O'raion Academy
Irendell Forest => The Witch's House => Topic started by: Aska on November 17, 2012, 01:03:40 am
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The door opened, admitting the tiny priestess in her walking cloak. Her hair is misted faintly by already melted snowflakes, the white sitting heavy at her shoulders, yet beginning to melt in the heat of the home, as well. Lavender eyes cast to the puddles left behind by the signs of inclement weather, her face moved into an expression of distaste.
Still, before she could clean up the water, she had something she needed to do. She'd been beckoned to by one of the shadows, and so would contact her lord directly. She moved to the corner that was ever cast into deep shadow, murmuring a quiet sort of incantation that could have been reminiscent of a benediction, or a prayer. The coaxing of the shadows, and their lord.
A silver knife kept for just the following purpose is picked up from the table beside the darkened place. Set to delicate, pale skin, it parted the flesh to make way for the well of garnet liquid that would pool in a shimmer in Aska's palm. The shadows encased her hand as she reached into them, her offering held out silently after the beautiful little beckoning.
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For a moment, nothing happens. Then the blood slowly darkens to near black before fading away like smoke dissipating into the shadows. Again, nothing seems to happen, but then the shadow grows and a voice echos from the darkness. Cool, calm, and noticeably stronger than the last time Aska and the lord had spoken.
"Thou hast arrived," the voice began almost seeming to echo throughout the room, "how goes thy current errand?"
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She removed her hand from the shadows, stepping back. He couldn't see her, so she swept no curtsy for him, but her tone held the reverence proper of the priestess. "My errand is unfolding smoothly. Things are shaping up well for the solstice ritual. Not a single hitch." That was true...now. She'd fixed any and all hitches. He did not need to know of such things. It was her job to see that wrinkles were smoothed over.
She paced away from the darkness, her steps clicking softly. That click changed to a different sound as she swapped her footwear. The cloak she wore was swept from her slight shoulders. She knelt down, cleaning the water from the ground, as it had puddled. While she worked, she kept her tone even, still respectful. One might simply think she sat and conversed with the shadows, rather than doing something.
"I have been sowing darkness in the heart of a dragon of flame, my lord. When you return to the world, your shadows' touch will change her. I have taken her for my younger sister." She picked up her brush, and ran it through the raven river she freed from it's combs. Right at that moment, she seemed to be trying to right any damage done by the falling snow. The hair falls easily to her hips like dark water, blue lights in that black mass.
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There seemed to be a slight delay, but then the voice came through the shadows calm and clear, "A dragon thou sayest? Tis grand indeed! She shall serve us well! Yet again, thou does not disappoint. Thou art doing well my priestess!"
His tone sounded pleased, almost a bit amused. Yet, it could still be written off as his pleasure at a plan well executed and a job well done at this point.
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Her head turned to the shadows, and she smiled. Alone as she was, her face was far more mobile. Moreso that she typically allowed it to be around anyone, even the lord she served. But here? In her home, and alone? In these environs, she could be pleased and show it.
That smile changed her face from it's serene and placid lines. The pleasure in that smile made her face radiant, like she'd been lit from within. Her white teeth flashed , yet she began moving once again. Water cleaned, and set to rights, the petite priestess stoked the flames as she shivered slightly. It was cold, and she'd managed to get damp in the downfall of snow.
With a show of power she normally wouldn't, the bathtub appeared, and hot water found it's way into it with another gesture. Her robe came to her hand, thrown across the chair. The tub sits before the fire. Her knowing hand unknotted the obi around her waist, disrobing. All together, it might have taken her two minutes to prepare her bath.
The honeysuckle and jasmine filtered into the air from the steaming water. She gave a gesture, muting the sounds of her bathing, but not her voice. "I am delighted that you approve of this course of action, my lord. I thought that she might make an ideal recruit. I would ask you if I might take her for my pet. I...have always wanted a fire dragon for a loyal companion."
She couldn't have known, but she unknowingly had plied the use of her eyes, the large lilac orbs wistful as she spoke. She'd looked unerringly at the shadow, though she knew he could not see. Now bare, she'd stepped into the tub, and sunk into the warmth of the water. Her skin visibly pebbled in gooseflesh, and she chattered briefly, silently. Her grace of movement barely made a disturbance in the water, and therefore barely a sound.
She lifted her slender leg, a dainty foot moving from the water as she inspected something on the foot, likely a cut or bruise of some sort, wrought during her wanderings. As she moves, she listens for her lord's answer.
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This time, there was a longer silence. Almost worriedly so, but then the voice came forth again, though it sounded a tad strained as if it was holding something back. "I... find no issue with this," the voice begins, "thou hast served me well, thus, hast earned thyself such a prize. The dragon is yours to do with as thou desires. Doest thou wish more of me while we are on the topic? A sponge perhaps?"
By the time the lord finishes, his voice had returned to normal, or perhaps a bit a bit more amused than usual. Perhaps he was mocking her for her request? Since he could not be seen and the shadows provided no clues, it was anyone's guess.
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Her brow knitted together, and she cast the shadow a confused and speaking glance. For moments the priestess wondered if her lord had lost his mind, perhaps. What did a sponge have to do with her dragon? Was he sending jabs at her for asking something of him? Was he displeased with her?
Her bath would continue, though the sage's brow never unfurrowed. She doesn't bother with a sponge or cloth, instead using soap and hands over the arch of a curved neck, the slender turn of shoulder, the graceful length of a limb or the petite curvature of torso. Though dainty of bone structure, the canvas of form still measured an hourglass.
She finished the bath quickly, likely moreso than she usually might have. She stood from the water with a supple grace, water sluicing from her skin. She was thankful for the muting of the sounds of the bath. She wrapped the heated towel around her hair first, bending to get the water from the pool of silk. She stepped onto another towel on the floor, flipping the damp hair back over her shoulder.
In an unconscious display of pride, her chin lifted slightly, but the towel wrapped about her. Her skin is bare of all hair but for that on her head, the water drying quickly in the heat of the fire. The towel managed to cover her from just under her arms to her midthigh. She kneeled, letting the heat of the flames dry her hair. It put her silhouetted against the firelight.
She remains silent during this process, as she's unsure what she should say. Once she does speak, it's hesitant, unsure. "Should I apologize, my lord? Have I given you cause for displeasure? Your words confuse me." She offers softly. It doesn't even dawn on her other possibilities.
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"No no, I merely jest," comes the reply, still in it's amused tone. Almost seeming as though it were hiding a laugh within, "mayhaps it was unamusing? Alas, time runs short. Perhaps it was time we laid bare our business that we might return to our respective preparations?"
As he finishes saying this, the lord chuckles a bit and the shadow seems to waver slightly. Though the chuckle could not be explaind, perhaps the waver is what he meant by "time growing short."
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That didn't clear the consternation from her face, whatsoever. "As you wish, my lord. Is there anything further that you required of me? Any further instructions, or did you simply wish to ascertain my progress and success with the outlined plans?" She asked as she stood, slipping into her robe, wrapping the dark silk about her.
She re-took her seat at the fire, keeping warmth in her bones. The flicker of the shadow is noted. She simply waited for his word. She took his words at face value.
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"Twas mostly the latter my dear, though the former cannot be overlooked," the voice rang back now seemingly free from it's former amusement, "now that yonder beast has been tamed, tis been a tedious affair awaiting my release. My wish was naught but to gaze upon thee and hear thy voice whilst thou gave thy news. Yet, I did not expect thee to show me so much of thyself..."
With that, the shadows waver violently before splitting open showing the familiar figure of the woman's lord sitting on his throne in his usual stance, but looking directly at her with an amused look on his face. "However, twas a grand spectacle indeed. Until next we meet, my nu.de priestess."
And with that, the image dissipated like I snuffed flame as the shadow returned to it's natural state. The presence of the lord gone as quickly and silently as it had appeared.
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The priestess knelt in her robe, her face blank for a moment as she processed her lord's words. He disappeared as fast as he imparted his astonishing information, leaving Aska in stunned silence. He'd been... She'd been... For the first time in decades, her face flamed in a deep blush, her pale skin showing it that much more. She continued her night in that dazed state, the color never fully fading from her cheekbones.