Setting
She didn't respond to his question for a while, though she did briefly open her eyes to get a glance at his expression. She could feel his eyes digging into her and it was almost enough to cause her eyes to water a little. She swallowed and forced a yawn before nodding uncertainly. "Th...Thank you. Mr. Fortuna. I have no other home to live in...after all." Her previous adopted mother's house had "mysteriously" burned to the ground shortly after "Momma" and "Uncle" disappeared from the face of the planet. Honestly, the decor wasn't so terribly different from that home, either. They both had an air of wealth, elegance, luxury...All things that she'd grown attached to, despite how alien they made her feel.
He'd give her time to respond, thinking over some of his plans in his head. In truth, it was swarming with possibilities. This month was a record month for his accountant, as all the books, even the less than legal ones, came out in the green, only one breaking even. None in the red. All of his investments were paying off, one in particular in triplicate. Still...it was just more money. Something he wasn't short on...and truly wasn't sure if he wanted anymore. Gold was one thing, it had a weight to it, but this world ran on that damned digital currency...
"One of the maids should have already delivered him an order for me...I'm sure he's already received it." She reached a taloned hand up to her head and smoothed her hair down a little bit more. Something made her miss the touch...or perhaps she just wanted to wipe his slime from her hair. "So, I should be fine..."
"I want you ta talk to me, Beibhinn. About what ya did after ye ran off. I won't be asking for names or address, I already be having people scour the slums for information for me. I just be wanting to know...do ya have any idea who the father be? Do ye know what drugs ye be on, cause there ain't no use for a blood test or a lie detector, I be knowing ye hooked on something." There was the slightest bit of mirth in his voice as he looked up at her, his amber-orange eyes shimmering. "And I be knowing this could be hard on ye to open up about, but...eh...call me concerned and curious. Most sincerely."
Her face turned to one of disgust and spite just before she swiveled it back to the window. The bright red mohawk raised against her pale white feathers was her only expression to him now. "I don't know what drug or drugs I was on. I doubt I was supposed to. I only even found out when I told him I wanted to leave. I only knew when I was hooked!" She spat the last word like a curse and burrowed farther into the blanket as if seeking escape.
"Thank you for telling me Beib. Must've been hard, I understand that better than ye know." Lucifer then did not understand the feeling that came over him. It was like a rock, cold and hard, sitting in his stomach. The anger flew out of him and something else crept in, and he wasn't familiar with it...Little did he know, it was pity. And a tinge of guilt, however absurd that was. No. That would be his final gift to the world as Lucifer Fortuna. A grand funeral pyre. Even if it took years, because, well, who knew when he'd die.
They'd sit in silence for a long time, or however long it'd take for Beib to be the one to break the silence. Lucifer was lost in thought, fury, gleeful and radiant, along with melancholy for his own personal failure as a father...even if he would not admit it.
She let the silence simmer, allowing her emotions to wrestle and entangle themselves as she tried to think of something, anything to make the pains go away. Anything at all...to make anxiety cease, the pounding in her head to quiet. She couldn't make anything surface, though...Nothing practical, so she just bottled up her emotions again, like she had for the past three years. Hidden and stuff deep down inside where he couldn't use them to hurt her.
The only interruption to their private thoughts would be the return of the maid with their food.
He felt her gaze on his before the distraction got here. Her anger, her rage, her sorrow, and none of it half as moved him as first seeing her had. It was recent, but it felt like so long ago. All three "first times". Just last week. That day at the tracks, with her in the audience, and finally, the first time he ever met Beibhinn. He was so much younger then, and part of him had loved her, in a way that couldn't be described or understood by anyone. He still felt that somewhere deep inside, but this Beib wasn't like his old one. She was more naive, she was selfish to an extent, she didn't think, but...Still, it was her. Or it could've been her. Who knows?
"How's yer food?"
Beibhinn finished her meal quickly, ravenous as she had been. Honestly, she still felt a little hungry as her kind were typically big eaters. Twice their body weight was a good measure...or so her Momma had once said. Beibhinn placed her tray to the side and quietly tried to picture her again. Her mother for such a short amount of time...the image was fading from her mind. She wasn't even sure she remembered quite how her voice had sounded, either...
"Ya need ta order more next time. Yer eating for two and ye be underweight as it is. Promise that, girly. Yer'll be tryin' ta eat more." The older man said it with as much concern as he could muster but it wasn't a natural emotion he could express. He checked his watch...and couldn't remember what her schedule for the day was. He thought it was her first check up, but maybe it had already happened while the race was happening...
As she placed the tray aside again, she placed one of wings over her stomach listlessly as she directed her stare out the window again. "I'm sure the chef will provide enough food..." she whispered softly. She was almost afraid to speak of him. He was probably the only employee she felt had any genuine positive feelings toward her. If Lucifer found something to blame on him because of her words...she didn't want to be responsible for him being fired.
"One day, I'll be dead Beib, I'll be out of ye hair for good. I'm not gonna be around fer much longer. Ten, twenty years at the most probably." Luci moved away from her, his eyes fixed outside. "I've built something wonderful, grand, terrible...And I be havin' two heirs to split it to. I couldn't be happier, truly." A lie. Things could've gone perfect, but that wouldn't have been as fun, or as memorable.
The food, the warm blanket, Lucifer's soothing, manipulative voice...All of it stacked up with her lack of sleep and swept her into her dreams. Into her escape. Or as close to an escape as she could find. After all, she still had nightmares.h
His companion was more simply dressed, concealed beneath a long dark cloak, at times one might glimpse bare feet beneath the hem of it or the light would catch his smoldering yellow eyes beneath the hood. They walked in silence, reminiscing about this particular street, this city, and those they had known here. They had returned, and they were eager to show what they had learned.
Not far ahead a fight occurred and a woman, and a man she was fighting with, slammed through the plate glass of a nearby building not far ahead. Slamming the man through the glass was hard enough, but the man had a firm grip on her arms and she his. As the man and woman headed to the pavement yelling was heard by another woman.
WHAM
The man slammed into the pavement hard, the woman rolled off him and got to her feet. Looking up to the ruined window the woman saw who she sought. The other woman smirked, holding a sword and darting off. Grrr. Vipteri stood in the road over the now quite injured and possibly dead man at her feet. A strangely familar smell entered her nose. It smelled oddly familar
Now why did it smell so familar ?
The seeming itinerant monk surveyed the scene as he got closer, scratching at his beard with a large hand, he didn't seem used to it, even after having it for so long. "So, the stories are true about this city, fights are everywhere." he mused, loud enough to be heard by the woman standing over the defeated man. The equally broad shouldered though slightly shorter man behind him seemed more interested in the swordswoman fleeing the scene however.
It didn't matter at that moment.
Turning to the two hodded monks the woman spoke thoughtfully, "What brings two monks to this fair city on such a backwater world ?" Vipteri was one who normally got to the point, but also got drunk and loved certain types of foods with said drinks. But sometimes thingas took more important matters.
For the time being the one fleeing the scene {with a weapon Vipteri had hoped to obtain for her mother} was the least of her worries. Why was that scent of an old friend so suddenly hitting her in the nose ?
The other with the full cloak eased his posture slightly as the woman seemed to be allowing the other to flee, the outline of his right hand moved back over to his right side, off the hilt of his weapon. "It is the reason we came." he reminded his comrade, his voice more familiar than the man in green, however something about it seemed off, something was missing from it.
Like wales people were after her family again. It seemed recently to never stop. All because of Diamond. And Crystal., and Raen. Vipteri muttered something in a strange langauge, before speaking her mind. "Do I know you ? you smell.... familar, but I cant place it."
The one in black behind him shifted and moved to the side, looking to get a better angle to watch from as well as to be out of the way should his comrade's challenge be accepted.
Heck she could take two on one any day, but then, this was not a cage match, thankfully so, she had done a few recently, and some of her fellow fighters were rather dirty in how they fought, so she matched them dirty move for dirty move. But this fighter, something about the man told her not to play it dirty just yet. only if it came to that. But something also told her to be ready, and as such thin trails of mist floated off her hands as she settled into her stance.
She waited for a brief second, if he so much as said 'ladies first' she'd strike.
Blocking a strike she grabbed the hand, a gently yet firm grip, mostly to keep herself from tripping, a softly smile on her face. She knew this grip! She barely was touching his skin! She could feel something preventing her from touching his hand outright as she held on to keep from falling on her back. Her eyes seemed to sparkle in recognition of who she now faced.
But she asked a simple question, well, more like a name of an old friend actually. "Paul ?" Her tone said it all, where had he been ?
Behind him the other man in a black cloak lowered his hood to show that he was virtually Paul's twin save for his yellow eyes and blue hair. That facade soon melted away however, skin giving way to blue and white scales while the cloak faded from existence, leaving in the man's place a towering, heavily muscled LaKeisian Drake. The draconic being smiled as best he was able, giving a nod of greeting to Vipteri. "Don't forget me." he chuckled deeply.
She smiled when Ichiro spoke, she nodded, "of course, cant forget my friends now can I ? Diamond says hello; I havent seen Raen recently so I dont know how Crystal is" It was true, when she went home to Underland she normally stayed with her sisters at thier palace apartments rather then her own place. But lately, Raen has been away from Underland Empire, so Vipteri was only really able to stay with Snowdove and Crystal.
"I'd say welcome home, but sometimes Wing City isnt my home, at least, it rarely feels like it recently"