Post by :: Pandie :: on Aug 13, 2009 1:41:24 GMT -5
Pandora LeAmour
Raistlin Majere
Location: The Tower
Time: 7:15pm - 2:40am
(Mentioned in this Rp: Raistlin, Pandora, Mathas, William, Tathar)
Finally finished with her appointment for the evening, Pandora crossed the length of the Meeting Room, through the archway and into the Tower hallway. From there, she turned left and walked the short distance to the archway that led into Williams Room, the sound of deliberate footsteps echoing her every move merely to announce to William she was approaching. She had no desire to scare him half to death.
As she stepped into the small room, she gave the Tower Guard a brisk nod of her head, and crossed to the far right corner. There, she crouched and pushing off with the balls of her feet, jumped up to the second landing of the Tower.
The NightWorld library, located on the second floor of the Tower, was surrounded in darkness. Not even the candles positioned around the room were lit. Since no one had ventured into the Tower from the outside world, the servants must not have felt any need to waste perfectly good candlelight.
Not that it matered to Pandora LeAmour. Her eyesight, afterall, was better in the dark then it was in the light. Of course, as was such for all beings of her status.
Now, that she was alone, Pandora moved with speed and stelth, across the Library and towards the chair that had been brought from her private quarters. The Library had been her resort since she arrived back from the Smithary just the eve before, ever since the renovations on the top floor of the Tower started.
Sinking into the chair, Pandora stripped herself of the immortal abilities and enjoyed the luxary of curling her legs up underneath of her, the floorlength gown bellowing out around both legs and toes. She simply sat. Staring into the darkness. Enjoying, for once, the peace and quiet.
Yes, even for one whom had the ability to life for eternity, it had been a long week. Even now, Pandora still had a large stack of parchments that she really ought to have been shifting through now that she had a few free moments to do so, but couldn't seem to bring herself to it. The Master of the City never seemed to get nearly enough time to enjoy living for an eternity.
With a gentle shake of her head, Pandora snapped out of her daze and hunched over in the chair to scoop up one of the stray parchments. Settling back once more, she turned her eyes to the written words. After a few moments, she still had not made it past the first paragraph, having had to read and reread thing's just to get it into her mind.
Finally, she gave up. Obviously she couldn't focus right now. Her hand lowered the parchment to her lap, and Pandora's eye's stared unseeing across the Library once more, her mind a million miles away.
She found herself thinking of her missing Animal to Call. Of her Pom de Sang. Of Raistlin, who even now, was somewhere within her home. And for the briefest of moments, the Master of the City found herself missing Mathas. At least with him, he was always around when she needed a release. With her thoughts travelling her recent past, Pandora LeAmour sat stone structured still, not moving, not blinking, not breathing.
Again, Pandora forced her attention back to where it rightly belonged. Tonight, William had told her that after the greeting of the new Meals, her schedule was wide open, though he had bravely mentioned that perhaps it was the perfect moment to get the pile of Parchments sorted, binded and added to the NightWorld Library shelves.
She, of course, pretended not to take notice of his coy hint, and left him standing there in the Meeting Room. So she had inspected the newly arrived meals, and then retreated her to the Library, where she should have been working. Rising her left hand once more, parchment grasped in her gloved fingers, Pandora started again from the top.
The context of the parchment seemed a little different this time. The words were written in a different language entirely, and they caused the tongue to seem clumbsy to those not used to their inflection. Further down the page, were a set of eyes staring directly into hers, the golden orbs seemingly popping out of the page itself, their icy stare poised perfectly still.
The eyes seemed to float off the parchment, slowly shifting into a dark corner of the room, still locked with hers before they vanished from sight. An instant later, Dark robes began to rustle upon the Library floor as padded feet slowly hobbled closer, the sound of the Staff of Magius clanking noisily upon the floor, clutched by a Golden hand. Raistlin Majere emerged into full view of Pandora
A small nod from the wizard was the only indication that he recognized Pandora at all, he moved slowly to a shelf, began filtering through several bindings without so much as reading their names, and pulled out a single book, his eyes of time watching with curiosity as it emitted a slightl blue glow
Pandora continued to hold the parchment in her hand, even as the eyes seemed to pop out of the page itself. If she hadn't invited Raistlin to the Tower, she probably would have dropped it. As it were, she knew his trickery just enough to be able to mask her surprise.
When the sound of his robes announced his arrival, Pandora lowered the parchment just enough so that she could watch him enter. The nod, if that's what you could call it, was the only greeting she received before Raistlin set about helping himself to the collection of books within the Library. Pandora didn't mind. Afterall, these books were at hand for anyone within the NightWorld. Now, if it were her private collection, she wouldn't have seemed so calm about it.
Before he even picked a book, Pandora's eye's returned to the parchment in her hand. The two of them in a room full of books wasn't something new. It reminded her of the days of Enchantica, which is what aided her comment.
Pandora LeAmour let that sentence hang, leaving the interpetation of it up to him entirely. If he could even remember the days of old, he'd know exactly what she was hinting at. How many times had she had to chase him out from lighting bindings on fire, or fix a door that shouldn't have been squeeking. Raistlin was powerful, but thus far he hadn't used any of his power as an attack on her. Instead, he seemed more prone to incidents of annoyance.
A soft laughter echoed off the very walls of the castle, the Archmage tossed his head back, causing the cowl to fall from his head and drift about his shoulders, exposing his Snow white hair to the darkness of the Library. The golden orbs flicked to her almost immediately, an impish grin washing over the golden features. The whispered voice responded to Pandora almost immediately, as if he had somehow read her mind.
Slowly, his body turned towards her and he slowly hobbled closer, the book tucked Carefully underneath his arm as he made his way to the table with stacks of parchment on it. He lifted his finger, and beckoned to the chair, causing it to pull itself from underneath the table and allow him to settle upon it. He released his hold on the staff, and let it rest in the air, as if it were anchored in place.
Instantly, the magical staff began to emit a pale blue glow, its light piercing through the darkness, yet not bright enough to Cause Pandora any discomfort. Slowly, he opened the book, and began to thumb through the pages. Without so much as glancing up, he spoke
Pandora's eye's flinched at the light emitted from the Staff of Magius, not because it was bright enough to cause discomfort, but simply because as with any change in lights, it was shocking to the senses. The quick adjustment was made and Pandora's face relaxed to a casual smirk.
At first, Pandora allowed the silence to stretch between the two of them. At least until she reached the end of the parchment in her hand. Leaning forward in her chair, she then disguarded it on one pile, and retrieved another from a different pile.
Settling back in her chair again, Pandora shifted the parchment so that she was able to read it without straining her neck. Unfortunately, even shifting the paper didnt' do her a world of good. Raistlin's presence was too large a distraction.
Raistlin only smiled, his eyes still not lifting up from the page. He carefully turned the page before scanning once more the contents of the book. He shrugged slightly and took his time to answer, as if contemplating exactly what and how much he should tell her. The raspish tone spewed from his lips, almost as soft as the echo that followed after his words.
His golden gaze pierced through the air, stared hard at Pandora
He turned his attention back to the book, and began to once more read by the pale blue light of the Staff of Magius
Both eyebrows arched, since Pandora still had not mastered the ability to lift only one, but she did not comment. At least, not right away. Instead, she turned her attention to the parchment in hand and began reading. he silence between the two of them stretched. The sound, only of pages, breaking through. He with her book, she with her parchments.
When Pandora finished this page, she placed it in a seperate pile, face down, and reached for the next. Her eye's skimmed over half the page before she bothered speaking at all.
A thin line of power trickled over her next choice of words.
Pandora then fell silent and traced back the trickle of power that seemed to caress her skin. She didn't know magic, and she had absolutely no special abilities outside the marks of what she was. No, this power wasn't anything quite like that. Instead, it was a simple sensation that only those whom were in tune with it's existance would sense. A simple 'mark' if you will of what she was.
Raistlin felt the sudden surge of energy emitted from Pandora, and pulled his golden orbs away from the book, his golden gaze staring harshly at Pandora. His eyes of time stared around her, sensed the energy that she was putting off. There was a hint of danger to the expression he had given her, as if she had just insulted him. He took a rattled breath, his raspish voice filled the chamber once more
He did not turn his attention back to the book, instead, he kept his eyes fixed on Pandora, his features set firmly to that of defiance
She didn't bother glancing from the parchment in her hand as he spoke, though she was keenly aware of his gaze. When once, that gaze was enough to make her quake and long for thing's not quite appropiate to share, now it simply irritated her.
Pandora rustled the parchment in her hand, but did not put it down. She simply lowered it a fraction of an inch so she could look upon him over the top.
She didn't offer him anything he sought. Once, she would have done damn near anything to please him. That was a lifetime ago. Now, now it was different. She was no longer just a child Vampire with no Master, no abilities, no power. Now she was no romantic. Now, she was nothing that he could toy with to get the results he wanted. Yes, much had indeed changed over the years since she and Raistlin had actually conversed.
Of course, she had sent word to request his spell. His ability to do exactly what she wanted. He didn't ask why, and she had never told him. She got what she wanted out of him, just as all those years ago he had from her. They were even, as far as she was concerned.
Pandora returned her pale blue gaze to the parchment, not because she was eager to get through the work, but because looking at Raistlin was perhaps the worst idea to tend to when they were in the sorts of all this.
The white eyebrow of the Archmage twitched. He stared at her for long moments, hoping to find some flaw in the casual features that he gazed upon. Her haughty attitude seemed to be equal to his own. His long slender fingers curled inward unconciously, making a fist with his golden hands till his knuckles turned white. His body shook, not of fear, but of frustration. Had she have been in any other place but this, he could have easily lit her hair on fire, yet even now, the simplest of spells were difficult to cast with the anti-magic shell about them. His jaw clenched tightly, and his lips pressed tightly together. Before her accension to the Master of the City, she had been easily manipulated. He rose to his feet, the chair underneath him fell to the floor with a clatter. The book fell to the table, his hands coming down on the wooden surface after it, his palms face down
Ah, the beauty of being an undead. They had this eerie ability to go so completely still that it seemed as if you blinked, they would just cease to be there. A handy little thing that worked wonders of sheilding actual emotions. Pale eye's stared directly ahead of her, landing on Raistlin. She didn't blink. Didn't breath. Had no need to fidget whatsoever.
Finally, it was like life breathed back into her, and her lips moved. Her voice, monotoned as if she had repeated this thousands upon thousands of times before.
She sat there, the parchment abandoned in her hand, staring at him. Her face, when lips were not moving, was simple. Expressionless. Empty.
Her retort went unnoticed. The information she fed him was absorbed like a sponge. His entire body began to shake, and suddenly, he was laughing, his head tossed back, and his hand rested on his forehead. His eerie laughter reverbated off the Tower walls. It took him some time to compose himself enough to speak, as his laughter had robbed him of his breath. He took several gasps for air that rattled in his lungs. when he was able to speak, his hourglass eyes stared directly at her, a mocking smile upon his lips
He stared at her, his composure the exact opposite a moment before, his golden orbs staring at her own blue eyes, and a contorted mocking smile on his features. He shook his head slightly, his white hair flowing over his black robes that seemed to blend in with the darkness, outlined only by the light of the staff that still shed its dull pale blue light
Generally, Pandora LeAmour didn't take kindly to being called a fledgling. Or a weak one at that... But with Raistlin it was probably best that he think such. She wasn't, after all, trying to control him. The best way to survive his visit is to appear stubborn but lacking in any powerbase of strength.
Her shoulder's had stiffened with his words, and until she felt them relax, she wasn't even aware of it. She flicked a gaze at Raistlin, but that was all, much perfering to keep her eyes on the unread parchment infront of her.
She didn't agree with him, but nor did she attempt to correct him. He asked a direct question, he received a direct answer. She wasn't required to give anymore then that, and she certainly wouldn't play to his belittling her. One who wanted a fight lost wind when their opponent refused to play.
Carefully, Pandora peered up at Raistlin from beneath her eyelids. She was trying to make it look like she was still looking at the paper infront of her. His appearance hadn't changed much. His health condition neither. Hell, she had long since thought him dead. Pity, that didn't turn out to be true. Though in appearances, he was exactly as he once was, he wasn't, if that made any sense at all.
Before it was harmless pranks. Now, it was belittling and arrogance. Rude spite. Yes, spite. That's all it was now. A willingness to manipulate someone for the desired results, and when manipulation no longer works, pure force. Nothing Pandora as a Master of the City hadn't dealt with before.
He had changed, but then again so had she. She actually grew a backbone. Imagine that!
His smile never wavered, and he stood for a long moment staring at her, watching her carefully. Suddenly, he shrugged lightly, brushing it off as if it were nothing.He turned around and fetched his chair from the floor, slowly taking a seat and opening the book once more, thumbing through the many pages of the book he had taken from the shelf and pretended to read. He knew full well Pandora didnt get by with just luck alone. He knew she had grown stronger since the last time they had met, and he was determined to find out exactly how much she had grown. He had not before this eve seen her emit the energy he had witnessed this evening. He pondered for several moments just what she was hiding when he felt a coughing fit coming on. He quickly reached into the many folds of his robes, and produced a white cloth with brown splotches, and held it over his mouth as his coughing fit began. Still he struggled to speak, taking rattling breaths between his coughs
The moment Raistlin began coughing Pandora looked down the long length of the table, and towards one of the many bookshelves that just so happened to be in her line of sight blocking the drop. Staring at absolutely nothing, to be honest, but it was nice to pretend.
Pandora knew that one of the guards stationed just inside the library heard her order, so it was only a matter of time, really, before they'd come wandering deeper into the library with pitcher of water and glass in hand.
If he wanted to be casual all of a sudden, she too could play that game. Just an old dying man, and an even older already dead female sharing not so casual conversations in a breakfast manner.
Pointedly, Pandora turned back to the parchment yet again, only this time she actually did manage to finish reading it. She held it for a moment, as if thinking of either what was written on it, or which pile it should go into, and then added it to the smallest of the three piles, the one for her own private collection.
Raistlin tried to speak, yet every time he opened his mouth, another cough had shut it for him, he took several short breaths, trying to fight through the coughing fit without the aid of water or his herbs. Eventually he just shook his head, biding his time to seize a moment to speak, his quiet voice would have been heard only by the ears of supernatural beings, his sentence being cut off after each word with coughs.
His eyes watered, and his throat burned. He longed for the easement of the pain wracking coughs. He felt them subside slightly and dabbed his blood flecked lips with the cloth. He remained doubled over, the book laying open on the desk, his feeble body nearly crumpled in his chair. He watched Pandora sift through the parchments, and made several weak gestures to them, almost as if asking what they were without so much as uttering a word
Pandora caught his hand gesturing from the corner of her eye, and of course knew exactly what he wanted to know. The only problem was how much to tell him and how much to keep to herself. Biding her time with an answer, Pandora spoke the first thought that had crossed her mind when he had spoken of the luck made from magic being all he needed.
She then reached forth and scooped up the now second smallest pile of parchments. Carefully, she placed them in her lap. She didn't worry they'd fall. Hell, she could hold still enough to prevent that from happening. She then reached out with one free hand and retrieved the last of the parchments from what once upon a time was the unread pile. Now there were two piles on the table, and one in her lap. It had been planned that way.
She figured that might spark a bit of interest in him, and thus had very carefully removed the pile for her private collection. The piles left on the table would cause little to no damage if he decided to get his grubby hands on them. One pile was filled with basic stuff that the NightWorld library was already littered with. The other, with thing's that had been written but were not true at all, also known as the junk pile.
The pile in Pandora's lap, the one that would be added to her private collection, were articles and stories of thing's too powerful for the average Nightworlder's to get their hands on.
Unable to speak for the time being, The Archmage glared at her. She knew full well his magic wasnt the cause of his illness. He just stared at her, watching her actions carefully, as if they would betray her words. His eyes glinted with a hint of intrigue, and he thought to himself of slipping into the library to take a longer look at the parchments that she had been reviewing. He pulled out his pouch of herbs, and made them at the ready, setting them on the table should the coughing fit continue for much longer. Finally finding himself able to speak, he let the cloth fall from his lips,
He felt himself growing weaker, the energy was being drained from his body with each cough, His golden orbs returned to the book in front of him, his free hand lightly caressing the page it had been splayed open to, his eyes scanning through its contents.
Pandora skimmed through about two paragraphs of the remaining page to sort, and didn't even bother reading the rest of it. She tossed it into a pile on the table and settled back in a mortals way of comfort. Her knees drew up to her chest, and Pandora wrapped her bare arms around them. Whenever she left the tower she made certain to wear gloves. Inside her home, however, she saw no point.
Her chin came to cradle on her knees and she actually blinked. All these movements were pointless. Vampires didn't need to 'get comfortable' as it were. But it was something to do and she was betting it would either soften Raistlin up or irritate him even more.
That was sort of true. There were plenty of books on Lycans in general, as well as particular observations from specific ones. As was such, there was also plenty of books on shapeshifters, deamons, and magic. There was not, however, a large amout of books on Vampires. The ones that were scattered within the room were simple basic things. Thing's that any Nightworlder would already know.
That, at lest, was the truth. Tranquility wasn't hiding any massive secrets. Well, except the two biggest ones, of course...
Raistlin nodded slightly, his hand had once more gone up to cover his lips once more. The coughing fit had subsided for now, but he knew it would come back soon. He slowly stood up, clutching the staff in one hand, and, closing the book while picking it up from the table, walked to the Shelf that he had found it. Using the staff to aid him in finding the place where he had found it, he put the book back in its place, and began to scan through the titles of the other ones nearby. True to her word, several books were left unlabeled. He turned back to stare at her, a warm, smile crossed his lips as his fingers absentmindedly stroked the tomes. He gave her a faint nod, took her words to be truth, and returned to the table without retrieving another tome. Something told him that they may be leaving the Library very soon, as Pandora's work here seemed to have come to a close.
If she was trying to flatter him, she was certainly doing a good job of it
Raistlin Majere
Location: The Tower
Time: 7:15pm - 2:40am
(Mentioned in this Rp: Raistlin, Pandora, Mathas, William, Tathar)
Finally finished with her appointment for the evening, Pandora crossed the length of the Meeting Room, through the archway and into the Tower hallway. From there, she turned left and walked the short distance to the archway that led into Williams Room, the sound of deliberate footsteps echoing her every move merely to announce to William she was approaching. She had no desire to scare him half to death.
As she stepped into the small room, she gave the Tower Guard a brisk nod of her head, and crossed to the far right corner. There, she crouched and pushing off with the balls of her feet, jumped up to the second landing of the Tower.
The NightWorld library, located on the second floor of the Tower, was surrounded in darkness. Not even the candles positioned around the room were lit. Since no one had ventured into the Tower from the outside world, the servants must not have felt any need to waste perfectly good candlelight.
Not that it matered to Pandora LeAmour. Her eyesight, afterall, was better in the dark then it was in the light. Of course, as was such for all beings of her status.
Now, that she was alone, Pandora moved with speed and stelth, across the Library and towards the chair that had been brought from her private quarters. The Library had been her resort since she arrived back from the Smithary just the eve before, ever since the renovations on the top floor of the Tower started.
Sinking into the chair, Pandora stripped herself of the immortal abilities and enjoyed the luxary of curling her legs up underneath of her, the floorlength gown bellowing out around both legs and toes. She simply sat. Staring into the darkness. Enjoying, for once, the peace and quiet.
Yes, even for one whom had the ability to life for eternity, it had been a long week. Even now, Pandora still had a large stack of parchments that she really ought to have been shifting through now that she had a few free moments to do so, but couldn't seem to bring herself to it. The Master of the City never seemed to get nearly enough time to enjoy living for an eternity.
With a gentle shake of her head, Pandora snapped out of her daze and hunched over in the chair to scoop up one of the stray parchments. Settling back once more, she turned her eyes to the written words. After a few moments, she still had not made it past the first paragraph, having had to read and reread thing's just to get it into her mind.
Finally, she gave up. Obviously she couldn't focus right now. Her hand lowered the parchment to her lap, and Pandora's eye's stared unseeing across the Library once more, her mind a million miles away.
She found herself thinking of her missing Animal to Call. Of her Pom de Sang. Of Raistlin, who even now, was somewhere within her home. And for the briefest of moments, the Master of the City found herself missing Mathas. At least with him, he was always around when she needed a release. With her thoughts travelling her recent past, Pandora LeAmour sat stone structured still, not moving, not blinking, not breathing.
Again, Pandora forced her attention back to where it rightly belonged. Tonight, William had told her that after the greeting of the new Meals, her schedule was wide open, though he had bravely mentioned that perhaps it was the perfect moment to get the pile of Parchments sorted, binded and added to the NightWorld Library shelves.
She, of course, pretended not to take notice of his coy hint, and left him standing there in the Meeting Room. So she had inspected the newly arrived meals, and then retreated her to the Library, where she should have been working. Rising her left hand once more, parchment grasped in her gloved fingers, Pandora started again from the top.
The context of the parchment seemed a little different this time. The words were written in a different language entirely, and they caused the tongue to seem clumbsy to those not used to their inflection. Further down the page, were a set of eyes staring directly into hers, the golden orbs seemingly popping out of the page itself, their icy stare poised perfectly still.
The eyes seemed to float off the parchment, slowly shifting into a dark corner of the room, still locked with hers before they vanished from sight. An instant later, Dark robes began to rustle upon the Library floor as padded feet slowly hobbled closer, the sound of the Staff of Magius clanking noisily upon the floor, clutched by a Golden hand. Raistlin Majere emerged into full view of Pandora
A small nod from the wizard was the only indication that he recognized Pandora at all, he moved slowly to a shelf, began filtering through several bindings without so much as reading their names, and pulled out a single book, his eyes of time watching with curiosity as it emitted a slightl blue glow
Pandora continued to hold the parchment in her hand, even as the eyes seemed to pop out of the page itself. If she hadn't invited Raistlin to the Tower, she probably would have dropped it. As it were, she knew his trickery just enough to be able to mask her surprise.
When the sound of his robes announced his arrival, Pandora lowered the parchment just enough so that she could watch him enter. The nod, if that's what you could call it, was the only greeting she received before Raistlin set about helping himself to the collection of books within the Library. Pandora didn't mind. Afterall, these books were at hand for anyone within the NightWorld. Now, if it were her private collection, she wouldn't have seemed so calm about it.
Before he even picked a book, Pandora's eye's returned to the parchment in her hand. The two of them in a room full of books wasn't something new. It reminded her of the days of Enchantica, which is what aided her comment.
"If I so much as detect a hint of smoke, Raistlin..."
Pandora LeAmour let that sentence hang, leaving the interpetation of it up to him entirely. If he could even remember the days of old, he'd know exactly what she was hinting at. How many times had she had to chase him out from lighting bindings on fire, or fix a door that shouldn't have been squeeking. Raistlin was powerful, but thus far he hadn't used any of his power as an attack on her. Instead, he seemed more prone to incidents of annoyance.
A soft laughter echoed off the very walls of the castle, the Archmage tossed his head back, causing the cowl to fall from his head and drift about his shoulders, exposing his Snow white hair to the darkness of the Library. The golden orbs flicked to her almost immediately, an impish grin washing over the golden features. The whispered voice responded to Pandora almost immediately, as if he had somehow read her mind.
Oh Perish the thought Pandora... as if I would burn such a fine collection of books. This selection is of much higher quality than the rubbish picture books and childrens novels found in the Castle, so you won't have to bother holding my head underwater till my feet stop kicking!!
Slowly, his body turned towards her and he slowly hobbled closer, the book tucked Carefully underneath his arm as he made his way to the table with stacks of parchment on it. He lifted his finger, and beckoned to the chair, causing it to pull itself from underneath the table and allow him to settle upon it. He released his hold on the staff, and let it rest in the air, as if it were anchored in place.
SHIRAK!!
Instantly, the magical staff began to emit a pale blue glow, its light piercing through the darkness, yet not bright enough to Cause Pandora any discomfort. Slowly, he opened the book, and began to thumb through the pages. Without so much as glancing up, he spoke
So many stacks of parchment, and yet, so little time for the Master of the City, I suspect your days of immortality will be quite dull at this rate!!
[/b][/u][/center]Pandora's eye's flinched at the light emitted from the Staff of Magius, not because it was bright enough to cause discomfort, but simply because as with any change in lights, it was shocking to the senses. The quick adjustment was made and Pandora's face relaxed to a casual smirk.
At first, Pandora allowed the silence to stretch between the two of them. At least until she reached the end of the parchment in her hand. Leaning forward in her chair, she then disguarded it on one pile, and retrieved another from a different pile.
"Perhaps so, but I do not mind it. A little boredom for a life of strength is well worth the price."
Settling back in her chair again, Pandora shifted the parchment so that she was able to read it without straining her neck. Unfortunately, even shifting the paper didnt' do her a world of good. Raistlin's presence was too large a distraction.
"Which rumor did you follow to find yourself here, among my books?"
[/b][/u][/center]Raistlin only smiled, his eyes still not lifting up from the page. He carefully turned the page before scanning once more the contents of the book. He shrugged slightly and took his time to answer, as if contemplating exactly what and how much he should tell her. The raspish tone spewed from his lips, almost as soft as the echo that followed after his words.
There was no rumor that has brought me here, I am merely in search of a few answers that had been left unanswered during our conversation yesterday.
His golden gaze pierced through the air, stared hard at Pandora
You know how I enjoy unraveling secrets, gleaning all that I can..
He turned his attention back to the book, and began to once more read by the pale blue light of the Staff of Magius
Both eyebrows arched, since Pandora still had not mastered the ability to lift only one, but she did not comment. At least, not right away. Instead, she turned her attention to the parchment in hand and began reading. he silence between the two of them stretched. The sound, only of pages, breaking through. He with her book, she with her parchments.
When Pandora finished this page, she placed it in a seperate pile, face down, and reached for the next. Her eye's skimmed over half the page before she bothered speaking at all.
"So you have come to my home, because you thought that it would provide secrets you could entertain yourself with? Just a random..."
A thin line of power trickled over her next choice of words.
"Oh, I think I will seek out Pandora, just to see what secrets she has after all these years."
Pandora then fell silent and traced back the trickle of power that seemed to caress her skin. She didn't know magic, and she had absolutely no special abilities outside the marks of what she was. No, this power wasn't anything quite like that. Instead, it was a simple sensation that only those whom were in tune with it's existance would sense. A simple 'mark' if you will of what she was.
"Has the famous Raistlin found himself missing a woman? How quant."
[/b][/u][/center]Raistlin felt the sudden surge of energy emitted from Pandora, and pulled his golden orbs away from the book, his golden gaze staring harshly at Pandora. His eyes of time stared around her, sensed the energy that she was putting off. There was a hint of danger to the expression he had given her, as if she had just insulted him. He took a rattled breath, his raspish voice filled the chamber once more
Me? Miss a woman? Have you truly gone mad after so many years of unlife? Have you forgotten how detattched of my emotions that Ive become? No, I miss no woman, I seek only one thing! Power. Power enough to fullfil my one goal, despite the height of my ambition. What I seek, is whatever secrets that you have uncovered and have as of yet, told me about. I find it fitting that I should know, since I loaned you a bit of my power to create a small haven for you and your 'leeches', 'puppies', and 'rotting corpses'!!
He did not turn his attention back to the book, instead, he kept his eyes fixed on Pandora, his features set firmly to that of defiance
What secrets ARE you hiding from me, my DEAR little vampire?!
[/b][/u][/center]She didn't bother glancing from the parchment in her hand as he spoke, though she was keenly aware of his gaze. When once, that gaze was enough to make her quake and long for thing's not quite appropiate to share, now it simply irritated her.
"Ah yes. Your lifequest of gaining more and more power. And when you were amongst your travels, you heard through the grapevine that your old rival, the girl you once pretended to have a heart to, had become powerful enough to be Master of the City that you cast your little barrier around, you found yourself thinking, let us go back and rape her of her knowledge."
Pandora rustled the parchment in her hand, but did not put it down. She simply lowered it a fraction of an inch so she could look upon him over the top.
"I am sorry you wasted your time. Then again, what is time to you, but a title."
She didn't offer him anything he sought. Once, she would have done damn near anything to please him. That was a lifetime ago. Now, now it was different. She was no longer just a child Vampire with no Master, no abilities, no power. Now she was no romantic. Now, she was nothing that he could toy with to get the results he wanted. Yes, much had indeed changed over the years since she and Raistlin had actually conversed.
Of course, she had sent word to request his spell. His ability to do exactly what she wanted. He didn't ask why, and she had never told him. She got what she wanted out of him, just as all those years ago he had from her. They were even, as far as she was concerned.
Pandora returned her pale blue gaze to the parchment, not because she was eager to get through the work, but because looking at Raistlin was perhaps the worst idea to tend to when they were in the sorts of all this.
The white eyebrow of the Archmage twitched. He stared at her for long moments, hoping to find some flaw in the casual features that he gazed upon. Her haughty attitude seemed to be equal to his own. His long slender fingers curled inward unconciously, making a fist with his golden hands till his knuckles turned white. His body shook, not of fear, but of frustration. Had she have been in any other place but this, he could have easily lit her hair on fire, yet even now, the simplest of spells were difficult to cast with the anti-magic shell about them. His jaw clenched tightly, and his lips pressed tightly together. Before her accension to the Master of the City, she had been easily manipulated. He rose to his feet, the chair underneath him fell to the floor with a clatter. The book fell to the table, his hands coming down on the wooden surface after it, his palms face down
What of this mark that you have spoken of before? What significance does it have?
[/b][/u][/center]Ah, the beauty of being an undead. They had this eerie ability to go so completely still that it seemed as if you blinked, they would just cease to be there. A handy little thing that worked wonders of sheilding actual emotions. Pale eye's stared directly ahead of her, landing on Raistlin. She didn't blink. Didn't breath. Had no need to fidget whatsoever.
Finally, it was like life breathed back into her, and her lips moved. Her voice, monotoned as if she had repeated this thousands upon thousands of times before.
"Think of the brandings on cattle. Tis a simple signature that gains them entry to the Tower Library. Nothing remarkable or powerful about it, old fool."
She sat there, the parchment abandoned in her hand, staring at him. Her face, when lips were not moving, was simple. Expressionless. Empty.
Her retort went unnoticed. The information she fed him was absorbed like a sponge. His entire body began to shake, and suddenly, he was laughing, his head tossed back, and his hand rested on his forehead. His eerie laughter reverbated off the Tower walls. It took him some time to compose himself enough to speak, as his laughter had robbed him of his breath. He took several gasps for air that rattled in his lungs. when he was able to speak, his hourglass eyes stared directly at her, a mocking smile upon his lips
You mean to tell me that over the past few years of unlife, all that you've accomplished was a mere branding of beings for the sole purpose of Identification? My dear Fledgling Pandora... How HAVE you been able to keep hold of your title for this long?
He stared at her, his composure the exact opposite a moment before, his golden orbs staring at her own blue eyes, and a contorted mocking smile on his features. He shook his head slightly, his white hair flowing over his black robes that seemed to blend in with the darkness, outlined only by the light of the staff that still shed its dull pale blue light
Generally, Pandora LeAmour didn't take kindly to being called a fledgling. Or a weak one at that... But with Raistlin it was probably best that he think such. She wasn't, after all, trying to control him. The best way to survive his visit is to appear stubborn but lacking in any powerbase of strength.
Her shoulder's had stiffened with his words, and until she felt them relax, she wasn't even aware of it. She flicked a gaze at Raistlin, but that was all, much perfering to keep her eyes on the unread parchment infront of her.
"Pure luck, perchance?"
She didn't agree with him, but nor did she attempt to correct him. He asked a direct question, he received a direct answer. She wasn't required to give anymore then that, and she certainly wouldn't play to his belittling her. One who wanted a fight lost wind when their opponent refused to play.
Carefully, Pandora peered up at Raistlin from beneath her eyelids. She was trying to make it look like she was still looking at the paper infront of her. His appearance hadn't changed much. His health condition neither. Hell, she had long since thought him dead. Pity, that didn't turn out to be true. Though in appearances, he was exactly as he once was, he wasn't, if that made any sense at all.
Before it was harmless pranks. Now, it was belittling and arrogance. Rude spite. Yes, spite. That's all it was now. A willingness to manipulate someone for the desired results, and when manipulation no longer works, pure force. Nothing Pandora as a Master of the City hadn't dealt with before.
He had changed, but then again so had she. She actually grew a backbone. Imagine that!
"Now sit your self down before you collapse."
[/b][/u][/center]His smile never wavered, and he stood for a long moment staring at her, watching her carefully. Suddenly, he shrugged lightly, brushing it off as if it were nothing.He turned around and fetched his chair from the floor, slowly taking a seat and opening the book once more, thumbing through the many pages of the book he had taken from the shelf and pretended to read. He knew full well Pandora didnt get by with just luck alone. He knew she had grown stronger since the last time they had met, and he was determined to find out exactly how much she had grown. He had not before this eve seen her emit the energy he had witnessed this evening. He pondered for several moments just what she was hiding when he felt a coughing fit coming on. He quickly reached into the many folds of his robes, and produced a white cloth with brown splotches, and held it over his mouth as his coughing fit began. Still he struggled to speak, taking rattling breaths between his coughs
I should hope ...your luck continues ....then until you've acquired ....substantial power to maintain... your hold of the city... or perhaps you should hire more.. underlings..
[/b][/u][/center]The moment Raistlin began coughing Pandora looked down the long length of the table, and towards one of the many bookshelves that just so happened to be in her line of sight blocking the drop. Staring at absolutely nothing, to be honest, but it was nice to pretend.
Pandora knew that one of the guards stationed just inside the library heard her order, so it was only a matter of time, really, before they'd come wandering deeper into the library with pitcher of water and glass in hand.
"Thank you for the advice. I shall take it into consideration."
If he wanted to be casual all of a sudden, she too could play that game. Just an old dying man, and an even older already dead female sharing not so casual conversations in a breakfast manner.
Pointedly, Pandora turned back to the parchment yet again, only this time she actually did manage to finish reading it. She held it for a moment, as if thinking of either what was written on it, or which pile it should go into, and then added it to the smallest of the three piles, the one for her own private collection.
"Perhaps you should invest in some luck yourself, Raistlin. It seems you may need it considerably more then I."
[/b][/u][/center]Raistlin tried to speak, yet every time he opened his mouth, another cough had shut it for him, he took several short breaths, trying to fight through the coughing fit without the aid of water or his herbs. Eventually he just shook his head, biding his time to seize a moment to speak, his quiet voice would have been heard only by the ears of supernatural beings, his sentence being cut off after each word with coughs.
The only luck that I need is what i create with my Magic.
His eyes watered, and his throat burned. He longed for the easement of the pain wracking coughs. He felt them subside slightly and dabbed his blood flecked lips with the cloth. He remained doubled over, the book laying open on the desk, his feeble body nearly crumpled in his chair. He watched Pandora sift through the parchments, and made several weak gestures to them, almost as if asking what they were without so much as uttering a word
Pandora caught his hand gesturing from the corner of her eye, and of course knew exactly what he wanted to know. The only problem was how much to tell him and how much to keep to herself. Biding her time with an answer, Pandora spoke the first thought that had crossed her mind when he had spoken of the luck made from magic being all he needed.
"Yes, because it has worked wonders on your health thus far."
She then reached forth and scooped up the now second smallest pile of parchments. Carefully, she placed them in her lap. She didn't worry they'd fall. Hell, she could hold still enough to prevent that from happening. She then reached out with one free hand and retrieved the last of the parchments from what once upon a time was the unread pile. Now there were two piles on the table, and one in her lap. It had been planned that way.
"Just records, personal journals, anything pretaining to the Nightworld."
She figured that might spark a bit of interest in him, and thus had very carefully removed the pile for her private collection. The piles left on the table would cause little to no damage if he decided to get his grubby hands on them. One pile was filled with basic stuff that the NightWorld library was already littered with. The other, with thing's that had been written but were not true at all, also known as the junk pile.
The pile in Pandora's lap, the one that would be added to her private collection, were articles and stories of thing's too powerful for the average Nightworlder's to get their hands on.
"Basically, they are the beginnings of what you have infront of you now, unbinded right now, of course."
[/b][/u][/center]Unable to speak for the time being, The Archmage glared at her. She knew full well his magic wasnt the cause of his illness. He just stared at her, watching her actions carefully, as if they would betray her words. His eyes glinted with a hint of intrigue, and he thought to himself of slipping into the library to take a longer look at the parchments that she had been reviewing. He pulled out his pouch of herbs, and made them at the ready, setting them on the table should the coughing fit continue for much longer. Finally finding himself able to speak, he let the cloth fall from his lips,
And the people who reside here? Does it have information on them as well?
He felt himself growing weaker, the energy was being drained from his body with each cough, His golden orbs returned to the book in front of him, his free hand lightly caressing the page it had been splayed open to, his eyes scanning through its contents.
Just how much is there to know of the world in which you have forged, Pandora?
[/b][/u][/center]Pandora skimmed through about two paragraphs of the remaining page to sort, and didn't even bother reading the rest of it. She tossed it into a pile on the table and settled back in a mortals way of comfort. Her knees drew up to her chest, and Pandora wrapped her bare arms around them. Whenever she left the tower she made certain to wear gloves. Inside her home, however, she saw no point.
Her chin came to cradle on her knees and she actually blinked. All these movements were pointless. Vampires didn't need to 'get comfortable' as it were. But it was something to do and she was betting it would either soften Raistlin up or irritate him even more.
"There are plenty of binded parchments about the residents here within Tranquility, though they are not named."
That was sort of true. There were plenty of books on Lycans in general, as well as particular observations from specific ones. As was such, there was also plenty of books on shapeshifters, deamons, and magic. There was not, however, a large amout of books on Vampires. The ones that were scattered within the room were simple basic things. Thing's that any Nightworlder would already know.
"I can assure you, Raistlin, there is nothing here that will intruge you. Nothing that will hold your interest. We are a simple realm, and we live by simple means. You are looking at the second most powerful being residing within Tranquility. If I am not a challange to you, no one here will be."
That, at lest, was the truth. Tranquility wasn't hiding any massive secrets. Well, except the two biggest ones, of course...
Raistlin nodded slightly, his hand had once more gone up to cover his lips once more. The coughing fit had subsided for now, but he knew it would come back soon. He slowly stood up, clutching the staff in one hand, and, closing the book while picking it up from the table, walked to the Shelf that he had found it. Using the staff to aid him in finding the place where he had found it, he put the book back in its place, and began to scan through the titles of the other ones nearby. True to her word, several books were left unlabeled. He turned back to stare at her, a warm, smile crossed his lips as his fingers absentmindedly stroked the tomes. He gave her a faint nod, took her words to be truth, and returned to the table without retrieving another tome. Something told him that they may be leaving the Library very soon, as Pandora's work here seemed to have come to a close.
You are right about one thing, these books do consist of the residents, but I highly doubt that you are of simple people, That woman in the tavern had proved that quite clearly... These people are FAR from simple... and If you consider yourself to be the second most powerful person in this realm... are you counting me in that equation?
If she was trying to flatter him, she was certainly doing a good job of it
((Rp Paused. Will Continue.))
