A Midsummer Night's Dance
for Virion
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
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#1
Stepping away from the bright Melita's side, the silver-haired bard approached the man who had lingered on the edges of the party with a soft step and a welcoming smile. Even if they had been within the bounds of the Hollowed Grounds he would have come to greet a new face he had not met before, but with the dangers and wonders of the Wildwood - not least the shifting of the trees that stymied most attempts to get anywhere within it - he was especially attentive at meeting those who were courageous enough to brave its shadows. With all the Fae dancing and twirling it was an especially intimidating place for a lonely human to find himself, and Jigano was a bard - a diplomat at need, though not always a very good one, he had to admit to himself. Not in this new world where he had to learn not only the ways of the Hollowed Grounds humans, but now also the Fae of the Greatwood. It was harder to fit in and find common ground when you knew so little...

Something that was changing as he lived and made a home here, finding friends and family and learning to adapt, to open his heart and hope again.

He was clothed in white tonight, a fragment of the moon fallen to earth for the celebration, his wrapped tunic snug around his lean, trim body but with flaring sleeves that hid a multitude of things within their cleverly sewn pockets. He swept Virion an elegant bow, rising with laughing blue eyes to offer his hand to the dark man and tilting his head back towards the dancers with a grin. "Would you do me the honor of a dance, good sir?"
Virion Wolfsbane
Head hunter

Age: 31 | Height: 6ft | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship:
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#2
The heat had been a reminder that he was far from home, but Virion did not mind too much, he would adapt. It was what him and his people did. His pale skin looked almost alabaster should he step into the moonlight, but he kept himself away from most of the revellers. Well, except the one group who seemed lost in their own little world. A flock of sheep being hunted by a wolf. They could thank whatever archaic gods they worshipped for him not being in the mood to hunt.

Yet...

Grey eyes narrowed as he watched one of the sheep move out of the flock. The male was wearing white, like freshly fallen snow. The opposite of his own thick black cloak lined with black wolf fur, even the other's hair was white. Everything about him was a stark contrast to Virion -- the light to his darkness.

The wolf tilted his head to the side as the other bowed to him lowly, offered a hand. Virion tensed slightly but accepted the hand after sniffing it, like a dog accepting a human petting it after deciding their are safe. After all, Jigano was nothing more than a lamb who stumbled upon a predator. The stranger wanted a dance...with someone like him. How trusting...

The hunter liked this place better than his home. Had someone done this where he was from, they would have gotten an axe to the head or worse. Instead, Virion smiled back. The wolf was not even in sheep's clothing this time. He looked over to the rest of the flock where the other had looked. "You'd have to lead..." he said, enjoying the feeling of the hand in his own, warm from the blood that flowed through it.

The touch stirred something in him. The beast was awakening, but he pushed it down. Not yet... The wolf would play with the lost little lamb for a bit. He enjoyed the hunt and killing him would have been too easy.
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
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Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#3
The stranger was a skittish thing, cautious as a wild animal and reminding Jigano a little of how he had been early on in his arrival upon Caido. His smile quirked wryly at the memories, but his long, elegant fingers closed lightly around Virion's hand, a deliberate choice to allow another's touch on this night of revelry and joyous abandon. It made a difference to be the one making the offer, to do his duties as bard and entertainer, even if he usually preferred to dance alone. But he had danced with Melita and they had laughed and spun in the sparkling will o wisps and moonlight, and he could do the same again, he told himself firmly.

His skin was warm and dry beneath the other man's touch, his hand callused with the work of harps and hilts, though the inkstains had been scrubbed from them in honor of the party. "It would be my honor," he said with a grin for the other man's seemingly light hesitance. "Though really, so long as we keep to the beat we should be fine!" He pulled Virion towards the other dancers - mostly Fae, though an odd sphere of vegetation was rolling around the dancing clearing too - and glanced back at his partner with a blue-eyed smile. "I'm Jigano, by the way. Who are you? I don't think I've seen you around the Settlement before...?" Which didn't mean much. There were plenty of people he'd never met formally in the Hollowed Grounds, but the dark stranger's height was unusual for a Natural, and his appearance was striking enough that the bard knew he would have remembered him if he'd seen him before.
Virion Wolfsbane
Head hunter

Age: 31 | Height: 6ft | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship:
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#4
Virion gave his best attempt at a smile back to Jigano in response to the reassuring smile as his hand was soon enclosed, fingers almost intertwined -- an intimate gesture he was not used to nor familiar with. The people of this country were unlike anyone he had ever met, trusting, friendly and dumb. They were sheep set free into the wild by their shepherds for predators like the wolf to dispose of. Dancing and festivals, easy to be picked out of the crowd. No one would even notice if he had dragged the other back into the woods. No one would realize he was gone until the morning after, when his corpse would already be stiff.

The hunter followed the other through the crowd. Well, he had no choice really. The lamb had a grip on his hand, leading him. Virion played along for the moment, letting himself be led. He watched the sphere of vegetation roll around the ground in some weird semblance of a dance, a low primal growl of annoyance and dislike escaped his lips involuntarily, but he was soon distracted by his prey. Jigano, his name was. Not that his name would matter later, just another head added to his collection, another toy he got bored with.

"Virion," he answered. "Just passing through to head back home."

Home...

What was home to him anyway? Well, it was better than the truth of him killing the mortal lover of one of those wretched gods. If she loved him so much, she would not have wound up in the headhunter's bed and, later, her skull in his collection. The god did not see it that way and punished him for his deeds. Virion would recover, learn to turn this curse into a blessing, and then go back for revenge.

"Where're you from?" he asked then, pretending to have some type of humanity in his depraved body.
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#5
He seemed an awkward young man, ill at ease with his smile, which made Jigano all the more glad that he could reach out to the stranger and hopefully pull him into the festivities until he was able to relax. It was a night for frivolity and fun, and it wasn't fair that someone should be left out just because they didn't know the other attendees.

He chuckled at the growl, at ease with the animalistic tendencies of his companion. "Don't mind Remi, he can be a bit of a show off sometimes..." A teasing comment that fell a little flat when he considered the bandages that had been wrapped around the alchemist's head at the start of the night. He sobered for a moment, then shook off the flicker of worry to introduce himself, gaining his dancing partner's name in turn. "A pleasure, Virion," he said smoothly, but a brow was already rising at the mention of 'home'... "'Just passing through' the Wildwood?" he asked mildly. "Where is it that you live?" As far as he knew, Amalia was the only human allowed somewhat-free passage through the Wildwood. It was not the sort of place one 'just passed through'...

He pulled Virion into the dance with a grin, his steps light and sure on the green grass as he slipped them neatly into a ring of mostly Fae, following their steps with liquid ease as they shifted left and then right and then spun and clapped. "From a place far beyond these woods and stars," he grinned, a flash of something sharp in that smile, hidden a moment later as he spun back around and they began another sequence of simple steps. "But as of recently? The Settlement. You'll find me in the Rathskeller one or two evenings a week, if you come in for a drink."
Virion Wolfsbane
Head hunter

Age: 31 | Height: 6ft | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship:
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#6
Virion wondered how truly naive this man was considering he was the easiest prey he had ever encountered. He was a lamb being led to the slaughter. Not that the wolf was complaining -- why would he? He was basically being given a free meal, his prey falling right into his hands. At the cost of his dignity, but everyone else seemed so busy with each other he was positive no one would notice them.

The fact Jigano seemed comfortable with his growling, even that quiet chuckling, threw him off. Most people in his home country feared him, staying far away from him, especially after his recent ailment. The grassy green blob had been a person? He snorted a bit, like a wolf would, in disgust at that. Maybe he would give this Remi the attention he seemed to so desperately crave.

"Beyond the forest," he said, choosing his words carefully. "Doesn't matter...seems to be a barrier up anyway."

Virion let Jigano guide him in their dance. It was simple enough, following, although it made him uncomfortable. Fit in... He did not need any problems here, not now. He had not come to this country to make trouble, although that pesky little curse made it harder to control his impulses. Not that he did such a thing before.

However, the more the lamb spoke, the more it all made sense. "So, you're an outlander..." Virion stated. There was no hostility, merely a declaration. It all made sense now, why this male was so eager to dance with the devil and flirt with danger. "Is it not as dangerous where you're from?" he asked, for once sounding genuinely curious and initiating the conversation.
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#7
It seemed more and more likely that Virion was an Attuned, but that was his business and none of Jigano's - well, not on such short acquaintance, at least. The lorekeeper was full of questions but most of them could wait as the pair joined the circle and slipped into the country dancing that was both fun and boisterous, even as it was simple enough to follow along with.

"Beyond the forest?" The bard repeated, incredulity and excitement evident in his voice and expression as they spun back to face each other. "You mean - the other side of the Greatwood? There are other humans out there?" It seemed likely, but since so far all the people they had met in the Woods had been Fae he hadn't been sure they could assume that there were other humans elsewhere. But another word had caught his attention and his excitement faded a little as he stepped away and then back again, passing shoulders with Virion on the right and then the left before spinning back into the refrain.

"What kind of barrier?" he asked, voice carefully neutral, even as he nodded at the other man's assumption. "And yes, I am. Are outlanders common, beyond the woods?" He took the other man's hand again as the music swirled around them, leading him in a quick circle with the rest of the dancers before they parted again to clap. His own lips quirked wryly as he considered the man's question, a flicker of shadow passing over blue eyes, though not touching his well-schooled face. Gears the size of a house churning into malevolent life; the myrmidon flying above the town, unleashing a hell of fire and light upon the people still in it; the abattoir-like 'larder' of a kyton, minutes before confronting the creature itself in all its twisted, horrific glory; the massive body of a neh-thalggu uncurling from the ceiling, dropping to capture Jenny in its pincers while the brains collected in bulbous blisters upon its back pulsed in agony... "Quite the opposite," he murmured demurely. "Though there, like here, danger tended to find those who went looking for it."
Virion Wolfsbane
Head hunter

Age: 31 | Height: 6ft | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship:
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#8
Virion had never seen such displays before, but he had a role to play. He could feel that need filling him at the other's touch and as they walked until they got to the circle of dancing. Later... Another reminder to keep himself in control, to pretend to have the humanity he lost. Most people would never notice.

Once they got to the circle and the wolf let the lamb guide him through the steps, which were easy enough even for someone such as him, the questions began. "Yes, beyond..." Virion's grey eyes met Jigano's excited blue ones as he answered. "Not many. It's...a harsh life." He looked away for a moment, thinking about the life he had to leave because of a lamb who just so happened to be fucking a god.

"You ask a lot of questions, Jigano." It was the first time he had said his new-found prey's name. "Tha would get you killed where I am from." After the warning, he took a frw more steps before answering properly.

"It's an invisible one. You try to go through again and it pushes you right back out." He shrugged. "As for outlanders, they don't last too long." They moved apart to clap again and once they met yet again, the wolf listened to the lamb as he spoke. He noticed a strange flicker in his eyes but did not question it. Some things were best left alone.

"Where I'm from danger finds you no matter what..." Like danger found you right now... Or maybe the lamb had brought it upon himself. At this point, Virion did not know nor did he care. As they continued the dance, he was silent for a bit before speaking once more.

"After this dance, we can go someplace quieter, talk more if you would like." He knew the lamb was curious about him and he wanted to get the lamb alone.
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#9
Excitement bubbled in the bard's veins at hearing that Virion was from beyond the Greatwood, the first person on Caido that he had met who could claim such. Questions queued up at the back of his tongue, eager for release as he sought answers to a hundred questions the other man's reply had spawned, but the way grey eyes slid away from his own, and the flat tone of voice as he spoke of 'harsh' living, warned Jigano not to press too hard too soon, as he once had with Remi.

No sooner had he come to that conclusion than Virion stated the obvious, earning a raised brow - more from amusement than gentle approbation, but the sense of it was there as the older man chastised the younger: "I am a lorekeeper and a Loreseeker, Virion. Asking questions and finding their answers are in my job description."

More barriers, more cages, and the wild part of the bard's heart bristled with the unfairness of it. Curious, though, that outlanders had appeared so far from the Spire. A failure in the Voice's machinations, or a separate prong of her attack? A question only She would know the answer to, but he doubted she would appreciate having answers demanded of her. Or even asked, by one who wasn't Ascended. So. Perhaps others could ask for him: Samuel, or Lucas, though he trusted the former far more than the latter.

Lucas he liked, but that wasn't the same as trust.

They danced and spun, feet moving and hands clapping with the others in the ring. Virion fell easily enough into the dance, but none of the joy of their fellow dancers seemed to reach his eyes, and his smile remained a rare and elusive creature. It was possible that Jigano had asked too much of the stranger, the bard thought with an internal wince. Not everyone enjoyed being dragged into the center of things, and his offer of a dance had been both forward and overbearing, leaving the wanderer from far away possibly unsure of how to refuse him.

As the dance slowed to a close, Jigano bowed to his companion and then shifted away to let another pair take their place on the line as the musicians began finding the notes for the next reel. "I would like nothing better," the bard chuckled, his smile wry. "But I'm due to take my turn with the musicians soon, so others can dance as we have tonight. Duty and pleasure both for a bard, but not without their price." His smile was bright and a little apologetic as he led them towards the tables and blankets where refreshments were laid out, free for the taking from hard-working bakers and cooks, brewers and mixers and humans and Fae alike, replenished as more arrived and dropped off their gifts of food and drink. "Come find me after my set, though, and I can introduce you around a little, if you'd like. Tomorrow or... perhaps the day after, when we've all had a chance to recover from the party," he corrected himself with a chuckle. "You can find me in the Atheneum, in the Loreseeker Guildhall, and I can write down your story, if you don't mind. Or I can find you, if you don't plan on coming into town," he offered politely, unsure if the dark-haired man was one of those who preferred the company of nature and the protection of trees over the company of people and the hewn stone of buildings. Some Attuned were like that, he'd found - himself not least among them when he'd first arrived!
Virion Wolfsbane
Head hunter

Age: 31 | Height: 6ft | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship:
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#10
Virion could see the excitement in Jigano's eyes at the mention of being beyond the Greatwood. Maybe he could use that to advantage, but he did not want to talk about his past yet. But the man was an Outlander, what would he know? Maybe he could give him little teases of where he was from. It was not like the other would know anything about him anyway.

He let out a snort of laughter at his response. He's only sorry he's not more sorry. But the occupation made him curious. "If I can find a way back, you'll be the first one I tell," he promised him. If I don't eat you before then, little lamb...

The more he spent in this new country, the more he despised it. Everyone seemed so gullible and trusting, except perhaps the Fae. But Fae were not he most trusting of species to begin with, especially around outlanders. But now he knew he needed an ally, someone who knew the people and land better than he did. Perhaps a lorekeeper was just what he needed...

The dance kept going, spinning, moving, clapping -- the same three steps over and over. But it gave Virion a chance to look at his surroundings, get better bearings on where he was and who he was with. The last thing he needed was a different predator lurking around him. The wolf was not stupid. No, he knew that there was always a bigger predator, but he also knew how to protect himself.

Viri gave a small smile back and nodded his understanding. The bard was an intriguing little lamb, it seemed and it made him more curious about exactly what he was. Oh, well, he would find that out later. "I'll find you after your set..." he assured him. Maybe he would keep him alive just for the information this lamb seemed to possess.

Then at the mention of going into town, he thought for a bit. Maybe he should. He did need new supplies after all so that would work best for him. "I'll find you at the Loreseeker Guild." Virion did not like knowing that someone could be watching for him, trying to find him.
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#11
"I'll hold you to that promise!" Jigano agreed eagerly, though there was still so much close at hand to discover, to learn, to explore... but was that not why he had a Guild? He wasn't alone anymore, his colleagues were brave and adventurous and just as capable as he was, and they would all work together to continue compiling their chronicles and notes of the Greatwood and... and whatever lay beyond. And Jigano knew of a way they might get there...

Sooner or later.

Virion's smile was worth the careful coaxing, the other man finally seeming to relax a little even as the dance ended and they drifted away so Jigano could grab some refreshment before he took his turn with the music makers of the night. "It's a deal," he nodded, hoping to see more of the dark stranger, and soon! "Look for a door with this symbol," he offered, showing the pin at the collar of his tunic: an open book with rays of light coming from its spread pages. "We'll be down the stairs. I'm usually there from midmorning on, if I'm not out investigating something for the guild. But the door will be open if someone is in." He grinned, swiping a bottle of cider kept cool in a basket of snow moss, and took an appreciative sniff of the vintage before sipping it. "And it's a good place to beat the heat!"
Virion Wolfsbane
Head hunter

Age: 31 | Height: 6ft | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship:
Level: 0 - Strg: 10 - Dext: 10 - Endr: 10 - Luck: 5 - Int:
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#12
Virion's little lamb would live to see another day. Maybe Jigano had intrigued him, or maybe he just needed him to get back home. The wolf did not know what it was about this strange, friendly male, but he wanted him alive a bit longer. Although he wondered how long the lamb would survive without him in his country. Only the strong survived where he was from.

He pushed a strand of black hair out of his face before he followed his new-found "friend." He would go to the guild and talk to him, play with him some more and see what he could get out of him. Viri looked at the pin and gave a grunt of agreement. He would find him soon and have a talk. Although he had a feeling the other would not like his story all too much.

The wolf grabbed a bottle of cider as well. He sniffed it, but for a different reason than appreciation, out of habit to make sure it smelled good enough to drink. He took a swig and watched the male dressed all in white again. "My story's not a happy one," he finally stated. "But I'll tell you when I find you."
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#13
"There are few enough happy stories from those who've lived within the Barrier," Jigano said with a crooked smile, an odd mix of sharpness and sadness flashing briefly across his expression. "The Wildwood is a rich and living place. The Settlement past the barrier mark... far less so, you'll find." It was a place of drought and monsters, hunger and weariness - or at least, it had been. Whether it would remain that way was yet to be soon, but Jigano hoped that the land would begin to renew and heal itself now that the barrier had fallen, though the process could take years, even lifetimes to complete.

He gave Virion an elegant bow, rising with bright eyes and a pleasant smile firmly back in place as he stole a small sweet cake from the table and gave the fascinating stranger a parting wave. "I look forward to seeing you again soon, Virion! We have much to talk about. I hope you enjoy the party!"

With that the bard headed towards the musicians with a cheerful bounce in his step, making quick work of the sweet cake and taking fortifying swallows of the cider as he prepared himself for his turn with the Fae instrumentalists, providing the tunes to which Fae and human alike were dancing. He'd see Virion soon, he hoped, and would be able to add a new and exciting chapter to the Loreseeker chronicles!


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