and all the shores between

"Well now! For a moment there, I almost thought we were in trouble." 

[markusarcain-blog]

Faces in the Night | Open

[markusarcain-blog]

Turning at the sound of footsteps coming into the room Markus’ hopeful smile fell and fell hard upon the sight of the man striding into the man before him. It had been practically forever since Markus had seen Marius, an eternity since he sat across from him begging for a miracle that would never come and even longer since he’d felt the sting of the other mans knuckles against his cheek. 

But even then with the rush of emotions flooding over the young boy Markus was to tired to muster up any sort of real resentment towards him at this point in time, all his energy going into trying to recover the right Thesus. Because it was his fault Denian had strayed and gotten lost and he was sure of it. Although he’d die in here before he’d let Marius figure that one out. 

Sighing though Markus figured he’d better answer the captain if only to be polite. “Well lost could certainly be one way to describe it,” he stated putting his hands on his hips. 

[mariusthesus]

Groaning inwardly at the decidedly icy reaction his appearance had gotten out of Markus, Marius nevertheless put on a smirk and waved at his new-found and entirely reluctant companion. Not that he’d been expecting a warm welcome or anything, not where Markus was concerned, but--still. So far even the screaming faces made for better company than the kid.

Briefly he debated just turning back around and leaving the kid to be unhappy on his own, but then again -- with Denian lost in here, Marius couldn’t well justify leaving behind his only chance of finding his grandkid. So. Unhappy Arcain kid it was, because no way in all the world was he going to leave Denian stranded in here. If the builder of the house had been insane enough to decorate the walls like this, there was no telling what might await them further inside the house, after all.

Mirroring the kid’s pose, Marius cocked his head and said, “Well then. Don’t think I’m not passing silent judgement here, love, because I most definitely am -- but this really ain’t the greatest place to get lost in, y’know?” He pointed at the faces lining the walls, which were still refusing to shut up. Case in point. “Where exactly did you lose him, kid?”

[mariusthesus]

If you were perhaps to get married now would you invite Denian to the wedding?

Why’s that even up for debate? Of course -- why wouldn’t I.

...I wonder if he’d attend, though.

[mariusthesus]

How was the wedding between your daughter and her husband?

Grand. Everyone was there -- seriously, love, everyone -- and I’m pretty sure it was the happiest I ever saw Liv.

It was also real terrible to organize security-wise, which is the main reason I’m slightly dreading whatever wedding comes next.

[varamadrasitaul]

Boyfriends and Hairdoes || Marius & Varamadras

[varamadrasitaul]

‘I was going to say that there is no need for revenge, but I’m guessing me saying that will do little to get that idea out of your head. So I’ll be waiting nervously to see what you come up with,’ he replied, grinning slightly - as slightly as ever the Demon Lord was able. He nodded when Marius called the collection of suits for what it was: impressive. Seven-hundred years, he imagined Semiel joking that this was his legacy. Too many suits to count.

He took Marius’ longcoat and watched him study the suit, then his own shirt, not sure whether it would fit under the jacket probably. ‘Easy isn’t fun, I was going for creative,’ he teased back, and placed the long coat on his bed. ‘And yes, all of it. I can’t rate your handling of a suit if you only wear one part of it, right?’ He smirked then, seating himself on the chair next to the closet. ‘Go on, try it on.’ 

Varamadras was enjoying the moment, he decided to study something too. He studied Marius, his handsome face, those eyes that always seemed to be enjoying something, the thick eyebrows that often jumped into any direction to accommodate Marius’ dramatic reactions.  

[mariusthesus]

“Points for creativity, then -- you got them,” he laughed, pleasantly surprised by the turn the conversation had taken. “As I said, lord, there’s no need to fear! It’ll be some real amazing piece of revenge-focused, uh, revenge, I’m sure. It’ll be something real creative as well, rest assured.” With that, he turned his attention to the suit once more.

For a long moment Marius found himself considering the finer points of privacy -- then he shrugged and started stripping out of his pants. Thankfully Varamadras and he were not that far apart in height, so once he had them on neither pants nor jacket felt all that big on him. On that note. Damn the jacket. Now he did turn away from the Demon Lord as he muttered curses under his breath as he fiddled with the buttons, until they, no doubt fearful of his wrath, went where they should. 

He looked down at himself -- not wanting to bother looking around for a mirror -- and, after a moment, nodded. Yeah. Not his usual attire at all, but Marius figured he didn’t cut all that bad a figure in the suit after all -- he hoped Varamadras would think likewise. Drawing himself up into a somewhat presentable posture, Marius spun around and stepped forward to stand in front of his lord. He grinned. “Well?”

[varamadrasitaul]

Boyfriends and Hairdoes || Marius & Varamadras

[varamadrasitaul]

‘Very true, but when I see what Torque is able to do, and remember the stories from the Magicians of old, I can’t help but think of all the things they were able to do back then. Curiosity probably, or jealousy,’ he admitted. He felt the dialogue was getting tiresome, so he was happy when Marius said nothing more on the subject, and he too let is slide. He didn’t want to be locked in an argument with the Captain, that seemed like the sort of thing for war counsel, not… personal visits.

He smiled mischievous, ‘to be honest, I’m pretty sure I’ll laugh, but it will be well meant,’ he said. Varamadras stood, leaving his tea on the table - which he hadn’t touched since he started talking with Marius. He would probably end up finding it cold later on. He walked into his bedroom, and gestured for the Captain to follow. 

The Demonlord had a huge closet, filled with two and three piece suits which he had collected over the years. He loved the dark blue ones the most, some of them were hundreds of years old. His father had always stressed the importance of looking important. Varaditras Itaul had always been the best dressed government official. He picked one suit from the collection and handed it to Marius. He narrowed his eyes. ‘I think this one will look briliant on you.’ 

[mariusthesus]

With a surprised laugh at the Demonlord’s tone, Marius teased, “In that case, rest assured that my revenge shall also be well-meant, lord.” Nevertheless he happily followed along behind Varamadras, until soon enough they came to a halt in front of what turned out to be an astoundingly large closet. For a bit there Marius simply stood there, boggling both at the size of the thing in general but also at the variety of suits found in it. He wasn’t quite sure what exactly he’d expected, but it sure as all shores wasn’t such an extensive collection. “Impressive,” he couldn’t help but mutter under his breath at the sight. 

He watched with a smile as Varamadras went about looking through the hanging suits. “If you say so, lord,” Marius replied, eyeing the suit handed to him with some trepidation. It looked a lot like just about every other suit in existence to him, which meant that he was going to look ridiculous in it, but--right. With a defeated sigh, Marius shrugged out of his own longcoat and handed it to Varamadras in exchange for the suit. 

Marius gave it another once-over. His own shirt was somewhat wider-cut than the shirts that usually went under suits, sure, but it’d have to do. As for the rest... “Pants, too, or just the jacket?” With a slightly self-conscious laugh and a wink, he added, “There are easier ways to get me naked, you know.” 

[varamadrasitaul]

Boyfriends and Hairdoes || Marius & Varamadras

[varamadrasitaul]

Varamadras grinned a bit when Marius reacted defensively. ‘I’ve never known the Magicians of old, to be honest,’ he said. ‘But I know much of what we knew about the limits or our Magic, and how we are limited we are now.’ He looked at his tea for a moment. ‘I didn’t call you second-rate though, that would include calling myself second-rate as well.’ He smiled softly. ‘And I guess we’re doing better, considering the circumstance. Certainly better than the Knights.’ 

He let his head hang for a bit. In the old days, Magicians hadn’t been such a powerful tool in wars, in the war before the war. Guild fought at random, but they had the choice whether they wanted to be included on either side. Now it was either the DracoMancers or the Knights of Jewantes. Those who weren’t picked for that would end up dying by fighting one way or another. The world had changed, but he didn’t think it was such a good thing either. Yet, explaining it to someone who had never known different, was not his intention. He liked Marius too much for that, he wanted to spare him the facts of what could’ve been. ‘It’s a natural thing, let’s agree on that.’

He smiled. ‘It stretches, but things become rather vague on that aspect,’ he admitted. ‘I do have an incredible amount of suits. Would you like to try one on? I’m very curious now to see how they would fit you.’ 

[mariusthesus]

“With all due respect, lord, knowledge alone is a poor point of comparison -- anyone can say that in the old days the limits of magic were greater than they were now. There’s no one around to disprove it, after all!” Almost reflexively he picked up his cup and drank another sip of tea, frowning, more to shut himself up and stop arguing than anything else. “As long as we’re still doing better than the Knights I suppose it’s all good, either way.”

Arguing about something as transient and ephemeral as magic hadn’t been Marius’ goal, though, and when he saw Varamadras’ head dip he immediately felt guilty. Varamadras had been alive longer than just about anyone else, after all, and that sort of long life rarely came without its fair share of experience and regrets. It hadn’t been his intention to bring all that back up. Marius nodded vigorously therefore, and said, “Yes, let’s. Apologies, lord.”

Marius regarded his lord in silence for a moment, not quite sure whether he was joking -- it was always difficult to tell with him. “I could give one a try if you want,” he decided, thinking that if it’d make Varamadras happy than why not, “but if you end up laughing, I’m going to come up with some real dastardly means of revenge.”

[mariusthesus]

Better Next Time | Michael and Marius

[michaeljudiut]

‘I was chosen to be special, clearly,’ he said, looking up at the sky and pursing his lips. ‘I don’t know, could be right. Magic is a thing of this world, or of the world of the Gods. I wouldn’t be surprised if what goes for Black and White Dragon Magicians goes for all the other Magic types too. Or at least… you know it did.’

He looked back at Marius. He had never been much of a intellectual, that was Tarac’s job, he just accepted everything for what it was. His intelligence was always outmatched by his stubbornness. But this subject somehow kept his curiosity in check for once. ‘Has Varamadras ever told you his ideas on Magical balance, or lets say Imbalance. When he taught me about my Magic, back in the day, he always repeated that the Gods gave us Magic, they picked who they wanted to represent them. Which is why I’m guessing some Magicians have similar personalities. He believed that through killing the Gods of Emerald, Ruby and Sapphire Magic he disrupted the balance of the amount of Magic in the Fifth Gate. Three Black Dragon Magicians and three White Dragon Magicians, they had to be kept in check as the most powerful Magicians in our world, but now there are few who are able to kill them.’ 

He looked pretty content for a moment. There was so much they didn’t know about Magic, he enjoyed being able to speculate. ‘Although, that Magic is returning, so maybe balance is returning though. Meaning, could be we loan it from the Gods. They are rising again, and so is the Magic they give out.’ 

‘Thanks, Marius,’ he said with a smile. ‘I think they just want a pretty face there in case they have to talk themselves out of something. I wouldn’t be surprised if they find you useful in fighting situations, you’re pretty grounded you know, despite being wavy and all.’

‘They weren’t mine either, to be honest. But man did Liv like to talk about them. They probably all ended well, at least the few that I heard. I can’t imagine reading those kind of stories every day, even if they’re not sad, the idea of heroes always winning is kind of depressing,’ he said, though he couldn’t explain why. ‘She was one of a kind though.’ He looked away, he thought in his first days as Shini that he left most of the feelings towards his old life behind, however, he could still feel grief.

‘Oh wow, can you imagine. The Gods sending me back to the world to stop you from drinking. No, I think what the Gods want from me is a much simpler task,’ he said with a grin. ‘I’m just concerned. And who knows, maybe the Gods will let me have my own agenda, I can solve little Mancer problems.’ 

[mariusthesus]

Michael’s light-hearted comment had the exact opposite effect on marius -- he turned to Michael with a sad smile and patted his shoulder. “You’ve always been special kid, no need for magic on that account.” Sad thing was, that kind of uniqueness and personality never really worked out for those blessed -- or cursed -- with them. Add in magic...real deadly mix, that.

“His ideas on Magical Balance? Not specifically, but he never really talks that much about magic with me to begin with. But I suppose it’d make sense, the gods choosing people to represent them with their magic.” He shrugged. How and why exactly he’d ended up with his magic wasn’t something Marius had spent all that much time considering -- save for when it came to cursing the gods for it -- and he figured that, in the long run, the reasons for it didn’t really matter all that much. The results of it were already in effect, after all. A thought hit him then, and he glanced at Michael with a grim smirk. “Suppose you’d somehow managed to kill all the gods, though. D’you think that’d mean there would be no more kids with magic being born?”

With a shake of his head, Marius leaned back on the bench, stretching slightly “You sure are getting philosophical on me here, kid,” he said with a half-hearted groan. “Heroes always win, that’s the whole damn point of having them. Of course the writer of the story always determines who gets to be the hero, and one writer’s hero is another’s villain and--” Marius stopped, shook his head. “I was going somewhere with that, I’m sure, but I can’t remember where exactly that would be. Nevermind. Point is that Liv sure had a real specific taste in books.” She’d even liked the tiny booklets detailing the adventures of Sir Seagull, Sailor Extraordinaire when she’d been a kid, and if that wasn’t saying something then Marius didn’t know.

“I do not pretend to know the minds of the gods,” Marius proclaimed grandly, affecting an air of one of those priests he used to laugh at as a kid, “but I figured I’d ask anyway, since it’d give me some major bragging points. Pity it ain’t the case, though.”

[varamadrasitaul]

The Royal Mustache

What is this face you are making?

[mariusthesus]

A mustached face. One could almost call it...royal mustachely.

[mariusthesus]

Better Next Time | Michael and Marius

[michaeljudiut]

So, the jokes were off the table. He could’ve expected that. Being a Magician - or having been one - Magic was such a vital part of who a person was, a large and indescribable part. Imagine living with only two of your senses, all the others prone to Magic, and suddenly they vanished. Not that Michael had noticed that at all, after all… Magic was a special kind of thing. He had learned that after he died. ‘It’s been long. I’ve not had my Magic since I… well, since I died. I don’t think Magic is eternal. We have it in loan, soon as we die, it returns to the world itself. And well, my Magic transferred into… Semiel right?’ 

‘So no, not really awful. Though, if I were to have it right now, I wouldn’t mind much.’ He grinned. ‘I would love to be able to fly again, even if I was never much good in it.’ 

‘Oh, what is that look? Knights crashing the party, doesn’t mean you have to go each time right? Or did you get some kind of promotion, Dras liking you so much he wants you to follow every bit of action?’ he grinned. 

The mention of Liv crushed him. The casual way he said it, hiding the grief of her dead. It has been many years ago, and despite having lost most of the feelings he had for his former life, he recalled Liv very fondly, and the sadness for her dead could not be burned from his soul, even by the Gods. 

‘Oh man, she loved those. But… in the end, did the hero survive? You know the Hero always survives, it would be a bad story if they didn’t.’ He had tried reading one of those novels once, but he had way too little attention to read those kind of books.

‘You waiting for a special event?’ 

[mariusthesus]

“Right, right, you lot and your special magic -- though would you’ve lost your magic as well, you think, if you’d had one of the more normal kinds? Or would it have gone to someone else as well?” Marius paused for a moment. “If you’re right and it really is something that’s sort of on loan -- real intriguing thought there, by the way; you should go talk to Tarac about it -- would that in turn mean that all magic is, in the end, limited? For one person to have it, another has to die first?” 

He was beginning to ramble, he knew, but even so it was difficult to stop. In itself magic moving on to someone else wasn’t a half-bad concept, actually; though Marius didn’t even want to begin to guess at what it might mean for the Dark Souls. For Michael, though, it must be awful -- clearly the magic-cycle thing hadn’t taken Shini into account. “For what it’s worth, Michael, I’m sorry.”

“If it’s a promotion I must’ve missed it entirely,” he laughed,”I think it’s just my charming personality that gets me sent everywhere, really. For moral support and all that. I can be real, ah, supportive if I put my mind to it, wouldn’t you know.” 

He smirked at the memory of piles of books slowly but surely covering every free space in Liv’s quarters. Said, “I wouldn’t know, honestly -- they weren’t my kind of books, truth be told. Gods only know what Liv saw in them, but you know she wasn’t one for sad stories.” Marius made sure to smile extra brightly and hopefully real reassuringly when he noticed Michael’s reaction to the mention of his daughter -- he should have expected it, really. Michael had always been close to Liv, and where Marius had had twenty-some years to get to terms with her death, Michael’d never gotten that. 

“Nothing like that, don’t be silly. Just--I don’t know.” With a dismissive shrug, he went on, “Are you on some divine mission to stop me, or is it just normal concern?”

[mariusthesus]

Better Next Time | Michael and Marius

[michaeljudiut]

Michael shook his head with a grin: see that was the weird connection he had with Marius that he was talking about. No clue what they were supposed to be to each other, so they just went with what felt right. ‘While that sounds as a very good plan, I’m worried that while shaking their heads in an awe-inspiring fashion, they might outbalance themselves and fall over into the fire. As you know, skin and fire aren’t such good companions,’ he explained, trying to sound serious. 

He laughed. ‘Oh, how they would’ve feared me. After so many years of haunting their memories, I could do with a good scare of our friendly Knights. Aside from revenge though, I would not have my Magic with me to fight those bastards like I did back then,’ he said, looking dreamingly into the air. Somehow he could remember how he had loved being respected for his prowess in the field. 

‘Sure the Goodlands are moving some trade ships up and down the Masadur for you to hassle with? Unless of course those odd jobs are no longer to your liking?’ He sometimes felt bad for Marius, most Mancers knew about living on their own, without family. But Marius had been given one, and they had been taken away from him all over again. Living through something like that twice scared Michael, and he could only imagine what it had done to Marius. Even if it had been years back, the death of Marius’ daughter and her husband was still fresh in his memory. 

‘That no longer surprises me. Has anyone ever warned you that that stuff is addictive?’ He grinned from ear to ear. 

[mariusthesus]

Just about to make some no doubt witty remark about the doubtful balancing skills of Michael’s potential worshippers, Marius instead found himself rendered speechless. Had he just understood that correctly? “Hang on, love -- did I get that right? You don’t have your magic? I suppose that’s one way of ensuring you don’t go on a rampage against the Knights, but...really? That must feel awful.” 

The concept shocked him more than he let on -- magic was so deeply ingrained in all of them, practically from birth, that to suddenly be without it? Almost like losing a limb, but even more personal. Marius couldn’t even begin to imagine what it must be like. Had the gods done it on purpose, he wondered, or was that one of the side-effects of being a Shini? Curious, to say the least.

Letting his head hang -- not terribly difficult given the situation--, Marius shot Michael the most ridiculously downtrodden look he could manage. “Trust me, Michael, I’d love to set sail again -- yet it seems that just about every time I try to, the Knights dig up something new for us to deal with. I step on my ship, news comes that they’re up to something. It’s ridiculous. Did you know we had to race them for a magical artifact, not that long ago? In a desert temple,” Marius added, emphasizing the last words. “Gods beyond, it was like something straight out of those cheap novels Liv used to devour.” The ones featuring mysterious temples of doom had been her favorites too, he recalled with a fond smile.

“Warned? Many times, I’m sure.” He winked. “They’ll have to keep on warning me a bit longer.”

[greelin]

make no mistake i love the ocean with my whole heart but deep water terrifies me so much.. what’s goin on down there? nothing i want to be a part of

[markusarcain-blog]

Faces in the Night | Open

What Markus wouldn’t give for a cigarette right now, with a nice big fat cloud of of nicotine to bury itself deep in his lungs. But he’d smoked his last one on the way over, passed between Denian and himself as they readied themselves for the horror of what would await them in the Demon Generals house.

If they had been smart they would have stayed outside. 

But they hadn’t. No they had just plunged forth into the fray like idiots, with the voices coming from everywhere, everyplace. And Somehow they’d gotten separated in all the whisperings, with Markus knowing now that he should have kept a hand on his brother in arms at all times. 

So this was how he found himself, wandering lost in a giant mansion filled with things he didn’t recognize, trying not to let horrible thoughts fill his mind. “DENIAN” Markus called out for what seemed like the thousandth time. But he knew it was no use, the magical faces plastered on the walls were too loud with their whisperings of false advice drowning out anyone else. 

Except for just whoever stepped into the room. 

[mariusthesus]

For better or worse demon houses were not something that popped up all that often, and so Marius’d gone inside to investigate, because that’s what you did when you happened upon what for all intents and purposed appeared to be a cursed mansion. The novelty of the whole thing had worn off quick enough, though, and by the time he heard yelling from somewhere further inside the house and realized that he had no idea where the exit was, it was already too late.

He made his way to where the shouting was coming from, making a point on the way there to sneer at the faces lining the walls whispering things Marius didn’t care to pay too much attention to. Real gaudy decoration, there; he wasn’t quite sure what exactly but clearly the Demon General who’d built the twindamned house had been compensating for something. Or the guy’d simply had real lousy taste, but then again: there was a line between that and malicious intent, and it’d been crossed about twenty faces in.

As he stepped into the room, Marius was only slightly surprised to see the Arcain kid. He waved at Markus in greeting and laughed, finally figuring out just what the kid had been yelling. “Off by about two generations, love, but--you’re almost right. You and my grandkid get lost in here, did you?” Because of course, of all the places for the two of them to end up it’d have to be the overly homely ghost house -- not that Marius had any idea how to get out of there, either, but at least he hadn’t actively lost anyone in the house. 

[varamadrasitaul]

Boyfriends and Hairdoes || Marius & Varamadras

[varamadrasitaul]

Varamadras had been very certain from the moment word of the Shini reached his desk, that this had been set up by the Gods. Which Gods he was uncertain about, and whether it was to spite him or to - as was the job of the Shini - to deliver an important message. Whichever it was, their being here could not mean anything good. As fools who lived as long as he himself had knew: the Gods were supposed to be neutral. During the Angelic Wars they had been, and since then in any other war only few Gods had taken sides. His immortal enemies had been three of them: Groun, Fira, and Smara. But there was no way in Out of Time that they had anything to do with it: they were dead as far as Gods could be. 

He smirked at Marius’ reply, good to know people still saw him as a powerful Magician. ‘I fear, no matter how much I want to agree with you on that, the world has only been getting weaker.’ He wasn’t trying to generate a sense of horror that moment, but he did feel as if he had to tell a story, like he used to do to those he taught. He put his tea down and made himself comfortable on the couch. ‘You know how much of our Magical knowledge has been lost? Maybe not during this war, maybe even in the one before. And in all those years, there is one thing I know we’ll never have again: strong magicians. The magicians of old, they were powerful, powerful and unlimited like Torque. Even Jewantes, I know not if he ever became Phase One or not, but he was able to make the ground form him a castle.’ He smiled then. ‘At least Jewantes’ time knew some mighty Magicians.’ He paused. ‘Though coming back to your statement,’ and he laughed then, ‘the world has moved on.’ 

‘Yes, keep it that way, all rough and fancy, it does you good,’ he added, still grinning. ‘On that note, have I ever seen you in a suit?’ Yes, he was almost going to invite him to try one on. 

[mariusthesus]

His first reaction to Varamadras’ small excourse was a scowl, and he subsequently quickly bit down the remark that immediately came to mind – Marius was not of a mind to pick a fight right now. Instead, he inclined his head and gave a dismissive shrug, deliberately careless. “Bit harsh to call all of us second-rate, lord, don’t you think? The magicians of old might’ve been stronger, but the way I see it, we’re doing better than them – sure, yes, our magic ain’t as flashy, but we’re also not taking nearly as many casualties, are we?” 

Last battle aside, they hadn’t actually lost anyone in years -- and even there the numbers had been a lot lower than they could’ve been. Magicians casually flinging around Phase One powers meant a lot of random casualties, a lot of graves to be dug. Marius preferred things like they were now, even if it meant that not a whole lot of people could pull off feats of legend at the drop of a hat. He shrugged again, this time meaning it. “So. Yes. The world’s moved on, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”

Had he worn a suit to his daughter’s wedding? The coat she’d made him he’d worn for the funeral, of course, he remembered that all too vividly – but the details of the wedding Marius honestly could not recall. “Depends on how far back your memory goes,” he eventually replied, “but, yeah. It’s been a while – suits ain’t really my thing, though they look real nice on you so it’s all good.”

[varamadrasitaul]

Boyfriends and Hairdoes || Marius & Varamadras

[varamadrasitaul]

Varamadras was for a moment calculating in his own head whether Marius had known Lass, if she had been alive at her time, her age of the Black Dragon Magicians. He guessed he had been. To him, all the years, all the faces, all the deaths and all the friends blended together. He only knew a clear distinction between before this new war and during the last. 

He very much agreed with Marius, his fear of Jewantes was just that: fear. He had no real reason to be afraid, for the man himself was a Shini like the three others, he could roam wherever he wished, and if he wanted to do anything to him, he probably would’ve already taken that chance. He smiled at that, however, the memory of beating Jewantes, leaving after the battle, and being send back the corpses of his brothers, didn’t make the victory much of a victory. ‘Yes, I once did already. I’m not easily beaten.’ It was very likely he wasn’t. He hadn’t been in many fights, the last one had been when Rast betrayed them, but he had won that one too. 

Starting a conversation about Marius’ hair had been a good choice, a very impulsive one, because a lighter mood settled in. ‘It grew then, it looks more fancy,’ he said. He copied Marius’ grin then. ‘Yes, I like it.’ 

[mariusthesus]

For a moment there, Marius had been sure -- feared, more like -- that Varamadras was genuinely worried about Jewantes. His lord had so many other things to worry about, primarily Orractous and the deaths of the recent battle, and to have another worry heaped on top of that? That, plus the real awful timing in general of the Shini appearing right on the heels of a devastating battle -- Marius wasn’t prone to ascribing any sort of deliberate involvement in happenings to the gods unless it meant he could curse them for it, but this whole affair reeked of the sort of calculated, aloof meddling he figured the gods were all too fond of.

Which, to put it plainly, raised all sorts of alarm bells. But as things stood nothing bad had happened -- yet -- and so Marius was glad to hear that Varamadras wasn’t taking it all that badly. Bigger battles to fight, and all. “You really aren’t,” he agreed, “and besides: Jewantes’s been dead for, what, ages? Real long, in any case. The world’s moved on -- everyone else has been getting stronger, and he’s just been, well, dead.”

Marius’ eyes widened in genuine surprise at the answer, not having expected it in the slightest. "You do? I may just keep it like this for a while longer, then,” he teased, happy that Varamadras was smiling again, even if it was over something as inconsequential as too-long hair. In light of that, Marius quickly gestured to his lord’s suit and added, “I am, after all, always in support of looking more fancy.”

[danestfu-blog]

“How far do you think I could get west before anyone notices I’m missing? I think I could at least reach the mountains.”

[mariusthesus]

“Well, I’m fairly certain the bar owners at the very least would notice the drastic decline in sales.”

“Why west, kid?”

[mariusthesus]

Better Next Time | Michael and Marius

[michaeljudiut]

‘I missed shaking my head violently at you whenever you joke,’ he said. ‘Let me show you.’ He shook his head violently. ‘And I missed that grim face of yours, you look marvelous like always, did they get a new rum?’ He said, rubbing Marius’ cheeks. He was never sure about what kind of friendship he had with Marius, whether it was just friend, good friends, a father-son relationship - oh no, certainly not that - or whether he could call them anything like that: after all, he had once been heavenly in love with with daughter. But that had only for a bit made it awkward. 

‘Hmm, divine calling, I think I feel like starting up a new religion, paint my face in all different colors and jump naked around a large bomb fire… but that could be just the usual. Rather excellent actually, I’ve missed this city, and strange how coming back from the dead just clears your conscience away and leaves me without any feeling of revenge. But, enough about me. How are you? I heard some rumors about staying on the mainland more usual than your usual.’ 

[mariusthesus]

Never one to be outdone, Marius waited until Michael was done grabbing at his face, and quickly tousled his hair until it looked like Michael had walked straight out of a hurricane. Grinning, he said, “Your headshaking is breathtaking and awe-inspiring as always. Perhaps your new religion should adopt it as part of their ritual? Give people something proper to do while they ponder naked bonfire rites.” 

All jokes aside, it was good to hear that Michael was taking the whole coming-back-from-the-dead thing with at least a bit of humor. Death couldn’t be particularly good for your psyche, Marius figured, but then again if anyone could come out on top of an event like this it’d be Michael. “I suppose the Knights should count themselves lucky you ain’t out for revenge,” he added with a shrug and a pat on Michael’s shoulder.

“Me? Eh, well, surprisingly enough there ain’t really much happening out on the seas right now -- a bit disappointing, mind, because I could do with a nice haughty band of pirates to stomp into the ground.” He sighed, briefly glancing back to where the harbor lay hidden behind rows of houses. “Seeing how fighting on land’s about as fun as being faced with a flock of angry pigeons, I’ve been sticking to the city and getting raucously drunk when I’m not actually needed.”

[varamadrasitaul]

Boyfriends and Hairdoes || Marius & Varamadras

[varamadrasitaul]

Varamadras shook his head. ‘Not even a bit,’ he said back, trying to throw some joke back, but it sounded weak. He was pretty sure he didn’t feel like joking. 

He turned to Marius and studied him. he tried to smile, but he couldn’t find the strength to, all this talking about dead friends made him feel sad. As if he wasn’t sad already. An other feeling that completely seemed to shut off the Smoke, for now at least. ‘I’d like to see him too, but I too have no idea what to say. It wasn’t even that long ago that he died, but it feels like centuries. And I still fear somehow for the other one that came back, whether being a Shini keeps Jewantes from wanting to take revenge on the one who took his life.’ Of all the Shini, Jewantes had been dead the longest, but no matter the side they once stood on, the Shini could travel wherever they wished, and that scared him a bit. 

‘Say, did you do something to your hair?’ Varamadras asked, trying to set feelings of sadness and fear aside. ‘it looks different than usual.’ 

[mariusthesus]

It really did feel as if it had already been half an age since Michael had died, and Marius imagine it must feel even worse with Lass, who really had been dead for quite a while. And Jewantes--well, yeah, Jewantes. A lot of old resentment lingering there, but he’d given the matter some thought when he’d first heard just who the other Shini were, and here at least Marius was certain that he could reassure Varamadras.

Inclining his head, he asked, "Don’t you think, lord, that if Jewantes was in any way inclined to pursue revenge he’d have come for you already? Ain’t anything to hold him back now, is there, what with having died once already and all.” Brought up the interesting but at the moment fairly irrelevant question of whether Shini could be killed -- would they just come back right there on the spot, like some sort of god-sent piece of moss, or would they stay down? Things best left to wonder over another time. “Plus you beat him once already, yeah? Nothing to fear!”

The next question was so left field that for a second Marius wasn’t quite sure whether he’d heard right-- but, no, Varamadras really had just asked about his hair. Feeling real self-conscious of a sudden, Marius reached up to run a hand through it. “Aside from being too lazy to get it cut? No, not really.” A thought hit him then, and he grinned and asked, “Why -- you like it?”