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 Posted: Thu Jun 13, 2013 11:44 pm
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She was ready for this.
Okay, so that was a pretty big lie, but Lifen was really good at doing that - using her words to pump herself up. This would be an awkward one - but she had promised two people, who may - or may not - have existed, but definitively deserved a little finality, right?
"Mjoll~" she singsonged lightly as she opened the door, happy that one half of her invited pair had been there. "Welcome to my humble abode, I hope it sees you well." Secretly, she was also happy to have a little party with more than one person - it was usually Mengyao or Lan, sometimes Soren, and now Bao Yu. Never two people.
So exciting!
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Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 12:34 am
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One did not deny the lady Lifen an audience. Even he, who knew so little of the Conquest clan, had known and understood that from the day he'd heard of her. So when an invitaton was extended, he was happy to comply. Hadn't he said he was going to, what was the phrase.. get out and see more people? Become more than he already was? Stop sulking in the pain of the past and learn to live with what the fates had given him? This would certainly be a good time to extend those reaches and push his boundaries.
He'd worn his absolute finest - or, to be fair, Nergui's absolute finest. His cousin had all but taken him in lately, and kept him looking like the gentlemen he needed to be. Whether or not he truly felt so inside was another matter.
He appeared quietly near the residence of the lady of Conquest, only to see that flash of blonde hair that almost brought him to his knees. How could it be, that she was here as well? Bastion took to his old habits almost immediately, upon seeing Mjoll at the door - he jumped and hid in a bush, watching her from there.
But no, he told himself, this wasn't what the new Bastion would have done. The new Bastion would have learned not to care about the mare who'd owned his heart since he was a tiny scareling. The new Bastion could handle this.
So he climbed out of the bush, brushed himself off, and walked to stand right next to Mjoll, barely looking down at her. He gave her a respectful bow of his head, because she was a lady, and deserved as much.
"Good eve, my lady." Bastion's voice cracked - there were some things he couldn't control. "I presume you're here to see the Lady Lifen as well?"
Were his knees shaking? He couldn't tell, he'd gone numb from the waist down. The door opened, and he girded himself at the presence of Lifen. His head bowed just as cordially. "And a good eve to you, my lady."
Still, and rigid, it was clear Bastion was trying really hard to play it cool.
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 8:22 pm
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She didn't expect Bastion to be wearing such fancy clothing for such an event - maybe he suspected something. Did he remember the Gold Kingdom, the promise she was asked to make? How anti-climatic that would be if she couldn't surprise the both of them.
His nervousness when he came to walk up next to the blonde horsewoman made her smile just a little. It was oddly innocent, a little air about him that made it obvious - he cherished her from the outside. Mjoll's response was peculiar, and made her purse her lips a little, making a very small hmm sound before shrugging it off. She liked a challenge, and what sh was about to do was challenging enough.
Clearing her throat a little, she turned in to her home, towards a small table that she had set for three - it was simple, with a very daily-worn tea set, since she personally didn't feel like confusing people immensely was something that should be done with fine china.
"I hope you do not mind sitting with me, I would like to talk to you both about something that came to my attention recently. Nothing bad!" she quipped lightly, going to rush the last two words. "But a little boggling. I figured you would be best to assist me with it." She stated lightly, before going to sit in her own seat, hoping they'd follow her.
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 9:48 pm
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Bast.
Bastion refused to cringe at the shortening of his name; because in truth, he assumed she could only remember that much. He just attempted to remain as civil, respectful, and courteous as possible.
He entered Lifen's home when they were invited in, and took a seat as quickly as possible at the table she directed them towards. It was there that he realized she had set the tea for three, which meant Mjoll and himself were the only guests arriving. This was no little party for friends, nor was it a private meeting. It was just her, and.. them.
And Bastion suddenly became very, very suspicious.
Others had tried to coerce him to talk to Mjoll before. Certainly his cousin had tried a million times to build up his confidence, but none had ever succeeded. Things were as they should be, with him in the shadows and she in the light. Lifen's introduction into their equation proved a mystery to Bastion, and he wasn't sure he was prepared to discover what that mystery was.
He wanted to say something. It felt important to say something, at that moment, but he couldn't manage to think of what to say. So he just nodded, awkwardly, ducking his head in a shy motion. Whatever she had to say to them, he was willing to hear - but wary, as well. Always wary.
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Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2013 7:57 pm
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Well, if there was anything to be said about this, it was that she could probably cut the tensions between them with a serrated knife, and still have layers to go through. Of course, though, this was Lifen, and she wasn't deterred by little things like that.
Going to offer them both a cup of tea, she lightly sat down again when she finished the action, giving them both a soft look - they were both crafters? Well that just made it all the sweeter, a soft chortle breaking the quiet aura between them before holding her cup up and sipping it, the perfect example of a calm body.
"Have either of you heard about the Seven Kingdoms?" She asked after a quick sip, living them both a little guarded look, hoping for some kind of reaction. "Specifically, the colours of the Kingdoms. Gold, I suppose." She talked, mostly to herself. It was a bit of a long stretch, but she needed to know where both of them stood, and if either of them even remembered the lost kingdoms, and lost lives.
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Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 9:19 pm
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As if by magic, her face hardened a little, mismatched eyes looking down in to her cup, as if she was remembering things she had lost while in the Seven Kingdoms. It had been hard enough to leave it, now she had to talk about it again. Taking a deep breath in, she took another sip before clearing her throat a little.
"There were many things that happened during the time I was there. Much importance - you both, and I, lived in an opulent city of gold, instead of our home island, or the Lost Clans. May sound silly, but Mengyao was our Emperor, and I was Empress, by definition." She started, giving the statement about herself holding reign as a flippant side statement. She still didn't feel as ethereal as she had been made by the false-Mengyao, but that was then.
"You both seemed to harbour a similar relationship - aware of each other, but at the same time, it seemed like it was not the relationship either of you wanted." She paused, sipping her drink again. "I made a promise with the other Mjoll and Bastion that I would work with you both. I think I caught something happen at the Amityville prom - so I am here to be the voice for something you needed to hear." She finished, before giving it a moment to sink in. After such moment, she cleared her throat and pointed lightly at Bastion.
"You." A look. "You need to stop hiding in bushes when you are around her - talk to her, and tell her how you feel. If you do not, you may regret it."
A turn to Mjoll. "You need to look beyond your workstation. If you do not give yourself time to actually enjoy life, and learn about those who surround you with attention in your life, you will lose what is most important to you." She finished, before placing both hands on her lap again. Mama Lifen was serious.
"I promised that I would work on your relationship - they were happy, so I wish to make you happy."
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Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 9:50 pm
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Lifen was telling.. a very pretty little story. But to Bastion, it was nothing more than that - just a story, perhaps a dream she'd had, or even more likely a trance delivered by the hands of his own goddess Medea herself. He listened politely, sipping his tea at times and trying not to eat his cookies very noisily. He had the patience to listen, and the patience to accept that Lifen obviously believed in whatever she'd seen.
But that was as far as his patience went.
"This all sounds interesting, and I mean that, truly. But you have a few things confused, and I think it should be my job to clear them up, if-" He looked to Mjoll warily. "If it's all right with you?" Returning to Lifen, he bowed his head politely before putting his cup down and folding his hands in front of him. He looked somewhat businesslike. And always polite. In fact, with her mind so caught up in the world of the Gold Kingdom, these things would seem foreign, on him. His counterpart had lacked these qualities, always.
"First, and foremost, I want to clarify - I do regret it. I regret the last years of my life. It's too late for that, now. And second, there is no relationship. If you're saying that the couple you witnessed in your vision was together,"His cheeks flushed and he looked away, tightening his voice to keep any chance of emotion out. Then lucky them. But that is not the case here. Mjoll can't even remember my name. So your promise will have to go unfulfilled."
He leaned back, and gave Mjoll another wary look, before picking up his cup. "Though I have to agree on one point, and I hope I already made this clear that night. You are going to miss out on life if you don't look beyond your work, Mjoll. I'm not asking you to look at me. I'm telling you to look at what's ahead of you. Whatever, or whoever that might be."
He took another sip of his tea. "This is truly good quality, what flavor is it?"
It was clear Bastion did not feel the Gold Kingdom was a life changing vision.
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Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2013 8:55 pm
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"How can you be so sure that it's real?" She quipped lightly at him when he asked what flavour of tea it was. She may have been a little bitter about his sudden discouraged statements, debunking what she knew as true, but beyond her words, she didn't show it had affected her much. Lifen was the queen of her emotions (beyond much more.)
Sighing out of her nose, she looked to the female jewelcrafter before her, eyebrows raising a little. "I can give you many names. Right in our homeland, there's Mengyao, who was the Emperor, and Lan, who was my advisor. Kiwi was there, and finally Shaheen. So I mean, you can always talk to them." She admitted, giving factual names, not beating around the bush, puffing up a little, before sighing out of her nose, looking down at her own cup.
"I cannot tell you to believe me, but I know what I saw, and who I talked to. I will not push it further, just know that I do not lie - and I made a promise I intend to at least fulfill, information wise." she murmured to them.
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Posted: Sat Jul 20, 2013 7:38 am
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"Proof." Bastion scoffed; his calm attitude quickly disappearing. "I don't need proof, my dear ladies. I don't need to prove anything you're saying. I know you're telling me the truth." And yet, he looked absolutely agitated. He put his cup down, and folded his hands in front of his face, clasping them tightly. "Even if all of the horsemen in the world came and told me of this shared vision you had, I would still feel the same way about it. And it's simple - you promised someone you would tell them- us- something. And that something is that.. that... we were happy, there." This was the part that clearly agitated. That there was a version of him - even if it wasn't real - that had claimed what he'd always wanted.
He was jealous.
"You've fulfilled your side of things, Lifen. I'm not sure if you were expecting something to fruit from this confession, but life doesn't always give us what we want, does it? No.." He looked as though he was going to look up at Mjoll, but stopped himself before he made it that far.
"No it does not."
He turned instead to look at Lifen, giving the woman all of her attention. For that one moment, she was the only person in the room with him. He reached out, and took her hand. "I wish I could see this world, just for a moment. I wish I could have seen what made the man in your dreams have the courage to admit he was in love. That he'd been in love with someone his entire life, wasting away, waiting for the right moment until he somehow found it. But I am not that man. And this is not that world."
Except that he was.. and he just had.
He pulled away, without realizing what he'd just admitted out loud, and took one last cookie before standing up. "These were delicious. I hope you forgive me, but I will see myself out."
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