#talan redwing

[reddevil-xiv]

[marius-vieremont]

RP LOG: Marius & Talan

[13:30](Talia RedwingMateus) Talan adjusted his gloves as he strode up the grave path that led into the yard of what was once the Covenant. His footsteps were quiet, so quiet he didn't even displace the stone he moved across. No reason to announce his presence, after all, until he was truly there. But it had also become habit, a fox treading the ground on careful steps to avoid being seen, being noticed. A habit borne from long long practice in his trade. A sniper who left tracks was a useless one, after all. "Afternoon, Marius," he called, when he was mere footsteps away from the Elezen at his table. No signs of hostility in him, none easily noticed anyway. Not unless one knew what they were looking for in the cool of his voice, the even of his tone.

[13:35](Marius Vieremont) Set out on the table were four plates of differing dishes, along with four different drinks. Settled between the dishware was a tome of considerable weight and an equal amount of dust and cobwebs. As Talan approached, Marius lifted a hand and without touching the book, turned the page. Magic! The archmage looked exhausted, with dark circles under his pale eyes, beneath the Fog glasses that sat perched on his nose. At Talan's voice, he glanced up, startled. "Oh." He squinted at the unfamiliar fox, trying to place him. "... Talan?" he guessed, after a brief study of facial features. "What happened to you?" he asked, brows furrowed in confusion.

[13:42](Talia RedwingMateus) "Oh, hey, you noticed something other than yourself," the words were clipped, the first sign of hostility present in the fox before he lashed out in a quick, curled fist strike aimed right for the mage's face, for the curve of his jaw. "I'm shocked." He wasn't aiming to break him, after all. There was anger more visible now, in the sway of his tail behind him and how rigidly it was being held, in the clench of his jaw and the subtle hum of tension that was coiled in the entirety of him.

[13:48](Marius Vieremont) Marius blinked in further befuddlement at the hostile words, opening his mouth to speak - and then pain burst in his jaw as his head whipped around, glasses flying - and the world went dark. "Talan!" he gasped, holding his jaw. He wasn't a physical combat veteran! There was no way he could have seen the punch coming. "What in the Fury's bloody name was -that- for?" he demanded, bending over his chair to search for his glasses with one hand.

[13:53](Talia RedwingMateus) Talan reached out a hand to grab Marius' robe, fingers fisting in the material to hold him up, away from his glasses. May as well leave the mage in the dark, considering how he seemed to live most of his life that way anyway. "Idristan." He may as well state that much plainly, let Marius know exactly why he'd lashed out at him. "And the way you treat him." He kept the mage propped him in the chair, but other than pinning him and holding him there, keeping him blinded, no other violence seemed to be forthcoming, he made no more motion to strike him again. "It's really fucking rich, you know? I thought you were supposed to care about him, but really? You decided to dump everything that was going on with Ghost on his shoulders without even so much as a how-the-fuck-are-you." His voice was a hiss, as he leaned in, "Or was I right, and you only give a care if you've got someone's dick in your mouth?"

[13:55](Talia RedwingMateus) || Somewhere in the distance, a small mammet had pressed the zoom function on the camera he was holding, an artistic slow-motion take of the moment Talan's fist had first impacted Marius' jaw, and his glasses flew off. Truly, Koschei was at his finest as a cameraman.

[14:01](Marius Vieremont) Marius found himself abruptly hauled up and held back against the chair, but he didn't try to resist, instead holding his hands up to show he wasn't a threat (though he could be, if he wanted to). The point, however, was de-escalation, not making things worse. "Have you spoken with Idristan?" the mage asked coolly, calmly. "Because he was infuriated that I hadn't told him -sooner-, despite having just returned from being away for moons."

[14:08](Talia RedwingMateus) Talan snorted out a breath. "I was the first person he talked to after he'd come to see you." He eyed those hands, but still seemed disinclined to let Marius go. "I had to spend bells trying to get him calmed down. After everything else he's been through, dumping this on him /belatedly/ sure didn't fucking help." His voice an angry hiss as his other hand thumped down onto the table. But at least it was the wood it impacted, and not the mage again. "But then, you wouldn't know what he's been through because you Didn't. Fucking. Ask." Which seemed to be one of the entire things he was so pissed about. "So what's your fuckin' deal, anyway? Passivity to the point of apathy? Or do you just not care about him past treating him like a petulant child now that he's no longer spending time in yours and Ghost's bed?" He was curious, but he was also still angry, his tail sweeping behind him through the air. "Although considering /you/ broke Ghost at one point so badly it reset his entire fuckin' personality, I'm not sure why you're so frantic /this/ time."

[14:14](Marius Vieremont) There was so much, so very much to address in what Talan was saying, all of it just a shade off - a massive misunderstanding of gigantic proportions. Marius inhaled a slow breath through his nose, letting it out in a sigh through his lips, struggling to retain his composure. "First you're angry that I told him at all, now you're angry that I told you what you both assumed was 'belatedly'. I will tell you what I told him: I told him as soon as I figured out what was going on. And I did, in fact, ask how he was when he arrived, but he brushed off the question - as he /always does/. I am not a man to pry into others' business unless they would care to share, Talan. It's rude. And by the end that's exactly what he was behaving like, a petulant child. As for him no longer spending time with Ghost and I -sexually-, that is his decision to make and I respect him. He seems happy with you and Caedh." The mage's eyes narrowed. "And -that- was an accident. I was /trying/ to fix Ghost."

[14:17](Marius Vieremont) "Am I not permitted to be imperfect?"

[14:29](Talia RedwingMateus) "You're permitted to be imperfect," he agreed on that point at least. "What you're not permitted to do is constantly run roughshod over Ghost's other partner. You had time before going to Idristan to talk to Lyrin'a and devise some sort of plan to try and set things right, and while I realize part of that might be because he's housing Angellos, it's fucking callous to call Idristan after the fact instead of during and be like, 'Oh, by the way, Ghost is in peril a-gods-damned-gain, all of his stones might break--which I don't understand how the dragons leaving would put Day and Night in peril, considering we were told they were tethered to fae, and not dragons--but don't worry, we're already working on a fix'." Why didn't the mage understand that this was where the problem seemed to lie? "If you knew Idristan in the slightest you'd know that even when he's upset, even when his world is ripping at the seams, he will /always/ put it off to try and deal with the next problem, especially if it involves someone he cares about. You should have known him well enough to know that he'd dismiss anything asked about himself for the sake of Ghost. And treating him like a petulant child when the man is on the edge of fraying apart is exactly the kind of condescension I've come to expect from you, Marius." He shoved the mage out of his hands finally, released his robe to let him find his glasses. "You didn't have an 'accident', you jackass, you decided it without consulting any of the rest of them, asking their input, if anyone /else/ was willing to risk all of who Ghost was for your selfish fucking desire to have him back and have him back /now/."

[14:37](Marius Vieremont) "I do not 'constantly run roughshod' over Idristan," Marius stated emphatically. "And the reason I spoke to Lyrin'a was to try to understand what was going on, so that I *could* explain it. Once I did, our conversation naturally turned to discussing ways to fix it. My very next call was to Idristan, because I finally understood what was happening. Night - Lyrin'a's stone - is tethered to Angellos. If he departs with the other Silvers, the stone will break. Day, as I explained to Idristan, IS tethered to fae, and will not break, but it is infected with Ink, which is a whole other issue. And forgive me for getting vexed when someone is being unnecessarily cruel to me. You were not there, Talan, you did not hear what he said, namely, that it would be easy for me to beg for a boon from Isolvar, considering what he did to me. If that is not petulant, I do not know what is. As for the past and Ghost, it happened. It was fixed. It is in the past and stirring it up now will do nothing but engender more hard feelings. I am sorry if Idristan has been through hard times, but he is not the only one facing challenges, great or small. I apologize that I upset him and I will do my best to avoid doing so in the future - but you cannot deny that when Idristan is stressed, he lashes out at everyone. He is difficult to speak with, when everything I say is wrong, somehow.” Released, he bends down once again and retrieves his glasses, settling them on his face again.

[14:55](Talia RedwingMateus) "Funny, Night and Day were told to us to be tethered to 'Midnight', which is Caedrien, and the 'Phoenix', which is Jadias. So I'm not sure which of us has it the wrong way around. Or who was lied to first." He stepped away, moved to slide down into the nearby chair. He'd gotten that aggression out of his system, and really, that had been his primary goal. "I'm not bringing it up as a means to engender more hard feelings," he stressed the words in echo of Marius with a quoting of his fingers. "I'm pointing it out as your callousness towards everyone else in the past, when Ghost is concerned. First you wanted us to find a way to deal with the Elementals so you could plug him into the Lifestream. Then you broke him and we had to deal with the Fog where it definitely wasn't supposed to be down in Thanalan." Covenant had had to do a lot of things, and he'd suggested a lot of things where Ghost was concerned, with seemingly little regard for everyone else. "And Idristan would never have suggested you beg to Isolvar unless he thought that it would be all the bastard would accept; no more than he himself would want to," it seemed Marius was the one operating under a misunderstanding with this one, "Considering Isolvar gave Idristan to Helivant. Do you recall that?" His tone had darkened, and he leaned forward. "I recall you telling me not to have another 'outburst' when I tried to kill the messenger to buy us more time. It didn't work, by the way. And Isolvar giving Idris to Helivant? Just meant that Helivant tortured me, skinned me alive and brutalized me while Idristan watched from a cage, right before he murdered me. Ripped my star right out of my chest. Took my body too. Whole reason you didn't recognize me, either at Inwa's, or when I walked up. New sock, because he kept mine to turn into boots. Well, outside of the necklace of parts of me he sent to Priarch."

[15:06]Marius folded his hands in his lap, patiently explaining, "Day contains a fragment of Jadias and Caedrien's soul from when they were one entity. Night is bound to Angellos. I am certain of this." He watched, relaxing a touch as Talan took a seat. At least there'd be no more punches headed his way. "And you are not harsh toward others when the ones you love are in danger?" He gestured to his cheek, where it was reddened from the punch. "You punched me because I put your husband in a bad mood." Marius frowned at what was said of Isolvar. "I swear on my life, that is precisely what Idristan said, and it was said with the intention of being cruel, only." He shrugged. "But you were not there and I cannot expect you to take my word over Idristan's." He quieted as Talan explained what Helivant had done to him, fists forming under the table until they were white-knuckled. He closed his eyes for a moment. "There is nothing I can say that will express how angry and grief-stricken I am on your and Idristan's behalf that such a horror was committed against you. Is there anything I can do?" The mage seemed sincere in his words - and not just to make up for what had been perceived as cruelty to Idristan.

[15:25](Talia RedwingMateus) Talan stilled, when Marius talked about Caedh and Jade being one entity. It was not an often talked about thing. Far better, perhaps far easier to think of them as brothers, rather than rationalize them as originally having been one being. "I punched you because I'd had enough of your condescension and seeing Idris come home gutted was the last straw, on top of everything else that's happened." He gave a slight gesture with a hand. "I know Idris better than almost anyone; I won't doubt that he was being unkind, though I think you misinterpreted what he was saying. He's not generally cruel as a rule. Nor is he a petulant child and I'll thank you to never treat him like one again. You can deal with a grown man being angry, clearly." As seen in how he'd just dealt with the conversation. But then he shook his head, as the apologies flowed. "He came for us at Priarch, after the papers returned acknowledged that Idristan had received them. Made certain it was all legal, and that Idris belonged to him first. Marked us, left us, moved on. Came and took us in a dream instead." There was a tension in his expression, but his gaze had moved away, focused on some distant point. "No," he murmured at last, "there isn't anything you or anyone else can do. I can only try and not let my anger over it all consume me." That was clearly not a fight he was always winning, either. His tail thumped against his chair, and he turned his gaze back to Marius. "Now that that's all out of the way, tell me what you think can be done to reanchor Ghost. You need, what, new sources of power to tether him to?" Mad enough to punch him, but not mad enough to not offer to help, regardless.

[15:33](Marius Vieremont) Marius frowned and shook his head. "You do not know me well. Consider, perhaps, that what you are interpreting as condescension may very well be desperation. Fear. Worry. I am not an unkind man, Talan, as a general rule. I will say it once more - you /were not/ there. All you have is hearsay, from either side, and your natural inclination is to take Idristan's side." He waved a hand wearily, as if waving off the subject, then reached up and rubbed his sore jaw. "Should you think of anything I may do to help you, or Idristan, you have but to ask it. I /am/ truly sorry that you both experienced what you did. The sooner Helivant is banished from this star, the better." Sighing as the subject shifted, he shook his head. "Lyrin'a and I plan to invite Isolvar here to speak with us, so that he will hopefully impart the knowledge of how the anchor stones were created. That was not shared with me when I claimed the Creator's thread and he is the only being on this or any star who knows how to forge them. I wondered if it would be a good idea to invite Idristan to join us, what do you think? It is my hope to find a means not to anchor Ghost again, but to alter the spell so that he no longer needs the stones. As to -how-..." He shakes his head. "I first need to know how they were made."

[15:48](Talia RedwingMateus) Talan let out a laugh as Marius mentioned him being inclined to take Idristan's side. "Oh, absolutely not. If I think Idristan is in the wrong I will hold his feet to the fire and call him out for being a jackass over something. If you say he was being cruel, I'll absolutely ask him about it later, and if that was the case, I'll chastise him for it." He wasn't afraid to bully his husband around if he was in the wrong. "But I digress," a slight gesture with one hand as he fixed back on the more prominent problem. "All I can remember about it was the.. spell? That was recited to us. The different pieces brought in to make them." He hummed, his fingers drumming against the table. "I think asking Idristan to be there is a good step in the right direction," he agreed with that much wholeheartedly. "He's capable of diplomacy, far more than people think, and he should absolutely be involved in this process." His tail had quieted down beside him, flicking every now and then as he considered. "If you're trying to find a way to anchor Ghost, then presumably you need a way to, what, monitor him? Meter him? I know the stones served as anchors, but not the reason for their initial creation. Were all four used in conjunction meant to control and summon him? Crane had one of them initially, didn't he?"

[15:58](Marius Vieremont) Shaking his head, he set one hand on the table. "Don't chastise him. In my opinion, enough has been said, and punched, over the entire affair. I will apologize for treating him as I did, to his face, and then I believe we should be done with it." Taking a deep breath, he nodded slightly. "And I will also strive to consider my words more carefully in the future, knowing now how I have been seen." Reaching out, he picked up his glass and took a sip of the wine therein, then set it down again. "Mmn, no. I can monitor him through the Creator's thread. What we need is a way to stabilize Sebastien's personality. The stones imprint parts of us upon him, give him his humanity, for lack of a better word. Without them, he will become chaos incarnate, an intelligent being, but lacking any sort of integrity or compassion. The stones can be used to control him as well, influence him."

[16:10](Talia RedwingMateus) Talan leaned forward, crossing his arms over the table in front of him, the plate there nudged very gently more in Marius’ direction, so he had room. "As you say then." He had been heard, and that was the most important part of the altercation. The rest he would leave up to the two of them to sort out between themselves. "So you're looking at a deeper form of imprinting." His fingers drummed against the tabletop, a faint tapping as his knuckles impacted the wood. "It would be more ideal to let him shape his personality on his own, rather than him needing the stones, that makes sense." At least, as far as he would have considered it. "I know that when /I/ was created, they used a small fragment from the original soul I was cloned from to influence me, but I also developed considerably on my own. Then again, I wasn't exactly created as a weapon. I wonder if you couldn't use a kind of soul template to sort of layer over what is there of him. Take the parts of each of you that you know he himself might prefer when he's in his.. 'right mind', shall we say, and copy them over top of what's already there. Then, like laminating something, press it into place to act as a protective shell while he develops the rest on his own. Soul templating is tricky though, I don't know many people who could handle that kind of thing. Edarien, maybe? I know he works soul magic."

[16:17](Marius Vieremont) Gesturing toward the plate, Marius offered a faint smile. "Eat, if you hunger. These were supposed to be sample platters so that I might plan the menu, but the chefs were a touch... over-ambitious. There's no way I'll eat all of this myself," he murmured. "And it would be a shame to see it all go to waste." With interest, he listened to Talan's suggestion. "That idea may have merit. Edarien taught me some soul-weaving but this would be beyond what he taught me. It would not be unthinkable that we could work together to see something of the like accomplished, however," he mused thoughtfully. "I know that all of us would prefer for Sebastien to be free, truly free, to live his own life and develop his own characteristics as he chooses, and not be able to be controlled or influenced by anyone. This sounds like a way to accomplish that. I'm, quite frankly, rather impressed - and a touch dismayed that I didn't think of it first," he chuckled softly.

[16:27](Talia RedwingMateus) "Ah. Maybe a nibble, thanks." Talan glanced around at the array of food on the table, and veered his attention towards anything that looked liked it contained no meat at all. Only then would he partake of something, picking up some tidbit for a nibble. His appetite small as usual, nose wrinkled just slightly. "Over-ambitious is one way to think of it, yes." He huffed out a breath and settled back into the chair again. "Impressed?" There was a slight chuckle. "I guess? I suppose I don't come off as much than a 'a gunner' most of the time. Temper don't really lend to dissuade anyone of it, either. But magitek requires a lot of intelligence. I'm one part a student of aetherology, and one part an inventor." He continued to pick at the food that was tugged over in front of him. He ate neatly, tidily and with efficiency. "I'm not surprised you didn't think of it, either. I'm a unique case, and I drew it from myself, so.." His shoulder lifted slightly in a shrug. "Still, if the idea has some merit and y'all can manage to get it working, I'm glad to have provided the suggestion?"

[16:33](Marius Vieremont) The mage seemed pleased that his invitation to eat was accepted - and by coincidence, it was the plate in front of Talan that appeared to have only noodles and sauce, with no meat. "Help yourself to a drink, while you're at it. I don't have time to get drunk on all four of these. Two red wines, a mimosa and something they called, ah..." He cleared his throat, pale cheeks pinking slightly. "Sex on the Beach." Continuing speaking before that could be commented on, he studied the fox for a moment. "I think I owe you an apology as well. I've under-estimated you, a mistake that will not be repeated. I knew you were good with tech, but that... was the approximate limit of my knowledge. Once our /current/ problems are solved, I believe I should like to get to know you better, if you are amenable, of course. And although I am no longer actively running the Covenant, I intend for this place to be somewhere anyone can come and feel welcome to have a meal, a drink, and pleasant discussion."

[16:49](Talia RedwingMateus) Talan managed a solid few bites of the pasta, but his appetite seemed somewhat flagged. Did the man eat more than like a bird most of the time? Might be the fae in him. "It's not bad. This one should go on the menu." He tapped the edge of the plate, and chuckled at the way Marius' face colored. "You're a shy one, aren't you?" The words were curious more than critical, but he did pick up the appropriately named drink, seemed to know which one it was, in fact, and brought it up for a sniff, and then a sip. "I try and intentionally cultivate myself as someone that's easy to overlook. It means people aren't paying attention when I sideline them." As he'd done earlier. "That said, I'm not opposed to talking more once things are sorted and there's time." He was more than willing to spend time bending someone's ear. "I do like what's been done with the place." He gestured slightly with a hand. "It's a lot more inviting than the fancy frippery that was there before. Made you feel like you had to be dressed up to go in. Got a fondness for the upstairs area as well. I like pool, and I happen to like pole dancing." His tail flicked behind him in amusement, and he grinned.

[17:02](Marius Vieremont) "You think so? Very well, on the menu it goes," he declares, picking up his quill and making a note on a parchment that sat on the other side of the plate. Laying the quill down, he reddened further at the observation. "I'm not really /shy/, just..." He dithered for a moment, trying to think of a word. "Proper? Composed?" He sighed. "Perhaps a bit shy. And," he said, moving on from the subject. "You've done an absolutely bang-up job of the impression. I certainly didn't see you coming today, even with my glasses on." Glancing around, he smiled at the venue. "I do as well, thank you. I didn't do the work, but I'll convey your appreciation. I prefer it to what it was before, as well. And the pole was added at Sebastien's insistence," he said, reddening yet again. He -would not- imagine the fox up on the pole, he would -not-.

[17:12](Talia RedwingMateus) "Just Ishgardian?" He supplied, as if that covered both proper, and composed. "You're an Ishgardian good boy, and Ishgardian good boys don't say things like 'sex on the beach', or 'fuck', or have improper thoughts about someone." The fork in his hand pivoted slightly on the plate in his grasp, spinning a little. "I'm glad the impression has landed exactly how it was meant to." His tail continued to drift, a languid smile settling on the fox's face. "I'm not surprised that he suggested the pole. He's got a good point. I know for myself, dancing on one is good exercise. Good for the arms, for the legs, for agility." His arms stretched out in front of him, fingers lacing together as they rolled in a sinuous motion from wrist to shoulder. "The ones I usually prefer are free-floating at the bottom. It adds an extra level of strength training I appreciate." His arms dropped again, once more fetching his drink for another swallow.

[17:18](Marius Vieremont) Marius smiled faintly. There was certainly one person he had improper thoughts about, perhaps surprisingly often. But then, Sebastien was temptation incarnate when he chose to be - but none of those thoughts were proper to share with Talan, who, it turned out, he barely knew. "I haven't been a 'boy' in a very, very long time," -the silver in his hair attested to that- "but I agree with most of your sentiment. I am rather 'Ishgardian', so to speak," he 'lamented'. Canting his head as Talan stretched, he watched the sinuous movements with a purely clinical appreciation for anatomy. Flexible. "And not to mention, of course, that it presents a treat for the eye," he said dryly, taking another sip of his wine. He made another note on the parchment; that wine was going on the menu as well.

[17:30](Talia RedwingMateus) "Well no," he chuckled, "obviously I don't mean /literally/ a boy. It's clear you're on in years, what.. fourties, maybe fifties?" His gaze was for a moment, critical, as if he could judge on sight alone. A slight lift of one hand and a  wave. "See? You got the sentiment, that's all that matters. It's fine, nothing wrong with being shy." Though it did make you a target of teasing, as seen. "Though I'm surprised you've managed to keep any shyness at all, with a man like Ghost as your partner." He had eyes. "It does." He agreed, his glass swirled in front of him, "Then again, it depends on what you consider a treat, I guess. For some people it seems to be just the sex appeal of it, for some I think it's the aesthetic of a fit form on display. It depends on preference. I tend to have a preference for some middle ground." His gaze turned back towards Marius. "What about you?"

[17:36](Marius Vieremont) Marius sat up a bit straighter, a dour expression on his face. "Late forties, I'll have you know. I've not yet crossed the meridian line of my life," he huffed. Like an old man. "Though, since my soul is tethered to the Fog, I suppose it doesn't really matter. So long as that tether holds, my soul will return to the Fog when I die, and not go on to the aetherstream. Then it's merely a matter of finding a recently vacated body to plant my soul back into," he reflected. Clearly not meaning that he was to be the one doing the vacating of said body; Marius was a touch naive like that. "And I'm not... with him," he said into his wine glass, embarrassed. Clearing his throat, he set the glass down again. "I'm like you - I prefer... somewhere in the middle. You wouldn't believe it, but I didn't used to be this way. Though, it was out of necessity that I was known as quite the scandalous playboy in Ishgard. It kept attention off of the Covenant."

[17:52](Talia RedwingMateus) He gave a soft click of his tongue. "Younger than Dare, not /that/ much older than Idris. I've got blood siblings older than you. You're not even that far on in years yet." Observed as he lifted his drink for another swallow. This one drained a good half of the remaining liquid in the glass. He hummed slightly, propping his chin up on a palm as he observed Marius. "So I guess in that you're not too dissimilar from us. This body was a Viera before I hopped into it." Fox ears wiggled atop his head. "Recently dead, so I understood. Nice and gentle, natural causes. Though I guess being in the Fog must be simple. It means Ghost can just pick out whatever body he thinks will suit you and vacate it for you himself, no muss and no fuss, yeah, with the whole 'touch someone and take their soul' thing?" At least, so far as he understood it. "I don't think it's a bad thing to be shy around most, and not with your partner. It's all about comfort." His tail curled and flicked behind him in time with his words. "So you're not unfamiliar with playing a role. Still, being a playboy isn't the worst thing to be known as. I used to bar trawl when I still needed to eat people." His lips drew back, flashing elongated canines that were freshly resharpened into fine points. "Easy to bite someone mid-fuck, most just find it kinky. Don't think anything of it until they're light-headed."

[17:58](Marius Vieremont) Marius didn't care to think about his age, really, and he wavered a hand. "I was a Xaela for a little while. That was a.... unique experience," he said reflectively, reaching up to rub the lobe of one ear. "I think I prefer ears to horns, though." He quirked his brows as Talan interpreted his words. "Oh, no. We wouldn't do it that way. It would be cruel to simply end someone's life so that I could have a body. I'd much prefer to find someone like yours; natural causes, no family I can frighten if I'm seen walking about," he assures Talan. He smiles and inclines his head. "Indeed, tis about comfort. And Sebastien, he..." His expression softened slightly, his gaze straying distant. "He feels like home, to me." Wait, eat people? He blinked at that. "You used to eat people?" he asked blankly. "Another vampire, prior to becoming fae? Like Idris was?" he inquired curiously.

[18:09](Talia RedwingMateus) Talan gave a quiet hum as Marius explained. "Ah, that makes more sense. I have limited experience with ending up in someone else's body. This is my first time in a new sock. Not that I dislike it, the ears and tail has taken some getting used to, but I think I prefer being a half-elezen. Though I guess all I can say now is 'fae', and it be accurate." His identity was still nebulous, even to himself. Then again, he'd been switched from woman to man, half-elezen to lalafell, back again, then to fox, the brief week as a viera. It had been A Time, that was for sure. "...I can understand that sentiment." He murmured. For surely he could use no other words to describe what Idris and Caedh were to him. But then he nodded his head. "It's what first brought Idris and I into a friendship with one another. He was the first other vampire I'd ever met, and I was fascinated. We became friends.. frenemies maybe for a while? Mine was by choice, his by force. I was a little sad when the change to fae took it away from me, but, it was worth giving up. Can't really stomach the scent of blood lately anyway."

[18:17](Marius Vieremont) "Sock..." Marius echoed with some amusement. That was certainly one way to describe a body. "I can't imagine what being a vampire must be like," the mage admitted. "To be frank, I don't really know much about them. Perhaps one day I'll learn, if I have time and it becomes relevant." Finishing off his wine, he set the empty cup back on the table and took a thoughtful bite of his dinner, listening to Talan. "Mn, that's understandable, given what you've been through. You know... I have some dreamless sleep potions, if that might be a comfort to you. You'd be welcome to them. I used them for a time after my encounter with Isolvar." And especially with Helivant being able to manipulate dreams, they might well be VERY useful - though he wasn't sure which would be the more powerful. Still, he thought he'd offer.

[18:28](Talia RedwingMateus) Talan chuckled slightly. "It differs. For me, it was a hunger I managed to get under control with help. For Idris, it was a bottomless pit that never ended. Depends on where the vampirism comes from, I think." That there were multiple kinds was different enough. Still, he finished off the last of his drink, cleaned his plate of the last few forkfuls and then eased the pair of them back from himself. "Perhaps." He murmured. "I've been avoiding sleeping in the mortal world whenever possible. Where I sleep and call home, I cannot dream. Faerie is not accessible to the Silvers, and we sleep a dreamless sleep. Outside of the rare times when I've been outside Faerie, such as when we were attacked, the last time I dreamed had been moons. And now when I slumber, I'm simply Twilight." As if that explained what he was. But it was indescribable, he thought. "For now though, I should probably get home. It'll be nearing dusk soon, and I have work to do before nighttime." He pushed to stand, eased his seat back into place where it had been. He gave a thoughtful look down at Marius, his head tipping slightly. "Thank you, for being willing to listen and learn, and for the invitation to a meal. I'll return the favor eventually. For now, I wish you luck in your work, and might I suggest one of those potions for yourself soon? You can't help Ghost if you're drug out from a lack of sleep." He turned and headed for the gate.

[18:32](Marius Vieremont) Marius quirked his brow - he didn't quite grasp what that all meant, but then, he was not fae. He suspected that he would have had to be to truly understand what Talan meant. "You're welcome, though I suppose I should be the one thanking you. I will try harder to be a better version of myself, that is all I can promise. All anyone can promise, really. And... I may. I haven't slept in... three nights now, I think. It's starting to blur together," he said wearily, motioning to the tome on his left. "Take care, Talan. I'll contact Idris over the linkpearl to let him know to stop by, so that I may apologize and invite him to join us when we entertain Isolvar."

[18:36](Talia RedwingMateus) "It's all any of us can do." He would exact no other promises from the man, simply encourage him to do better, whether that came again at knuckles to the jaw? Well, that was up to Marius, and Talan's own temper. He inclined his head after a moment. "You take care as well. Good night, Marius. I'll let him know to expect you to contact him, so he doesn't happen to miss you." He took a few more steps towards the gate, before he simply vanished in a swirl of starlit aether.

Marius is mine, Talan belongs to @reddevil-xiv.