ioduanlogs | [EVENT] Moon and Mirrors (Welcome Mingle Log)

[EVENT] Moon and Mirrors (Welcome Mingle Log)

Characters: ALL
Date: January 15
Location: At the Dreaming Bridge and all over Aifaran!
Situation: A large influx of Dreamfolk arrive in time for one of the Lunar Festivals, and they're all invited!
Warnings/Rating: N/A

A surprising amount of Dreamfolk have arrived within a short time frame - a peculiarity remarked upon by a number of Aifaran's residents. It is unusual in that it coincides with a lunar festival, one which only happens every fifty or so years.

Newcomers will find the streets packed with all sorts of people, stalls of fried and sugared foods, carnivalesque games and rides, and all other manner of things to do. Merchants are very keen to get their wares out there, and the stipend given may just burn a hole in your pocket when you see what's for sale.

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Already making mistakes, aren't you? The serpent hissed, not bothering to hide its displeasure.

***

Her eyes widened at Devin's words. The last thing she needed was the parasite to present itself so willingly. She wished she had thought to bring Revelations. The light of the sword seemed to help keep the Void at bay, or at least less willing to interfere. It has been stupid to leave it behind.

"It's..." Afraid, but she couldn't get the words out before the world went dark.

Devin cursed under his breath and closed the distance between them to catch Valdis before she hit the ground. He considered if he would need to carry her, and for now decided to settle her against the building since the ground was fairly clean.

She had a pulse, at least.

***

I think that would be you, but now that you've thrown a tantrum at the expense of your host, speak and then leave, Devin thought nastily.

Don't worry, all will be well if you listen.

The serpent hummed, suddenly amused with itself.

We know how to break you, it purred. You will break as anyone who foolishly cares for others will break. We might not be able to hurt you directly, but your presence will cause suffering. So stay away.

The Void withdrew more suddenly than it had come, retreating back into the depths.

***

Valdis took a sharp breath that turned into a string of swear words, but she didn't open her eyes yet, or move away from the wall.

"I am so done with that thing."

The Void didn't give Devin time to make a retort, but even if it had, he knew the creature wouldn't listen to him. The warning in fact served the opposite purpose: rather than drive him away, it told Devin that he was a threat of some kind. If nothing else, the Void had made a petulant move.

It had to say something that Devin was far less afraid of what the Void could do than what had already started to happen to him at home.

"I don't doubt that," he said, thankful that the snake had released Valdis quickly. He sat back on his heels. "Are you alright?"

She sighed, "If we are discounting the Void's ability to mess with my head, then I'm fine."

In fact, she felt better than she had before. The serpent had fallen oddly silent. Whatever it had done, it couldn't do such a thing often. There had to be some sort of risk for it to speak with Devin and effect her in such a way, or it would act out far more often. Whatever it felt about the vampire, it had obviously considered him enough of a problem to attempt to intervene.

"What did it say?"

Devin's mouth thinned. "That it knows how to break me, that my presence near you will only cause more suffering, so I should stay away from you," he recounted. Being broken wasn't much of a threat, Devin considered, seeing as he'd had that done to him already, not once but twice. The joke was on the Void if it thought that breaking Devin was a novelty.

A breath, and the corners of his mouth curled upwards. "But I don't take orders from anyone, least of all that parasite." He straightened and offered her a hand up.

Even if the Void didn't know how to break him, and the chances were slim that it didn't, she did. He had told her more than once that he didn't like people getting close to him, that it put them in danger. The Void could break him by hurting the people he cared about, or at least attempt to compel him to obey through that same method. But it wanted him to stay away from her. Valdis looked up at him as he stood, glancing at the outstretched hand for a second before taking it. She supposed it was a good thing that the Void couldn't break her through pain, it had tried that before, and it had failed. If it decided to make good on its threat, she hoped that Devin would have the same stubbornness.

"I guess we're both a mess right now," she said, using him for balance as she stood up, "I am sorry, for what I said."

Even if Devin and Valdis were somehow to end up on permanently bad terms, he wasn't of the mind to let the Void use her as a tool. Her life was still precious, and the Void was still an enemy.

"I know you are," he sighed, shoving his hands back into his pockets and looking away once she was upright. "But I'm going to need a little time to get over it. It's not about you so much as... everything."

Messes indeed.

They both seemed to have gone backwards in certain ways, but Valdis believed that they would probably have far more time here than they desired. At least that meant he might find it in him to forgive her. She sighed.

"Everything," she repeated, "That's quite a few things to get over...So I guess I'll leave you to it."

Besides, she had a splitting headache, so it might do her some good to sleep.

He would forgive her, eventually. He knew he could, even if some part of him said that he shouldn't, or that it should remain as ammunition to use against her. Hesitation held his tongue then, gaze flicking to her and away again. Beneath the maelstrom of anger and other shades of upset was a tiny sliver of fear. He was not ready to tell her why it was there, or what 'everything' meant.

"I don't know how to explain it to you yet," he said, the last word given haltingly. Would he ever be able to adequately explain? They would have to wade into perilous territory. "But someday I may be able to try."

"You don't have to explain it," Valdis replied, sensing each and every emotion, but even then she didn't miss the word 'yet'. It held a little more significance coming from him than it might someone else. "But if you ever feel you need to, I am willing to listen."

And she'd at least try to not play devil's advocate.

Maybe he didn't owe her an explanation. It still seemed pertinent, somehow. An enormous amount had changed in five months.

Devin nodded. Her readiness not to pry was unexpected, but he'd take it. "Alright." He sighed. "I suppose I'll see you later, regardless."

Unless the Dreaming decided to be fickle.

"I suppose you will," she said, choosing to back away a few steps before turning and heading back to the festivities. She'd make a beeline back to her room and hope her annoying roommates were gone so she could get some sleep.

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[EVENT] Moon and Mirrors (Welcome Mingle Log)

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