Earuig Lugh Rathais

I was once a really important...man. Now, I keep to myself, and I like it that way. I'm a professor of world mythologies at Damh Loch University. Please keep your visits limited to the hours posted on the door.

[lux-casta]

School time

[lux-casta]

She laughed lightly and then accepted his arm after she stood. “Thank you for the meal.” As they walked out to his car, a thought struck her. “Do I need to wear anything specific for Imbolc?”

[eanruig-rathais]

Eanruig frowned thoughtfully as he remembered naked, dancing satyrs and the like and shook his head with a small chuckle. It caught in his throat when he saw an image of Claudia on a particular Imbolc in the past. Patting Luca's hand, he said, "Wear whatever you like. The colors tend to be red, orange and white."

[lux-casta]

School time

[lux-casta]

She sat back in her seat and just watched him for a moment, a slight smile curving her lips slowly. “I like being that obscure professor’s assistant; it’s never boring, and the company is quite enjoyable.” 

[eanruig-rathais]

"Don't be a flatterer," Ean chuckled, gathering his things together, "You'll get a reputation as teacher's pet." Once he made sure everything was put together, he stood and offered an arm to Luca. "Shall we?"

[lux-casta]

School time

[lux-casta]

She raised a brow at his words. “So… What exactly do you know about me?” she asked tentatively. 

[eanruig-rathais]

"Not a stalker," Ean repeated with a small note of irritation in his voice, "I know you attend school. I know you've made friends with people of all races, and I know you are the favorite assistant for an obscure professor on campus." Lifting a brow, Ean gestured for the waitress to bring the check. "I don't like people delving into my history or personal life, so I don't do that to others. I don't have a pixie in your apartment or anything."

[lux-casta]

School time

[lux-casta]

"Awesome. I have a friend that might be interested…" She gave him an odd look. “‘My werewolves’?" she asked. "How do you know about… him? Is stalking a hobby of yours, Professor?" she joked.

[eanruig-rathais]

Ean, now finished with his food, put down his fork and patted his face gracefully with his napkin. "My hobby, as you plainly put it, Miss Redwood," he began with a dry smile to match his tone, "Is the collection of information. You'll find that nothing happens in this town without me knowing about it."

[lux-casta]

School time

[lux-casta]

So, maybe a PowerPoint, a speech outline and a… double-sided handout, Luca thought to herself at his dismissal via “some handouts.” She was in mid bite when he mentioned Imbolc. She delicately chewed her food and quickly thought of how to reply. “Yes, I did.”

[eanruig-rathais]

Eanruig continued eating elegantly, taking a contemplative sip from his water. "I don't know if you've ever been to a Celtic, but you should know a bit about Imbolc from my lectures. In this case, however, you will be among the minority. Attendants will be mostly Fae and Druids, so if you have any Fae friends, invite them." Placing his water down, Ean leveled a stern look at Luca. "None of your werewolves though. The energy tends to make them restless, and I don't need transformations at my event."

[lux-casta]

School time

[lux-casta]

She laughed lightly to herself. His response to her question reminded her of Emrys. “Yes I would,” she said with a smile. “It sounds like fun.” She took a bite of food and then gave him a thoughtful look. “Is there anything you need me to prepare for it?”

[eanruig-rathais]

Ean finished chewing his bite of food and swallowed before responding to Luca's inquiry. "I'll probably have some handouts you'll need to print out for me, but we can deal with that there. It's pointless to carry loads of paper with us all the way there." Now to call and confirm I am willing to speak, Ean thought to himself with a dry sort of whimsy. "I noticed you accepted my invitation to Imbolc, Lucasta," he said mildly before taking another bite.

[lux-casta]

School time

[lux-casta]

Something about the explanation left her thinking that there was more to his prolonged absence… She smiled. She’d had the waitress send the food back and heated since it had gotten cold. It had returned just minutes before Ean had. “Yes, we shall.” She bit into the food and smiled. It was still quite delicious. The waitress came by and asked them whether they’d like more wine, to which Luca responded with an immediate yes. As the waitress left, she sipped from the glass. She sat it back down and with a smile asked, “Which workshop?”

[eanruig-rathais]

"A workshop about Irish mythology. What else?" he replied with charming ease. "Would you like to attend? It could be useful to have an assistant." Picking up his fork and knife with practiced elegance, Eanruig cut up his eggplant into bite-sized pieces then took one and a perfectly coiled bit of spaghetti and ate it, not a single drop of red sauce escaping, as he waited for Luca's reply.

[lux-casta]

School time

[lux-casta]

Luca remained quiet as he left. She watched him retreat and then disappear around a corner. She looked around at the people in the restaurant and then down at her hands before looking back out the window. A few minutes later, Luca found herself staring at a plate of food. She sat there for a bit longer, not touching the food as it would be rude to start eating before Ean came back. Minutes ticked by and she found herself gradually growing to worry about her professor.

[eanruig-rathais]

Ean didn't know how much time had passed by before he finally left the bathroom. If he'd been at home when the melancholy swept over him, he would already be deep into his cups, but Luca was waiting for him, and he liked her enough not to abandon her like that. Schooling his expression, he made his way back to the table and took his seat, glad to see the food waiting.

"Sorry about that. I received a phone call asking to speak at a workshop at Harvard," He wasn't necessarily lying. That call had come earlier that day. "This looks delicious. Shall we dig in?" Flashing a calm and charming smile he picked up his fork and dug into his eggplant parmigiana.

[lux-casta]

School time

[lux-casta]

She nodded as she took a sip from her water glass. “Do pixies actually look like Tinkerbell?” she asked, half joking. She looked out the restaurant windows for a moment before turning to look back at him. “Do you ever get lonely, being by yourself for so long?” she asked quietly. Being in Damh Loch without her mother or Emrys… It was starting to get to her, something that had never happened before. To be honest, when she went off on her own for periods, she’d always miss Emrys, but she never longed for him like she did now. Part of her really wish she hadn’t sent him to be all alone with her crazy mother.

[eanruig-rathais]

"Don't let a pixie catch you saying that. They'll tie knots in your hair while you sleep," he said drily, his tone implying he wasn't joking in the slightest. "Anyway, as for lonely..." Ean trailed off and looked into the distance for a moment. "I only yearn for certain companies. I was never one for other people, but there are some..." Inevitably, his mind turned to Claudia. Her flashing smile and golden hair haunted his mind in a flash, and he stood suddenly.

"The food will be here soon, so I will take this opportunity to use the washroom. Excuse me." And he walked away.

[lux-casta]

School time

[lux-casta]

She smiled and then laughed lightly at what he said about the pixies. “How does one end up with a pixie companion?” 

She laughed. “I can tell,” she set in response to his confession. Her smile fell a bit when she took in his expression after having talked about the Jaguar. Her own thoughts started to wonder as she thought about her own friends and companions she had, had to give up over the years. She was only a little over a hundred, and Ean… He was much older than she was. How many people had he had to give up? 

His question snapped her back to the here and now and smiled. “Just my usual. Chicken Marsala.”

[eanruig-rathais]

"Hmm," he considered aloud for a moment, "I think I will have the Chicken Parmigiana." Calling the waitress over, he waited until after their orders were placed and the waitress away before speaking, returning to her original question.

"I've known Aoibheann for a long time. I can't even remember how she came to me, but most pixies choose their own companions. They are incredibly loyal and tend to remain with those who have won their respect is all."

[lux-casta]

School time

[lux-casta]

She laughed lightly at his use of “mediocre” as she slid out of his car and shut the door. As they walked toward the restaurant and fell into step with one another, she looked over at him with a smile. “I think I’d like that… I haven’t had a horse since I was in my 40’s. I was quite fond of Penelope… She’d been a present from Em one year.” She smiled at the brief memories that flashed through her mind before laughing lightly. “So, do you have any pets?” she asked as they walked through the front doors of the restaurant, Ean holding the door like a gentleman and Luca thanking him accordingly.

[eanruig-rathais]

Ean waited until they were sitting down at the table and looking over the menu before speaking again. "I have many horses. I have pixies too, but they're between pet and companion. Do not tell them that though. Aoibeheann would have no squanders with whipping me into my manners." He smiled fondly at that, remembering his loyal and loving pixie friend. 

"I am not one much for the typical pets, though," he said, returning to the subject. "I once had a Jaguar of Faerie. Much more intelligent, those creatures. More so than most self-aware beings,including Fae. Unfortunately, I had to leave him behind when I cam here. They do not handle Earth realms well." His tone was wistful, and his expression even more so.

"Anyway," he said finally, though he still seemed brooding. "Have you decided what to order?"

[lux-casta]

School time

[lux-casta]

She laughed lightly. “Still as much of an enigma as ever, I see. I’m glad that the break hadn’t changed you too much,” she said, teasing Ean about his background. Anytime they talked about Ean’s past, which didn’t happen often, it was usually on a general and vague scale, and Luca knew that Ean would either be forthcoming with knowledge he wanted her to know. So, if he wanted her to drop something, it was easy to get the hint. 

Luca relaxed into the back of the seat and looked back out her window. “I’ve been thinking about getting a dog. Maybe a cat. Opinion?” she asked turning back to look at Ean.

[eanruig-rathais]

Ean pulled into the parking lot of his favorite Italian restaurant. He rolled his eyes when Luca asked about animals. "Cats and dogs are very...mediocre pets. Why don't you get a horse? You can keep it on my land and in my stables."

[lux-casta]

School time

[lux-casta]

"Yes, well I have the best boss, so I don’t think he’d mind," she said with a chuckle before thanking him for opening the door for her and sitting down. She put on her seat belt and looked over at him as he got in the car. She smiled lightly at his first sentence. By the time he was finished talking, however, her smile had faded. "But… Wouldn’t that make the monarchs miserable? To always be confined in that way with no hope of change? I mean, even if there were some sort of rotation… Like in Underworld, except instead of sleeping you get a few hundred years to do as you wish without responsibility to the state…" She shook her head and looked out the window for a moment before looking back at Ean with a look of curiosity. "So, what are you in the grand scheme of things? A knight, an earl?" 

[eanruig-rathais]

Eanruig didn't respond the first few of Luca's queries. In a way, her reasoning was correct. The eternally High Court did become tiresome, but in it's own way, it made things much easier. For one thing, peace was everlasting...until queens became jealous that is, but all that would be difficult to explain to someone who had never seen it, so he remained silent for a few long moments. Finally, he grinned a small grin and glanced at Luca out of the corner of his eye.

"I am well known and well respected, and that's all you need know, Luca," he said. His expression and tone were light, but his eyes were serious. The subject was closed.

[lux-casta]

School time

[lux-casta]

"Ah. So no humans running around killing other humans?" she teased. "Are you saying that you’re a snob? Because I could see it…" She laughed lightly. "Seriously, though, are the gentry that much different from royalty in this world?"

[eanruig-rathais]

"A snob? Me?" Ean echoed with mock incredulity. "What a dangerous game you play, speaking to your boss that way." He gave Luca a look of amusement, opening his car door for her, waiting until he was in his own seat before speaking again. "No, I'm not a snob. We're not the same. Human nobility is fluid. They die. There are inheritance arguments. Kingdoms collapse. The Fae are eternal. As are their positions in Court."

[lux-casta]

School time

[lux-casta]

She raised a brow. “Sacrifices and gifts? What sacrifices were made during Yule?” she asked with slight confusion. “And why were they made to you? Or is that a general Fae thing?” She stared at him for a moment as his question sunk in before causing her to laugh. “Uh, no. When your parents are older than Christ you tend to find the whole holiday rather comical, especially since the kid was born around April. Though I do rather enjoy the Christmas decorations… But really, the majority of them are rooted in paganism, including the phallic symbol of the tree.” After she finished chuckling lightly, she smiled faintly as a few memories from her childhood played in her mind. “Though, I will give it to… my step-dad; he always decorated the house with me when I was a child.” She internally cringed at the idea of considering Emrys her step-dad. She didn’t feel like explaining her familial background to Ean- she didn’t need him to see how many shades of crazy her life really was. 

[eanruig-rathais]

Eanruig smiled and nodded as Luca explained why the holiday didn't mean much to her family either. "Well, even if you don't celebrate the birth of Christ, at least you have an excuse to celebrate." Then he waved a hand dismissively. "As for sacrifices, they are just a Fae thing. I'm a Gentry Fae, so the little Fae like to be kind."

[lux-casta]

School time

[lux-casta]

Luca couldn’t help but roll her eyes and laugh lightly. “Don’t judge me for partaking in the circle of life,” she joked as she walked along with him.

"So, how was your holiday?"

[eanruig-rathais]

"My holiday..." he echoed, "Well, I'm used to things being a bit different. I was given many gifts and sacrifices before, but since I've been in semi-hiding, I don't receive as much as usual. Still, Yule is a nice time of year. Of course, Imbolc is approaching, and I must..." his voice wandered off as he distractedly considered the preparations needed. Shaking himself, he returned his attention to Luca.

"What about you? Do you lay gifts at a pine tree alter for that peasant carpenter boy?"

[lux-casta]

School time

[lux-casta]

She raised a brow with an amused glint in her eye. “Alright, but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to fill out the paperwork on the fight, so don’t try buttering me up,” she teased, knowing he knew she’d already done it. “So…” she eyed him for a moment and the state of his office. She then looked back at him and eyed the color of his tie for a moment before turning her attention back to his face. “Italian?” she finished. She knew that when he was extremely frustrated, especially when there was chalk on his tie, that he liked to eat his feelings.

[eanruig-rathais]

Eanruig rose to his feet, and with a flourish, he offered Lucasta his arm. "Italian sounds perfect." After they made it out of his office, he casually flicked his free hand and it locked behind them. "Unless of course," he continued, "You insist on getting something packed with dead flesh. Revolting."