#letiferum

@letiferum asked: “ it’s a little bit of a shock the first time, isn’t it? ”

WITH A MASTER ILLUSIONIST as company, there are bound to be mysteries, & the endless feels the aura emanating from other without needing to probe with powers. but desire isn't anywhere near intimidated, as many might be with someone of other's prowess. no, they're not intimidated ; they're curious more than anything, like a cat curling around a human's legs in expression of endearment, they curl something close to a smile in his direction. they like the idea of getting to know someone with his powers, eternally interested in those whose powers mimic or frame on the edges of their own, & desire knows its own illusions in the hearts & minds of those enmeshed in their web.

BUT HE'S MISTAKEN if he thinks he's shocked them ― they've seen much in their eons-long existence, the many universes they had had purview over before this one.

❛ IT WILL TAKE MORE than that to surprise me, dearest. but please, do continue to try. ❜ they smile again, a double-edged thing that shows their capricious attitude. they aren't keen on insinuations of lesser powers, & tilt head at other as he works, analytical gaze fixated on him & him alone. if other can claim anything from this meeting, it will be having been the centre of endless's attention. ❛ do you often shock others, narelis ? ❜ targeted question, ascertaining his own attitude toward his gifts, for not all who are bestowed such are actively in want of them. ❛ do you find it easier to shock than for them to admire, to DESIRE something of you ? ❜

Masks and Veils // @letiferum ;;

IF HE SPOKE IN JEST, SHE FAILED TO SEE THE HUMOR. Ruby stood unmoved, in her finery carefully selected and arranged. Her mask was of ivory and mother-of-pearl, complementing the nacreous gems around her neck and hanging from her ears, studding the pins that held up her curls. The mask was the centerpiece, after all, that which the world saw in lieu of her face. Ruby chose it as carefully as she did her words, for carelessness would never serve.

Oh, she knew what Narelis meant, make no mistake. He spoke of facades, faces one presented to the world, as if hiding unnecessary aspects of herself made those that showed any less a part of her. "Yet how long must one wear a mask until it becomes their true face?"

Forever, she knew. A mask was still a mask. It was a shard of silver mirror, never able to reflect the whole. She wondered what became of the pieces that were discarded. Where did he hide them in the Evermaze?

( Where did her true name live? )

D.eathless // @letiferum ;;

SOMETHING TOO CLOSE TO FEAR SAT HEAVY IN HER GUT. Did he know she could not lie? True, there are are always loopholes, often intentionally left, but she could not drop an oath spoken aloud and watch it glitter at Death's feet like so many slivers of glass.

"Think you so little of me?" she says carefully, unused to speaking with those more powerful than herself. His temper might not be as fragile as she fears, but she always erred on seeing the sharpest edge of a knife. It was safer for one so used to seeing her own blood be shed.

There are laws that governed her kind. True, she lacks the glittering wings and bell-peal of laughter that mark other fairies, but iron still burns her bone-white skin, her power waxes with liminal seasons, and her tongue cannot shape the letters of lies. They might live in her mouth, biting and gnashing and wishing to get out, but the cage of her teeth kept them ever silent to the world outside.

finally, someone who speaks her language. she laughs melodically, amused. some laws never truly applied to bella, always feeling like she was not quite of this world even before the series of events that ... altered her. a mischievous smile curls at her lips as if she knows a secret, eyes flickering with a sparkling light. she's not about to pass up a perfect opportunity to show off. "wanna see something cool?"

bella closes her eyes, still as a marble sculpture for a moment ... then lifts off the floor, slowly and gracefully as if gravity forgot she was ever bound to it and lets whatever supernatural force pull her a little higher and she slowly arches to bend over backwards. her hair drifts and swirls like smoke in water, eyes fixed on him with that stormy stillness that makes people nervous. it's not often she levitates in front of others, but when she does, she makes sure it's dramatic.