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Asbolus:
The evening was relatively young, the freehold grounds quiet but for the almost-silent steps of Asbolus walking the path from the main mundane entrance. His time at the theater for the night was complete but he hadn't been inclined to head immediately home, leading him to stop in and see who else might be about.
The Darkling cut a sharp figure indeed, both in ensemble - black slacks, shoes to match and a deep burgundy dress shirt with a black vest and tie - and appearance, as the touch of the Wyrd upon him had passed into what one could consider more fae than man. His movements sliced through the air in front of him, leaving faint whorls in his wake as he walked.
Vorpal:
The Freehold felt increasingly Wyrd, with such luminaries in attendance. Indeed. within the freehold's central square was what, at first, looked like a tree that hadn't been there before. It wasn't until it moved with impossible, fluid grace that it became clearly a Person- and only when it faced Asbolus that the face revealed it to be A Jackie.
No shadows tonight. Instead, wood. Leaves. Vines of Autumnal glory, woven through flesh and hair alike, leaking little drips of sap down pale, scarred flesh. A face carved from pale wood, smiling subtly at the familiar face. Jackie... definitely hadn't been so Wyrd last they saw each other... or so... woody.
"Good evening," she murmured, her voice the sound of wind through acres of leaves. "I trust it finds you well, friend?"
Asbolus:
The presence of the new flora naturally caught his attention, keen-eyed as he was, and he had been on his way towards it to investigate when Jackie revealed herself. He took a moment to take in her new countenance and the weight of the Wyrd about her before offering a nod. "It does indeed. Like the new look, by the way."
Vorpal:
She smiled a little wider and lifted a hand to touch her pendant, a delicate crystal thing with seething, swirling shadows at the heart of the stone. So that's where they went. "I appreciate the compliment. I like being wood in the woods. You can feel so much more of the world when you're in tune. Plus it helps to know that the trees are only leaning in because you told them to," she explains. "You're looking quite dashingly potent tonight as well. Been investing a bit more in your own Story, have we?"
Asbolus:
He eyed the pendant as she touched it, smiling a touch. "Quite welcome, and I can imagine."
"I have, yes. It was a step I was hesitant to take for a time, I'll admit, but it was one worth taking."
Vorpal:
"I felt the same. The last I got even close to this, I-" A slow breath. "Lost myself to my own tale. Never believe your own hype, Asbolus. That way lies madness." Pause. "And godhood, but neither is safe for ones such as we." She settles down and pulls a patch of leaves off her hip, which- oddly- folds out into a book. Or, more properly, a tome. "Come. Sit, if you would. Speak, if you've time."
Asbolus:
"Indeed. That was a large part of my wariness, in all honesty...not wanting to separate myself too much from what I had been." He moved to take a seat beside her, eyeing the book briefly as he continued. "Embracing that change has been worthwhile, however, if...intimidating, at times."
Vorpal:
The words of the book shifted and drifted, like- fittingly- leaves on the wind. "Proper growth is a development of who, not a severance of what. That's my take. Could I ask for your perspective on those intimidations? I don't often get to speak to those as- Storied as we are. What challenges and fears have you faced, developing as we have?"
Asbolus:
"Certainly." He went quiet for a moment, sitting back as he worked to put his thoughts into words. "Part of it came from a better recollection of the initial shapings that occurred while I was There, the procedures done and the loss of the man to make a being to Her exact specifications. There was a worry that pursuing that path again myself might have the same result, weakening what little foundation remained."
Vorpal:
"Mm. Details filled out for me, to be sure," Jackie murmurs. "... the clarity of those dreams is not appreciated, I must admit. There are things best left forgotten. We all of us did terrible things to survive. To have them laid bare each night- that is a challenge in and of itself, don't you find?" A glance, sidelong. "How has your grip on the real fared, I wonder? Would you speak of that?"
Asbolus:
"That we did." He nodded quietly, looking forward at nothing in particular. "My memory has always been thorough, and there was a time that those missing pieces grated more than anything. On one level their return has been satisfying, but as you say, there are some things that one can do without remembering."
"It's remained stable thus far, thankfully. After those months after Buidhe's return of seeing through a shattered lens I've been careful not to let it get that bad again."
Vorpal:
"Mm. The last I tried to reach such heights as I've attained, I did not reinforce my mind and will for the strain. I suspect perhaps that may explain my... shaky grip on reality at that time." Jackie allows. "And I take it you mean that you suffered some difficulties around the time Buidhe returned?"
Asbolus:
"Perhaps." Asbolus offered another nod, letting out a quiet breath at the question that followed. "I did. The combination of pursuing him through the Hedge to bring him back along with the efforts of a member of the freehold who had been shaped into our Keeper's Voice to help bring him back to himself did a number on me. Due to various circumstances I wasn't able to spend the needed time with my anchor for such things so it lasted for...quite a while. In time Doll was kind enough to mend those particular cracks and urged me to find a secondary anchor, which I've done since."
Vorpal:
"Mm." Jackie thinks about that. "I have a place. It'd be very strange to be unable to access it but. Being unable to restore my sanity when needed would be..." She thinks on that a moment. "Dangerous is the most gentle term I can think of. Are you doing better, then, truly? Magical correction is not the same as becoming healthy."
Asbolus:
"My initial one is a person, and things kept coming up that prevented being able to spend enough time together to deal with the issue. The more recent is a place, though, and one that I have easy access to."
"I am, or I feel as much at least. Finding that second point of stability has helped, along with support from Jack and the others."
Vorpal:
"Mm. I don't- have any mortals I am connected with enough to avail myself of such. I doubt at this point many could tolerate my presence, anyhow." A roll of wooden shoulders. No concern there. She has what she wants. "Has the difficulty with accessing your anchor been resolved, I hope? I know you've another, but. Nothing like the first."
Asbolus:
"I have more acquaintances than friends among mortals, in truth, along with work companions and the like. I do think they can sense that...otherness, slipping through the Mask as it does from time to time." He offered a small shrug of his own, not seeming too perturbed by it. "We have our roles to play, though, and I'm comfortable in mine."
"It has, thankfully. His own work had gotten hectic for a time but has calmed down since."
Vorpal:
"And I mine. I do enjoy the way the police seem less at home in our city. More nervous, afraid even. Not that I would be so bold as to claim responsibility."
No, just bold enough for anonymous impact instead.
"Can I ask you something, Asbolus, my friend?"
Asbolus:
"You, bold? Never." He replied with a small smirk, giving a nod as Jackie continued. "Ask away."
Vorpal:
A smile- maybe even a smirk, if a small one.
"Is there anything you find yourself so surpassingly good at that you struggle to find a use for such magnitudes of expertise?"
Asbolus:
"Not yet, no. There are a few things that I could say that I'm standing on that precipice but haven't made the jump, as it were."
Vorpal:
"Mm. I see." A moment of quiet. "It's a curious thing. Having a skill honed so far and yet no outlet for it. I can't even bring myself to be disappointed. Were there cause for me to bring my all to bear, I fear others would already face doom. And still... a challenge would be nice."
Asbolus:
"I can imagine." And indeed, the Darkling paused for a bit to mull over the thought for good measure. "And that is a challenge in itself, I wager, finding something that tests your own august skills without causing undue harm to others who may be there to assist you."
Vorpal:
"Aye. Again, it's well with me, but a shame all the same. The finest blade in all the lands, consigned to molder olin an increasingly attractive sheath," Jackie marred, striking an absurd, vain pose for a moment, as if posing for glamor shots.
Asbolus:
"A shame indeed." He chuckled at the pose, looking her over for a moment. "I'll admit that bladework has never been a forte of mine, but perhaps you could find challenge enough in a new bit of clay to be shaped by such well-experienced hands?"
Vorpal:
"Clay? Like pottery? Or sculpting? Or are you being euphemistic about the malleability of a learner?" Jackie teased.
Asbolus:
He offered a smile in return, quite amusement clear on his features. "The latter, in this case."
Vorpal:
"Oh! Well. I could certainly be coaxed to impart a few tidbits to an eager bit of unset terra cotta. Though I should mention that I tend to get extremely up close and personal. It might be bladework but it's the next step back from putting your hands inside your enemies. Do you mind mess?" Jackie inquired.
Asbolus:
"I'm accustomed enough to putting blades into others as needed, just at a distance. I should be able to handle shortening the range well enough. And no, not particularly."
Vorpal:
"Very well. You say you use knives at a distance- have you a brace of throwing daggers, then, I take it?"
Asbolus:
"I do, although not on me currently. I am able to call on the Sword to arm myself in pinch, however."
Vorpal:
"Ahh, I do the same from time to time. Ironically, the reverse- I have a blade for close-up work and I call up disposable blades to throw." Jackie laughed quietly.
Asbolus:
"Handy little trick, isn't it? One of a few I'm glad to have picked up over the years." He smirked a touch, letting his hand rest on the shadow beside him before he briefly reached into it, pulling out a throwing blade spun from crystalized darkness with a similar sheen to obsidian, slim enough to hold easily unseen but with enough heft to do proper damage when used. He offered Jackie the blade to look over, which she would find impeccably balanced if tested. "Can also blind others with it rather than harming them, which has been useful now and again."
Vorpal:
"Rather than?" Jackie asks idly. "I know tricks to blind them while harming them, but blinding harmlessly- that's a new trick. How do you manage that?" She does indeed test the blade, rolling it through her fingers in a fluid ballet of flickering onyx and bisected breezes. "I applaud you having tricks, though. Drastically increases survivability, I've found."
Asbolus:
"To my knowledge it's an amendment to the contract that those shaped as I was can access." He watched as the blade spun in her hand, smiling slightly. "They do indeed. I keep a few things up my sleeve for when the need arises."
Vorpal:
"Oh, hm. I usually lean on my elemental mastery to accomplish such. Perhaps that's why I'm unfamiliar," Jackie wondered.
Asbolus:
"Perhaps. I know there are other such clauses to different contracts that those of certain shapings can access, and teach as well if so inclined."
Vorpal:
"AH! I see. The Sprite's version is rather in line with my Court, which is pleasant, though I've never really leaned on the combination..."
Asbolus:
"Something to play around with, perhaps."
Vorpal:
"Sadly, as I understand it, I've to rely on one or the other. Besides, the fright inflicted by allowing the weapons to merge with my Mask is... less than subtle. I tend to rely on less egregious violations of reality when I must do so in the face of mortal society."
Asbolus:
"Ah hah...probably a good call there, then." He nodded quietly. "One can never be too careful."
Vorpal:
"Well." Jackie chuckles. "Too careful and it gets boring. So I'd disagree that particular point, but when it comes to safety, I can at least acknowledge the wisdom intrinsic to the thought."
Asbolus:
"Fair enough." He replied with a small chuckle of his own. "I admittedly was far too cautious when I initially returned, keeping away from most due to the ever-present observation I'd been under. It took some urging from others to step out of that shell, and I think I've done a fair job of it."
Vorpal:
"It's a tricky line to walk, too exposed versus unhealthy isolation. I tend towards the latter, myself. Why take chances, you know? Still... can I ask who pried you out of your shell?"
Asbolus:
"Lux and Mearcstapa, for one, and Jack later on. Seeing the connections that they fostered between themselves helped me to realize how...alone I truly was, and spurred me on to remedy that."
Vorpal:
"Aha! Makes sense, that lot was visibly adoring. I can see how that sort of exposure could encourage you to seek out connections yourself!"
Asbolus:
"Very, and still are." He nodded with a small smile. "Mearc also introduced me to my current employer, which helped broadened my horizons on a number of levels."
Vorpal:
"Ah, is that so? Are you employed in the greater world, then? Doing what, might I ask?"
Asbolus:
"I currently serve as the manager for a local theater, handling the day to day business as the owner is a more...nocturnal sort and prefers to watch the fruits of the actors' labor besides." He smirked a touch at that. "I was an actor before I was Taken, and it's been a pleasant way to get back into that world in a way that's not on the stage itself."
Vorpal:
"Oh, that's lovely! I didn't get much chance to be much of anyone before my Vacation," she drawls sardonically. "So I've rather had to build from the ground up. I imagine it really must be fulfilling to revisit your roots!"
Asbolus:
"It has been. I didn't think I would have much of a chance of it for a while, considering my...other half is still active in it locally, but this has been a nice halfway point."
Vorpal:
"Other half?" Jackie prods gently.
Asbolus:
Asbolus paused for a moment, a hint of hesitance clear to Jackie's exceptionally astute perception. "He who was left behind, as it were."
Vorpal:
"Ah! I see. I thought you meant your new actor lover," she admits. "Apologies, I followed the wrong thread of logic on that one. I hope that didn't sting."
Asbolus:
"No harm no foul." He waved off the apology, offering a smile. "Don't have any prospects on that front currently, admittedly."
Vorpal:
"Ah. Is that a disappointment?"
Asbolus:
He started to reply but paused, having to think on it for a moment. "Somewhat. There was one that had promise last year but they left the city on their own accord, and I haven't come across anyone who caught my attention in the same way since."
Vorpal:
"That -is- a bit of a disappointment. Still- I do like that you're not beside yourself. I think the idea is to be comfortable being yourself, and find someone that compliments you, not completes you."
Asbolus:
"Agreed. Figuring out who that 'self' was after everything that's happened has taken time, which is another reason I haven't rushed into looking." He smirked a touch. "If it happens at this point, I'll embrace it."
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