had quoted her so many of their pages to pass the time in the darkness. He’d kept her alive once. She turned, noting August leaning against the sofa. Something about his gaze drew a bit of concern, but she knew not how much he’d drank downstairs, not that she could have blamed him. Whatever courage he needed to face this day she would not hold over him. ”Why are you so willing to risk your own neck? You offer a sense of freedom that is very difficult to refuse, and I’m sure you already have more than enough to worry over without becoming entangled in my mess.” Hel made her way closer to him, leaning against a plush chair that faced his own. She found it difficult to meet his gaze at first, as memories of that dark cell came back to her. She could still feel the rip and burn of the whip against her back, brutal hands around her throat, teeth and nails raking their way through her flesh, devouring her in pieces. She remembered the assaults, brutal and unrelenting. Until he’d whispered through the dark, only his voice and the rattle of his own chains familiar to her, a lifeline. He’d gotten her out, given her the courage to run and not look back. Her gaze met August’s again, the sting of tears at the edges that she refused to let fall. She’d spent far too long building herself and her walls to let any of it crumble around her. ”I’ve been in a cage before,” she started, trying to find a way to even convey what she’d endured. She’d never told anyone of the things that had happened, never dared to voice their names in fear it would bring that devil back into her life, that he’d drag her back into his cages and that darkness once more. ”I know what it is to have everything stripped away to your very bones. I know what it is to reclaim it, and it was only because of another that I was able to. This is not the same, but it is not different either,” she mused, looking out the window into fading sunlight, watching the stars peeking out. She stretched her back, twisting her shoulders at the memories, feeling the pull of that tight scarred skin of herback. ”You deserve the life you want, as does anyone. And if this is not it, I will help you find your freedom to find it, if that's what you want. You know the request and demands do not stop here.” She met his crimson gaze once more and shrugged slightly, ”It does not mean there won’t be struggles. I am always listening and watching my back, waiting to be found again…” She paused for a moment, afraid to share too much, afraid to speak his name, afraid to pull all those memories to the surface and place them on another. Her fingers trailed her thigh, feeling the cold touch of her silver dagger, a comfort that she was not alone and defenseless anymore. ”But it is better than sitting in my cage and waiting.”

art by EpsilonWheeler

Heightened touch against him was unexpected though hardly denied as she leaned into him, that once feigned smile shifting into something more genuine as Helayne chose to play along. Hers a presence he did nothing to shake off yet the urge to reel her closer was quick to blossom. Nearly allowing an arm to snake around her waist - only to think better of it, pulling back before an action could truly take root. Resisting the temptation to press his luck. She was not as well known as others who’d held his gaze and there was little desire to cross too many unspoken boundaries this evening.

Instead fingers tightened the hold already found against her own. A path forged without risk of losing her over an act one may not have proven fond of. Only to grant release when the quiet of the room enveloped them. August content to watch her for a time as she shifted about the room, taking in all which stood around her now while his own vision glided briefly along her frame. The flutter of fabric and glimmer of adornments that did little to clear his head. Those eyes falling, fixing upon the very cushion gripped, ignoring the want to chase movement and focus upon a sole stationary target. Maybe then senses could be regained.

Yet attention soon found itself back upon Helayne as the gentle creak of furniture sounded across from where he perched. Even with his assumed inebriation, one could sense a change. Perceive the way her own gaze had turned with an untold emotion brewing just beneath the surface. Reverberating sensations which bid lips to part, to assure no answer was needed should it bring discomfort… and yet such lyrics never escaped him.

Silenced by the honesty which laced another’s tongue.

Thoughts beckoned for the goat to move closer, to offer the silent comforts she had outside of these chambers but he holds distrust in his own steps. In how even she seemed to blur out of focus with each motion made. Digits curling tightly, pressing harshly to upholstery before one rose to run across his vision. Pinching lightly as if it would help bring about the clarity denied. Only for the alertness of ears to droop before that hand rejoined its partner. Shaken breath escaping his lungs, a voice quiet, “Thank you.” What she spoke was true. Anything was better than sitting around and waiting. No matter what there would be hardships faced… this he already knew and yet there was reassurance in hearing it from another.

“And I am sorry, I did not intend to stir up any past demons. I know not what you’ve endured but I pray you never have to face such trails again,” The details need not be known. All that festered upon those words were more than enough to bring a sense of understanding. She only wanted what was best. There was nothing for her to gain but more trouble, sparking an offerance of his own to rise, “Though know this Helayne, if you ever want to do a bit of hunting… I’m your man.” A tongue ran briefly over the sharp point of wolven fang, while a lycan curse was hardly something asked for it held its advantages.

Though he would say no more of it before lyrics would turn, “But you are right.” There were a number of decisions made for him in this life, a marriage only the most recent affair another felt he needed to play a part in. “What is happening now, what has transpired in the past, that isn’t what I want. I’ve made a mockery of myself to get out of their plans before and tonight is no different,” anything to be seen as undesirable in the predatory eyes of nobility. Those who only cared for a proclaimed lineage, of what a family name had to offer. Greed making everything else go away. Unfavorable traits noted as able to change. Money and status enough of a reason to buy unhappiness for some and a promise of greater wealth, of power, to another.

It was always how these things tended to play out.

Augustus was silent for a moment, considering the options held as those unfocused eyes fought to glue upon her own. Seemingly looking through her despite how one attempted to hold her gaze, however, it was not yet enough to slur the tongue. “I want to leave,” yet it would be a lie to say he did not relish in portions of this life style. In how it could provide for not only he but Juliet as well. A girl taken from the unknowns of this realm. Found in tattered clothes upon the cathedral steps, ratty and unkempt, hardly anything more than skin upon bones. One unwilling to find her voice.

She seemed happier now, granted access to all she could ever want. He couldn’t take that away from her, she should not have to return to it. That calling of papa still resonating in his ears, sparking hesitations greater than any before. “But,” maybe she could stay with Ajax. The goat had already been certain to leave the estate in her name should any presume him dead. Everything bound solely to him would become hers. Ajax could help her manage things but he doubted a departure would make her happy. No, he knew it wouldn’t. Even if it meant the banishment of an untethered hound.

“If I left with you, I would need to keep in touch with someone important to me,” let her keep to what luxuries one could afford all while he remained out of reach. It would steal away the risks of fangs ever daring to find her when the moon stole away the mind. It would be better in that regard at least yet not in many others. “I cannot - and will not - force my daughter to suffer from my decisions. It would be cruel to make her run and abandon what she’s found security in.” Though it would be crueler still to leave her without word and vanish without a trace. When it came to work he’d always returned but this? This would be different. He couldn't do that, not to her, “If that is not possible then I have to stay.” Even if it meant signing away the freedoms craved.