Topic: Ivory

Soriah Lemercier

Date: 2015-07-31 00:29 EST
July 28th, 2015

Rhy"Din City

Two years gone, lost to life in Rhydin. She hardly even recalled the events that brought her to the strange city. Chicago was a distant memory and she had just about rebuilt all that had been lost in the upheaval. Just about.

Not quite.

Gone was the intricate network of contacts, the money, the endless string of lovers. In its place was a budding agency, a small but diverse pool of talent, and him. Raven haired and crimson eyed, he had been a force to be reckoned with. He was of a vampiric breed though not one she had seen in her dealings. He was too whole to be of the Black Court and too human seeming for the Red. He was certainly no White Court phage, his sustenance driven not by the psychic flow of others but rather the blood that ran in their veins.

He was an anomaly. Strong, fast, handsome. Possessive in a way she thought she'd never be held. He was everything she never thought she'd find in a companion.

He was also likely the father of the child she was carrying.

As they say, the best laid plans often go awry.

Seldom did they speak of their relationship, of what it meant or where it was going. Long ago she had convinced herself it was but a business arrangement, trading sex for the protection he offered while she settled into the unknown city. But there they were two years later. They shared the same home, the same bed, the same expendable lovers between them.

She never spoke of her feelings for him but she knew they were there. She knew by the subtle tingling in her skin that soon became an excruciating burn with but a brush of skin to skin contact. It was her fault, of course, she should have known better. Known better than to commit, to fall, to love.

Love.

She was in love with him and it made touching him unbearable. It was why she never spoke the words, why she never admitted aloud just what he did to her, why she brought home innumerable women to share with him' in hopes that maybe, just maybe, it would make him touchable for just a bit longer.

Their relationship was complex but it was about to get a whole lot worse.

Children were not in the cards for Soriah Cassandra Lemercier, she had decided such a thing long ago. Never would she subject another living being to the fate she endured solely by birthright. Yet there she was, standing within the massive closet on the second level of the grand manor owned by her lover and still unsuspecting baby daddy, dismayed by the fact that no matter how creative the tailoring, it was getting to the point she could no longer hide such a secret.

She had to leave. It was decided.

For the first time in close to two years, she found herself plotting a return to Chicago. To her family, to her enemies, to her past, present, and future. For all the running she had done, it amazed her that she would consider such a thing, but sure enough, the fountain pen worked across the page to scrawl an elegant script, a poignant apology, a promise and a lie. Not in that order.

Mon diable,

Regretfully, I must return to the place whence I came. My home calls for me and I find myself answering that call. I wish I could explain why, I do. But I do not know when I will return. I do not know when I will be able to explain. Some day. Someday I will tell you why. But for now, know that je t?aime avec tout mon coeur. Je t'appartiens pour toujours.

Adieu mon amour, Riah

He had gone to the city, a common occurrence on the nights in which his mind wandered to places she didn't understand. He had gone and so did she, off into the night. Alone.

Soriah Lemercier

Date: 2015-08-25 00:10 EST
Summer Falling

Faerie

Much like her last trip through Faerie, Soriah found herself running. Her pulse beat wildly in her ears like frantic war drums, outpacing the pounding of her feet with every step. She had lost her shoes some time back and her pale feet were caked in mud that stretched slimy brown tendrils up her elegant ankles in uneven splatters. As nimble as she was, she still found herself bogged down in the squishy terrain, sinking further and further the more she fought. If she didn't know better, she thought the ground itself was trying to swallow her up. Or at least stop her dead in her tracks.

No.

She would not be taken that easily. The steady progress of the pack of hoofbeats behind her was getting closer. Luckily for her the foliage ahead was even thicker than the dense swamp like terrain she was trying to navigate at present. Veering off to the south, she pumped her aching legs and threw herself into the hardest sprint she could manage. The hot wind of high summer swept her hair back into a tangled mane of spilled ink, a whipping maelstrom that did little to blunt the bite of the branches and thorns that nipped at her neck and shoulders. Deep gouges in her arms and legs seeped pale blood that further stained her ruined dress.

No.

But pain meant little when compared to survival. As she pushed herself harder than her human body could handle, argent starbursts bloomed like fireworks in her eyes, bleeding silver against a canvas of flat grey until overcast eyes gave way to resplendent fury. She hadn't fed the phage in several days and it was only a matter of time before her reserves ran out. Waves of cold spread an arcing wake behind her breakneck pace, leaving emerald leaves trembling even when the breeze had passed. Soriah met the treeline of the thicker forest and dove headlong through the first gap she could.

No.

The stifling heat of summer at its peak sapped the air from her lungs and she came close to pitching over until she forced herself to suck in a deep breath of humid oxygen. The hoofbeats had been distanced so she slowed her pace to give herself time to recover. Of course true recovery wouldn't come until she had fed to her soul's content but this was neither the time nor the place to do so. The canopy above did enough to filter the land of Faerie's light that it gave a preternatural glow to the dim forest, guiding her way through the unfamiliar stretch.

No.

Not daring to so much as speak, she progressed in silence save for the rasping of her labored breathing. The landscape bled from forest to clearing to forest, the pattern repeated endlessly as the sun traced its path across the sky. Her feet slowed, weighted with fatigue and the creeping feeling that she had followed this way before. Had she believed in God, this would have been the point at which she would have started praying. But there was no God and she was here alone.

No.

Riah left the path and ventured into the dense clutter. It was only then that she found her reprieve. It wasn't much, just an overhang of branches set between a pair of fallen trees. It wasn't a five star boutique hotel in Paris or a luxe suite in the French Quarter. It wasn't home. It wasn't even Rhydin. But it was safety and so she crawled into the inlet and pressed her back up against the thicker of the fallen trees. Her lashline brimmed with hot salt-water but she had no handkerchief with which to carefully dab at her eyes. Not as though it'd matter, her makeup having already melted to the point of becoming nothing but jagged smears on dirty cheeks. Resigned, she let the tears fall. No sound came out of fear of being heard but her shoulders shook with silent sobs, one hand settling subconsciously over her abdomen. Her legs stretched out fully, bits of leaf and grass clinging to the mud and gore like little leeches. Tiny flutters beneath her fingers felt like reassurance and she stared down at the alien feeling with equal parts hesitation and wonder. All would be well.

NO.

A thick vine snaked itself around her ankle and before she could scream, she was ripped from her hiding place with a sharp yank.

"No!"