Part 9
Prologue —> Here Part 1 –-> Here Part 2 —> Here Part 3 —> Here Part 4 —> Here Part 5 —> Here (@fio-renze and @theconstructsworld’s writing) Part 6 —> Here Part 7 —> Here Part 8 —> Here
Callia paced around the 'living room' area of Fiorenze’s magical townhouse, it was difficult to tell what time it was given Maldraxxus never really had any sort of night nor day; just dark and dreary and then darker and more dreary. Since all the mortals seemed to be asleep, it was safe to assume it was some time in the middle of their night. The battles around them raged on as they did constantly 24/7, but at least in here it was quiet.
In lieu of her typical armor, she donned a simple, semi-sheer white nightgown and wore her long hair down. It was rare that she ever let herself look so soft, but her fellow combatants wouldn't see her here.
Eventually, Callia made her way upstairs, surpassing Xylaes's quarters until she stopped in front of what she knew to be Fio's. The wondrous thing about the enchanted townhouse was the ability to customize. Different rooms and floors could take on whatever detail Fiorenze pleased -- her space was hard to miss as a result. Most of the place was more rustic and spartan, fitting in with Xylaes' comfort and taste, but the closer and closer one got to Fio's own space on the top floor saw grandeur seeping in until it was a decent facsimile of her personal rooms at Meadowrun -- all gilded wall moldings, ornate doors, brocade and velvet.
In her hand she clutched a lumpy envelope, hoping that she wouldn't wake the woman from too deep of a slumber, but this was something that needed to be done. She raised her fist and gave a brief knock on the door.
Luckily, Fiorenze hadn't been asleep just yet; travelling to Oribos, Ardenweald, and occasionally back to Azeroth at times had utterly thrashed any kind of normal rhythm to the days. The knock on the door gave the noblewoman pause. Xylaes didn't come this far if he could avoid it. Steven stuck to the first floor to keep watch on the main door. That left Callia, though it was unusual for her to come looking, too. What odd housemates they all were, living in here together for as long as they had now.
She set her pen back into the holder on her writing desk and tucked her journal away into one of the drawers before gathering her glossy, green silk robes a little tighter around herself and her matching, embroidered négligée as she stood.
Fiorenze flicked her hand and increased the brightness of the arcane sconces a little as she quietly walked to the door, opening it just enough to peer through the crack before widening the gap a bit more formally and stepped just aside to allow Callia to pass through into her room if she chose, "I wasn't expecting any visitors or I would have put some tea on. Would you like to come in?"
Callia nodded in greeting, her expression a little softer than usual. Even if there had been tea, probably would have declined anyways, food and drink seemed to be only a mere novelty in the afterlife. Stepping inside, her eyes darted around the room, having never been accustomed to this much luxury in her actual life. The thought made her smirk slightly, "Hard to picture Arr— Xylaes in this sort of luxury." Her fingertips glided over top of the covers on the bed, "Does he enjoy it now?"
She smoothed her hand over her own simple gown, noting the stark contrast between the both of them. After a moment she stopped and turned to face the other woman, enveloped still clutched in both hands. Whatever she had to say, she was clearly uncertain or uncomfortable about doing so in the way she would almost start to speak and then stop herself. Eventually she did manage something, but not what she originally intended — not yet. That was something that needed to be worked up to. "How is he? I don't mean now, I mean..in general, before all of this. How is he?"
Fiorenze hesitated a moment before answering Callia’s first question, "Ah, well, no. He does not enjoy luxury; I'm not sure he ever will, to be honest," she smiled wryly as she closed the door softly. Something to that effect had come up in their last fight before the world made that entire tiff wholly irrelevant. "It can be hard to adapt to, and he is ... very stubborn. It's rare that he agrees to be in it."
She made her way back over to where she had been before letting the other woman in and leaned back against the writing desk, resting her palms on the edge of the cool wood. She watched Callia casually and mentally stuck a few notes on some of the differences between this late night version of the woman and her usual presentation.
Fiorenze wet her lips with her tongue briefly, trying to decide how to answer the second question, "He doesn't like when I talk about him. I ... don't know what he's told you, either. He's— " was there really any better way to put what she wanted to say? Probably not, "Complicated. Prefers his privacy, doesn't really trust anyone. Not that I can blame him, with everything that he lost and the way that our government treated him over it. He hasn't had much time at all to heal from any of it, and I don't think he's let himself even think about starting that process or what it would even look like."
"Some things never change," Callia remarked, commenting on the 'stubborn' observation, she smiled fondly to herself. "He's always preferred keeping a low profile."
"He's told me everything that has happened since..." She waved off the following comment, letting Fio fill in the blanks on that one. "He's not going to mind you talking to me about him. It's difficult for me to see how he is dealing with everything given his current condition." She turned her gaze towards some more of the ornate decor, "And I need to make sure that he is going to be okay. As angry as I have been with him, I need to know that he is going to be there for our son."
Callia didn't let on as to whether or not she knew if Fio knew all this information, but there was no point in holding back now. Callia couldn't do anything, she was stuck here. "I need to know that Garren is going to be okay, and live the life that he deserves." She swallowed, "Xylaes too. He's suffered enough. He doesn't need to keep blaming himself for what happened to me."
She pressed the envelope against her chest and sighed, "I need you to take him back to Azeroth, he can't stay here any longer. It's not helping anyone. I'm grateful to have had the time I did with him, but this is not where he belongs."
That was all quite a bit to take in. Fiorenze furrowed her brow briefly before the expression smoothed over, "His need for privacy might be worse now, I'm not sure. A reaction to the time he served to try and get some control back..." She pressed her lips together before folding her arms across her chest, what Callia was saying really was a little unexpected.
After a moment her own expression softened a little, "I'll do what I can, if he lets me. He's traditionally spurned my attempts to help -- the stubbornness, you know. There are things that I want to do for him, that I've wanted to do for a long time. Some that I may just have to do now, considering he's not supposed to be able to use magic and I do worry what the law back home may do if they find out. It's something I've been thinking about for a while now, how to work around that. You're absolutely right, he's suffered enough. Too much, even, I think."
"Xylaes will make sure that your son is okay. He's very passionate about how he thinks his children should be raised; I didn't know at the time that we were having that conversation that the experience had been robbed from him, but if there's any power that I have to help him find Garren or be part of his life in a significant way I'll use it," she offered a sad smile over to Callia. It had been decades since she'd lost her own infant son, but it still hurt. "I can take him back with me. Demand it, even, I'm a good villain at times. He doesn't want to leave you."
"He hasn't said it aloud, but I think he wants to keep the arm. His magic was such a big part of who he was, and what he did. Having some of that back will help, in the long run. And a good way to honor the one who had given his life for that." Maybe others may not have seen it that way, but in Maldraxxus, donning another's extremity seemed to be a badge of honor in some circles. A single silver brow raised, "I was not aware you were having a conversation about children with my husband." Things he may have failed to mention, probably for obvious reasons. She didn't seem upset by it at least.
Callia tucked her wavy hair behind her ears and smiled, "I don't want him to leave either, and that is why he needs to go. Garren needs him more than I do. Anyways, I doubt the doorway to this world will remain open once everything is said and done and he doesn't belong here. At least not yet."
She stepped forward and reached into the envelope to pull out a letter, extending it to Fio. "I need you to get this to Garren for me. Xylaes has enough on his plate and our son needs to read this before he tries to go and see him again. It may be better received coming from someone else. Garren Norassin, in Moonglade. Staying with family friends, in the refugee camps, or whatever they have set up there now for those who made it out of Teldrassil." She frowned, hearing about Teldrassil and the death of her parents had not been easy, especially now — knowing that they could still be trapped in the Maw. She was thankful that Xylaes had at least made sure that Garren was still alive. "He'll be about...14 or so now." Had it really been that long? It was hard to keep track of time in the Shadowlands.
Fiorenze took the letter from Callia carefully, "At the time I was concerned about having an heir, not that it particularly matters. He made it extremely clear that he wasn't at all interested, so that's certainly not something I think you'll ever need to worry about." Which really did make much more sense now, considering Garren in the full equation. Her lips pursed for a moment as she considered The Arm issue; She had some thoughts and percolating academic theories about that too, but that was more of a conversation best saved between her, Xylaes, and perhaps Pollux too.
"I will see that the letter is delivered, personally. The times back on Azeroth are ... difficult, it can be hard to know who can be trusted on either side of the world and I am an adept scryer, with the right reagents I should be able to find Garren easily." She'd found Callia. She'd found Xylaes. How hard could a 14 year old that was connected to them both be to locate? "Would you like me to bring anything back? A picture? Knowledge of how his life has been?"
"Are you no longer concerned about having an heir?" Xylaes and a Noble, what a wild thought that was to Callia, "It's not something I need to worry about in general. I'm dead. I want him to move on and be happy, I think having another child he could actually help raise with a woman he loves would do him a lot of good." Her eyes drifted around the fancy room once more, "Although I dare say that the both of you may have very opposite ideas on how to raise a child. I could be wrong."
Her fingers drummed against the larger envelope still in hand, "I would like a photograph of them together, I've already told Xylaes. I don't know if it will be possible in time, but that's what I would like." Another reason to motivate him to go back to Azeroth as well, he wasn't about to turn down any requests she made of him.
She reached into that envelope to pull out...what kind of looked like some sort of small weapon? Upon further inspection it was obviously a long, thin piece of bone; somewhat sharpened on one end, and the other end appeared to have a carving of an orchid bloom. She held it out to Fio, "A gift. For your hair, but also makes for a good, surprise weapon." Because of course Maldraxxians gave weapons as gifts. "Thank you for all you have done for Arrus. ...Xylaes. I am happy to see that someone loves and cares for him."
Fiorenze frowned briefly, "I am, but he's said his peace on the subject and I have to respect it. He doesn't love me like that, and while I am many things, I am not what he wants. We have very opposite ideas, and tastes, on many topics. However, he's been a very good friend to me when he did not have to be, and as much as he'd hate the idea I do consider him part of my House and a beneficiary of all that entails. It's not a designation I give to people lightly," she smiled a bit at the end, terribly fond even though she knew she'll never be what Callia is — was, to him.
She turned the hair pin over in her hands, tracing the lines of the orchid with the pad of her thumb. There was no denying that she loved Xylaes — of course she did. All this — finding Callia, weaving more and more magic into the walls to keep the Penthouse stable, making supply runs and staying so long had all been for him. But that was love, wasn't it? Wanting the best for someone regardless of reciprocation.
"This is a beautiful piece, and hopefully I'll never have to bloody it, but it's all been the least I could do. I've always wanted to see him happy and thriving rather than just getting by, he has so much to offer the world still. Hopefully we'll be able to get the photo back to you before the gateways close again. That should be easy enough to accomplish."
There wasn't much else to say or do here, and the large room with all its fineries was... uncomfortable. Callia made her way towards the door and opened it up. "I hope so too." She stepped outside into the hallway before turning and hesitating for a brief moment, "I wouldn't be so sure that he doesn't want you, or even love you. He's a very convincing liar,” she smirked slightly, "The tell is in his eyes."
Callia stepped further back into the hallway, clearly ready to make her exit unless Fio had anything else to say. "Again, thank you. I doubt we'll meet again. Take care of him."
Fio followed a bit, up to the door at least so she could close it once finally done, the letter and hairpin still in hand. There was a quietness as she considered the thought; how lovely it would be for things to work out and snap perfectly into place — even if Xylaes did love her, even if he did want her, their lives were extremely complicated.
She rested her free hand on the door knob before nodding, knowing full well that this was as final as a goodbye could get, "I will, Callia, you have my word. Give the Constructs hell for me."
Fiorenze smirked as she closed the door, plans already starting to come together in her head.
@xylaes // @theconstructsworld (Callia!)
