like a needle through a butterfly

“Oh, that does sound nice though.” A bit dreamy in expression, Miriam clasps her hands together, trying to imagine just what Kieran speaks of. Some of it is clear through the implications alone, though Miriam seems content to not push with too many more questions. Perhaps the other will tell her more sometime, with a little bit of pressing. 

“Deity. Goddess, even.” Miriam reminds with a gentler voice this time, head tilting at Kieran’s offer. Soon enough, she does nod, and looks a touch more devilish. “I’d like that. I just love getting to lose my head sometimes, so if you want to take little old me on a journey? I’d be touched.” 

It’s fun, being watched like this, and Miriam even straightens and puffs out her chest a bit in anticipation. “You like what you’re seeing? I’ve been known to draw a few gazes in my time.” Tapping her fingers on her cheek, Miriam saunters forward, up onto her toes so she can look into the other’s eyes. “You’re quite pretty, aren’t you? I wouldn’t mind being stolen away for a little while if it were someone like you doing the thieving.” 

||  █ ▌— kieran smiles and twists a loose lock of hair around his finger, humming gently. he’s a little enchanted by her expression, if he’s honest, the dreaminess of it. ❝ it is nice... i like the smiles they wear, you know? ❞ he’s not leaving information out on purpose.

❝ goddess, ❞ he repeats, his smile widening. now that sounds right, and she certainly looks the part. ❝ yeah, i could see that. you look like the kind of woman someone could worship. with wine and flowers, maybe? ❞ he knows some goddesses demand more visceral things, sugars and meat, but he doesn’t do the whole worship thing personally, and doesn’t exactly know which ones.

“I can’t say I have any on me right now, or that I’d know what to do with them had I had them.” Perhaps it would be best to just let them escape into the wilds of the open. Miriam prefers that sort of thing, after all, there is more freedom to life with no influence of her own upon it. “Taking them? That sounds kind of nice, honestly. I could use some time out of my head.” 

She straightens out, offering this dreamy sort of look that she’s partially concocted to make herself feel cute. It works rather well, Miriam thinks, briefly batting her lashes at the other.

“Such power. My lover had to bring us both to the elder gods for permission to restore me. It  was through their grace that I ascended to what I am now.” Miriam, over excited and bounding in her energy, spins in a circle, arms thrown wide. “Holy indeed.” 

Those wild hands are on her hips now. “Nemiza, god of death found me more appealing than any other godly star in the sky, so they made fit to make me one too.” 

||  █ ▌— ❝ it’s supposed to be very pleasant for those we take. they never complain, at least, and always go home happier than they arrived... ❞ that’s partly attributed to the fact that kieran dances them out of their heads, takes them by the hand and spins them around until they’re so dizzy from the magic and music and spinning that they can’t think straight anyway...

❝ when i get back the power to steal humans, do you want to spend a little time giddy and thoughtless? if it’ll even work on... whatever you are. i think only the fae are immune, but it’s not like i’ve tested it. ❞

⁝ ▹ HE smiles, just a little, and rubs the back of his head. “I guess,” he admits, and though he is exploring he finds himself wondering why such beautiful music was relegated to the wilderness. It seems like a shame – this guy has talent, or at least it appears to Noctis that he does, and he should be playing in front of a crowd.

“I’m just looking around,” he admits, still rubbing the back of his head. “Trying to figure out what’s happening in this city… you know?”

||  █ ▌— kieran grins playfully and looks the other up and down and then back up again. he likes what he sees there, but refrains from saying so... just yet. instead he merely offers a playful little smile and lowers the violin bow. it’s nice, having an audience, even an audience of one.

laemortis

❝.. No thanks.❞

Well, at least markets are still the same thing in this world. Or any, for that matter. People beckoning him to look at all the ‘amazing’ items and ‘absurdly low’ prices was something he’d gotten used to during those busy shopping days back home. Not that he had that much money to throw at these people anyway, so why they even bothered with him was beyond him.

Then again, capitalism doesn’t slow down in the face of poverty. As long as you have something, they want it.

||  █ ▌— the markets were among the more interesting places here, and that was saying something given how different this place was from anyplace he’d been (not that he’d been to many, usually he’d spent his time in small irish towns, after all).

it makes for a nice afternoon walk, at least. and he usually sees such strange and interesting individuals. people who, like him, don’t quite fit in this world. the redhead stands out as onesuch and he taps the young man on the arm, gently.

Miriam has never had a thorough experience with anything regarding the fey. She knows her basics that come in books and older stories, her iron and the strange blurring of worlds that seems to occur sometimes. So, something about this doesn’t connect the dots immediately, and Miriam can only nod her head and offer a sympathetic smile at the worries of tending to children. 

“I figure you can do something with a soul. It’s the like, purest component of an existence someone can get their sticky fingers on. There’s a significance in that.” At least when people she knew talked about it. The wheeling and dealing of souls was a far more demonic practice than one of her own. 

“Your king sounds like a dream, though.” Miriam considers the question, drumming her fingers against her cheek. How much she’s willing to tell is up in the air in this moment. For now, she settles in a spoonful. “I was scarred by an accidental exposure to holy energy by my lover. Blinded, even. My repair came with some extra gifts as an apology.” 

||  █ ▌— kieran smiles a little at the words, considering. he looks a little thoughtful. ❝ you’re right. there’s a lot of significance in a soul. i still wouldn’t know what to do with one. i deal in the... in other things. mostly we keep to ourselves, in my court, but when we take humans we take the whole thing, body and soul and all. ❞

not that he personally does a lot of that, but the process is something he’s aware of. and he’s helped them along enough times, with his musical gifts...

❝ my king is a dream... he saved my life, you know. he said, ‘you will live’ and... so i did. ❞ kieran’s explanation was... rather simplified, but he doesn’t remember most of it. ❝ he’s amazing. so smart, and he’ll catch me one day and drag me home. ❞

he wants to bat his lashes in a way that communicates ‘beautiful but stupid’, but–well, ‘deliberately playing dumb’ will have to do. it’s the same idea when you get down to the core of it. “oh, elaborately? i wouldn’t know anything about that,” he muses, running his fingers through a lock of hair and pausing at the tips to inspect for split ends. “stylish yet functional usually works for me. although.”

the smirk grows into a smile that’s far too charming, a mirror of the man’s own.

“you look like someone with a little experience, huh? maybe you could show me how it’s done. now you’ve gone and told me how pretty i am, i won’t rest ‘til i’m the belle of the ball,” he says with a laugh, and somehow manages not to sound gratingly egotistical (to his own ears, at least). the god offers the hairtie to the other. “i’m cal. do you want me on my knees, or should we find somewhere private?”

||  █ ▌— kieran taps his lower lip in contemplation, then laughs, the sound high and mirthful and almost but not quite a giggle. ❝ not at all? well, ‘tis a shame !! i think elaborate hairstyles would suit a man such as yourself. tall and gorgeous... you could easily be mistaken for nobility where i’m from. ❞

almost, because whatever this man is, it isn’t what kieran is, that’s for sure. so intriguing...

❝ let me make you even more gorgeous? ❞ he asked, grinning. ❝ flowers and... maybe some ribbon? you’ll tell me your favourite colour, won’t you? ❞

there absolutely isn’t a smirk on cal’s face at the way the other has to crane his neck all the way back to make eye contact. this smirk absolutely isn’t all the stronger for how fascinating this person is: gold eyes, a pretty face, an appraising look masked by a shellshocked stare. did he mention pretty face? that part’s important.

“well, yes, sure, but it’s worth it for the way i make folk swoon when these copper locks come a-tumbling down.” his hands are already going for the tie, a languid movement that’d be sensual if he knew this guy better (spoiler: still a little sensual). “and then i can ask the nearest beauty to help me tie it back up. argan oil, by the way, before you go asking about my shampoo.”

the braid comes loose and cal’s hair falls free in loose waves. “oh no,” he says, coy. “however could this have happened?”

||  █ ▌— kieran just smiles, easy. he sees the smirk, registers it, catalogues it somewhere in his mind, and moves on. he’s used to being looked at. even before he was fae, he was pretty, and he’s always known it. a smile forms on his face, and a little purple wildflower snakes its way out of the scarf around his neck, not that he notices it.

❝ i can see why they’d swoon, ❞ he says, and means it. not that he can lie even if he felt inclined. ❝ i know i can’t keep my eyes off such gorgeous long hair. ❞ he’s delighted, and it shows on his face. no, this man definitely isn’t of summer, but he’d fit right in at court, he thinks, idly, as he watches his hair fall from its braid. ❝ it practically begs to be braided more elaborately than what you had, you know. ❞ some kind of twist, perhaps...

“Emotions, and I don’t mean that in an empathy kind of way.” She sees those energies in colors, a close approximation of a fog that seems to emanate off of everyone she spends time with. “It’s something special, and uh, I think it’s pretty cool. It’s one of the easiest things I have to work with.” After all, certain things like laying curses needed a certain level of concentration and care that Miriam wasn’t always capable of. 

The other’s words put a sparkle in her eyes. “Oh, I do love dancing. That’s such a fun curse. But, firstborn children or the immortal soul, is what I’ve always heard of.” Miriam only has one of these things to offer, she thinks. 

“Your king? Tell me more.” Miriam is practically aglow now, smiling widely and clasping her hands in an attempt to look open to hearing more. “I can’t say I have a king or a god or anything. I just am. It was a gift for wronging me.” 

||  █ ▌— he listens intently to that. e-mo-tion, that delicate and easy-to-poke aspect of humanity. his have not been the same since he became--what he is now. he doesn’t feel the way humans feel, he’s all mirth and merriment and malice rolled up into a neat little package, hidden behind a giddy little grin, and he wonders if she can sense that in him.

❝ i can’t fathom what i’d do with a firstborn, much less an immortal soul. i think i’d rather just have fun with the human themselves, dance a little, play a game, laugh and laugh... and send them away smiling. happier than before they met me. ❞ more tangible, too. what can a baby even do for him? he’s not the sort of faerie that eats them...

☆ ☆ @laemortis​ liked!

⁝ ▹ NOCTIS is drawn to the sound like a moth to a flame, and he finds himself off the beaten path – far from his desired destination, into the heart of the Blackgrove forest. He pauses right outside the clearing when he sees the reason for the sound, and his head tilts a little as he just stands and listens.

For what seems like only a few minutes he stands motionless, until the playing stops. There’s a small frown on the Lucian Prince’s lips, and he takes a step closer into the clearing. “What are you doing all the way out here?”

||  █ ▌— kieran knows his music is useless here, less than useless. pretty-sounding and without even a drop of magic to it. it’s... somehow frustrating, but he can’t do a thing about that, so he plays only for himself, in this moment. the boy moves quickly over strings, his melody high and cheerful and quick, the sort that could make a human dance their feet all the way off if he put something into it.

She bows to no one. That has been a long standing tradition. Despite Nemiza’s disastrous mark upon her face, and the gifted powers of the twin gods, Miriam has always been her own sort of entity. She serves under nothing, and makes a strange mark upon this world.  

“Same.” Miriam nods sagely, though her expression turns more cross after a moment. “They left me with my reading, which is, okay, I guess. It’s nice knowing how people are feeling.” Looking back to the other’s face, her gaze is more an x-ray than just the act of one person watching. “But I miss communing. Didn’t think I would, but I do.” The animals can’t talk back here, a tragedy in her mind.

Dancing. That makes her smile. “Very fairy tale, kind of macabre. I like it.” She’s heard stories like these before, things that have always fascinated her. “It doesn’t hurt, does it?” Nevertheless, the young goddess holds her hands out in quiet acceptance of the gift. “Mine never do, but I’ve thought about it before, and that can’t be pleasant if it does.” 

||  █ ▌— ❝ what kind of reading? ❞ he asks, because her words are exciting. he’s known psychics, though he knows most of them to be frauds, and is already considering implications before she can even answer. ❝ thoughts, feelings, tea leaves, future? ❞ his hands clasp behind his back. ❝ or something else? ❞

his smile turns a little sharp, just around the edges. he lacks the pointed teeth some of his fellows have, but the slight edge of malice lingers on his lips as easily as any spoilt faerie prince. ❝ macabre, maybe. it’s fun, though. to take a pretty human boy’s hands in yours and dance until he falls, until he promises you anything so long as you make it stop... and then you get his firstborn, or something. i don’t know. what is it you’re even supposed to ask for? ❞

The faeries from your world are either: small, glowing creatures akin to fireflies or, as you’ve personally come to know the great fairies: giant, ethereal women who are able to enchant your clothing in some way and are revered by the people of Hyrule. You’ve heard tales of faeries past assist the heroes of legend in some form or another, and given your own life, you knew to be just as respectful towards them.

Watching fireflies buzz by, you briefly thought of the great fairy near Kakariko Village before the feeling of being watched alerts you. You easily spot the other but sensing a similar confusion about this strange world, you nod politely before turning back to face the evening sky. 

“I wonder what to make of this place. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.” 

✧ – a quiet moment with @laemortis​

||  █ ▌— the scenery was what kieran was after, but company was not something he minded. the fireflies were nice, little glowing things that reminded him of the way faerie girls flitted about near bonfires and danced erratically. the evening air was nicer, and it was temperate, neither too hot nor cold enough to bother him, summer-touched thing that he was.

he turned toward the one beside him and smiled, shaking his head. he had no idea what to make of this place either, unfamiliar and playing by brand new rules.

Miriam is off in her own head today. Flitting here and there, she’s content to bask in the sunlight. It’s a decent day, despite everything, and it seems the more she gets sun on her, the more her freckles change from human dots to something more akin to stars. It’s a good opportunity to reflect on herself, at least, something she’s managing to do for once before someone approaches her. 

A denizen of all things alive, Miriam has a keen eye for created things like this. In fact, when the bloom is presented, beaming unnaturally, Miriam herself lights up in absolute delight. 

“How in the world did you get to keep this?” She’s beaming now, pulling herself upright and examining it with wide eyes. “They didn’t let me keep practically anything. That’s such a lucky keeper.” 

||  █ ▌— kieran grins at that. she looks impressed, or at least pleased with what he has to show off. it’s not much, of course, but it’s what he has left to him. and it’s a mark of his King, for better or for worse. his smile doesn’t come close to matching hers for brightness, but he certainly doesn’t lack enthusiasm. up close, it’s clear she’s not human (or at least not completely), but he can’t quite gauge what she is yet.

❝ mm, isn’t it nice? it’s all i got to keep, of course. they took away all my other abilities. ❞ and he had just gotten used to having them, just started to accept his inhumanity. and now what is he? without all the things he can do?

||  █ ▌— kieran’s eyes are drawn up--and then up some more. he knows his stature is far from impressive, but craning his neck like this is unusual and he envies those of his fellows that have wings with which to flutter a little ways off the ground. they would have no problem looking this man in the eye. kieran, however, simply looks up.

and anyway, the man’s height isn’t the interesting bit. it’s the eyes. kieran’s own gold eyes narrow slightly. these aren’t the eyes of summer, or he doesn’t think they are. he knows summer well enough, now that it runs sticky through his veins. it’s something new and exciting.

||  █ ▌— the bright smile on the woman’s face is what kieran notices first, drawn in that moth-to-flame way. oops. it’s the enthusiasm, maybe, or the disconcerting feeling that it gives, reminding him less of how humans smile and more of--something unfamiliar. he likes feeling off-balance, though, and so he approaches with a smile of his own, not nearly as bright.

he runs a hand through his hair as he approaches. he doesn’t seem to notice the tiny purple flowers that bloom from between the strands as he tucks it behind his ear, but then he cups both hands together, revealing a bright pink and yellow when he opens them again, growing larger as his hands spread apart.

||  █ ▌— kieran is humming quietly to himself as he walks through the city. it’s... an interesting enough place, he decides, and thrumming with a strange magic all its own. though his own magic has been weakened in a way, he can still have a bit of fun with it. he’s bored, though.

the man he passes on the street seems ordinary enough, he thinks. maybe he can do something strange and alarm him in some way, so he turns around to head that way instead. with every step, a single dandelion creeps up from between the cracks in the sidewalk. he lets one grow out from the palm of his own hand, the roots clearly embedded in the skin. he holds out that hand, palm open as he approaches the man.

he is here to be a general annoyance or a wretched flirt or shameless mooch or guy who plays his new violin really loudly outside your window in the early hours of the morning, we’ll see.