A Brief and Sudden Exultation

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Thenarius
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A Brief and Sudden Exultation

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"Long have I anticipated this night -- which may seem to many of you to be no different from other nights full of such revels. But this one is special to me, for it is mine. The pleasure of this night, I give to you."

"And the honor, we give to thee!" The chorus of voices issued a well-rehearsed reply. Similar exchanges took place nightly at parties like these. But for Léonide's part, at least, he had been honest; he delighted in the thought of the unity this night would bring, and in the joy of providing for others. He had always been a giving kind of person, even if he had grown up spoiled, as some claimed -- an accusation he would dispute, recalling the tyrranical reign and all-seeing eyes of his parents and caregivers.
---
He stood on the balcony, looking over his city. His betrothal, in truth, brought him great anxiety -- but he would never admit this. Other young men bemoaned their wives-to-be as well, after all, although something about his plight felt different. He couldn't pinpoint why -- it was probably just a selfish bias. He needed to keep his self-centeredness in check.

The sight of the far-off lights made his heart rush, but the scent of the sea captivated him all the more. He loved to stare out at the horizon while on the beach, letting his mind wander free from the restrictions imposed by his family, even his country; these daydreams provided him a way to move beyond these confines, if only in his own mind.

The door slid open behind him. The intruder on his reverie took no cares to hide his presence, though he winced at the sound of the shutting door. Léonide finally turned when he heard a sigh, knowing his guest would wish to speak with him.

"Enjoying the night?" he asked. He smiled slightly despite himself when he saw the man: Damien d'Ossidi. He was a well-bred man, dark-haired with wise eyes, though short of stature and a little gaunt in the face. He always had shadows around his eyes, no matter how much he rested -- these days he didn't even bother -- and carried himself with a heavy, serous demeanor. But Léonide knew better than to fall for that; he had seen the man in his liveliness before.

"The night? I suppose. Why not? It's cool, but not freezing. The stars are out. And all the fools of the city are too busy enjoying themselves in here to be making a ruckus in the streets. So, yes, it is a good night."

Léonide grinned. Here Damien was, being difficult again. He loved to banter with the man.

"That's all well and good, but I meant the ... festivities."

"Again. Those? Great. But the people? Not so much." Damien took a drink from the glass he was holding, then gagged. Léonide held out his hand.

"No need to torture yourself," he said. He knew Damien rarely drank. "If you won't have that, then I shall."

"As you wish." He handed over the glass and Léonide downed it.

He, too, gagged. "Good heaven. This /is/ foul."

"I would've warned you," said Damien, as he pulled out a pipe instead. "But you wouldn't have listened."

Léonide shrugged off the slight. He was used to this sort of behavior from Damien, and he respected it. Honesty was like a breath of fresh air in a society so concerned with appearances as his. And in any case, that may as well have been a compliment coming from Damien; it meant he paid enough attention to him to note his quirks, as well as his flaws. And Damien d'Ossidi paid no man mind.

Damien lit his pipe and began to smoke in silence. Léonide wrinkled his nose. "That will be the death of you, you know."

"Everyone needs a vice," Damien replied. They'd had this conversation many times before.

"And I'm sure you can find some other, but for heaven's sake, not this. It's detestable. How can you stand it? That awful smoke racking your lungs."

"I will remind you that we have different priorities... my dear host. For instance: why would you willingly poison yourself and dull your wits? To drink is become stupid and slow. Why bother?"

That phrase was Damien in a nutshell.

"You have a point." Léonide took a sip from his own glass, pondering his troubles again. He had made peace, for a moment, with the struggles surrounding his betrothal, but as soon as Damien had walked out, the storm within him picked up again. It troubled him, and he reflected on it in the silence that followed their brief exchange. He never felt any pressure to speak around Damien, nor did he sense any resentment when he /was/ talkative. It was a strange and perfect balance. He liked it.

He watched Damien for a while. He was looking away, breathing slowly. He seemed completely at peace, as if he had no troubles of his own rattling about his head. Léonide envied him for that. What was it like, he wondered, to be so peaceful? But he never asked. It felt quite personal, and for some reason he didn't want to let on that he paid such close attention to him. Finally he thought of a question to break the silence.

"Why are you here? Outside with me, I mean. Having me nag you can't be any more peaceful than listening to the others prattling about their latest hook-ups or other nonsense."

Damien put his pipe down. Léonide feared for a moment that he had upset him. Damien turned to look at him, and Léonide saw a familiar intensity in his eyes.

"You, even in your silence, are far more interesting than any of them." Léonide thought he saw a smile on his face, before his typical serious expression returned.

"Foolishness."

"No. The exact opposite. You are the least foolish prerson I have ever met. Not that that's saying much."

"... but it /is/ something." Léonide frowned. Another short silence passed -- but both of the men were tense now. Léonide spoke up again.

"You are no fool. So why do you reckon me worth your time? I know you hate parties. Yet you endure this one... why?"

"I like to hear you speak."

Léonide laughed. "You are the strangest man I have ever met, you know?"

"I try."

"Yet it makes you the most interesting."

Damien tensed, then laughed. "Perhaps you are a fool, if you would appraise me so." His voice darkened. "I do my best to be as dreadfully uninteresting as possible."

"Yet in this endeavor, you fail. Consistently." Léonide crossed his arms and pursed his lips.

Damien shook his head. "Enough of this. I am sure you have much more interesting news to regale me with." Léonide winced -- he knew Damien spoke of his impending marriage. "Perhaps we should discuss that instead. Although ... you may prefer a more private venue," he suggested, glancing through the windows.

Léonide followed his gaze and nodded. "That would be for the best, I think. Shall we to the garden, then?" He instinctively offered his arm, and was surprised to see Damien latch onto it.

"After you, my host."
Wedjat Iaret, Ra no Omezu
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Thenarius
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Joined: Wed Mar 16, 2011 6:38 pm
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Tremante

Post by Thenarius »

---
Léonide was in trouble, and he knew it. He wasn’t sure, admittedly, exactly what kind of trouble this was, but he knew one thing: he had been missing from his own party for the last four hours, laughing until he couldn’t breathe anymore at just about everything that Damien d’Ossidi said, whether or not it really was funny. Some part of him questioned why, but the rest of him was far too deep in this trance to consider anything but the glint in Damien’s eyes as he spoke, telling jokes and ranting about the nobility of the city.

“You are a treasure,” Léonide managed to choke out, wiping tears from his eyes. “A true and wonderful, perfect treasure.”

Damien shook his head, smiling. “I cannot allow you to spread such lies. You are a noble man, after all.”

“A nobleman, perhaps, but noble? I mean it, though,” Léonide said, his voice finally steadying. “I treasure you. And… I really appreciate getting to see this side of you.” Damien shifted. “Am I making you uncomfortable?”

“No… it’s not that.” He looked right at Léonide, and he thought he caught a flash of something deep in Damien’s eyes. Regret? Hesitance? He couldn’t tell. “You just have a … strong personality. I can feel it when you say things like that, just how much meaning you put into it. But…”

“But what?” His curiosity turned to concern.

“But nothing. Quiet. I hear someone approaching.”

Léonide stilled, and he heard it too – how Damien’s inferior human ears had managed to pick up on the footsteps first was beyond him, but he heard them now. Their owner – owners – weren’t putting much effort into hiding their presence.

“Oh là là!” called out a shrill voice, followed up by a childish giggle. An elven woman stood there, a smug man on her arm. “What have we here?”

“It doesn’t do to be absent at a fête, Léonide,” the man said. “People will get to talking about it.”

“My apologies. Christina and… Rodolf, is that right?”

“Yes,” the man said, bowing over-exaggeratedly, as the woman giggled again. Léonide winced.

“I was simply catching up with my dear friend Damien.” Léonide nodded toward him, but he didn’t budge, staring down the couple. Christina looked him over, and a haughty look crossed her face.

“I see,” said Rodolf. “Must be quite some conversation.”

Léonide looked down and laughed. “Have I really been gone for that long? Goodness, I must have lost track of time.”

“It’s almost dawn, dear cousin,” Christina said. “We’ll be leaving soon, as will most of your guests, I expect. If you want to say anything to them…”

Léonide nodded. “I’ll be right in. You can go on ahead.” The two bowed and took their leave.

“Will you be rejoining us?” Léonide asked, turning back to Damien.

He shook his head, looking down at the ground. “I don’t expect so, no.” He glanced up at the manor, then back at Léonide, taking a breath. “Thank you for tonight. I… I needed it.”

“Anytime. You know that, right?”

“Of course. How could I forget? So persistent you are…” He smiled. “Go conclude your festivities. Those fools are waiting for you… though I’d bet anything they’re too drunk to hear you out.”

Léonide laughed. “Sleep in peace, Damien. Good night, and thank you.” He headed back to the manor, still caught in a daze.
---
Wedjat Iaret, Ra no Omezu
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Thenarius
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Re: A Brief and Sudden Exultation

Post by Thenarius »

Fifteen minutes later, Léonide Narcyz stood again on his balcony, looking over the lights of the city, seeing the sun peeking over the waters. Just as Damien had predicted, his guests were far too restless and impaired to listen to him say anything too eloquent or long-winded. This worked just as well for him; his heart was too troubled for him to come up with anything good to say. As soon as they had left, he’d gone out to catch a breath and settle his thoughts.

What on earth is this? All at once I feel gratitude, fear, frustration… it’s like some wire within me has tensed up. I can scarcely speak, but I need to get this out of me…

That’s when he began to sing.

“O wretched and beautiful curse! What is this sensation that so rends my heart? What have you, my dear friend, done to me?”

I cannot keep my thoughts from straying towards him.

“O tremendous joy! The burden which you’ve given me! Now that I am bound to you – all at once do I feel free! The suffering you cause me – this endless despair – all shall be righted – just tell me you’re there! Alas, I have erred! O, stay with me a time! Come back to me, share thyself with me! Just tell me you’ll be mine!”

He took a breath. Tears had started to well up in his eyes. He didn’t understand why. He pressed on:

“All that I want, all I pursue
Is but the truth,
And mine is …
That I want you.”

He started to sob. Then he heard a voice behind him and turned to see who it belonged to.

“All that I look for,
All that I need
Is one promise from you:
Let me make you free.”

Damien d’Ossidi, for the second time that night, stood in the doorframe of his balcony. And he had heard him.

Léonide turned back around. “Don’t look at me like this,” he choked out. “I’m hideous, I know it.”

Damien started to walk towards him. “That,” he said, “is a blatant lie. There is nothing hideous about you. There are things which are frustrating about you, perhaps – but to be hideous, they would have to drive me away from you.” He was right behind him now. He leaned in and whispered in his ear, putting his hands on the railing in front of them. “And nothing could do that.”

Léonide begrudgingly turned to face him, finding himself cornered. “Why are you here?”

“You know the answer to that question already.”

“But I cannot believe that answer, Damien.”
Wedjat Iaret, Ra no Omezu
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