can't leave now, I'm haunted (Open)
the Firebrand
Headmaster / Grand Healer

Age: 29 | Height: 5' 11' | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 11 - Strg: 32 - Dext: 33 - Endr: 35 - Luck: 39 - Int:
ASTRA - Mythical - Luxere
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#29
LOREN
Rexanna could say what she wanted, but Loren knew it was more complicated than that. After all, even if other people accepted him back into their lives, he’d also need to forgive himself. And in his mind, what he’d done had been completely unforgivable. He shook his head, not willing to accept her words. “But you knew of me.” Indeed, she’d recognized him because Remi had asked her to search for him. “Which means this is at least my second chance. And it always starts off well, before I screw it up somehow. So, fair warning, you’d be better off if you didn’t give me that opportunity.” Despite the subject matter, his voice came out more matter of fact than sadly: he was speaking facts, after all, at least as he saw them.

He listened silently to her explanation about her home. It was clear she missed it, from the beautiful way she described it. “It sounds wonderful.” He’d caught her slip of the tongue, of course, as she spoke about nobles. It didn’t surprise him that someone as beautiful and composed as she would have been a noble in her old life. “It was kind of you and your fellows to do that for those poorer than you.” He sighed, and cast his mind back to the worlds he traveled through, and his behavior in them. “Where I came from, the nobles couldn’t be bothered to associate with those beneath them. The hierarchy was strict.”

Then he hesitated, running a hand through his hair (forgetting what it had been touching). “I tried to be better than them, to not care about such trivial concerns. But...it was hard, because the family expected certain things from me, and it was frowned upon to socialize beneath our station.” And the summoner hardly had to—and definitely didn’t want to—explain to Rexanna what might happen to someone who crossed the Launceleyns. Even their own kin wasn’t safe from retribution. In fact, it was worse for them than outsiders, given the standards his relatives were expected to uphold. He shivered, as his hands clenched into fists at the remembered pain.

Thankfully, they moved on to the party, which was worrisome, but far less painful. “I think you and I might have very different definitions of the word fun. You did mention orgies earlier, did you not?” Just because Loren didn’t participate in any of that didn’t mean he didn’t know about them; the nobles of Northaven and Northwind had thrown all sorts of debauched events, albeit not publicly. But the librarian had never participated for many reasons. Partially it was because he didn’t like most his actual peers; partially it was because his idea of a good time was curling up with a good book; mostly, though, it was because he didn’t like to be touched, and shied away from physical contact. He’d been hurt too many times to accept it easily.

“I wasn’t worried about planning it, just hosting it.” Standing there, mingling with all those people, sounded like a nightmare to him. However, he wouldn’t let his discomfort stand in the way of Edy’s remembrance. “Alright then, let’s do it.” He could always slip out early, once the alcohol started flowing and the inhibitions started lowering. At the mention of not having help for the funeral, he almost rolled his eyes. “Oh, but I do have help.” It came out in a surprisingly bitter tone; he hadn’t realized just how much Beatrix was getting on his nerves until then. Still, she was a child, even precocious (the kindest word he could think of) as she was, and he was an adult. “Besides, this isn’t the first funeral I’ve planned.” His voice ended on sad not for that one. Indeed, Loren had seen far too many of his family members burned to ashes.
A beggar's book
outworths
a noble's blood
Rexanna De Rosieres
the Penumbra
Queen of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 34 | Height: 5'4" | Race: Ascended x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 4 Abandoned (Level 3 Ascended) - Strg: 19 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
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#30
REXANNA
He mentions that she had known of him, and she dips her head a small amount in a nod. “Remi told me what you looked like.” She says softly, contemplative, a small frown forming across her full lips. “I was there… Frey took his feelings away.” She frowns further, shoulders rising and falling in a shrug, not sure if he knows that detail. But on her end, she didn’t have any qualms with the man. Despite the matter of fact tone of his voice, she can’t do anything but let her eyes roam over him briefly before moving onto the task at hand.

Well, he was certainly pessimistic.

But she doesn’t try to change his mind, instead, she passes by it to explain her own funerals from home. Grand, beautiful things, while she continues to work and clean. He explains what the nobles were like back from his home, and she tilts her head to him as she pauses. “My ex-husbands home was like that.” She admits a bit quieter, contemplatively. “It had always felt wrong to me. But I was also born a servant and part of it all before I rose my station.” She explains, eyes casually watching him as he continues, running a hand through his hair.

Internally she cringes at what he had been touching previously, but she says nothing. Instead, hoping he goes home to shower after. She certainly will be, at least. Still, she puffs out a small sound of air from her, nodding. “I was guilty of that on more than one occasion.” She offers, not in sympathy, but a small amount of understanding. But he’s continuing on, mentioning the party she takes to heart, and she gives him a small fanged smile. “That wouldn’t necessarily be hosted here, not if the Ascended want to party too.” She snorts, realizing now that three of the last participants are all Ascended now.

But he agrees, and internally she cheers at it. “You don’t need to stay long if you don’t want to. Ezra, he works for this place too. He can help me.” She gives him a small nod, imagining the flirtatious man to be nothing short of willing to help her throw something together. But Loren grows bitter, mentioning that he does have help, and she suddenly recalls Beatrix and Jace, small and young children to have so much happen to them.

And he tells her it isn’t the first funeral he’s planned. That is something she understands deeply, and she hums in agreement to him. Perhaps his pessimism is rubbing off on her, because she pauses to look around the Rathskeller before her eyes land back on him. “Longnight is coming, and it will be rough. I hope it is the last funeral you have to plan, but it won’t be the last here.” She frowns, leaning on the broom before her eyes drift back around the room.
the penumbra
the moon is drunk with the sins of the sun.
& you stare, and wonder why
the universe never loved you back
the Firebrand
Headmaster / Grand Healer

Age: 29 | Height: 5' 11' | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 11 - Strg: 32 - Dext: 33 - Endr: 35 - Luck: 39 - Int:
ASTRA - Mythical - Luxere
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#31
LOREN
Loren swayed at the news that Remi’s feelings had been taken away. Granted, it aligned with his suspicions and some rumors and snippets of conversation he’d gotten from others, but it was another thing entirely to hear it spoken as fact. ”Y-you were there?” He desperately wants to ask her for details, while at the same time wanting to know nothing more, to remain in his blissful ignorance for just a few moments longer. But he was trying to be a better man, to take whatever chance this was and do more with it. That didn’t make it easy, though.

At the mention of her ex-husband, Loren frowned. ”It was...is wrong.” The librarian just hadn’t been strong enough to do anything about it at the time. Maybe he was still too weak. It was funny that she’d served as a servant for a period of time, given his own experiences. ”I spent five years or so as a farmer, then a few months as a librarian, in disguise as a commoner all the while.” It had been part of some convoluted scheme on his father’s part, which had fallen apart when Cyton blew his cover. But during that time it had certainly given the summoner a different view of the world. ”Of course, I hardly had the most pampered upbringing before that.” He regretted the words as soon as they left his lips. Honestly, he wasn’t sure why he kept telling people about his past: it couldn’t change or excuse the mistakes he’d made.

”You’re not guilty of anything. I was just making an observation.” He really didn’t want or mean to make her feel bad. Just because he was a prude who had numerous problems with relationships and sex didn’t mean he begrudged other their carnal desires. At the blue-eyed woman’s comment about hosting an orgy for Edy’s part Loren stammered out his response. ”I w-wasn’t actually saying w-we do t-that here.” He gulped to get control of his voice once more. Gods, he could imagine his much more confident and sexually active cousin’s ghost laughing at him as they spoke.

He shook his head at Rexanna’s suggestion. ”No, I’ll stay. It’s the right thing to do.” After all, the librarian didn’t know Ezra. Besides, it was a party for Edy, and poor as Loren was at being a member of his family, a Launceleyn should still be there. He’d get over his misgivings at being at a party celebrating Edy, or at least suffer in silence. At the mention of LongNight, though, he gives Rexanna a sharp glance. ”I know.” Thinking back, Loren realized the blue-eyed woman hadn’t actually been at the meeting Remi hosted. ”I stupidly offered the manor as a sanctuary from the weather and the monsters both.” He’d hoped—probably naively, given who he was and who his family was—that by opening the doors to their home that he could start repairing some of the damage Zariah had done and restoring some of the trust they’d broken.
A beggar's book
outworths
a noble's blood
Rexanna De Rosieres
the Penumbra
Queen of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 34 | Height: 5'4" | Race: Ascended x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 4 Abandoned (Level 3 Ascended) - Strg: 19 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
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#32
REXANNA
She hears the stammer in his voice and shrugs lightly. She hasn’t really told anyone about it, and there’s no use hiding it anymore. She had learned from Frey that day, had learned much about herself too. “First day I ever met Remi, we unearthed a shrine and Frey appeared.” She muses on the memory. “They took the memory of you, and a few weeks later I felt terrible about it. Went back to try and get them back. Told them they could have mine if they gave his back.” The broom stills as she carefully regards him. “Doesn’t work like that, though. They gave me a good life lesson though, took my brand away, and placed a fun little curse on me.” A playful smile quirks the corners of her lips up at that.

But they’re talking of her ex-husband and the cultural norms of most nobles, and she nods in sympathy. It isn’t right. And she had strove to prevent it from occurring more, to the best of her ability. Even if she had been punished for it. And she listens while he mentions what he had done too, a similar smile of nostalgia crossing her face. “Here’s to the underdog?” She jests, glazing over the fact he was undercover. It’s different to be the one orchestrating the moves rather than the one deep within. And she can tell that he doesn’t seem like the type. He mentions his past and she continues to sweep, making smaller piles until she grabs a pan to sweep them into. “I’ve learned that family isn’t blood.” She says simply. Everyone in her life she considered to be family was once a friend.

It also helped that she was the last of her own bloodline. But she leaves that part out.

But she doesn’t feel bad about being guilty of it. She’d always done what she thought to be right, even at her own cost. It wasn’t until she met Frey that things began to change. No longer did she feel the need to sacrifice herself for others. She could simply be, blossom, and bloom as her own woman. She shrugs off the implication anyway, no offense taken by the smile that sits contently on her lips. Yet the smile blossoms into a quiet chime of laughter at his surprise. “I know.” She quips back.

He tells her that he’ll stay and she nods as she discards the dirt and dust and other things into a place to be destroyed, before she turns back to him to listen as the conversation shifts to Longnight. “I would stay at the Manor.” She tells him contemplatively. “It would be far more comfortable than here like I did last year.” She tells him with another quiet hum of laughter. “But you might want to fix the upstairs bathroom before… It’s got a broken window.” She winks to him before she sets the broom aside and picks up another wet rag to clean the dusty bottles. “Wait... You said you could summon, right? Does that apply to mythical beasts?” She asks contemplatively.
the penumbra
the moon is drunk with the sins of the sun.
& you stare, and wonder why
the universe never loved you back
the Firebrand
Headmaster / Grand Healer

Age: 29 | Height: 5' 11' | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 11 - Strg: 32 - Dext: 33 - Endr: 35 - Luck: 39 - Int:
ASTRA - Mythical - Luxere
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#33
LOREN
Hearing the whole tale caused Loren to hug himself, trying to contain the tension he felt rising within him. As soon as he realized what he was doing, he let go, but even then he could feel his foot tapping a nervous staccato against the floor of the Rathskellar. ”I see.” He didn’t, really, but he understood enough. Giving Rexanna a sad smile, the Launceleyn wondered if the lack of feelings on Remi's part was a blessing or a curse, all things considered. ”Thank you. For...trying to help, make things right.” It sounded as if she’d paid quite the price for it. ”And I’m sorry you were cursed just for trying to do the right things.” The more the librarian heard about the gods, the more he wondered if being Abandoned was more blessing than curse, something he was asking a lot when it came to religion. Apparently, with the divine beings, it was all a matter of interpretation.

At her comment, he gave her a bit more of a genuine grin, though it didn’t last long. ”Even I would drink to that, but alas.” He spread his hands to indicate his lack of a glass or a bottle. Not that he was suggesting they drink—and he wasn’t even sure that did anything for an Ascended—but he was doing his best to get into the spirit of things. However, the beginning of good cheer was wiped away by the blue-eyed woman’s next statement. ”Maybe so. But that doesn’t mean that blood itself can’t shape us.” The Launceleyn liquid that coursed through his veins certainly did not bode well for the summoner.

She knew what he’d meant to say, apparently, and he relaxed. And he relaxed even further when she casually mentioned that she, at least, would stay at the manor. ”Our doors are always open. And I’ll save you a bed, should you need it.” At the suggestion he fix the bathroom window, he nodded. Then, he gave her a real smile, one that transformed him into almost entirely a different person: lighter, happier, truer somehow. ”Sounds like I might have to keep you away from the bathrooms, though.” It was a feeble joke, but a joke nonetheless.

He was about to resume cleaning as well when Rexanna’s question caused him to pause. Her tone was contemplative, as was the look her gave her. ”Yes. If I know what they are. Why do you ask?” There were more limits than that, but he’d explained those many times recently and he would avoid doing so again for as long as he could.
A beggar's book
outworths
a noble's blood
Rexanna De Rosieres
the Penumbra
Queen of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 34 | Height: 5'4" | Race: Ascended x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 4 Abandoned (Level 3 Ascended) - Strg: 19 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
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#34
REXANNA
She gives him yet another roll of her shoulders in response to the curse, a smile tugging at her lips. “You’re welcome!” She tells him chipperly, even if there’s really nothing for him to thank her for. She takes it. “It was terrifying at first but ended up to be quite fun.” She adds with a hum of nostalgic laughter. She doesn’t go into details, doesn’t think it matters in the grand scheme of things.

Still, the Penumbra captures the genuine smile he gives her, nodding along with a dramatic nostalgic sigh. “Alas.” She repeats, leaning back from the broom with all the flair and dramatics she can muster. Drinks don’t affect her anymore, and for a split second she misses the idea of getting hammered on a bottle of wine, forgetting any and every plan she had made for the next day. But ah, alas no use to dwell in the past.

At his next comment, she has nothing but agreement for. She had been molded and made by the blood in her veins, even if she didn’t know it. And when it had come to light, things began to make sense. And she had adapted — grown, changed, became, but adapted. She lets the comment die, however, nodding along while she begins to scrub the bottles. Sapphire eyes drift over to him as he tells her he’ll leave a room open and she beams a smile to him. She catches his own smile, the changes it takes over him, and she has half a mind to tell him he should do it more often. But she refrains, keeping those thoughts to herself. Instead, she finds herself snickering to his joke, pausing to put down a bottle before picking another up to glance to him beneath her lashes.

You are in luck, dear Loren, for I have no need of them anymore!” Her voice is all play before she laughs genuinely again. A bit too much information? Perhaps, but they had just been talking about orgies and the like. She shrugs it away before her thoughts carry her further. He confirms, and a grin crosses her face at it.

Last year, Edrei and some others went to fix the Spark Bird perch to try and get it to come to protect us during Longnight. They were successful, and it came and kept us safe the remainder.” She reaches up to tap her chin thoughtfully. “I wonder if you might be able to try summoning it?” She pauses once more, eyeing him curiously. “And if it is too draining to summon the whole time… the Ascended could help?” She doesn’t know how he’ll take the news, but Rexanna is willing to try anything to prevent another bloody Longnight. It seems he might be willing to, as well.
the penumbra
the moon is drunk with the sins of the sun.
& you stare, and wonder why
the universe never loved you back
the Firebrand
Headmaster / Grand Healer

Age: 29 | Height: 5' 11' | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 11 - Strg: 32 - Dext: 33 - Endr: 35 - Luck: 39 - Int:
ASTRA - Mythical - Luxere
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#35
LOREN
Well, Rexanna’s pleased reaction wasn’t quite what Loren was expecting, but he supposed it was for the best. Seeing as the experience didn’t seem to be quite as traumatic as she made it out to be, maybe he could find out a little bit of information about the gods and how they operated. ”Oh? How so?” He was genuinely curious to hear about this curse that turned out to be beneficial after all: it seemed to be a specialty of every divine being.

She returns his gestures and words and then some, and his smile broadens for just a moment before ultimately fading away. Then they speak of family and blood, and Loren is glad Rexanna doesn’t respond to his comment; it had been a bit too dark for the way the conversation had been flowing, and he was just as happy to let that subject go for another day. Or maybe let it go forever: the Launceleyns were dead and gone, and he was just their ghost that hadn't moved on yet.

When she chose instead to snicker at his joke and make her own ridiculous comment, he grins, and this time he finds it is easier and that it lasts longer, and is no less bright for it. He wiped the back of his hand (which hopefully was free from sex toy contamination) on his forehead in a mock show of relief. ”Phew. I was worried for a moment there. But the bathrooms are safe from the scourge of Rexanna.” Honestly, he doesn’t know where this was coming from, except that Rexanna’s easy manner couldn’t help but draw it out of him. As for her condition, well, he’d seen a lot of weird shit in his life. The fact that she didn’t poop didn’t bother him in the slightest.

Then the blue-eyed woman begins talking about last LongNight and the Launceleyn fell still, his fully attention on her story. The Spark Bird had come up before, and the summoner gave the response he was now accustomed to giving. ”I will try. No guarantee that it’ll work, though. I’ve never summoned a real magical animal, only beasts of legend and normal critters.” Then he tilted his head, giving her a quizzical look. ”How could the Ascended help?” Nothing the Launceleyn knew about the race suggested to him they might be able to assist in his summoning. However, he didn’t know much about them at all, he supposed, at least not in Caido. And he’d be willing to listen to anything that might save them from the monsters.
A beggar's book
outworths
a noble's blood
Rexanna De Rosieres
the Penumbra
Queen of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 34 | Height: 5'4" | Race: Ascended x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 4 Abandoned (Level 3 Ascended) - Strg: 19 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
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#36
REXANNA
He asks how the curse was entertaining for her, and Rexanna gives him a cheerful grin. “Oh, I could only talk with innuendos or flirting.” She says, summing it up the best she can before she snorts softly through her nose. “There were some other things, but that was the best. Remi made me a notepad so I could write if I had to have a serious conversation.” She offers with another quiet hum of a chuckle, eyes skating over him to see how he responds to it.

But he’s softening, lighting up, and she can’t help but to enjoy it and embrace it while it lasts, watching (cringing internally) as he wipes his forehead with the back of a hand before he continues on despite her bubbling laughter. And the words he says give her more fuel to her giggling, until she manages to calm herself and regain control. But the laughter is nice, and it keeps her content while she lets that conversation die too, preferring to remember it as it was rather than her own interjections.

And her thoughts begin to drift toward Longnight, of Sparkbirds and mythical beasts, and the answer he gives her is almost recited. She doesn’t mind, though, the information is catalogued well enough. At least, until he mentions he doesn’t know how the Ascended could help. And for a moment, she wonders if he’ll run at the mere mention of it? But ah, she got a good use out of her time, ignoring a majority of things she needed to be doing in favor for something far more fun.

Well, when we drink your blood, we can gain your abilities.” She explains, setting the bottles down that she’s been cleaning as her sapphire gaze slips back over to the librarian. “An example being, when I was still Abandoned, someone could bite me and use my fireworks if they wanted to.” She says easily – refraining from mentioning that she had bit Remi and how that nearly turned out. “So if it works, and you start to wane, one of us could have bit you before and kept it in reserve, to use when you need a break?” She contemplates, reaching up to tug the gloves from her hands and running them through her hair before she faces him fully.

It might be an option to look into if it works.” She tells him softly, not wanting to frighten him or make him feel like he needs to do anything. But, so long as he wants to, she’s willing to help his endeavors.
the penumbra
the moon is drunk with the sins of the sun.
& you stare, and wonder why
the universe never loved you back
the Firebrand
Headmaster / Grand Healer

Age: 29 | Height: 5' 11' | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 11 - Strg: 32 - Dext: 33 - Endr: 35 - Luck: 39 - Int:
ASTRA - Mythical - Luxere
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#37
LOREN
As Rexanna explained that Frey had cursed her to speak only in innuendos or by flirting, Loren cocked his head. ”Huh. That’s...oddly specific. Any idea why they gave you that curse?” He noted her comment about other things, but decided not to follow up on it. The more he heard about the gods, the more confusing they seemed. On the one hand, they were these incredibly powerful beings who did not tolerate many mortals; on the other hand some of their actions, appeared to be totally random and, if not benign, at least not actively harmful. So it was an odd mix.

The blue-eyed woman laughs at his terrible joke, and Loren feels a warmth starting in his chest that he hasn’t felt in a long while. However, the conversation turned towards more serious topics, and he lets go of the laughter and smiles with a pang. This was obviously more important. However, that didn't make it easier to move on. Still, whatever he thought she might say next, it definitely wasn’t what came out of her mouth.

The Launceleyn’s jaw dropped. This was incredibly useful information and he was surprised no one had conveyed it to him yet. ”Wait, really? Is there any limit to the amount of time the borrowed abilities last or the number of abilities you can borrow? Can you use all of my magic, or just summoning? Alternatively, is there a limit to the number of times you can drink my blood?” This seemed like it might exponentially increase their chances of surviving LongNight.

Then what he’d said last—and what Rexanna had been saying all along—hit him. ”So...you’d have to b-bite me.” He wished he didn’t sound so scared. After all, he’d been tortured to within an inch of his life, so some fangs and bloodletting shouldn’t bother him. But it did, because...well, for a lot of reasons. His right hand came up to his left arm and hugged it to him, a protective gesture. Still, Loren swallowed, and looked Rexanna in her so-blue eyes. ”You’re right. It’s an option. And a good idea. We should t-test it.” He could get past his anxiety if it might save lives. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d done it, after all.
A beggar's book
outworths
a noble's blood
Rexanna De Rosieres
the Penumbra
Queen of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 34 | Height: 5'4" | Race: Ascended x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 4 Abandoned (Level 3 Ascended) - Strg: 19 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
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#38
REXANNA
He asks her why Frey would have given her that curse, and the thought makes her smile perhaps a tiny amount wider. “Something about enjoying myself.” She shrugs. That was absolutely it, to become and learn about herself rather than feeling the need to throw herself in front of every terrible thing that happened to someone else. And she had taken it to heart, had lived as such, and was better for it.

But some things didn’t change, and she still reverts to it on occasion. But Loren doesn’t need to know that. Instead, he’s asking about the Ascended limitations, and she finds herself mulling over the options before her. “We can use it once until we stop, and then it’s gone.” She begins, moving to lean against the bar with her arms propping her up behind her. “And just one, but we have to search for it. In terms of using your blood at the limit, well, the limit is you.” She tries to say as gently as she can, despite memories of the Spire and the barrier’s fall come to mind.

With Lucas, with his hands on her as she asks what she can do to help, and how he had grabbed her to drink from her and left her, exhausted, nearly dead from blood loss, among the dust and dirt of the Spire. She likes to think she’d be far more considerate than that, but she shakes the thought from her head anyway, considering, while Loren grows quiet. She knows it’s not an easy thing to ask, but if the option is there and he wants to, she’s willing to try.

He asks her if she’d have to bite him. And she nods her head yes, solemnly.

He begins to hug himself and what’s left of Rexanna’s heart yearns for him, lips forming a small frown as she tilts her head. “It’s an option if you’re willing, but I do want you to think about it rather than rush into it.” She tells him — because she had rushed into it, had taunted and teased Archebold of all people, and she had passed out among the blankets and furs in his manor the next day. And since then, she was addicted. “But if you want to try, I will help you.” She tells him, and she means it. She’s far more courteous than some others of the Ascended she knows. And she’s already built a small amount of rapport with him, at the very least.

She sucks on her lower lip for a moment before she pushes herself off from the bar, looking away from Loren briefly. “Well, I think a majority of the work here is done. What do you say if we slip outside and compare the magic in our veins?” She asks him with a soft smile, trying to change the subject.
the penumbra
the moon is drunk with the sins of the sun.
& you stare, and wonder why
the universe never loved you back
the Firebrand
Headmaster / Grand Healer

Age: 29 | Height: 5' 11' | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 11 - Strg: 32 - Dext: 33 - Endr: 35 - Luck: 39 - Int:
ASTRA - Mythical - Luxere
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#39
LOREN
Whatever Loren had been expecting Rexanna to say, it wasn’t that. He blinked, bemused. ”Well that doesn’t sound too bad. Did you? Enjoy yourself I mean?” Indeed, it seemed that the deity actually, in its own twisted and warped way, wanted the best for the blue-eyed woman. Still, they seemed quite mercurial, these divine beings, and the librarian definitely wasn’t going to rely on their grace unless forced to.

He listened to her explanation, and ponders what she told him for a moment. ”Not ideal, but I can work with that.” Then Loren cocked his head and gave the blue-eyed woman a considering look. ”I wonder if my healing magic can replenish my blood.” It wasn’t something he was particularly eager to test—indeed, he wasn’t particularly eager to test any of this—but it was something to keep in mind. If he could prolong the period before he succumbed to blood loss and increase the amount of people who could use his abilities, that was certainly worth knowing.

Shaking his head at her concern, the summoner knew he’d have to tell her the full truth, hard as that would be. But anything less could cause problems for them both that he knew he could prevent. The injuries were the least of it: Loren was quite sure he'd experienced worse in his time. ”No it’s not biting or blood loss that’s the problem. And I’m willing. It’s just…” He fell silent, struggling to come up with the words and struggling even more to say them. ”I don’t like to be touched.” The admission was quiet and soft and his voice was more than a bit ashamed. He looked down and away, not wanting to see how she might react to that particular bit of news.

As Rexanna spoke about comparing the magic in their veins (and he definitely catches that particular phrasing), though, Loren looked up. He nodded, once, not necessarily trusting himself to speak just yet. However, he tossed his rag onto the bar to indicate that he was ready to see what they could do both separately and together.
A beggar's book
outworths
a noble's blood
Rexanna De Rosieres
the Penumbra
Queen of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 34 | Height: 5'4" | Race: Ascended x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 4 Abandoned (Level 3 Ascended) - Strg: 19 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
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Posts: 1,453 | Total: 13,495
MP: 0
#40
REXANNA
Oh I did!” She mentions with a light hum of a smile to her voice. It was actually how she had managed to officially meet her fiancé, and well, as they say, the rest is history after that.

But she tells him of the limit being him and he ponders it for a moment before coming up with his own idea. She doesn’t know if it would work, her magic mostly geared toward destruction and flame, smoke in the ashes, but she nods along anyway. “I suppose it couldn’t hurt to try it.” She hums in agreement.

But the Penumbra grows concerned for her new friend, finding himself withdrawn and quiet as she tries to help, tries to give him options. ‘You can say no.’ She wants to tell him, but she bites down on her tongue, keeping the words from slipping until he explains, and the words hit her with a sad pang of regret. How terrible it must be, to never want another’s touch. And for Rexanna, she finds it almost a torture of sorts — ever the hands on person, willing to stay and snuggle with someone, hand in hand rather than the opposite.

Perhaps it’s because she’s spent months alone in a dungeon?

Perhaps Loren has his own scars too that he keeps hidden, that reasons with why. But she doesn’t ask. Instead, she gives him a small nod. “I understand.” She says, softly, solemnly. But she doesn’t know how else it’ll work, to give him other options. And so she remains as she is, not reaching out, not touching, but watching him with a somewhat reserved look until he agrees to showcase their magic head to head.

She moves from the bar then, slipping out from a dot in the back, hoping he follows and doesn’t disappear into the dark fading light of the sky. She takes him across from the Settlement, out into the open where no trees stand that could be charred or burned, and she gives Loren a bright smile as she opens her palms sky up, and summons a large firework.

She doesn’t need to watch it, she’s seen it a million times, she just wants to see his reaction to it. A large firework explodes from her hand, zipping into the sky and explodes into a shower of golds and reds, dancing down from the sky before they flit away into nothing.
the penumbra
the moon is drunk with the sins of the sun.
& you stare, and wonder why
the universe never loved you back
the Firebrand
Headmaster / Grand Healer

Age: 29 | Height: 5' 11' | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 11 - Strg: 32 - Dext: 33 - Endr: 35 - Luck: 39 - Int:
ASTRA - Mythical - Luxere
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MP: 3415
#41
LOREN
It’s hard to remain melancholy in Rexanna’s presence, and Loren finds himself smiling again. Even for brief moments, he is happy here, and it reminded him simultaneously of how rare that was for him and that he didn’t always have to be sad, despite everything he’d done to those he cared about. It was something to think about for sure. ”I’m glad to hear it all worked out for the best.” At least, that’s what it sounded like to him.

Her words—her understanding, even—brought him back from the dark place he’d wandered in his mind. Uncoiling and standing up straighter, he nodded gratefully to her. ”Thank you.” He wasn’t just thanking her for her words just now. No, he was thanking her for everything she’d done this evening: she’d come to find a cold and lost soul, someone she had every right to treat as an enemy, and instead had given him nothing but patience and laughter and kindness and, yes, even some brief moments of joy. It is more than he could’ve asked for and far more than he deserved.

He followed the blue-eyed woman outside, glad that he had a bit more time before he had to subject himself to the torment of her bite just yet. And then he watched with wonder as fire and light and magic unfolded across the sky in a brilliant and dazzling display. ”Amazing,” he breathed out, his face suffused with an almost childlike glee. Surely nothing he could summon could possibly compare to that.

Suddenly shy, he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, looking down at the ground. ”Is there a particular legendary animal you’d like to see?” It was dark, so the majesty of many of them would be lost, but he figured he should at least give her the option. Otherwise, he was likely to default to one of the ones he frequently summoned. Still, all of them were beautiful in their own unique, sometimes monstrous ways.
A beggar's book
outworths
a noble's blood
Rexanna De Rosieres
the Penumbra
Queen of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 34 | Height: 5'4" | Race: Ascended x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 4 Abandoned (Level 3 Ascended) - Strg: 19 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
Played by: Skylark Offline
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Posts: 1,453 | Total: 13,495
MP: 0
#42
REXANNA
A hum of agreement is sent his way at the mention of the curse, her shoulders rising and falling in a light shrug. It was entertaining, even if she couldn’t see it at the time. It was no wonder her and Remi’s relationship has blossomed since. But ah, the thoughts drift from her mind as he thanks her for understanding, and while she doesn’t entirely, she gives him a brighter smile — making a mental note to not touch him, unless he asked.

Because the Penumbra was geared around consent — and she’d be damned if she was the one that broke it.

But they’re outside now; and her eyes watch the amazement that cascades over his face, a gentle smile crossing her face as pride blossoms within her. She is a force to be reckoned with, and she intends to make sure everyone knows what she’s capable of. She gives him a playful bow after in response before his question causes her to pause.

Oh! Uhm…” She trails off, tapping her chin. “Have you ever seen a phoenix before? They were my favorite stories as a girl.” She tilts her head to him with a bright bubbly, excited smile — imagining the large birds made of flame that rose from the ashes. Perhaps it was similar to her now, but the creature had always sparked her imagination in incredible ways.
the penumbra
the moon is drunk with the sins of the sun.
& you stare, and wonder why
the universe never loved you back


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