[prp] we never talk about the past (aisa x connie)

[revenant aria]

Sometimes, Aisa didn't want to go back to her own dwellings. That was why, one should check Connie's dwellings if the other Protector's rooms were empty because it was very likely they were there. This time was no exception, Connie's attractive majestic sized bed was a luxury, that little had the privilege to share.

Unfortunately for Connie, the other Protectors abused it.

Aisa had been sleeping there, for a few hours, often disappearing and appearing at whim. These few hours were no exemption from the insanity that slept nearby, crawling over to the Protector of Death, along the shadows. Even her new form, the powers that Death bestowed, couldn't keep it at bay. Folds of red surrounded the priestess, almost as if she were sleeping in a open rose, long black hair falling around her in ominous waves.

"Krei--"

A name Connie rarely heard but knew.

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

Unfortunately for Invictus, he suffered from a rather constant case of the dog-piled-on-by-the-other-protectors-in-bed. However, it was probably a good idea to knock before checking to see if the other protectors were there. Just in case. (Not to be mistaken for the hunter of similar name)

It was difficult to not be hyper sensitive to the presence of one of the girls when he'd spent much time in the last years with them so nearby. Each of them had their own distinct presence that they gave off as they came into his field of awareness. Smouldering, Playful, Dark...sometimes they intermingled so closely it really was only somebody who acted in levels of careful detail that could distinguish which was really which.

But even half-aware of the world, Invictus could tell that it was Aisa who had come to join him that night, having moved in compensation for the body that was joining him, but making no motion to lure her any closer. If she'd wanted to snuggle, she would have had no qualm in waking him for such a thing.

It was only that one word, that single sound that could easily have been mistaken for anything else, dismissed as nothing, that caused Invictus to stir enough to open both eyes, rolling over to look over the once-Priestess who slumbered there. He reached carefully with a hand to brush it over her forehead affectionately, though the sentiment didn't drip from the gesture. Instead it came from the relaxed slope of his shoulders, the slightly animated curvature of his face as he frowned visibly.

But he said nothing. If she didn't wake from the gesture, he would only hope that it would be enough to perhaps soothe that taunt that was infecting her mind as she slept.  

[revenant aria]

"Connie.." It was just a slight shuffle of limbs, Aisa's eyes opened a slight fraction. Connie would notice, he always did. She took solace in his warmer touch, against her own deathly cold skin. That was what she and Cym had always lacked, instead, they held the chilliness of bones and death. Similarly, Cym and Eris were the only winged Protectors, which seemed to be highly advantageous on one's own right. A little bothersome, in bed, perhaps, with all the space it took up. She fingered the ring on her finger, recalling a long-lost memory.

"Memories skitter around like those bugs Cym always talks of.. but you cant kill them that easily."

She glanced up at Connie's eyes, always intrigued by how alive they were. Unlike Kreios, whose eyes forever remained a blackened red in Aisa's memory. Even when he was alive, Aisa could rarely recall emotion in them.

"You never really met Kreios, did you, Connie?"

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

"Aisa."

He only noticed because he studied the lines of her face - of all of their faces. Each had their own tells, their own lies they would tell to him, but he would never call them out on. They knew he knew, so it was a waste of air. Why try to pry truth out if they weren't inclined to give it?

His hand trailed from her forehead to rest against one of her cheeks as he settled, sitting up properly as it seemed that they were both awake now, and Aisa was at least willing to talk a little about her outburst. Not that he had asked - not out loud, anyways. Each of them could read him like a book - a book written in a different language than most knew, but they still read him fluently. Perhaps it was nice to not have to break down the walls, but just let someone climb over.

"We...saw him once. But it was never more than a visual meeting." Invictus answered quietly, his fingers brushing lightly against her cheek as he spoke.  

[revenant aria]

"That's because he decided it was unnecessary. If he wanted, you would have never seen him." She wondered how much Connie remembered of him.. was it a detailed or a vague picture? But it didn't matter, since he was long gone. She felt acutely aware of the soft cloth underneath her form, sinking into the soft material. Before her recent encounter with Death, Aisa would have never confided in anybody about Kreios. At best, Eris knew a few details more than the others.. but it was hardly much, in comparison to the years Aisa spent with her guardian. But now, Death had instilled a strength in her, that lightened the secretive chains in Aisa's heart.

".. His humor was like that. He never met any of the heirs at our rare meetings-- he decided it'd be best at the end."

There were no lies in this moment. Aisa didn't move her head to Connie's lap, she just needed that space and he knew it. Approaching might have meant a fatal fight, even with the current atmosphere. Insanity still clung to Aisa's words and expressions, yet, a rare clarity stuck, through the calming feel of Connie's hands.

"But you know how he died, that lovely doctor was quite a good match for Kreios."  

[demon_pachabel]

"Sounds like our mother, in a way." he mentioned quietly, not really contributing the thought to the conversation, but perhaps to himself. "We imagine if you weren't there we wouldn't have even known he existed." It was a strange notion, actually. How many members of even his own clan did he not even really know existed outside of the fact that they had perhaps barely glanced past each other? Or at least him past them.

Invictus made no effort or gesture to bring her any closer to him than she already was. If she'd wanted it, Aisa would have already taken it, whether it was offered or not. She'd come as close as she was already needing of him. It was a strange dance the heirs did - being close while keeping each other at an arm's length distance as well. Push. Pull. Push. Pull.

They were like a universe that dance around each other. They needed each other to remain stable, but too close and things began to collapse. It was almost torturous at times.

"They have gotten rather good at taking things away with their games of self preservation, haven't they? It seems like only yesterday we roamed their world and destroyed most of them." The night before the 2000th year of their calendar.  

[revenant aria]

"That sort of humor seems to be gained over time, doesn't it?" Aisa chuckled to herself, partially thinking that Connie's room needed more skulls. Less silk too. But then, that defeated the point of it being Connie's room. She peeled off the layer of fur that adorned her back, as she turned over to her side up to examine a design on Connie's wall with intense interest. It fell along her back, her hair following her movements to spill over her side.

She didn't need to elaborate on what her relationship with her guardian had been like, that was quite predictable in certain aspects.

"Connie.. What was she like?"

Aisa glanced over at Connie's untied white hair, mildly reflecting that she had grown fond of Connie's shorter height from before. But not even the Protectors were immune to change and height was one of those factors.

Too bad.  

[demon_pachabel]

He watched her, pulling his hand from her as she moved to find something to distract her thoughts for a moment. Something that wasn't as familiar as everything else. It was easy to get absorbed in it when you were seeking a moment of solace.

And perhaps that was why he hadn't been expecting her inquiry. The smallest traces of a frown were the first answer to her question as Invictus seemed to rack his mind for a proper answer. A single word that would even begin to do the justice of describing her.

"She was...like sitting in the forest on a cold morning. Everything is still, you can see your breath, and there is a certain...mysticism to where you are. Then there is a small crack as the earth snaps beneath the hooves of a deer, and you see it. It sees you. It's beautiful, but you know that there is little you can do to hold onto it unless it chooses to stay with you. Even though it knows you can kill it." He hadn't meant to become poetic about it, but it was a hard feeling to describe. "She had that presence to her. Where you weren't sure if you were fearful of her, or for her. Everything she did was very careful. Purposeful."  

[revenant aria]

"You resemble that description." Aisa murmured, trying to envision it. Every protector, before they had been an heir, each had a consuming past that they each only knew vaguely. "Tell me, do you take after your father or your mother more?"

She walked back towards Connie, pulling the band that kept Connie's locks all neatly tied up, leaning back to glance over his appearance, as if trying to ascertain him with her memories of the previous Conquest.

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

"Are you saying you think we are fragile?" he asked, leaning on his hand as he watched her, closing his own eyes as she fussed his hair and looked at him.

"We can't really say which of the two we resemble more. Physically, His Imperial Majesty and us bear striking resemblance to each other....but...." he ruffled his hair and rubbed the back of his neck - one of the many more natural displays that only the heirs ever saw from him - as he spoke. "We are our mother's son. That is the common agreement and we feel that is an accurate assessment."

Random Artist

 

[revenant aria]

"I'm saying, your features doesn't give nearly enough of an impression of how powerful you really are." Aisa murmured, the side of her mouth quirked in a tiny smile as Connie closed his eyes. She recalled a past memory, where they had been so unfamiliar to each other, their eyes constantly assessing one another.

"Well-spoken, down to your core, Connie."

"I suppose I should follow your example. Kreios was my guardian and I was his last priestess. Nothing will change the fact, there is no other guardian for me. But certainly, not the last of the males in my life." Her hand caressed the spot that Connie rubbed, at the base of his neck, in a rare gesture of comfort.

demon_pachabel

i-it was my tag...