Night on the town, Among other things

[-Darshe]

The trip to sanctuary had gone mostly without incident, not counting Sapphire's attempts to feed on the crew. Only to realize they were essential since none of them knew how to fly an airship. After that she had resorted to sulking in her own little room as Darshe had all but locked himself in a room and not been seen by anyone but Corvina who simply brought him his meals and tried to bring him up to speed on current events...when he bothered to listen.

Darshe seemed distracted the entire ride, gazing out what passed for a window on the airship like it was his own personal looking glass as he stared out at the horizon watching the sky as it shifted gradually in color with the passage of time.

It was only when they arrived in Sanctuary that he emerged onto the deck. He found Sapphire and Corvina already in conversation. "Talking about me?" He asked as he walked up beside them.

"As a matter of fact we were." Corvina replied, "Wondering when you would come out of your hole. What did you do in there anyway?"

He shrugged. "I had a lot on my mind. Took the time to practice some old meditation techniques and reflect on things." He shifted his gaze toward Sapphire. "You and I need to talk."

Sapphire felt a wave of unease come over her. "Corvina...." She began but the other woman was already leaving "I know I know. You two need a minute." Corvina hurried off to another part of the ship as Sapphire braced herself for whatever was about to come.

"I think I know who you are." Darshe began, "There are only a few succubi who've ever survived encounters with me. Fewer who could claim to know me well enough to risk appearing before me again. More importantly, your restraint in not going after the crew, or trying to sneak into my room suggests you're actually an older Succubus. Did you file your horns down or is that just part of the illusion?"

Sapphire chuckled. "So all this time you were thinking about me? I'm flattered....but You could've just spent time with me instead and got your answers."

"And likely ended up minus a chunk of life energy by now too." Darshe replied.

"Mm...That'd have been up to you." She moved to lean against him but he pulled away.

"Enough games. Show me who you really are." he demanded and she sighed "No. The old me is dead. I am Sapphire now." was her reply and faced with the look in her eyes Darshe could only sigh. "Fine. But you are not following me any longer. Go back with the ship. I won't have a succubus who can't even admit who she is following me around, much less trust you not to cause trouble while I'm traveling."

She frowned "So that's it then?"

"The last time I trusted one of you it didn't end well. So forgive me if I find it difficult to do so again. Now. I am going to Sanctuary, you are not to set foot there. If I see you following me I will treat you as an enemy."

"Darshia!" Sapphire was shocked, hurt, among other things. "This isn't like you...."

"I've done many things that 'aren't like me' it begs the question then what exactly am I supposed to be like?" He asked knowing she had no answer. "I can't believe it." was all she could say. "Someone broke you. The old you would've just found my mysterousness amusing and waited for me to be ready to reveal myself be it a trap or otherwise and dealt with it all in stride. Since when the hell did you become boring and prudent?!" Genuine anger was creeping into her voice. "How dare some.......some..........." She couldn't find the words because she had no frame of referance instead she just shrieked in the absence of words "You used to be fun!"

"People change." He replied and brushed passed her. "Go home."


"I see what this is......You were just fine traveling with me in dark world but you don't want to be seen with me as soon as we go somewhere else?" she pointed at him accusingly even though his back was to her he stopped and turned around. "I just really don't want to deal with anymore unnecessary complications right now. I'm here to relax. Something which was impossible to do in Necronus." He explained "From what I hear the world's going to hell in a handbasket and Freya and possibly Amitiel have got the keys to the minivan taking us all there. Nazca's already been hit as well as tristan making for 2 of my 3 favorite cities on this cruddy planet the Aesir have ruined. I plan to enjoy the third before it's ruined too."

Sapphire smiled "Well why didn't you just say so? What better way to party than with a succubus?" He eyed her cautiously "Your kind have a tendency to take things too far....especially in regard to when the 'party' should end."

"Good point....perfectly valid....." She was stalling and walking in a long circle around him. "But what about this? I'll make you a bonafide deal. A demons bargain that I won't cause any trouble in the city. Of course...if I'm attacked or something I'll defend myself....but otherwise......No snacks, no tricks, no nothing. Just honest companionship....in exchange you don't force me to leave. "

"Why go so far?" Darshe was genuinely confused. "I'm not that important.....but one other condition. If I should happen to meet any ladies..."

"OH no. No promises there. I'm jealous by nature."

He sighed "Fine."




2 hours later

Darshe, Corvina and Sapphire were walking around the city. Corvina taking in the sights, Sapphire looking bored, and Darshe talking about the city almost incessantly. "Look at this place!" He made a wide sweeping gesture at the architecture, "No where else in the world does nature meld so neatly into a city. Unlike other places, where they cut down and remove the foliage to build their cities Sanctuary was built with the plants in mind." He inhaled a deep breath "Smell that sweet scent of flowers? Feel the laid back atmosphere?" Sure enough despite being a city, the 'bustle and hustle' one would normally attribute to big cities felt different here. People weren't moving like they were in a rush, instead it had that easy going feeling to it, like everyone knew where they were going and were in no particular hurry to get there because they had all the time in the world. If anything the visitors to the city, such as Darshe and his group stood out as recognizable because they moved a bit more urgently than those who called the city home.

The guards all seemed attentive....but relaxed.... friendly even. A far cry from the intimidating figures most other cities put on the streets. No, sanctuary was just that. A sanctuary. It's massive walls and it's guardian statues were comfort enough it seemed and the people seemed to worry little.

"Do they even HAVE bars in this town?" Sapphire cut in interrupting Darshe's seemingly endless pontificating on the high points of Sanctuary.

"Of course they do." He replied then added "What else would a bunch of townsfolk with nothing to worry about do? Eat, drink and be merry. This may be a larger city but it's got small town mentality behind it. It's practically an Idyllic village....the gardens are famous for their beauty and the serenity...."

"Alright alright..." Sapphire held up her hands "I get it you really like this place. So let's find a bar or something and start getting drunk. Or...did you want to sit in the gardens meditating or something?" She huffed crossing her arms.

The gardens sounded like a good idea at first, but then he remembered Linaya would be there.....Best to keep the succubus away from the former demon lord. Which meant it was time to hit a bar before Sapphire started getting restless. Corvina for her part stayed mostly quiet, content to enjoy a nice stroll through the city. But now she spoke up "I could go for a drink myself....just so long as you don't try to get me into bed after." She elbowed darshe in the ribs but he didn't react to the jibe. Instead pointed out a place and led the way inside.



Another 2 hours later

They were all drunk, Darshe leaning forward to the point he was slumped over the table, Sapphire's face had gone a rosy color and she was trying hard to pretend she was just fine but in fact she'd drunk more than anyone, as she'd spent the last hour taking advantage of her superior tolerance to alcohol to win drinking contests. However by this point it had taken it's toll on her, and she was having a hard time not just dragging one of the men off to a back alley somewhere...but that was violate the terms of her deal with Darshe.

Corvina was keeping to a corner fending off advances from men one after another, they all seemed to recognize she was drunk and apparently took a drunk dark elf as a easy lay. She was showing them how wrong they were. Twice now she'd almost drawn her rapier when one got a little too 'handsy'. But Darshe wanted no trouble and so she was doing her best not to be the one to make a scene and ruin it....though he seemed to be out cold. She couldn't tell for sure from her position. In hindsight it was a bad idea for her to sit alone, she had figured Darshe and Sapphire would do whatever and she was the third wheel...instead Darshe had drunk himself almost unconcious and Sapphire was working on doing the same...but earning money doing it.

She wandered over to Darshe's table and prodded him, "Hey.....this why I never see you drink?"

He groaned and sat up. "I don't normally drink, because I consider myself constantly on duty.....right now though...we're on vacation."

"Right...vacation....while the aesir-"

"Ah. No. Nono. None of that. I dun care bout no Aesir. I told everyone this would happen and they looked at me like I was crazy. Now who's crazy? I ain't gettin all beat up defending idiots who couldn't even be bothered to prepare themselves when they had a fuggin advance warning." Obviously his speech was impaired a bit by the alchohol.

"Right...." Corvina frowned but let the subject go. "Maybe it's time we got out of here...."

"and go where? We ain't got nowhere to go, and shit to do. We're smack dab in the middle of shit goes our luck Corvy. All that's left is to sit here and wait for the holier than thou's to come a callin so's we can knock em on their arses."

"but you just said..."

"I know what I said damnit! But this is my favorite city.....I ain't letting it burn like the others." He was almost sobered in that last line, suddenly serious.

[-Davina]

Davina couldn't stand to be alone anymore, even Sonnet wasn't enough company when she couldn't hear anything. It was like being wrapped in bubble wrap with cotton padding then being stuck with your own voice echoing inside and she was frustrated that no matter how hard she tried she couldn't manage to hear so much as a whisper.

She was also miserably home sick, though not for the house she had grown up in but for the crew she had grown so fond of... She wanted to go back, just stop time and go back to when things made sense. Sonnet was acting oddly, he carried out basic tasks for her just as he always had but each time she needed him to speak for her he seemed to draw further away from her. This frustrated her as he didn't seem inclined to share but he did seem to enjoy helping her work on her ability to speak with people using her mind. Maybe he wanted free of her?

That thought had her pulling a cloak out and leaving the rooms that the wonderful Lady had shown her she could stay in while the man she had knocked down recovered. She had gone each day to apologize again and to bring food and water, she couldn't hear his screams but seeing him bound made her heart hurt. She still wasn't sure she hadn't in fact caused the problem despite reassurance that she hadn't had a hand in it at all.

She moved like a shadow through the darkened city until she saw lights.. Perhaps if she went into a loud bar it would juggle her ears? She opened the door and silence greeted her despite the fact that people turned to look. Even as she moved to the bar area she scanned faces and pulled her hood back, the blue hair caught her attention and she smiled. This was the man she had met when she had been here with Valenar and the Crew, finally someone who looked familiar!

She was about to walk up and attempt to communicate when it occured to her that there were two lovely women speaking with him. She bit her lip trying to figure out what to do next, after all she couldn't exactly hear him... Sighing she missed the man who made a sloppy pass at her from behind and continued to chew her lip. Maybe if she waved? That made her brighten a little, if she waved and caught his attention then she could figure out how to explain the hearing if she didn't catch his eye then she'd leave him to his nights entertainment.

She smiled again and waved her hand at him while the guy behind her heaved a disgusted sigh and muttered "some guys get all the scratch" before heading back to his ale.

[-Darshe]

"You're....unusually serious." Corvina noted and at this point Sapphire, who had been listening in put in her two cents "Just so we're clear I ain't dying in some random city fighting a enemy I never heard of."

"Nobody asked you to." Darshe replied brushing hair out of his face and he caught a glimpse of a girl he hadn't noticed before in the bar. "Ey....Corvy."

"Hm?" Corvina didn't seem bothered by her apparent new nickname.

"That girl look familiar to you?" Darshe asked without really gesturing towards her, he didn't want Sapphire to pounce on her or something.

"Which girl?" Corvina leaned in closer to him drawing a glare from Sapphire as she tried to follow his line of sight to see who he was talking about.

"Dat one. There." He nodded his head and she saw who he meant. But she didn't know the woman. "Eh.....Not really.Should she?" She asked keeping her voice low.

"I never forget a lady." Was all the explaination he gave.

"Hey what're you two whispering about all secretive like?" Sapphire half walked half stumbled to their side from her nearby table where she had been holding her drinking matches.

Darshe leaned back in his seat trying to pull himself together. A light cure spell passed through his system just as a pick me up to help shake the grogginess away. She waved as him, almost confirming he knew her from somewhere....it was also possible he'd simply caught her eye.

"Corvy...." he began but as usual Corvina cut him off "Yeah yeah you wanna talk to the girl." She sighed and got up so there would be a place to sit next to Darshe. She was really beginning to be irritated by how he seemed to be interested in every female BUT her. They'd talked about it once but he'd not given her any real reason why. lack of interest had, so far as she'd seen, not stopped him from continuing to flirt with a woman. Then again she hadn't seen him flirt with his subbordinates much...maybe that was it. Corvina barely payed any attention to whatever else might've been going on as she moved to a empty table and let her mind wander.

[-Davina]

Davina took it as a sign to come closer when he spoke with the other woman and she left but she almost stopped by the table Corvina sat at. She had seen the same odd expression on Valenar's face every time she hadn't responded the way he wanted her to when he was trying to get her attention in a more romantic way. She almost stopped, her feet hesitating, she wanted to offer the woman some form of comfort but what would she say?

The barest hint of a frown and a slight shake of her head had the feet moving again, she didn't know her and therefore likely couldn't help. She refocused on Darshe and searched her mind trying to remember if she had gotten his name, she likely had but that had also been the day she had found her father dead and the first and last time she had tried alcohol. Everything was kind of distorted. No matter, she'd wing it and hope he remembered her!

Stopping in front of the table she opened her mouth and prayed to Ariel that she didn't shout. "Hello, I don't know if you'll remember me but we met a while back when the Crew and I came to help rebuild Sanctuary." She winced as her voice sounded insanely loud in her own mind and tried to drop the volume for the next sentence but kept her eyes glued to his mouth in case he opted to start speaking.

"Uhm... I can't really hear anything but I can kind of read your mouth and when people allow it I can sometimes hear their voices in my head." She smiled brightly, glancing into his eyes for a brief second then back to his mouth. "I didn't mean to interrupt but it's so nice to see a familiar face." No need to explain she was going slightly crazy with a moody dragon and a very strange and disturbed man chained in a basement. The thought made her almost chuckle, laughter was the best medicine after all.

[-Darshe]

Sapphire was glaring hard at the new comer but so far was keeping quiet. Darshe listened to her introduction and signaled a barmaid for another pair of drinks "Two more of those Mojito's!" He called and the buxom blonde nodded setting off working her way through the bar taking orders and delivering drinks until she eventually got around to the counter to get his order.

It never ceased to amaze Darshe how almost every barmaid managed to be a top heavy girl and how every bar on the planet seemed to have developed the same basic uniform for a barmaid. Sanctuary's variation of the dress was green and white but otherwise not much different. Sapphire seemed to notice his gaze lingering a few seconds longer than it should have and made a mental note of these details for later.

"Hmn..." Darshe wasn't sure how to reply to the girl since she had told him almost straight away and louder than necessary, that she couldn't hear. Of course since she couldn't hear she had no idea whether she was speaking too loud or too softly. All the while he was still trying to remember her name, had he even caught her name? He remembered the gathering in Sanctuary, as his visits to the city were sadly few, since he was often busy elsewhere.

Come to think of it Lilly had been there too hadn't she? 'Ah Lilly....Nono none of that.Not now' He mentally scolded himself. Well the girl did say she could read lips some right? Might as well try that out.

"I remember you..." He replied "But I don't recall you being deaf. Seems you had a rough time since I last saw you." Their drinks arrived and he gestured for her to take a sip "Care to share your story?"

[-Davina]

Davina blinked at him and sat unconsciously as she drew a breath. She lost some of the words in the translation but she swallowed hard and tried to figure out how to make it interesting... She was unused to being the center of attention and feeling the gaze of the other woman she glanced at her, blinked at the beauty then swung her eyes back to Darshe. "Well, uhm. It wasn't very interesting... We went out to find something, I still don't understand what but it's eating Ascantha and since my momma was there we left to find out how to stop it. When we went to the library we found an interesting man who tended the books, he sent us out to the place undead go. We had to stop and when we did there was an angry man screaming that he wanted a friend so I tried to be his friend. Apparently that was bad since he tried to light everyone on fire. He was half dragon or something..."

She shrugged her shoulders but blushed and looked at the table as she realized how bad that might have sounded, how dumb was she if she couldn't even make a friend? She sighed heavily but kept talking.

" The next stop had us in the place where the undead live and there were some demon things. Disgusting and they smelled, very strong... We fought them then for a while, lost but didn't die so it is better than nothing. When we started looking again and ran into the same demon as well as some other people trying to fight it.. I was trying to save Sonnet and somehow got knocked into it's portal. Sonnet got us out but it exploded and... Well I landed on a man here and haven't been able to hear since." Her volume rose and fell in unnatural peaks and valley's and her face was set in concentration as she told it. "Nothing very bad really, I'm just a little clumsy. I've been waiting for the man that I knocked down to feel better before I figure out what to do next." She shrugged again and lifted her open hands to Darshe as though to say she just wasn't sure.

[-Darshe]

Darshe listened to her story while sipping his drink and kept a neutral exression, not that he wasn't surprised to hear some of the things he heard. Something 'eating' Ascantha? Surely that was just a poor explaination of it....He couldn't imagine anything litterally eating a city like Ascantha. Except perhaps Lien.....But he'd been quiet for some time now.

He noted she was rather vague in her story, details it seemed didn't matter much to her.So he made a mental note to check on that story about Ascantha later. Sapphire was listening in too, only half interested, and brewing a plan to draw attention back to herself and possibly make a scene in the process....but not the troublesome kind. She was grinning without realizing it as she plotted.

"I see." He said when she'd finished. "What caused you to lose your hearing though? An Injury? Or something else? I'm capable of some healing magic though I'm not sure whether your ailment is within my magic's ability to repair. I can only fix physical damage you see."

He didn't ask about the circumstances of her arrival just yet...odd as they sounded, a half dragon? And apparently someone was ill? Too bad he still hadn't really broken his seal. He wondered if there was anyone roaming around with burns from this half dragon thing....Those he could do something about for sure.

Sapphire finally couldn't wait any longer and launched into action, "I need music!" she proclaimed. Slamming a empty mug on the table and then wandering around and grabbing a man seemingly at random "You go get whatever pots, pans, anything, improvise." She then got herself up on top of a table and began to hum a tune while she walked around the edges of the table making sure she had everyone's attention.

"Sapphire!" Darshe yelled abruptly standing. "What? I'm putting on a show not causing trouble." She replied winking at him and the man she'd sent to get 'instruments' returned with a pair of big black pots, he handed one to another man and between the two of them began banging on the things till they found a rhythm that sounded something like drums as Sapphire started her improvised dance all the while humming her sweet tune. She mixed the gyrating hip movements of belly dancing with twirls and occasional sudden stops into a pose. Her eyes went straight to Darshe when she slid one leg out along the edge of the table, her toes pointed out toward the crowd as she turned balancing on one leg stopping only when she faced Darshe and Davina then leaned forward putting weight on her other leg and ran her hands up from the base of her calf to her thigh where her tattoo "Sinning is Winning" was prominently displayed she licked her lips as she rose out of the position and then seeing she did in fact have everyone's attention once more was surprisingly satisfied with herself. She hopped down and leaned against the table she had been using, "Alright alright that's all you get for free." She announced and the room filled with groans.



Darshe actually was grinning, despite everything and her insistence on irritating him, she had in fact put on a good show. Good enough that he for a few moments forgot all about Davina.....And he hadn't even remembered to ask her name yet. But soon he regained his senses and spoke again "Don't mind her.....She's a succubus. She gets jealous easily....even when she has absolutely no right to be."

[-Davina]

Davina had missed part of the performance but finally caught it and watched open mouthed as the woman strutted and slid around the room. Holy crap... Was this what women were supposed to do? She obviously had missed something important from her mothers description of male and female relations.

She blinked at Darshe, noting his lack of attention and his amusement and filing it away for a later date. Perhaps eventually she would want to get a mans attention and this did seem to work. "uhh, well as far as I know it was when the portal exploded... I haven't been able to hear anything since that moment, Gerrard did to try help but... " She shrugged her shoulders and gave a half smile. "When Lady Lilly let's him out of the basement I am hoping he can explain what he did." Again she paused and looked at Sapphire, wondered if the woman could teach her what she did. Also... What was a Succubus?

Furrowing her brow she asked "So, she's like your wife then?" Thinking this was the only reason she could imagine the gorgeous woman getting jealous of someone as plain as herself..

[-Darshe]

Darshe almost chocked on his mojito as she asked if Sapphire was his wife.

"Gah...puh puh...."He sputtered thumping his chest as he set the mug down. "Gods no. Sapphire is NOT my wife, not even a girlfriend. She's just a girl I met while wandering...she claimed she knew me and started following me, at the time I was wanting for company so I let her. Now it seems I'm stuck with her. It's no secret she desires me but I'm not about to go down that road."

As he talked he kept his gaze on Sapphire watching what she was doing, which for the moment wasn't much. Just talking idly with the men who'd begun to crowd around her since her performance. She smiled and joked and even laughed at the right moments to seem genuinely interested but every so often she would gaze directly as Darshe and wink or lick her lips or make some other suggestive motion.

Then something else she had said clicked. "Wait did you say Lilly was around?" when she'd first mentioned Lilly he perked a little but had soon after almost forgotten the mention of her at the suggestion of he and sapphire being anything more than traveling companions.

Speaking of the succubus she soon grew tired of her new 'friend's' and made her way back to them leaning across the table letting her darshe get an eyeful of cleavage. "Come on Darshe....I don't think I can endure this. I need some relief. Just a little. Please? I promise I won't do any permanent damage....Especially not to you...Just a little nibble? You of all people have plenty of life force to spare."

"I told you Sapphire. Eat like a normal person while we're here."

She pouted "That's boring, and so...inefficient I'll have to eat everyday...multiple times even! How ridiculous is that? The process doesn't even give me any pleasure. Or...you and I could spent some time alone in a dark room and both enjoy it and I won't have to eat for.....well.....awhile. Depending on how much you give me."

Darshe remained stone faced "No chance in hell Sapphire." Then added "and before you say 'this isn't hell' The odds here aren't much better."

"Ah. but they are better." She noted and seemed satisfied with the notion that she wasn't entirely wasting her efforts on something she had no chance of attaining. The difficult ones were always the ones worth savoring when they finally gave in.

Darshe rolled his eyes "Succubi. Impossible to deal with." he said sighing.

[-Davina]

She looked from one to the the other and absorbed the words for a moment, she was vaguely disquieted by the fact that one woman could want a man so much and yet not be wanted in return. She clasped her hands together and weighed it out "It seems rather unkind... Or perhaps sad that she wants... " She trailed off and frowned "I wasn't implying you were unkind."

She flushed and scowled before trying again. "I'm sorry... Is it that she's a... sukibye?" She flailed the word because she had never heard it. "It's not very fair to exclude someone based on their birth." She bit her lip and leaned forward as she warmed to the topic. "She's obviously beautiful and talented so what she is shouldn't be judged but rather who she is."

[-Darshe]

Darshe sighed, "I'm guessing you don't know what succubus is?" He took a long sip of his drink and set his glass down. Sapphire's facial expression dimmed a bit and she suddenly decided to make herself scarce, choosing to go sit with Corvina as Darshe began his explaination of what a Succubus was.

"A succubus......is a type of demon, they're known to hunt men specifically. They either approach men while they sleep and take advantage of them feeding on their life force bit by bit often repeatedly until the subject dies. In such a case he never even realizes it's happening, he would only recall such a thing as a dream. In other cases though they actively hunt, using lust to draw their victims in they seduce, and steal life from their victims while in the act of lovemaking, Their lovers merely dismiss the weakness they feel as fatigue from the often very intense and passionate sessions with the succubus. In reality that's only a part of it. They waste away bit by bit as the succubus takes more and more of their life force ultimately resulting in death. In short the succubus is a creature which can litterally love you to death, and I have no desire to die in the near future. No matter how pleasurable she might make the moments before the end. The thing is when a man actually can resist a succubus' charms it often makes them desire him more.....as you just saw. Now I have no desire to hurt sapphire in any way, but I'm not willing to give her what she wants either. So.....we're at a stalemate for the time being.

Also...you should keep in mind that appearance....is not what she really looks like. Just what she wants us to see. Succubi can hide their true appearance to better appeal to the desires of their chosen lover."

[-Davina]

Davina's eyes went wide and round as she absorbed what he said... She ate... Men? Not only were there people so overcome by their urges for sex that they had to be tied up to keep people safe... And now there were women who had sex to feed. She scooted closer and in her head she was whispering "Can she not help it... I mean if it's how she was born... " She bit her lip "I mean it just seems like its a bit unfair on both sides."

She looked at the table then back at his face "She looks like what men want?" She hadn't meant to ask the question but now that it was out there on the table she looked over at the other woman and cocked her head then looked down and sighed. If that was what men wanted no wonder men never looked at her.

[-Darshe]

"She has some choice it's not actually the only way for her to survive or anything, especially if she isn't using her powers. It's just the way they are, they enjoy it....and it's also how they increase their power. A succubus can live much the same way a average human can, and usually they pose as human, living out daily lives only identifiable when they reveal their nature or in signs like an unnaturally strong and sudden attraction men feel for them or having a history of their lovers dying tragically or inexplicably and even when they are found out they just change their appearance and pick a new name and start over. " He sighed remembering someone he shouldn't be thinking of right now.



"I have.....a bit more personal experience with succubi than I'd like to admit. Believe me don't feel sorry for Sapphire, deception is part of a succubus' nature. And to answer your question, yeah...basically. A succubus will pretty much always take on a form that is desirable to men, except perhaps if they're in hiding. Sometimes they change to a form they see in their target's mind, becoming the woman he always dreamed of made real. It's almost impossible for a normal man to resist a woman who is everything he wanted.Sometimes men become so enthralled that even knowing that they will die they still give themselves over to the succubus anyway. " Yet another bad memory surfaced and Darshe reached for his glass only to find it was empty.

His face soured and he decided perhaps it was time to change the subject. " How is it you seem to have gotten around quite a bit but don't know anything about demons? Succubi are a pretty common type of demon."

[-Davina]

She slid another look at the woman and sighed, she laid a hand on his and frowned when it glowed. Davina removed it quickly and struggled with the confusion and with the question he posed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up unpleasantness." Her eyes narrowed a little as she brought to mind the image of a demon.

"I suppose when I think of a demon I think of the things that made me quit hearing. Gross heaving animals that smell horrific and their touch burns like fire, she isn't what I think of when I think of evil." She pushed her drink at him as a peace offering of sorts. "But, now I know and I wont forget, so thank you for the knowledge." Again she patted his hand in comfort "Why are you here?"

[-Darshe]

"Well. Nazca is a mess, my....mercenaries are scattered and I've been out of touch with things.....My..........." He trailed off unsure what to call her. "Ex. apparently went insane, I was randomly teleported to the middle of nowhere and now I feel the distinct need to get some proper rest and not have to worry about something blowing up or whatever for awhile. Sanctuary is the only place I can still do that. Besides, I enjoy Lilly's company whenever she's available. Looks like I won't get to see her on this trip. But Sanctuary is a favorite place of mine. It's a beautiful city, I wish I had the chance to come here more often and just.....I dunno...Meditate or something in the gardens.....ya know?"

He glanced in the direction of Corvina and Sapphire. "Corvina's been surprisingly supportive though, She seems to have picked up on my quirks more quickly than most people. I'm not sure why she's sticking around, she'd probably be better off going on her own than staying around me. My luck is pretty much nonexistent and trouble follows me wherever I go. The only upside is I somehow manage to not die. People around me often aren't so lucky." He sighed and shook his head "Sorry. I got kinda heavy there. Things have just been........rough lately. I think......" He paused "I think maybe my warrior days are behind me. I'm tired of losing people....maybe teach or something...work on my magic. I've neglected it a bit too long."

[-Davina]

Davina looked around the room and felt the weight of his words even though she could only read them... "Perhaps Corvina is a good judge of character." She paused for a moment and then smiled brightly. "You seem to be a very nice man, it's easy to follow men who have a kind heart."

"Lilly is somewhere in the city... Maybe I could help you find her and meditating is a wonderful way to center yourself. I came to find my father here when I met you first, he didn't survive whatever had attacked the city but I found such peace that night as I walked the quiet streets." She eyed the liquor in the cup and frowned a little at him "It's really none of my business but... drinking only fogs it for a short time, it doesn't help you to forget or to forgive." She smiled again. "What kind of magic do you practice?"

[-Darshe]

He was still for a moment taking in her words. A kind heart? Hardly. Most would probably have described him as a hard man. The ones who bothered to put it nicely. He scooted her drink back to her. "I don't drink to forget like some people. If anything it's rare I even drink like this at all. You're witnessing a rare moment. Darshia Callisto, drinking booze. Most people have never seen me do it. Certainly no one in my unit. Right now though, like I said things have been rough and I came here for no other reason than to relax. Drinking's just a way to take some of the edge off the building tension. I feel like I should be doing something, instinct tells me to go out and find something to fight, some monster to kill or some villain to chase down but that too would just be a momentary diversion. I don't want to become one of those men who lives on the battlefield and doesn't know what else to do but seek a new one. Magic was one a passion of mine, but after some..........unfortunate events I stopped pursuing magic power. I dabbled in almost all the schools of magic at some point or another. I enjoy trying new techniques. However the ones that stuck were light and energy based magics primarily." he held up a hand and formed a energy ball. "Stuff like this. I've toned it down of course...nothing to blow up here." Then tossing the ball up let it dissipate against the ceiling of the bar with minimal damage done. Instead it simply produced a bit of a flash and fizzled into nothing.

"I also can do healing magic...and lightning as well as some defensive spells. I didn't feel quite up to studying books just yet though, so......instead I'm sitting here drinking and having a chat with a lady. Ya know...we've been talking awhile now and I just realized I haven't asked your name."

[-Davina]

She was working through all the words, filling in gaps where she could and trying to formulate a conversation when his last question caught her off guard. "Uhmm, well my name is Davina and I have some... experience with magic. Though that too seems to be broken other than what I can do with my mind." Her tounge tucked in her teeth and poking out of her mouth she focused and had the chair across from them scooting across the floor slowly then back again while images of herself appeared just behind her.

The chair tapped lightly against the lip of the table and the images disappeared as she huffed out a breath and grinned at him. "Like that, for a while I could even control fire and ice but... Since the head thing all I seem to do is glow from time to time." The grin stayed in place as she shrugged it off lightly, what she couldn't fix she simply moved on from. "So, Darshia Callipso, you've come to enjoy the gardens and relax." She waved a hand "This isn't a garden so why is it relaxing?"

[-Darshe]

He grinned, that one was almost too easy. "Because I have the company of a lady." he replied and winked at her. Then nodded toward sapphire and corvina "Three in fact. Maybe my luck's turning around a bit. Besides in sactuary pretty much the whole city is a garden, the plants are everywhere and relaxation comes from many sources." He knew from experience just how complete the coverage of plants was in the city, he'd seen Lilly demonstrate just how easily she could turn the plants in the city into her own defense network to ensnare invaders and remove any unwanted guests.

"Maybe I'll see a play later or something....I had wanted...."He trailed off and shook his head. "But Nazca's been ruined, I don't suppose any shows will be going on there for awhile, and I'm not about to go all the way to Ascantha and risk being caught by the Aesir just to see a good show." He focused on Davina "So what are you doing here exactly anywway? A bar is hardly a place for a lady to travel to by herself....Especially when" and here he paused to gesture at her still full drink "You don't drink."

[-Davina]

Her eyes went a little wide at his wink and she blushed but managed to get that under control as he seemed wistful about shows and plays he was missing. It was kind of nice to feel attractive, even if she wasn't quite sure how to take the gesture. "Well... Sonnet is driving me nuts so I went for a walk and when I saw all the lights I had hoped... Well I hoped that all the noise might be loud enough to make me hear something. It's rather hard to be the only voice I can hear, Sonnet can speak in my mind and sometimes I can hear other voices but I miss... Well I just, it's just hard to be the only sound." She frowned again and looked at the still full cup, it sounded like she was whining and she hated it so she tried for a lighter tone.

"Besides, I am a rather silly drunk so I try not to embarrass myself. And if I don't wander around how will I meet more fascinating people?" That answer made her laugh a little, she did have a knack for meeting the oddest people by simply wandering off and watching.

[-Darshe]

"Hmn....." He pondered for a moment then turned "Corvina."

"Huh?" She jerked suddenly as if surprised he was speaking to her she'd been zoned out sipping a drink of her own idly. Sapphire had been saying something to her before but she hadn't been paying any attention whatsoever to the succubus' grievances.They were almost always so....petty.

"Do you know of any way we might restore Davina's hearing?"

She tapped her chin as she thought "Hmn......Well if your healing magic can't do it...perhaps leopold's brother......what was his name? Richard? Yes that's it Richard urd thor. He might be able to do it.........or perhaps she could try the life waters of the fountain in moun. It's supposed to be rejuvinating and cure practically anything, but it's only at it's most potent if you take it fresh from the fountain....Other than that I'm not sure. It's hard to say without really knowing why she lost her hearing....it's possible it'll come back on it's own but.....it's usually better if a person stays somewhere quiet for awhile so their hearing can recover properly. Since she can hear herself she can't be totally deaf....which means the problem is probably not with her body but her mind....that's a tough one to fix." Corvina shrugged. "Psychological trauma is.....complicated....my mother was something of a healer and dealt with those kinds of things but....mental problems were always the most difficult for her. Diving into someone's mind to fix a problem in their subconcious is dangerous business and unfortunately....I'm far to undisciplined to even try."

"So you were paying attention then." Darshe said somewhat impressed with her assessment. She shrugged again "A little." and downed her glass.

"Hmn..."Darshe looked back at Davina "I had hoped to come up with a way to help you but it seems there's not much I can do....Well....other than this." He placed his hand on hers and channelled a curaga into her. "I'm not sure if it'll do anything for your hearing but at the very least you'll have some pep in your step for a while."

[-Davina]

She felt the cure roll through her body, closed her eyes and focused hard on her ears. There was a humm... But no voices, she still couldn't find the fire crackling in the hearth or the lusty laugh of the barmaid. She felt the tears in her throat, felt the burn in the backs of her eyelids and angled her chin in a purely stubborn gesture. She would get through this without resorting to crying to the Gods... After all it seemed they had abandoned her in her time of need... Or perhaps this was her trial to bear?

That bore consideration but at a later time, for now she hoped the tears didn't show as she opened her eyes to focus on Darashe again "Well, perhaps this was my fate in the grand scheme of things?" Her smile was crooked and dimples flashed for a second. "All good things come to those with patience right?"

[-Darshe]

"So they say...." He looked around considering ordering another round but decided against getting drunk......again. No telling what kinda rambling would come out of his mouth if he had too many. "Not been my personal experience though. Ultimately we all have to work for the good things. Or they slip away before you know it." He leaned back "Be it, treasured possessions, a simple lucky break, or perhaps to catch the eye of someone you admire." He smiled at her as he said that last bit "Simply waiting is never enough. There is a time to wait and a time to act. Or you end up like I was not so long ago, in the middle of nowhere with no one beside you and not a damn thing to your name but the clothes on your back and whatever is in your hands."


He rose from the table and sapphire quickly moved to be by his side clinging to his arm. "It's been nice chatting with you but I think I'd better be going." He looked to Corvina "By any chance do you know what happened to Azrael and Uriel?"

She shook her head "They stayed in Nazca, haven't seen them since...."She trailed off and looked at the ground. Not wanting to voice the likely reason she hadn't seen them.

"I see." He patted Davina on the shoulder as he made to leave "I think I'll spend some time in the gardens....then decide what to do next."