the trader

never flinch, never weary, never despair

[strigoisak]

"Intellectual conversation." Isak agrees, hands crossing behind his head as he sinks down a bit more into the couches cushioned corner. He's not hiding, but he is highly aware that Aurelien has never really seen him like this, for all of the badgering, Isak had kept things professional, kept his shirts buttoned up all the way, hid away most of the ink and scars on his body. It is something he cares about, something he liked to differentiate and the fact that he's dressed down only further severs the fine line he'd drawn in the sand regarding the elvhen. Under watchful eyes, he feels somewhat exposed. "Is that how you see yourself, a mouse?" Isak's own brow quirked, his brow furrowing as he meets Aurelien's eyes. Logically, considering where they are and what he'd really came for, now would probably be a time to further that boldness that he'd had earlier. But the statement perturbs him somewhat. "I don't see you that way."

[aurelientrader]

Isak all but completely sinks into the couch and if the doctor was ever trying to bait the elvhen, this would be the best attempt yet. Auri is entirely hooked, wholly invested in the rapid shift of the uptight doctor who kept them completely at arm's length to this casual and somewhat forthcoming creature who had, in a way personal to Isak, dressed down for the occasion. They shift their own body, ginger fling their legs over Isak, and he can only hope the doctor doesn't view it as some cheap trap and instead as the clear test of boundary Auri is experimenting with currently.

"So what do you see me as?" They raise a curious brow, scoffing somewhat, "-And don't use the word resourceful in your summary." There was this unfortunate pit in his stomach that reminded him he, on some level, cared what Isak thought.

[damiendo]

Deaken Bluman

[blightedmikhael]

“That doesn’t mean that Haven needs to end, nor that it needs to end now,” he says gently, not pushing but setting his thoughts on the table for the other to take or dismiss as he liked. He knows there is no changing Auri’s mind, and he does not want to try. Not when the silver elvhen had employed him as his guard at times, leaving Mikhael in doubt of whether he would be helpful in a fight in the first place. And he knows him just enough to understand that offering financial aid is also not something Auri would be willing to do, not now after he had lost so many investments to the Aetheron. “And I would rather do my part at preventing another tragedy, as minuscule as that part may be.”

[aurelientrader]

Auri obstinately was stuck in the idea that this was not his fight and yet they did not have Avalon to return to nor Sinaria to look forward to. Their business destroyed within Iskaldrik, having to start over, it;d never been ideal, but Auri was clever and he supposed Mikhael could be somewhat right about preserving the world they presided in. "It's not my fight, but if you don't stop it at Haven's door it will be," this was the scantest way of Auri agreeing with Mikhael, even if it pained the elvhen to say it.

[strigoisak]

"And you thought you'd find it here of all places." There's the slightest hint of amusement to the usual deadpan as Isak leans back a little to situate himself in the corner of the couch, his arms spreading across the back of it. His eyes take in the elvhen in the softer lighting and it's strange to see him outside of the office, like a baby deer walking on two legs instead of four. Something about them seemed almost out of place, like he could easily convince himself that Aurelien was actually some kind of hallucination. It is neutral ground, vampire frequented place or not, this felt like some kind of stalemate to whatever game was going on between the two of them. Or at least it felt like Aurelien had let him have a peek behind the curtain. "I don't come to places like this." He admits, ears tuning into the voices outside the room in the tavern area. It's such a strange concept, people flocked to be fed on and flirt to these sorts of establishments. "So maybe we're both looking for something different."

[aurelientrader]

"I like being the mouse that slips away just in the nick of time, Isak," it's deadpanned this time, no fluent sarcasm or half-truths, eyes flickering up to the strigoi's. There was a silent game here, even if the Doctor would never much admit to it, and while Auri relished in said game, their patience was grated ever thin as time went on. There was half a beat where he wanted to clarify further that maybe this time he wouldn't entirely mind being caught, he had half expected it at this rate.

"What do you think we're looking for?" Auri is batting their pretty eyelashes at this point, walking across the space they had created, sitting on the plush fabric Isak had already gotten comfortable on. "As opposed to everyone else here?" Those who vied to be bit, to fill the space with blood and venom through a mutually considered, fang-driven pact. Now it was Auri's turn to bite back with is words, "Intellectual conversation?" The ytried not to snicker at that, doe eyes looking over at Isak's as they raised a brow at the strigoi.

[blightedmikhael]

“Now you are laying it a bit thick,” he says with a laugh, shaking his head good naturedly to the elvhen. Perhaps they had been closer than he had thought, because despite it all, Mikhael is feeling comfortable around his former employer. Some of his usual stiffness is gone, and despite his current doubt of self-doubts, he feels lighter as they speak than he had felt in a while. Even when their topic of conversation isn’t necessarily the most light or comfortable. Perhaps it’s the fact that he knows where the silver elve stands, knows him as a former employer and as a refugee. Or maybe whatever hells they went together through their journey away from Iskaldrik broke some of the ice that had been present before the fall of the country. “And I wish you safety. Things are not simple on this day and age, and we all need some level of safety as it is.”

[aurelientrader]

Oh Mikhael - just as Auri thought, such a read went completely over the cambions head and the silver elvhen just smiled prettily in response. Auri had survived the hardiness of Iskaldrik, and though that could be deemed insignificant when related to the might of the Kossith, Auri was comfortable in his sense of current delusion. "Cities and worlds have ended many times before, we'll be alright," if they attempted to encroach on Eterna or the Silverlands, Auri might be singing a different tune, but for now the merchant was pleased to stay far away from the conflict and let those, like Mikhael, deliver themselves to possible slaughter.

[strigoisak]

For a brief second, Isak is shocked because frankly, he hadn't expected that to work. The nod of his head he gives is curt and no book he'd ever read had covered this kind of thing, not really. He is not an anxious person, and yet in a way he is as his hand finds Aurelien's lower back and leads them towards the small alcove that leads to the rooms meant for more privacy. He's being irrational, the elvhen had agreed to keeping him company, logically that means he has to appeal to Aurelien in some way already. "You still haven't said what you're doing here." The private rooms are a lot nicer than he remembered, the lighting soft and couches plush. Isak sinks down onto what feels like expensive velvet after taking off his long coat.

[aurelientrader]

There's some sense of disbelief Auri feels compelled by as Isak's hand finds their lower back and all but guides them somewhere quieter. The thrum of the music outside is instantly muted within the private room, but there's still the familiar buzzing feeling that ebbs and flows through each song. A half smile finds Auri, shrugging as Isak poses the obvious question again. He'd always been incredibly voluptuary; ever since he'd earned his first coin off scamming another it'd ben a particular sort of high they had chased from the beginning of this merchant journey. Learning to twist the truth despite being held to this standard of being unable to tell lies was something undeniable for Auri; as Iskaldrik, and his business endeavors burned, the silver elvhen attempted to chase this feeling elsewhere.

"Looking for something," its simple, punctuated by that vexing shrug Auri often finishes his sentences with, but they felt it was important to note they hadn't said someone. "My whole life burned away with Iskaldrik and maybe I'm just having some growing pains." Nyla had offered him money, Nero had offered him a job - they'd try not to faint at that reminder that they were currently a glorified shelf stocker - but still so much of his life felt like a hollow representation of what had been.

[blightedmikhael]

“So I am that obvious, huh?” He asks, a lip curling into a light smirk at Auri’s reaction. It’s not much of a surprise to realize he is predictable, not when he has always stuck to his own morals and has refused to budge despite everything the world had thrown his way. He wanted to help, maybe to make up for the sin of being born, but he wanted to help. Desperately. Most of the time, he can supplement his desire to help with his bounties, but this time? This time he was doing it just because it seemed like the right thing to do. “I care for him, yes, but it's more than that. Haven welcomed us freely when we needed it, so I want to return the favor if I could.”

[aurelientrader]

"Yes, everything you do tends to be driven as very laudable," Mikhael seemed rather pleased at this obvious read, so Auri didn't wish to knock the cambion down from this high. "I wish you good fortune on your journey, but this may be the last we see each other till the tides shift," Auri wasn't about to step foot in Haven, despite all the wolves had done when it came to welcoming the Iskaran's when none else would. They'd always been a rather selfish creature and none of the more hospitable oaths of the elvhen laws could ever change that about Auri. He wondered if his father's nurture, or lack thereof, had warped him enough to stray from what was expected or if he'd been simply born polluted with the decay of humanity, doomed to wander from the great tree and fizzle out with no family nor namesake to claim.

[strigoisak]

Isak is physically incapable of blushing, he doesn't think he'd even been capable of it as a mortal, and yet here he was feeling sheepish. There's always something somewhat electric about the merchant, like he's perpetually amused by him, like he's always in on some joke that Isak doesn't understand. It's equally intriguing and infuriating and he thinks that's why he finds himself drawn to the elvhen. "Would you like to be?" It's not a line, it's not even smooth, it's said with the same near deadpan tone he usually uses. Aurelien is there for a reason, he was there for a reason, he didn't think he could handle seeing them sidle up to another vampire, it was the logical thing to do, just get to the point.

[aurelientrader]

Auri tried not to smile, beam really, because Isak was once mortal, and there were faint flickers of that within the strigoi's gaze, within small quips and expressions. Faint, hidden and obscured within however he'd been rebuilt as this blighted creature, but Auri saw it now, so distinctly, a passing glimpse of fractured light that was stowed away in such dark isolation. They remembered the very day the light left them, from high to silver, how despite this jovial and detached nature he'd kept up, that Auri had felt such absence so deeply, it'd been blinding. He recognized this sense of loss in Isak, how they were distinct opposites with how they'd managed the reconstruction of their lives.

He'd never know what it'd taken for Isak to be rebuilt, but he'd like to try to understand.

"Yes," Auri had never been shy, but Isak had never been so direct, and the silver elvhen would allow him to navigate the situation as he saw fit, as though Auri was worried of scaring the strigoi off.

[blightedmikhael]

“Nothing at the moment, aside from preparing to travel to Haven,” he admits with a wave of his hand as he takes a long drink from his tankard. He had heard the Kossith were going in that direction, and after all the support Queen Aurea had given the refugees, the least he could do was offer his spear to aid them on the battle that was on the horizon. The very least, truly, as they had failed so terribly on their trip to Ankhuria. With the God King refusing aid, Haven will need all the help they can get. “Different and more threatening, for they do not stop even at those without magic. I believe a human member of my guild was taken.”

[aurelientrader]

"Ah," it was all Ari said at first, snippy as ever, but the elvhen eventually elaborated curtly, "Of course you're going there." Mikhael was always very white-knight, broody type; if the Kossith took Haven, it'd only be a matter of time before they advanced further into the spoils of Eterna, taking the Queendom brick by brick. Perhaps it was a kinder approach than what the Aetherian mages had done, having simply torched Iskaldrik and everything within to smithereens. "And you care enough of this human to put yourself on the line?" Auri didn't favor the idea of showing his own worry, but he'd already lost most of his coin, had to build his business up from scraps, and would likely crash out if the Kossith managed to force him to start over yet again. If ever his father, one of the Sinarian Seven, were to do anything with his spoils, now would be the time, though Auri knew no aid to him would ever come from the man.

[strigoisak]

"It makes more sense for me to be here than you." It is not snippy, it is a fact, he is a strigoi, this establishment was for vampires. Vampires and those that wished to look upon them or hoping to be fed on, and the realization makes him blink at the merchant not once, but twice. And there's a bit of....There's some kind of feeling in his chest that's unfamiliar, this little annoyance that sits in the back of his head at the idea of Aurelien being there to be fed on by anyone. It's irrational, the elvhen has no tie to him aside from the way he keeps showing up at the office, he is not his thrall. "Are you here with someone?" That is snippy, short and clipped and he finds himself looking from Aurelien to the other patrons of the establishment.

[aurelientrader]

He offered a lazy smile, said nothing on the matter; Auri was in agreement on such fact, but he'd rather not offer the satisfaction or the callout of that. It was simply that.... up until now, seeing Isak around other strigoi, in an element that was supposed to make sense for the doctor, it was funnily jarring. A leper even to his own kind, so Auri had assumed. But to say that aloud, it insinuated an insult, when to Auri that was far from the truth. After all, he was rather isolated from his own kind, his family was in Avalon, tucked away to where he'd never see them again and he'd brazenly tossed that right to see them away with little care. Auri had never seen the regret coming, but now he couldn't live without it either.

"No," the humor was in his tone, Auri couldn't help it, and he sidled up towards Isak as if it daringly proved this. He couldn't say he'd been waiting for Isak to show up within such a place, that would be a lie even he couldn't twist, but there was satisfaction at seeing Isak, and it showed intently on Auri's face.

[strigoisak]

Person: @aurelientrader Location: Veil of Veins Notes: Pit stop before the end of the world Isak would like to think that he is a fairly rational person. He is relatively calm and collected, cynical sure, but he has a good head on his shoulders, Vlad had never had to stitch that back on. But even he has his breaking points and he would blame months of frustration for the complete tantrum he'd thrown in his apartments. He'd blame being at Veil of Veins on it, too. Such a place was not somewhere he frequented; he didn't have time for the spectacle of it all. He still doesn't, he moves through the doorway and to the bar, asks for something strong enough to kill a horse, and it's only when he has his pint in hand does he survey the crowd. The dregs of the Progress Day crowd, tourists, fellow vampire stopping in to mingle with the locals, and - "What are you doing here?" He was sitting across from Aurelien in the plush booth the second he spotted him, moving through the crowd with a speed and grace that'd be out of place if they were anywhere else.

[aurelientrader]

All the influence and coin in the world couldn't pluck Nyla from that boat, and instead of stewing on the loss of one of the minute few who cared for Auri, they simply decided to just shut their eyes to the conflict entirely. There had been the cruel thought to reach out to his father, one of the Seven, but even Auri knew how absurd that would be; if his father couldn't be bothered to care for him, why would be use his striking influence as a Sinarian to face against the Kossith?

Auri had trudged into Iskaldrik on the promise of lethal adventures, and in some strange way, it was how he'd found himself within Veil of Veins, too. Who he hadn't expected to see amongst a motley of fang whores and strigoi was one strigoi in particular. "Isak," the very name dripped with surprise, Auri sitting up straighter as a result.

"I think the better question is what are you doing here," a lazy smile erupted on their features, delighted at this encounter, "You keep managing to surprise me, Doctor."

[blightedmikhael]

who? @aurelientrader where? Brewed Awakening when? After Last Night In Aventia

“Somehow, things were simpler when being sent to the Iskaran mines was the biggest of our problems,” Mikhael grumbles as he sits in front of Auri and nudges one of the pints he had bought in his direction. Seeing the faiman had a surprise, but he had been one of his most pleasant employers, so Mikhael had seen no issue in reacquainting himself with him. Of course, after a couple of beers, the topic inevitably moved to the issue that was in everyone’s mind. “The Kossith are odd, and somehow more threatening.”

[aurelientrader]

"Why, what's going on with you?" Auri would rather avoid admitting he had any worry towards these Kossith, but he'd not seen his aunt at her shop and grew more worried with each passing day. "They're quite different from witchers, indeed," though for all their time within Iskaldrik, Auri had thankfully avoided any true threat when it came to the witchers; back then, he'd had enough gold to pay off anyone to deal with the problem, but now the silver elvhen was, in a way, on his own as the well of riches ran dry.

[thalindor]

He has pictured this moment for years, two decades, and this was never one of the scenarios he'd envisioned. Originally he'd thought he'd be swooping in to save Aurelien from some wasteland in Iskaldrik, any time he'd thought he'd find them in Eterna, they hadn't spoken. Because if Aurelien had indeed abandoned them, he had figured he would glimpse him happy and simply turn around and go home, tail between his legs in defeat. Aurelien looks well, as Thalindor stands there before his sibling and his fox, he lets out a huff of breath before rolling his eyes and stepping forward to wrap an arm around the younger elvhen's shoulders. Vee bites at his hand as he does so, but he's used to it. For just a moment there, they aren't in Eterna but back home for just an embrace. Pulling back he exhales slowly before ruffling Aurelien's hair. "Firstly, I get out all the time now. Secondly, you're lucky I am not throwing you over my shoulder and dragging you back home against your will." He's kidding, he's trying to pull himself together after twenty years and he's kidding.

[aurelientrader]

Auri isn't one to get sad, nor despondent, morose - any sort of negative feeling. Even when his father had duped him, Auri had taken it in stride, never lamenting, never dissecting it for the truth of what it was; that his father had taken cruel pride in offering the hope of connection and adventure to an unassuming child. But Thalin hugged them, and it was as though each broken and jaded piece of the silver elvhen was suddenly barbed and cutting into himself. "It'd be nice if you were able to do so," there's a touch of humor threaded in their tone as Auri gathers himself; it'd be difficult for Thalin to discern if Auri meant the other didn't have the strength to do so, or the cruel reminder that he wasn't able to do so due to Auri's lack of Light.

[strigoisak]

"You're from the cavern then." He points out, mulling it over as he lights the end of his cigar. With lungs that aren't undead in the room, he takes a long drag from it only to blow smoke out the window. It is a stupid habit that he'd never have considered as a mortal, but his father had smoked up until the day he'd died and frankly, he was stressed. It was something that somewhat forced him to breathe. "And you're hoping to fix Varda's Cavern of all places?" It's not sarcastic, he's curious if this is some pipe dream. Isak would like to believe they could eradicate the Blight in his lifetime, and hell, he'd like to be the one to figure out how to do just that. But he also has to be realistic. Stabilizing the cavern indefinitely would be a smaller victory.

[aurelientrader]

Auri eventually held out their hand as though this was a communal cigarette to share; they were on expired time anyway considering the loss of Light and the hollowness which remained in its absence. "If you can put some bandaids on all of Avalon with your dashing research, I'd accept that, but Varda's Cavern is a good place to start." They shrugged, offering a small clarification, "It wasn't good when I left, so I can't imagine in two, nearly three decades, it's gotten better; there are whispers the Tree worsens. If Avalon falls, where are they all to go?" They sat a little straighter, letting out a sigh, "I know you likely find my ambitions rather silly, Doctor."

[rancorasael]

They were so weird. Sure, Auri was using words Asael could understand, but it felt a little like they were having a separate conversation while participating in this one. At the same time. If there was a word for that Asael didn't know it, but words were useless anyway. Responding to unfamiliar situations with anger and confusion got him this far.

"I'm not "underestimating" you. I just know I'm tougher and stronger. If I had you under me, pressed to the ground, there'd be nothing you could do to get out until I was done with you because I workout my body every day. Don't believe me? Well I … that's dumb! A few seconds in my arms and you'd have a broken back. I mean, look at you!"

Two separate people have taken up space in Asael's mind in the same way while in this palace. Was there something in the air? Because now the witch couldn't decide who he wanted to see pinned under him more: Isak or Auri. He typically didn't get this worked up over things unrelated to the Vanguard, but he supposed getting to live indoors for a while softened his instincts some. "Annoying magic from an annoying person," he mutters, having no rebuttal since clearly, Asael had no means to do what Auri could. But that didn't mean he had zero leverage. The witch scoops up all the gold in his arms, huffing in response to Auri's smile. "How could I change the locks? I don't know how to do that and I didn't have any gold. I do now, so you're gonna help me buy some stuff with your power if you ever want to come back to my palace. Do it or I'll fold you and make you."

[aurelientrader]

"Until you were done with me," Auri snickered, for as often as the silver elvhen liked to be perplexingly vague with seemingly vacuous words, Asael seemed to consistently trip towards all things suggestive, it humored the merchant greatly. "That's painting quite a picture, but, you're crediting yourself far too much," Auri smiled rather insouciant, though Asael had a nice frame, Auri's own confidence seemed to insist that he was strong enough in these suggestive circumstances.

Auri stretched, he yawned, he shrugged, "Locksmith, my dear." Stated rather obviously as they pulled themselves onto the countertop behind them, one of the only places clean enough that the elvhen discovered in the completely overturned apartment. "Careful," Auri snapped in a way similar to a cat swiping their paw grouchily, "You find it so annoying, why would it be of any use to you?"

[nylathriasoulseer]

As he withered in her arms she only beamed as it seemed like a job well done. If only Auri would have met his biological auntie, felt the love she would have imparted upon him. Nyla was sure Lyra wouldn’t have let Auri leave with that scumbag of a father, Lyra would have never understood what her older cousin had seen in him. “Why do you sound so surprised?” Nyla was genuinely confused at this one, she didn’t know her nephews overly well but that was because she had a reputation in their family for being the drunk one in the corner. A coping mechanism she had stopped before the boys were born but it was too late to get rid of that stigma. “Well then he's not really a father then is he?” exactly why she hated the man. “Says who? Cause i didn’t see any rule against it with the guild.” she swore if this was one of them rule made up by that horrid man shed be pissed off.

[aurelientrader]

Auri fidgeted somewhat; he'd not been surprised by her kindness but there felt like an entire lifetime plunged between his brief childhood in Avalon to now. The bitterness and cruelty he learned from Iskaldrik's frigid demeanor only further bolstered Auri's reaction; she needn't look out for him in any capacity, yet here she was extending an arm, nonetheless. To Auri, this was entirely baffling, and he thought often on the principles his father had taught him. Auri was young and foolish, inspired by adventure and maybe, cruelly, the chance to bond with his father. There were dark truths about his father, things Auri would never completely understand, but in the end what his father had taught him was how to talk slick and how to, hopefully, not get caught within one's lies. For Auri, weaving the truth to serve him was only mastered as he endured the unwelcoming embrace of Iskaldrik; tossed onto a ship one morning and pulled away from the golden jewel of Sinaria just as quickly as he'd been welcomed into it. "It's kind of you to trust me, Nyla," there were many people he'd hurt over the years; those he'd have tossed under if it meant to save his own skin; Auri did not often find himself held to regrets but on occasion his confidence could betray him. "If there is no other way, I will come to you." They smiled appreciatively.

[rancidtofu]

DEAKEN BLUMAN for GLASS