pris, poof and her birthday ball ][ a log

by Guest Mon Dec 07, 2009 10:29 pm

As soon as Pris started to draw on the paper he was alerted. What good would it have been if he didn’t know? None. In fact, without knowing when she drew on the paper the whole thing would have been a waste of time because he might have forgotten of it and his ‘daughter’ would may have felt as if the whole thing was a cruel joke. He watched her folded the paper and smiled to himself at what she was doing. Smart girl. She had learned that she had to be clear with him on the things she wanted - less room for error that way. What he saw made him frown only a bit and that was due to the second panel. People. She wanted him to be in a room full of people. The rest. He could do, and because of her ending he wasn't too surprised that he'd get to touch her. The whole thing would take some thought. Because of this he did not call on her that day, or even the next, or the next after that. All those were weekdays and he remembered that she had school. In case she didn't get back till late he did not want her nights activities to be reason for any slacking at school. So he waited until the weekend. Now, he had to contact her. Last time she made it clear that she had a cell phone. He wasn't one for a lot of technology in many situations but to him using her phone to get her attention was comical. Wherever she was at the moment her phone would suddenly ring and, if it had 'caller ID' the number would come up as 'Unknown'.

pris on the weekend. especially when it was cold, pris on the weekend involved lots of pajamas and potatoes and television. today she'd managed to pull every single blanket and pillow in the apartment and pile it up on the couch, which she'd pushed to a spot in the apartment which gave her greater satisfaction. then, she'd proceeded to bury herself in said mound of comfort, taking the remote, her phone, her sketch pad and the new set of pastels donald had brought her into blanket mountain with her. that was a few hours ago, though. so now pris and her black, white and yellow duck pajamas and her belongings had nestled and shifted around the mound through three hours of a most haunted houses marathon. so when her phone went off, it was muffled and there was only one thing pris had to say. "fart." she felt around her and the nearest blankets and pillows but came up empty handed. "wait wait just wait," she scolded her still-ringing phone as pris ducked down to crawl entirely into the dark blanket mountain. so by the time she found it and picked it up, she was good and buried and already getting rather hot. which is why she didn't bother looking at who. and just pressed the button to talk. "this is my phone." she told the person on the other end. in case they didn't know.

"Hello my phone, this is the one on the other end." Who said Benjamin didn't have a sense of humor, it only often wasn't the same humor as everyone else. The voice sounded like him so perhaps she would know who it was without any other hints. He would wait to see what her response would be to what he said. Though with the answering of the phone a connection was made and he was able to 'see' where she was - buried as she was. Could it be that Pris did not like the cold? Interesting fact to know considering what they were going to be doing this evening.

when benjamin spoke, pris' stomach twisted into about five thousand knots which got in the way of the tons of stomach butterflies that were trying to bounce around her insides. she was both excited and apprehensive at the same time. and it was all because of how she behaved on halloween. after a telling little intake of breath she managed to speak. "purr." at least he would know that she knew who it was. the perhaps amusing thing was that pris didn't think to climb out of the mound of blankets and pillows now that she had the phone. it was as if she thought that because the phone had been all the way down here, she should stay down there for the conversation. to benjamin she only had one other thing to say, "are you the front end or the back end, Other End?" see. pris could have humor too. a half a giggle blurted from her lips before she pursed her lips together to shush them. she was at the age where once you said things and realized they could be misconstrued in adult way, it caused snickering.

Her sense of humor was returned with that oh so rare brief chuckle of his, deep and dark in nature. "I'm the End that all ends come to." Humor and truth in them both. "I received your message and it is time for us to meet. But first, i need you to do something for me." There was almost always something that he wanted another person to do for him and this wasn't any exception. This time it wasn't for a selfish reason. From his area he held out his hand and started drawing in the air, creating a series of lines and loops to create the object that he wanted. "And I need you to not question it or ask much about it. For what you want in your picture you have to do this one thing for me." if he was on a phone or not would be left up to speculation for he took his other hand, a finger, and pricked a finger on his other hand until it bleed. This bit of blood he traced along the lines he had drawn in the air. With it what he created started to take shape in the form of a necklace, white gold with six ruby tear drops that hung along the string. The rubes made out of his blood. He took the necklace from the air and closed his fist around it. "If you agree to simply take it then reach your hand under your most bottom pillow and wear the item." Nothing would happen to her, but he chose to keep that out. Why? Because in her picture she already said that she would be okay.

"ohh poof." a huff from the other end after he said what end he was. "you wait with the phone." her way of warning him she was putting the phone down to fight with her pillows for whatever item she was talking about. because of where she's placed the phone, he'd ear the scuffling of a blanket rubbing up against the speaker, but he'd also hear her muttering as she was sticking her hands under pillows and shoving them aside to unbury her treasure. when the grumbles were actually words they were things like, "so serious all the time," and "the end of all ends," a mimic of his voice, even though she'd changed the wording just a little, and finally, "ppppfht. back end." very much said in a 'nyah nyah' sort of tone. but then there was a little squee when she found the item in question. lots of scuffling then, and now pris was shoving pillows and blankets not only off of her but off the couch to unearth herself. she grabbed the phone, her cheeks flushed as she held up the pretty bejeweled item. "is this a 'how much poof loves pris present?" it was asked breathlessly as she undid the clasp. it didn't seem too farfetched that he'd overheard her telling everyone else that she wanted a "how much ___ loves pris present." clearly affection was important to the girl in every shape and form. perhaps because of how her mother had left her life. with a great bit of talent, pris kept the phone crooked and at her ear while she slipped the necklace around her neck and fastened it. pris didn't think to question him. he'd just said it was to get what she drew. when she'd drawn the last panel how she did, to her there was no reason to ask questions.

She did ask about the necklace, but it was a different type of question - that's how he'd interpret it - so the evening could continue. Since she did ask, he thought to answer her question. And he would. Later. For now, as soon as she put the necklace around her neck the scenery around her started to change, as though all the colors around her ran and blurred into each other - just as in her painting. Everything changing but her. The colors moved along together until where she was wasn't recognizable but also, in this swirl colored background, was Benjamin. He was walking towards her dressed in those black pants of his. A white cummerbund around his waist, the white shirt and the white tuxedo jacket. It had tails. Spilt down the center and reaching nearly to the back of his knees. The bowtie was not yet fixes and the hat was under his arm. He wore a wily type of smile on his face and he looked as though he had a fresh shave and cut of his hair. Neatly and shortly trimmed as always. Those white gloves he wore had black buttons on the underside and he kept a steady gaze directed right at her. "It is a 'this is a safe to touch present." Wearing it, though she was safe from it, it was made of him. Elements of the warmth she often felt from him seeped out from the necklace. Out and over him to surround her. It was only an example, a small one, of what it would be like if he were actually a part of her. "Interesting pajamas."

the look. on her face. was worth about a million dollars. it took a lot to get pris to have such an evocative expression where all the far-off dreaminess was gone. it took a lot to shock her. considering what she saw when she was having an episode or dreaming, not a lot of visual tricks could render her awestruck. but this one did. it wasn't the sight of the colors running and everything seeming to melt as if she lived inside of a melting house of wax. it was the fact that she'd drawn this and he could make it happen this exactly that stunned her so. she was just staring, transfixed. until he was close enough that his movement woke her up. she snapped her head in his direction, and shame on her she laughed. it was a high squealing laugh that she shushed with her hands clapping over her mouth. another immature thought. for she realized he wore just what she drew in the first panel. so her eccentric and seventeen-year-old brain whispered to her what if she'd drawn him as bare as a paper doll? thank god she had the smarts not to say that outloud. from behind her hands she made a lemon face when benjamin told her what kind of present it was. not that it being safe to touch was bad, but it wasn't a how much he loved her present, and the value of those she certainly held high. "ducks." she informed him from behind her hands. her new favorite pajamas, because when she wore them she could say she slept with duck even on the nights that she didn't barter her way into having a sleepover with donald.

Her sudden elevation of joy caused him to flinch. It was quick and sudden and ended nearly as soon as it began. Very few times she was full of that type of joy and while he had expected some reaction that wasn't it. Benjamin started his walk again to get closer to her and to step around to her side, he was looking at how the necklace sat and his nostrils flared a moment as he drew in her scent. It made her smell of him and it was pleasing, and he pushed down the starts of a growl he felt building itself up in his chest. How wonderful it would be if she could actually be his. "As long as you are wearing this." he reached out to the necklace but didn't touch it, though his fingers came close. "I can touch you, and you may touch me and nothing will happen to you." he paused and leaned in to her as his hand moved along the outside of her arm, less than an inch from her skin. It was a habit and though it was okay to touch her, she didn't say that she wanted him to. Besides, he would have his chance at the dance. "This night will be interesting... as long as you trust me." He wanted to state that point again, just in case the trust issue wavered since touch was not an issue. He tipped his head back and looked over what she was wearing. 'Though I'm afraid that I have to rid you of the ducks. They were not in your picture....." If she had drawn him bare he might have shown up in nothing at all. He wasn't conscious of things like that. skin was skin and if people wanted to watch and stare that was there problem. "And what was drawn.. cannot be changed."

once benjamin was at her side pris' eyes settled on him for good. while he looked her over and spoke about the necklace her eyes did one of two things - followed where his eyes were looking, or watched him. her eyes followed first. once she saw he wanted to look at the necklace, she lowered each of her raised arms out of the way and put her arms down at her sides. she didn't look at the necklace with him for long. right about the time that he silenced the growl that could have been she looked up at him. her look upward was sudden. and her eyes stayed right where they were. on his face. no darting here there or everywhere. he might not know it [or maybe he did] but in the weeks that had passed where she hadn't seen benjamin she told herself whenever she thought of him that the next time she saw him she wouldn't look away and that would be part of her apology. she thought it'd be so hard to do that, to keep her eyes on him, but in this moment she found it surprisingly easy. wide emerald green eyes would stare at him and she wouldn't flinch away from anything she might see of his insides. she stayed still and quiet the whole time he spoke to her. "i get duck later." she whispered it. he'd just said what was drawn cannot be changed, which meant she'd get her duck at the end of the night. so losing the pajamas was okay. what happened next was sudden. pris launched herself at benjamin. throwing her arms around her neck, she squeezed him as tightly as her arms could squeeze. another way of apologizing. her third way...was probably bad pris. and maybe she knew it, but she also knew that what was drawn couldn't be changed. so she made a little animal noise. a murr. she couldn't make the sound as well as she could when she was in her fox form, but maybe when she looked at him she'd seen he wanted to make a sound like it and she was doing it for him. whatever her reason, she felt the sound was needed. so she did it.

Looking at him what she would see - this time - may be a bit different. And it was because she was wearing that necklace of his and for the moment he was around her. Blood was a powerful thing and his wasn't any different. Looking at him there was the wolf. A wild, violent, very large wolf that sought after blood. Razor sharp teeth and dark red eyes that were made of fire. Fire wasn't only in his eyes but it seemed to seep through his entire being. Burning. As well as the area around him. The image wasn't snarling it was only watching as it waited on all fours. It wasn't an ordinary wolf by any means. Perhaps the wolf was only a recognizable guise. He had been watching her body because in his mind he was working on what she was going to wear. It was only when her eyes met with his that his full attention snapped on her and he was able to catch her when she flung her arms around his neck. Benjamin was taller than she was so the girl had to jump pretty high and he wasn't going to let her fall. The hug.. it was unexpected and though his body did not freeze at the touch, the returning hold was not one that could be considered very 'warm'. It was secure, protective and selfish, as though he wasn't letting go. If words were added to it surely they wouldn't be anything but 'mine, mine, mine.' And though there was no one else there in the 'room' with them the look he cast about to the swirl of colors was challenging. No one would be fool enough to approach him with the look he was casting about at the moment. One arm held her around the lower of her back while the other bent upwards and his hand cupped the back of her neck, arm resting between the area of her shoulder blades. Benjamin stepped to the right once, and then again, he was starting a slow turn while keeping her held tight against him. And yes, in the 'flinging' she had knocked his hat out from under his arm. He would pick it up later. As they turned the nature of her attire started to change. The colors of her pants started to slide out and change, mixing with a few colors of the room to take on an ivory color with hints of light pastel swirls. The colors crept down her legs and to the base of her feet before they fanned out. It was a skirt that was four layers thick, the two middle ones being made of ruffles to give the skirt volume. The top she wore became tighter and fell out at the back. A dark red sash, the same color of the rubies, attached itself at her waist and the top of the dress was the same color as the bottom. The sleeves were thin and off the shoulder, the back fell down to a V that stopped right above where his arm was around her waist. Colors swirled themselves along her arms and down to her fingertips, flatting out to make gloves. Her hair shifted, the strands moving to echo that of the drawing, though he added something that wasn't seen in the picture it was a silver band that held her bun together. All of this happened within two full rotations. When it was done he bent and stood her on her feet. The dress, do to the pastel swirls of color, had a slight glittery sparkle. Nothing bright like the dress she wore that night, but it was a sparkle that would be seen as she moved. "Now, you are ready."

seeing what pris saw when she stared at benjamin, for most people it would have been the 'uh oh' response or the 'run like hell and never turn back' response. but for pris, the wolf, the fire, the burning... it only helped her eccentric brain connect dots. it only confirmed her need to apologize. in the strangest of ways, what she saw in benjamin only reminded her of herself. or rather, of something she wondered about herself, sometimes - what exactly people were seeing when they looked at her that made them stare. the hug delighted her. that he caught her and held her so felt secure, and security was something the girl needed or else she got into trouble. as he moved them, she didn't squirm, whine or fret. she felt the strength in how he held her. she'd be 'okay'. and she knew what he was doing. she'd been the one to draw their evening, after all. when he placed her back down on her feet, she looked down at what he'd created and beamed. her gloved fingers touching at an area of sparkles, shifting her weight to make them glint and fade and then glint again. "purr," she said down to the dress softly. she felt pretty, and fancy, and blossomed. which is probably why she asked, "do you think i look pretty, benjamin?" she said his name as he'd told her to. on purpose. maybe she was testing the rules of this night. "i think i look pretty," said before she could stop herself, she felt the need to proudly assert her attractiveness as she spun around in her brand new frock. "i want to keep my presents. birthday presents don't get taken away." and look where her hand covered when she asserted that birthday presents don't get taken away. over the necklace that made things safe for touching.

He looked her over and smiled as he turned away to bend down and pick up his fallen hat. Picking it up and dusting off the top, a gesture of habit as there was nothing here in the 'room' to make the item dirty. In his hands again he turned and popped it on his head, giving it tip so it was not exactly straight. Then he pulled the tie out of his pocket and puffed up the collar before tying it around. Old fashion way of making a bow tie. no clip on items here. "You very pleasing, Pris, in your gown of colors." He wouldn't say attractive though what he said was synonymous to him. it was true, she did. He had seen her in dresses before and her various looks, but Benjamin had a secret liking for long and full skirts and the way they sat upon females. For a man who could do a lot, he liked things that gave an illusion of what could be underneath. "Cinderella wished to go to the ball. Her wish was granted, in your standard tales, by a fairy godmother. At the end of the Ball, once the night was over and the time the magic was to end, all things of her wish started to vanish." He finished making his bow as he spoke and stepped back to her. Reaching out he touched the necklace, on the center-most ruby. "Fortunately you are not Cinderella and I am not a godmother. You may keep your items but the 'magic' of the necklace wears off in the final panel." Shoes.. Suddenly he realized that he had forgotten about that item of attire, - probably because her feet were not able to be seen due tot he skirts length. He took his finger off the necklace and the slippers she wore changed into - what else but a pair of glass slippers. call it a joke on his part. He thought it was funny and they had a two-inch heel. "One other thing.... Where I will take you, people call me Roderick."

"muah ha ha." what an inappropriate response to his compliment of her appearance as she held up the sides of her skirt and pranced a few dance-like skips in the darling dress. the response was a sign that pris was plotting. teenage plottings - oh the things a girl could do when they knew they looked pretty in something.... when benjamin began to answer her question about keeping her presents, however, pris stopped short and went still. eyes on him. a lemon face was a result, and she stuck her tongue out to blow a raspberry. "you're a wolf disguised as a godmother. godmother what big teeth you have." that little bit of sass was the result of his response about the magic of the necklace wearing off. was she surprised to hear it would do that? no. at the same time, however, she was hoping he'd indulge her. pretty girls were often indulged. lord knows donald and dommy indulged her whims. there was a soft eep from pris when he poofed the shoes. since it changed how she stood, lifting her feet up without warning. she tapped the shoes on the ground, getting used to them. they weren't all that different from the glass slippers she'd worn to the cinderella ball, even if that was a ball she hadn't made it too. "roderick?" repeated doubtfully as she looked up at him with a wrinkle on her nose. "i'll call you sir. short for sir poof of parent of pris of ganesvoortshire." clearly she didn't like the name roderick. "why do they call you that? why are you taking me somewhere where they call you that? can you do this to all my drawings, sir? poof them like this?" a gesture around them at the swirls of color and their clothing and the whole picture, as she practiced at calling him sir.

"Calling me Sir is perfectly acceptable, and expected," that wolfish grin was on his face. He was laughing internally at her distaste of his other name and how she'd call him by a title instead. 'They call me that because that is my name there. And what i have prepared there has been prepared because of you." it was her birthday wish after all. It's what she wanted - to dance with him at a ball- and he was going to make it happen. He held out his arm to her in the same way he had done so many times before when they traveled with his hand. She was to take it. "Pris of Ganesvoortshire. What a becoming name." it sounded lavish in in it's own way, "Not to mention that it would fit right in. He liked watching her dance and prance around, how the dress moved with her as she did. He even liked the fact that she was trying to use charm to get what she wanted from him. Knowing how to use charm could turn it into a valuable tool. Getting her charm to actually work on him was a different matter. "It's a slightly different world there Pris, nothing is modern as it is here. Can you curtsy? If not you should try for it's expected of you to do so to any man that approaches you. And stay with me. If you leave me, then the night may have to end sooner than it should. Females do not walk around unattended unless they are workers and if you are a worker you will be used. Have all that? Take my arm and we will be on our way."

[. . .to be continued!. . .]

by Guest Thu Dec 10, 2009 8:42 pm

oh there were other things pris had thought to call him instead of roderick. but sir was one she suspected he wouldn't object to, and she was right. there was an internal swell of pride for that fact, that she'd guessed benjamin right. she considered that a victory. "the pretty pris of ganesvoortshire notices when sir poof of parent of pris of ganesvoortshire does not answer her merry questions, even if sir poof of parent of pris of ganesvoortshire thinks she doesn't," said as she took benjamin's arm as a proper young lady should. pris was rather skilled at the old fashioned manner of speaking. not only did she watch some television and have to read some books for her english classes were people talked that way, but her and donald played the old-fashioned game often. "pray you, sir, answer my question of wither or thither you can poofeth any of mine paintings to life." okay, so she put her eccentric pris way upon the old-world manner of speaking which made it sound strange. but perhaps if she was bid to correct that strangeness she would, because of what she'd say next. "i can watch and listen. watch and listen and do." if the behavior of this place was very different than pris' normal behavior, benjamin was about to see just how skilled of a mimic pris could truly be if that's what was needed of her. after she had a comfortable hold on his arm she looked up at him. "um. why would i want to leave you? i painted what i wanted." to pris, that meant there was no reason to leave. her eyes narrowed just a bit as something occurred to her. "wait. these roderick people who are going to be at my ball. they know you're mine, right? it's my birthday. you're mine." benjamin wasn't the only possessive one in the picture.

"They know you're mine." He made sure to repeat those words though he knew what she meant. Saying that instead was the makings of a smile for him. Afterall he would not say he was simply anyone's. He was a wolf and there were rules: even if she meant hers for the duration of this wish. When she had his arm he tested there movement together with a couple of small steps, and then he simply started walking in this room of blended colors. She had walked with him before, but it was always a different type of feel when you walked holding on to a person. She would feel the gentle sway in his steps, very light and smooth for someone of his size. Graceful and with it's own rhythm. He walked with his head up straight, eyes forward and shoulders back. "There's no need for you to change your speech unless you want. I find it amusing. As for your pictures . . . " As they walked in this room of colors, the scenery about them started to change. The colors taking on blurred forms and shapes.. Stretching out and adding more color to them. One color was dark. Black like a night sky. Most of this color collected over their heads. "You had a taste of what I could do for Halloween. What do you think?" He would let her figure it out on her own. She was a smart girl afterall. As long as they kept walking the scene continued to take on a new shape and the sound of a band playing started to make its way through to their ears. The sound of violins and a small percussion of instruments. They were in a smooth and casual tune. Below them the colors turned to grass and marble steps were up ahead that lead to an outdoor marble coliseum, pillars circling it rose well into the air. To the side there were carriages and coaches, all sitting in wait for when their owners would come and take them to go back home, and spaces for more to arrive. Lights were strung from the top of the pillars, small yellow globs that hung down to light up the ground. Perfectly placed flowers and other plantlife rested on the outside of the circle and attendants stood on either side of the 'doorway'. He was taking them to the path that lead to the door. Non grassy and marble like the rest.. The people she may see were all dressed accordingly. The men in suits, some strange and from other countries but all were that nations 'formal'. Nearly all of the females to be seen had transparent veils across their faces from ear to ear, some of them even had their hair covered in nets of beads and jewels. Their dresses were fitting and shaped in the fashion of Pris.

a proud little nod. she was his. it meant the same to her as her belief that he was hers - in other words, he wasn't going to let anyone take her off anywhere. as she felt the same this meant there would be no problem. if there was, pris was likely to bite the offending person's arm off. pris had no been joking when she said she would watch, listen and do. while the first few steps with him included a bump of her hip against his and mismatched strides because she'd never walked on someone's arm before, these issues were fixed very quickly. while it took two steps to match one of his, she fell into his rhythm. her posture shifted, nice and straight so there was no more bumping of hips. though she was short of height, the set of her shoulders and how she held her chin would make her seem taller, at least in personality. looking at her a person would think she'd been walking and carrying herself so for years. "i think," her voice was even somehow a match to his, though her tone and pitch were still very much feminine and youthful, "i would be most upset if you imply to me that my ball is just a trick you are willing on my eyeballs, sir." it was a comment stated with poise, but there was class to her as she spoke it. as if she were suddenly well-bred and classically trained. as for her words themselves, that is what poof told her she could do with her power - make illusions. as fascinated as she was by the changes in the scenery, the airs she put on and the grace of her moments did not falter for a second. the only change was in her eyes. they wandered, cast here there and everywhere at a pace that was the norm for pris. so it wasn't long before she noticed a difference between her and everyone else, "why didnst thou covereth my face? i stick out. that is what i think of the taste. i stuck out. i was you for Halloween and i stuck out, which means you, sir, are like me. you stick out too. ist thou lonely?"

He heard her questions, he even felt the feeling behind the words she spoke. As close as they were for this night he considered himself lucky that she wasn't bouncing off the walls or in a fit of giggles as it would have been a challenge to his mood this evening. He knew that Pris could handle this. She drew it. She was a mimic. "You did not draw a veil." Sly. But it was truth. "And on top of that you have my permission to be without one." As they approached the door the attendant there gave the pair a bow and a few people who were around cast glances to the pair before looking away. Very few kept their eyes on them very long. As they climbed the steps Pris could see that not every female had a veil, but those that didn't were very few and far between. These women were attached to a male counterpart in some fashion. Whether they held their arm, hand, or even a bracelet chain that connected them. There was a stage on a side of the Coliseum and it was here that the band played on a raised stage. Before them on a smaller stage were a pair of females. Their attire was less than the other females. Veils in place they wore low riding skirts that were made of gathered strips of silk or satin. The strips allowed ease of movement. Their midsections were bare and the chest and arms covered, hair in a braid down their head. When Benjamin reached the top step - odd thing is was, you had to go up the steps only to walk back down to the floor - he stood there and turned his head to look at her.. "I assure you that all of this is very real." The weather was warm. It wasn't winter but late spring, as though Summer were just around the corner. "I wouldn't go through all this trouble if it were merely an illusion. This is what you wanted." At the top of the step another attendant was waiting for them. He was a tall and lanky man aged in his forties. He had a square jaw and tight cut hair. his suit was black and white and on the lapel of his coat was a seal of a wolf paw-print. He didn't say anything but he looked at Pris expectantly with beady black eyes. "I will answer your last question after you tell this man your name." Looking down there were couples dancing on the around on the floor. There was also a section for food off to the side.

this time, she was good. she suppressed the huff that wanted to jump from her lips when he gave her his first answer. she knew she didn't draw one. "yet," she said with the grand importance of someone having a cultured debate, holding up a single gloved finger in the air, before pointing said finger downward to indicate the neckless upon her neck. "i didst not draweth this adornmentation." so she wasn't the best with larger words, he'd have to forgive her. for a brief moment, she positively beamed, a large excitable grin. she was so proud of herself, for making that smart point and for fitting in so well here with poof, and she had to let it out if only for a moment before her mimic sophistication returned. just in time to pause in her walking and give the attendant a curtsy. it was rather good, considering she hadn't the opportunity to watch any females here do one. as they continued on pris leaned up and in, trying to get as close as she could to benjamin to whisper. "what does it mean? to them? that you gave me permission? does it mean you think i'm pretty? will they think we're going to have sprouts?" a little clear of her throat and she straightened and regained her poise after those whisper whispers. "it is what i wanted. i want this to be real." said quietly to herself, almost under her breath, as she continued to memorize the landscape with her continually darting gaze. a gaze which landed on the attendant when benjamin referred to him. and then landed on the paw print. she shifted, resisting her urge to make the snarl face she usually did when she encountered wolf things ever since she first saw the wolf in benjamin. "night's grace to you, sir," she greeted the man in a clear, charming tone as she gave her second curtsy of the night. "i am miss pris of ganesvoortshire, and sir roderick's arm is mine." she had to. she just had to assert mine in front of someone else, even if she could only say his arm. it was her little poke at benjamin, a verbal poke that is.

The continued to look at Pris, he even dared to raise a questioning brow at her bold words until Benjamin turned and set his eyes on the man. It was the claim that caused the look more so than the name. When the man got the look he turned himself right around to face the collection of people at the bottom of the stairs. She may not have had the chance to see a courtesy, but she was about to see one now. Many of them. "Announcing the Margrave Sir Roderick Pryce Vergae and the Miss Pris of Ganesvoortshire." The man had an amazingly boom of a voice for someone of his size. Maybe it was his position in the room that caused his voice to carry so but it rang out through the rest of the area and everything stopped. The musicians ended in their play and the dancers on stag stopped. The people on the floor stopped. Everyone stopped and suddenly all were directed to the pair on the steps. The men bowed at the waist and the females lowered their heads as they held out their skirts and curtsied low. "Do you think I'm lonely Pris?" His voice was the same, straight and lacking in much of a distinguishable emotion. In this situation a person could feel very alone. Or singled out. Everyone was waiting on them and not a single person had their eyes lifted towards them once they were in the bowed position. "I'm spending this time with you." If she did not catch the implication then it was not something he was going to explain without her asking more on it. He lead her down the marble staircase, the sounds of their shoes not too loud on the material, though it had it's own echo in the silence. "The veils. You're not wearing one because you are claimed by me. The unveiled are claimed. Either mated to the male or their slaves with permission to show their faces.." She could probably tell the difference. The ones with the chains connecting them were the slaves. "So yes, they may think that you are going to have my sprouts." a soft growl was at the end of that word, but it was not a threatening one. It was because she was stirring up those thoughts and it was not for him to think of her in that way. "Cover your face and you're free for any of the men here to claim." When they reached the bottom of the stairs he lifted a hand in the air and gave a swirl of his wrist. "Carry on." and just as that, the people stood, the music started to play, and they carried on. Benjamin continued to lead her to the center of the floor. The people giving them room.

it was very subtle, and it was very soft, but pris snickered. it was the look the attendant gave her, it delighted her. pris had a bad habit of being knowingly disobedient, if she hadn't suspected the attendant would have a reaction like that she wouldn't have done it. the snickers stopped because the actions of all the people quite suddenly captivated her. a sea of people, lowering like a wave washing the shore. all for them. it made her attach this thought to one word, "maaargrave," she crooned with an air of importance. she turned her head to look at him just after he asked her his question. "yes, margrave, yes." pris did think he was lonely, after what she'd learned on halloween. not in this moment, but generally speaking. she followed him easily down the stairs. she didn't rush ahead, she didn't lag behind, she behaved as if his arm was her steering wheel and followed its lead. "margrave is that word what makes them bow? why did the man have a wolf foot on his jacket? what would they call me if we had sprout? margrave....ess? baroness, dutchess, margravess. margravess pris. margravess priscilla," she corrected herself, a very rare acknowledgement that that was her full name. but even then, a little shake of her head to herself as the third time was the charm, "margravess priscilla grace!" she pronounced it in the sophisticated tone of her mimicry of this environment. her green eyes glancing at him to add, "grace. that ist the middle of mine name." she punctuated that with a sweet beaming smile. gone as fast as it came. before her head cocked slightly to the side, as she watched him. "do you have any sprouts, sir? or a margravess?" poor benjamin, that pris' mouth was open in her drawing, look at all that was coming out of it....

"No. I don't." He suspected that she would have questions or things to say about what they saw and what they were doing - she did look as though she were telling him something in the picture panel of hers. "Have any sprouts or a Margravine. That's what you would be if you were my mate." Reaching the center of floor Benjamin began to undo his arm from hers, but he kept his hand on her arm. His hand ran down her arm until he was able to take her hand. This action caused him to step back a step or two but he was not leaving her. The rest of the crowd was dancing around them and they were never in any danger of being bumped by the dancers. Once he had her hand in his right he lifted it up while crossing his left behind his back. Benjamin's dark eyes were set upon her and he brought the hand up to his lips and kissed her gloved knuckle. "Margravine Priscilla Grace of Ganesvoortshire.." He did have grace and a bit of suave, this was exhibited now as he had a soft type of presence about him, speaking still with her hand not far from his mouth. "That would be your name and the people would do the same for you. And now, if you will, we shall have this dance. " It was a question even if it was stated other wise. He knew the answer to the question already, the asking was only a formality to attend to. There was even a smile to his face as he stood from the bow over her hand and eased her into him.

"margravine, margarine, bovine, cat-o-nine..." whether the words that followed margravine were pronounced exactly the same in the last syllable or not, pris made it so they did when she said the words in a string. it was her way of remembering, a trick her doctor had conditioned her to practice to help her remember logical things like streets and things she'd read in books and phone numbers and all the rest. a pretty smile blossomed that matched the thrill of her butterfly-fluttered insides when he looked at her, and kissed her knuckle, and called her by the pretend title. "not margravine priscilla grace pryce vergae?" he kissed her knuckle, she dipped in a curtsey just before he moved closer and eased her into position and placement of hands. "you have a lot of names, poof." she mouthed the word poof, she didn't speak it aloud. her attention was on him, just as it was in the painting, but that didn't mean she wasn't taking note of what was going on around them. pris had very good eyes - even better eyes because of him - so she had very well-trained eye corners. "and you didn't say about the wolf foot on the jacket, sir. and is this where you live? and what does margrave mean you do? do you always tell people to carry on? i need to apologize to you, but i can't until you answer all my questions." was there a hint of frustration as she told him that truth? probably. for the first time tonight her lips pursed into a thin line. before she puffed out a lungful of air between them. "my...they get repeated. in my mind, over and over. what about the wolf foot, pris? wolf foot. wolf foot. ask about the wolf foot. if you don't say why i'll have to make something up. it doesn't mind lies." her mind, she meant. though when she heard herself say that, eyes darted back to look directly into his eyes as she said firmly. "i mind lies." just to clarify, the was a different when your mind had a mind of its own like hers did. she'd dropped the old-fashioned speak and the vocal airs, because she considered them to be alone, in this moment, even if they weren't.

She always had questions. The 'whys' of it all. Why this and what about that, perhaps it was too much to ask that she simply accept the things for what they were. He couldn't blame her as asking questions was one of the best ways to learn. "I have a lot of names, yes." was the first thing he said to her. He held her hand up close to his shoulder, the left hand leaving from behind his back and directing hers to sit upon his other shoulder, or as close to it as she could if she were not able to reach it. He did not know if she knew how to dance, or how well and therefore he was set to take it easy and guide her along in the movements. Once her hand was settled he took his and placed it around her back, the same position he had it in when he caught her. And he was standing close. No care for personal space. Her skirt molded about his legs but he didn't press himself against her, there was space to see between the two. He didn't do that because of their relationship, this was the second time she spoke to him about sprouts and he wasn't out to give her more ideas. There was only so many times man could be pushed on the issue before action would be taken and it wasn't an avenue she wanted to explore and he kept from it without making it awkward. "But each name is important." he didn't move them until he heard the beat in the music. Then he stepped backwards and to the side, a quarter turn and a repeat of the movement. It was a partial waltz to a more upbeat pace. "This is one of my homes. Rather this is the home of Roderick. You would not have to take the name if you did not want. The sprouts would have it for sure. As this is my home everything you see here - aside from the guest - belong to me. My land, my servants. the ones who wear the wolf paw on their shirts." If she happened to catch the attire of some of the other workers - like the men and females who expertly weaved their way through the crowds with trays of drink or small appetizers in their hands . "As for what a Margrave does in a way that's easy to easy he's like a police chief. I protect the land." could she tell the irony of it? "Control of the border is mine. The military forces in this Empire are mine to control. Claiming and taking over the territory of others is for me to do." He spoke casually as he guided her about the floor. "I expand the Empire." Military man. Controlling and taking from others. Was it much of a surprise that he would have that title? "What is this apologizing to me that you have to do that you haven't done already?"

the questions were a compulsion, a symptom of her imbalance that she couldn't control. the best she could control it was with answers. she'd tried to explain it, just then, the frustration of it...but pris couldn't articulate things so well when it came to the disorder she had. had she danced before, did she know how...that didn't matter. where he put her hands and how he put her hands was exactly how her hands would stay. how close he got or how he moved them, that was exactly what pris maintained. she did it without thinking about it. dancing was a thing of bodies, so she let her body listen to his body to know what to mimic. like with the adjustment to her walk, the first two or three series of the step would be a bit flawed, but after that if he maintained that step she would be very fluid, and easy. as for avenues, pris didn't know anything about what avenues she wanted to take, where they lead or where she wanted to go. with people, and with literal roads - hence her habit of getting on busses at random and just riding them until impulse told her to get off. it was the same with her interactions with people. as he gave her the answers to her questions, her gaze started to wander off for the first time. gazing out over what he was talking about. "it's a lot," was softly murmured. to her, it was. to control and protect this and more was a large concept. "this is why you don't live at the inn? and i don't see you much? this is busy?" they were guesses, really. put into question form. "controlling and protecting with fire?" it was what she saw, when she looked at him. fire in the wolf's eyes and fire and heat and burning. it was the way her mind worked, it had to make connections. to anything and everything, reasons, reasons reasons. when he asked his last question it got the attention of her eyes. blinking with surprise, head titled with the questioning that also came to words, "i apologized already?" it was a true question. it was possible she did, she knew it was, and that she just didn't remember.

"I do not live at the Inn, for one, because of the daimons that are there." that was one reason. "i don't like staying indoors. " Even where they were was outside. the coliseum was not closed in. Looking up was the sky and the area around them - though blackened with night - could be seen through the gaps in the pillars. Both answers he gave her were honest answers, he told her before that he wouldn't lie. Benjamin kept up the same repeat of pattern, though at times he would make the quarter spin into a full one but was always sure that she kept up with him. His eyes stayed on her for the most part, even if they darted around here and there. The rest of the guest were sure to keep their respective distance from him as he danced with her. "It is a lot, but it is not solely this that keeps me busy. I have people who do the work for me when I'm not here but yes. With fire and my other ways." When he thought to concern himself with it that is. As it was an appearance he did things to maintain that appearance. People could be used in many ways. Why having people always controlled like dolls when they would willing do your bidding? Besides.. This was something he could do when he was bored and other things. He tipped his head now looking at her. "Does it bother you that I have things that take up my time? This is not where I always am. But it is where I could be." Could. Could be. "I assumed that your flying leap into my arms earlier this evening was an apology or a type of longing. yes."

"because of mister wolf," another quiet murmur, pris agreeing with the connection her mind made as she tilted her head backwards and looked up at the sky. wolves didn't like to be indoors, as far as she knew. for some having their head back while dancing could be disorienting, but not to her. what her eyes did was different, what her mind thought was different, and what her body did was different. she was more disconnected than most people when it came to mind-body. part of dissociative disorder. but something pinched at her, a detail she nearly didn't notice. "daimons? last time it was daimon. not 'sss'." as in, not plural. still up at the sky she looked, lips parting into a rather big grin, one that was wild and openly 'disobedient'. she was about to mimic him. she would do his trick. answering his question with a question. "should it bother me?" this time her voice was more like his. rang of the same candor, despite the fact that pris was female. she only sounded like that when she asked him that question, though she tilted her head back down so she could look at him to talk about the apology. "i would always leap at you, if we could touch. you make me warm. i can't make you warm. because how i make warmth is through leaping. and purrs. and pets. and - " puckers. as in kisses. but instead of saying the word, she actually did it. puckered her lips. keeping them puckered as she said with smushed enunciation, "but you won't. duck does but you won't." donald and benjamin should go for coffee someday. the two men had things in common when it came to pris. if benjamin thought she talked about sprouts a lot with him, ha. at least benjamin was a busy man who didn't have pris sleeping over in his bed at least three nights a week like poor doctor donald.

[. . .to be continued!. . .]

by Guest Thu Dec 17, 2009 12:15 am

"Leaps and purrs and pets and fluffing." finishing that other sentence for her. He looked straight down at her as he continued to move her about the floor in their dance. He was referring to the times that she patted - or 'fluffed' - the area above his heart. He had taken that to be signs of affection coming from her. "While we are talking of that let me tell you something that you might not know about wolves or the animal kingdom." His voice was light but it had an educated air. "When you leap, pounce, or tackle one of the opposite sex that means that you intend to claim them. That you want to mate with them. Humans take as fun and games. A playful act and perhaps for them it is." It was one of the few time he tended to speak as if he wasn't Human. "That is what I assume you mean when you say you would leap at me. I look like a human, talk, walk, contain all the mannerisms necessary to be among them but the core of me is animal." Even the thing that he was, was still considered an animal in it's own right. "And there is only so long of a time that something can be paraded in front of me before I do what is natural for me to do. Things are contained due to small quantities but if you were always able to leap at me as you would like I can guarantee you that one day you would leap and end up with more than you had in mind." He was straight forward with that because it was the truth. She had already made him her parent and trusted her, he had his stake of claim on her and all the other actions would do cause him to solidify his claim. The look in his eyes spoke those same words. "And that is not what you want." She had her most precious duck. "Yes, I've confirmed that there are two of them at the Inn now and i do believe that my absence does bother you."

"pppfht." her lips were already puckered at him, so it was quite easy to blow the raspberry to show her disruptive viewpoint of what he said. it was the first time since they'd left the room of swirling colors that she'd broken her old-fashioned mimicking act. while her expression and her tone rang of a know-it-all teenager, her body at least maintained the proper poise and movements necessary to continue their dance, thanks to that disconnect of pris'. "i know," she retorted matter-of-factly, looking up at him like a smartypants through her lashes. "when i'm a fox with lumie we always play leaping - oh." she tilted her head to the side, furrowing her brow and looking quite perplexed. "oh. oh." she seemed so surprised in her confusion. he'd just flared up another connection that she hadn't been connecting before. but that connection didn't have to do with now. pris made herself stay with now. "well i'm not stopping my fluffing because you do warmth," she decided with quite the airs, holding her chin up high as she looked up at him. "besides, so what does that make your warmth mean?" and then a shake of her head with quite the uppity little huff. "and! i said should i, not do i. erase your answer and put a new one." a firm little nod.

Benjamin smirked and at the same time decided to switch up their dance as he heard the band bringing it to a close. Therefore he extended his arm, keeping a hold of her hand but spinning her away from him. See if she can keep up with the twirl and, if she were to lose step and fall he would easily pull her back to him and prevent such a mishap. A hint of a chuckle was there as he brought her close and draped her backwards across his knee in a dip. He held that position, the free arm came up and the back of his hand caressed her cheek, bringing with it that same warmth that she spoke of and that currently surrounded her due to the necklace she wore. He brought his head low and close to hers, so close that it could almost be assumed that he was going to. But he spoke, a low soft growl being able to be heard underline his words. "What do you think it means?" He knew she had a view on it but that she wanted him to say it to either confirm or deny the things in her head. But he wasn't going to. He was going to be wicked and leave it at that. As he puled her up the smile remained on his face. "I like my answer.. That it does bother you. Though i do not think that it should since you have no obligation to me for you to miss."

the spin delighted her. which shouldn't be a surprise, since he watched her flitting around in the dress when it was first formed around her. she didn't lose her footing, but as she gave a high excitable squeal she went along with the guidance of his direction with such verve that if he hadn't completed the movement she would have went spinning off across the floor. a little whoop ended the sound as he dipped her, and she stared up at him with wildly delighted green eyes and a beaming smile to match. the smile quieted and her eyes curious as he came so close and caressed her cheek. during the touch pris closed her eyes, letting a sigh of air out of her. without her sight she could just feel it, the warmth, in case it told a story that words didn't say. she opened her eyes as he pulled her up, making a little snarl face at his smile that lasted only an instant. "i think it means you're allowed to do whatever you want no matter what it means but that i'm not." that wasn't an entirely unfamiliar thing to hear a teenager say to an adult figure. "i think i do have an obligation," she added with a slight haughty little sniff. "i think loving is an obligation to miss. when you love someone but they're not there the dot, it can't connect to the other dot. the line tries but it can't finish because the person is too far away. i can't connect my dot to duck, it makes me miss him. i was afraid you weren't going to let me connect my dot anymore after halloween because i got upset that i wasn't upset about mister math when everyone else was."

And Benjamin fell silent. It wasn't the type of silence that was brought about by lack of speech - though there was that - but it was the silence that could be imagined if every function of the body stopped moving and all went still.. How ironic for this stillness of his to come at the same time that the band played its last note and the dancers in the crowd stopped dancing to so that they could spare a moment to clap for the music that was heard. Everyone had stopped in their own way and Benjamin was now looking at Pris with a slightly guarded look to his eyes. He was calculating what she said and figuring out its meaning. Loving is an obligation to miss. Now, before she had mentioned that word in relation to him and yet he had brushed it off as a turn of phrase. Another thing that he knew people to do, say that they love a person in terms of friendship and perhaps she was meaning the same thing now. But when he took those words and the way that she had responded when he dipped her and caressed her cheek a different meaning set started to make its way up and into his mental frame. The applause rang out around them and he pulled from her once again, this time holding on to her hand as he lowered down on one knee. The hand he held had its knuckles kissed again and his head stayed bowed over it. "Thank you for the dance." he said softly before he got to his feet. A slight change in his demeanor. "Shall we sit out the next one?"

he stopped. and she stopped, as best as she could. which was a very strange sort of stillness for a young girl. when she was very still, her eyes seemed like glass. as if her mind was entirely elsewhere. it had an eerie quality, just because of the dollish look of it. and when he started to move, she started to move. once the ball was rolling with mimicking, pris was set on a sort of autopilot that wasn't very different than follow the leader, and only a sudden heightened emotion would kick her out of the pattern. she seemed so flabbergasted to watch what benjamin did. down on one knee. and he bowed his head. she was a girl who calculated by visual pictures, and all the visual picture memories she had of benjamin in the past were very different than this one. a wolf that made himself shorter and bowed his head to a girl. that was very....that was very opposite a grandmother what big teeth you have. "whoa," blurted from her. that was the best her crash of mental pictures was able to articulate what she felt she was watching. "the margrave does his custom like pris of ganesvortshire must curtsey, and then he asks for tea and cake." a single sentence narrated in third person as if she was telling a story, or giving commentary like they do on the news. she had to say something, or else she was going to get stuck. "i like cake. and i know my tea finger." her free hand, she held it up with all her fingers closed except for the pinky.

"Then tea is what you shall have." he even placed her arm back through his own that he was offering to her, the same as how they came to this place, and began to lead her over to the food. What he had done he was not going to talk about, at least not right now. Perhaps she wouldn't ever fully get the meaning behind it all. After all, her reaction to it was enough for now, no doubt she was already trying to make connections in her head about what he had just done and the meaning behind it all. The table he was leading her to had tea, or rather labeled jars of tea leaves and veiled women in the garments of his house standing behind them. Benjamin walked much as he had done on they way here and his had the noble presence, but there was a very light hint of intensity about his eyes that was not there moments before. He got that way when he was thinking. Planning. Conspiring. There were many words that could be inserted there that would fit. Approaching the table he motioned towards the jars with his other hand. "What type tea do you fancy to have for there are many blends. How is your tongue?"

"no cake? i know my cake finger." hand still held up, pris closed all her fingers this time except for her index finger. maybe that was the cake finger because it was the best to scoop up icing with. she wasn't being serious about having a cake finger, though it was probably hard to tell sometimes when she was trying to be funny and when she was absolutely serious. this was her moment to make humor because everything felt very quiet between her and benjamin. but the moment that had just passed between them felt very loud. to an artist, visual pictures could be so much louder than really loud words. and pris wasn't very good at loud pictures. she didn't know how to behave when they happened. which is why whenever someone tried to get her to talk about the loud picture that happened the day she found her father dead, they had a teenage girl on her hands that was entirely out of control. she wasn't out of control now. but she did feel out of breath. if he could hear her heart, it was pounding fast. matching the pace of her eccentric mind that was running in circles trying to find an answer. twice pris formed a 'wh' shape with her lips, though only the second time that sound came out but nothing else after it. there was a question there, but she couldn't make it come out. something had happened, that's all she could understand. pris was even looking over her shoulder at the spot they just were, as if she was hoping parts of them were still there like two ghosts to show the picture to her so she could see it better. no such luck. "with lumps. i like tea with lumps and ice." she forced herself to stop looking over her shoulder, and at the tea table, but that gaze at the offerings only lasted a few precious seconds.

"Bubble tea?" He asked looking at her.. "That's the only tea i know of that has 'lumps'" and the lumps were really rice but aside from that he was at a loss. He wasn't much for tea except when it was to put up an appearance. Therefore he cast a look at the ladies behind the table. Perhaps they knew of this tea with lumps that Pris wanted to partake of. "And you may have cake as well. I'm sure they have pastries for they are something that I enjoy." Yes. The wolf had a sweet tooth. Interesting fact, although many things could be considered sweet to him. "I think we have time for both before we progress into the third panel of your drawing." he continued to look at her and his arm held her closer. He took his eyes away from her and looked around to watch the other people. The music had started up again, this time the beat was a bit faster and the dance involved claps, small bounces and spins as partners were exchanged. "Perhaps if they do not know your tea they can create it for you." Perhaps.

"one lump or two, priscilla?" it wasn't her voice she spoke with. she was mimicking her doctor. he was constantly trying to give her tea. she took it but she hardly ever drank it. she didn't trust her doctor enough to drink anything that he gave to her. pris made a lemon face as she tried to push the word past her lips that wasn't lump. the real word. say the real word. "sugar." blurted out rather awkwardly. sometimes it was hard being her. right now was one of those times because she kept having this feeling she wasn't seeing things right. it resulted in quite a bit of blinking, some blinks harder than others. she tightened her grip on his arm. this would not be a very good time for them to get separated, because she was getting nervous. for the first time tonight her eyes weren't staying still not because she wanted to look around, but because she felt she had to look around. that keeping her eyes on one thing wouldn't go very well. the soft whine was quiet, plaintive. she was glad that he held her closer. very glad. him holding her closer meant he wasn't going anywhere. once the music started again, she was humming along with it. or trying to, at least. it wasn't a tune she knew. "they changed partners," said abruptly the next time she glanced towards the dance floor. it was something she noticed immediately before she jerked her eyes away to look at the next place and the next. "did you - ?" she didn't even finish the question. "why are you even asking," what muttered tartly to her mind. "i like that you like cake," she said instead, as if asking a question hadn't even occurred to her.

"Did I what Lady Priscilla?" calling her by her full name rather than simply Pris because, for one, there were others who were paying them attention and were before them, and two, it was only proper. "Did I know that the next dance involved the changing of partners? No. But few of the more upbeat songs involve that exactly." He smiled at her then, it was the pleasant smile that he had earlier that evening. The tightness that was behind his eyes had smoothed away. "Berry tea, dark red, two sugar cubes." That was to the lady behind the table who took his order with a curtsy before beginning to open the jars and prepare the tea. It was a process that was not going to take too long. While they waited he turned his attention back to her and turned the two of them from the sight of the women. He lowered his head to her slightly. "Something is bothering you." He noticed that it was hard for her to say sugar and how she seemed more nervous now than she had earlier. "Is something here bothering you? Perhaps someone looked at you in an odd way?"

by Guest Thu Dec 17, 2009 12:44 am

"lady priscilla. berry tea. bothering me." just after he said each of those word pairings she echoed them by muttering under her breath. it had been a long time probably since he'd heard her do something like that. one of the many compulsions her doctor taught her to do when she felt like she wasn't in her driver's seat. thank god there were no mirrors near. benjamin was right, she was suddenly nervous. in the past, this used to mean that pris would start putting a lot of distance between her and benjamin, with a lot of bossy pointer fingers and insistences for him to keep to no touching. tonight he was getting the opposite. her other arm joined the one that was already linked with his, and she was suction cupping herself to him. this was a terrible domino effect, the damned man just told her to watch signals and she was being a little leech. but the last thing she wanted to do was to lose her focus here and have an episode in his land where he was important. "the landscape changed. everything's different." if only she'd thought to draw a purse in the picture she drew. then she'd have pills, at least. her emergency pills. she hesitated, glancing up at him. "sir roderick. tell me a story." it would help. she ground the heel of one of her shoes into the ground. fingers pressing into his arm. before she adjusted her hands, so she could wring her fingers together. "priscilla is my grandma's name. grandma pillows for walls."

Her hold on him was changing and so he would change the way that he held her. Benjamin pulled her in front of him, one hand leading her away from that arm but never fully letting her go. He positioned her directly in front of him and wrapped his arms around her. With the hold he increased the amount of warmth that surrounded her. It was coming from more than just the necklace she wore. It sprouted from the arms that were holding her and his chest that he held her against. His head was lowered slightly to press the side of his face against her hair done up as it was. He took in a deep pull of her scent and tipped his head down towards her ear. An affectionate and possessive hold, he looked out to the rest of the crowd. No one would question or think oddly of what he was doing - it was not odd for men to show such towards the females that were in their claim, even openly in public. "A story… Once upon a time, that's how stories start out isn't it?" In fairy tales they did and this was her 'Cinderella Ball' so why not? The lady behind the table quietly let Benjamin know that the tea was ready and he indicated that he knew by a simple nod of his head. "There was a girl who made a wish. In it she wished for something she wanted to be true, something that she thought she could only have in a wish. To her surprise the wish came true but it did not turn out exactly how she thought. As any good Djinn knows all wishes have loopholes and things happen that are not written in contract. For the wisher, something had changed in the process of her wish but it was something that could not be described. It was felt." Felt. He brushed one hand down the front of her skirt before returning it to the other at her waist. "A confusing feeling and one that wouldn't explain itself. The rest of her wish carried on as she had wanted and the feeling she had settled inside as something calming and secure. Then, when the wish came to an end, she was surprised to see that the feeling lingered. The end. You know that I'm horrible at stories." he lifted his head from her ear as the story was whispered to her. "Your tea is ready."

this was her brother's job. and sometimes, though pris tried very hard to keep it from happening, calming her like this was donald's job. the day of the halloween dance lumie had tried, but he didn't know what to do and things had just gotten worse. lumie had gotten the holding part right but he'd said wrong things that made the episode worse, not better. it was probably why pris told benjamin to tell her a story. to keep him from doing the wrong thing. how he changed how he held her, that was the right thing. he was tall and for him to wrap around her like he did, it gave her images of pillows and blankets and even one more surrealistic ones of the walls and floor behaving like a blanket. while he looked at the crowd she looked at nothing. eyes squeezed tightly shut as she focused on the images that came to mind as he held and spoke to her. her cheek was pressed against his chest, just under his shoulder, and somewhere during the moment he'd changed his hold on her pris' arms had wrapped around him to hold on. benjamin chose to tell her an interesting story as he surrounded her in the warmth that brought a softer side from her whenever she felt it. but he was smart man, and gave the story the ending that it didn't have, which is exactly what had bothered pris to the brink of an episode - the lack of ending. the fact he described what happened allowed her to see the landscape over again in her mind, which is what she'd wanted when she was staring her shoulder before. "at least you're honest." it was whispered back to him after he said he was horrible at stories. her whisper was calm. "you're honest." he'd really not defined anything else but she understood now. she was calmer and what she had only said through her birthday drawing so far came from verbally from her now. as pris looked up at him. slipping her hands up and placing them on his shoulders, or as close as she could get if he was being too tall for her at the moment. everything had an air of very great importance. like she was using every fiber of her focus to try to make words out of what she'd only felt so far ever since halloween. she didn't even think about it in the moment, this was very moment in the second panel where she'd painted herself speaking to him so earnestly. "sir. just because you poof things and you have snarl face and you have your fire, it doesn't mean you don't deserve to be touched. i wouldn't let you even when you were trying to help with your taxi and my ankle. that's how everyone at school treats me. that wasn't nice of me. even though you can't help who you are you take very very good for me and that must be very very hard. thank you for the tea, margrave." even if he didn't release her to step away, pris dipped herself down in a curtsey to him. there. she'd apologized. and his story was right. because now she felt much, much better. settled and secure. they were good words.

Then his story did what it was supposed to do - bring her comfort as well as be a poor attempt on his part to bring enlightenment in the form of a tale. He liked that she said he was honest for there were a lot of people who thought otherwise. He couldn't blame them. When a person was wicked and did evil things they were not expected to be honest or true with their words, especially not with the things that they did. Benjamin listened to the things she said and willed his face to keep the same pose and not to go into that contemplative state. It was the emotion she was displaying and the rise of the animal instinct that he had been suppressing for the entirety of the night. What was he to do about things now when he couldn't explain touching in a verbal way. So when she said 'thank you' he tipped his head to her and loosened his hold around her to allow the move, keeping one hand on her still. "You're welcome." The tea. The tea was ready for her to take when she wanted it, and there would be cake. "I believe we've come to the end of the second panel." It was stating the obvious and it was something to say. Two in one, a good deal. Touching was an issue for him because of what he could do. The one he wanted to touch didn't want her touching him and the other he would touch - and let her touch him - if only she would submit to being his. It was an interesting circumstance. "I should take you home."

she apologized to him for not touching him by painting her wish that she touched him in these circumstances and ended up okay. well, okay with loopholes. even as she'd painted it, she knew there would be something. he wouldn't be poof if there wasn't something. making the painting despite that knowing showed the level of conviction she'd had about this wish. but what pris hadn't thought about yet was what about the next time? when the magic of the necklace was gone and the reasons came back? while pris was very observant and almost a savant when it came to the moment, she was not very good at anticipating unless there was a clear repeated pattern. "we did." pris said it quietly, looking down at her tea as she took it. she stared down into the red liquid, watching the gloomy rendition of her reflection that it showed her. if she knew how he was interpreting some of the things she said or did, she might have said something to try to fix it. but she didn't know. and if she'd tried to verbalize it it would have just been a mess. how pris loved was strange - there weren't categories like friend love and family love and romantic love. it was just this one big lump category and love translated into something possessive. something she and he shared in common? she loved people and that meant they were hers which is what she meant by the connecting the dots and obligations. "and after? what are you going to do after? are you going to come back here and dance and get more cake?" she was still looking down at her tea, but that question certainly wasn't for her teacup. she did drink it, though. the tea.

"And afterward I will what I often do. My work." which consisted of many things and it was an answer that hardly said anything at all. But for that he would add. "Though it will not involve cake." that would settle her perhaps to know that he wasn't going to come back and dance with others and eat cake with them instead of her. that was the reason behind him saying that instead of leaving off with the first sent out. "But first my job is to make sure that you are safe and sound, as the last panel in your wish suggests." He would have kept her here, to stay the night, to finish the ball and indulge in whatever other flights of fancy may be going around in her head, but that was not the way of things for this night. He had an obligation to fulfill and he was going to stay to it. He was a man of his word and she trusted that he would take her back home. Even though there were many ways this night could end. As for what would happen once this night was over? The reality of it was that he expected things to fall into a semblence of how they were before. He knew that once the necklace wore off she would be leary to touch him or her touch him and it was something that he had already set himself to accept. It was how things went. This wasn't going to change unless she had a sudden change about how she wanted her life to be and if she wanted him to have more of role in it. He couldn't simply not be who and what he was every time they happened to have a meeting. "You cake will await you. Take my arm and I will see you safe."

"you all work. i hate it." grumbled in a tone that was a far cry from the lofty old-fashioned mannerisms she'd started the night with. it was the truth, though. dommy worked, donald worked, benjamin worked. to pris all that working meant was her watching television alone or riding busses on the occasions when all three of them were busy with adult things and she was home from school. this moment, right here, was why pris had been so unknowingly smart for painting a triptych. otherwise it would have been too easy for her to be swept away into a painting with no ending. and maybe right now part of her knew that. but that didn't mean she wasn't stalling. first, she was slurping at her tea like a snail. humming nonchalantly between sips as she rocked back and forward from her toes to her heels, eyes purposefully wandering as she slurped to take in the sights. maybe one last time to commit it all to memory. she had a lot of drawings to do for the rest of her weekend. as settled and secure as she felt, one corner of her brain was convinced that if she gave benjamin a book of drawings it would say things much better. or that drawings would help her see what changed. after her tea was finished, she set it back down on the counter where it had been placed for her. and there was benjamin's arm, and there was her still not taking it. instead she turned in a little circle, index fingers taking turns poking up at the air. she was doing the hokey pokey. sure, it totally lacked maturity, what she was doing. but sometimes, seventeen just wasn't very mature. "will i ever work?"

He knew all too well what she was doing but the question of it was why when she knew that in the end she would be with the person she wanted to be with. Before the incident on the floor he would have assumed that that was where she would love to be and now, now he wasn't too sure. When she placed her cup down he relaxed his extended arm. "You work fine enough for me, Pris." He made a purposeful pause before he said her name and he was looking at her with a steady eye. "Do you think that I stay away from you because you do not work? Or are you asking as another question?" it was clear that she didn't like being alone all the time like she was, and he knew the feeling of being left alone to your own devices and how that can make things happened. Only when he happened to get stir crazy people started to disappear or worse things happened. An idle wolf was not a good thing to have.

she paused in her second hokey pokey turn [not only did it help to stall the departure, but she happened to like how it made her full skirt swish and the sound that came with it] when he said she worked. "i work for you?" ever since she'd mentioned love she was just stepping in muddled communication like walking through a field of dog poop. she thought he meant that she was in his employment. because that's how she meant work. the way he'd used the word 'work', it went woosh over her head. so thank goodness he'd asked her those two questions, maybe it would pull her onto his same page or vice versa. "my classmates talk about the work they'll have after they're done with school after school." or as normal people called it, college. "i don't think i'll have work. who would want me to have their work?" added as she finished her second hokey pokey turn and moved on to the third. and if that's what happened to benjamin when he went stir crazy, then he'd certainly understand what happened to her. like what had happened over the summer, when dommy was never around. her imbalance had really shown itself then, and it was the worst when she was alone and it got worse the longer she'd stayed alone. as for her stalling....if she ended up with donald no matter what she did now - because her painting said she would - what was the harm of doing the hokey pokey to spend a few more minutes with him? she didn't get to see him often. and she liked the time they spent together. she found it fuzzy, even with his teeth and loopholes. even so, after she finished her third hokey pokey turn she held her hand out to him. can't stall forever, even she knew that. besides, half the reason she'd started stalling like she did was just to see what he did about it. pris and her bad habit of testing.

He would have let her stall. There was no harm in letting her take her time here, it even got him thinking of more things. It was true that in the last panel she ended up home, but there really was no definitive time frame to the picture now was there? Sleep could be one but people slept throughout the day. The necklace? He said it wore off when the wish did and the wish ended when he left her with Donald. Yes. That was a loophole and one that his mind was wanting to take full advantage of at the moment. It brought a smile to his lips. "Work. Your school mates talk of work as the mundane thing to do. Simply because you do not engage in the employment places that they does not mean that you do not, or will not, work." This time he used her meaning of the word instead of the one that he implied earlier. Then, just for fun he restated his earlier comment. "You will work for me. When you're older and the worry of school is behind you." Will. Still the use of 'will' and not 'could', as though it was something predetermined. And to him it was. He had told her that she will control snakes and she accepted it. That is part of the work she will do for him. Her hand to him he took it in a bit of an unexpected way: he laced his fingers through hers. "Remember this night, Margravine Priscilla Grace of Ganesvoortshire." it was the first time during the entire evening that she would feel force behind his words. The suggestiveness that he spoke directly to her when he asserted his will. Voice was low when he said it. Words directed to imprint themselves to her memory. His other hand went back to hold around her waist and draw her close once again. He looked ready to lead her into another dance and, whether or not her eyes stayed, his kept on her. "Remember, and close your eyes." Not a suggestion, the closing of her eyes.

especially people like donald, who often worked the overnight shift. it was a fact that even pris had thought of when she painted the third panel, and yet it had been her choice not to add a clock or a calendar or a very clear sun through the window which determined the exactitude of the time. "sssss," was her reply. even though he hadn't said the bit about her being a charmer aloud, she'd already been thinking of it. it was the connection her mind made when he'd first said, 'you work fine enough for me'. because it was the closest thing he'd ever done with her that associated with her definition of work. "and i will earn my wigs and tights and clothes and colors." clearly she wasn't adverse to working for him in that way - yet. and clearly she expected to be 'paid'. a girl has to buy their mountains of wardrobe and accessories somehow! especially pris the compulsive shopper and chameleon. and she wondered why dommy had to work so much... when benjamin took her hand, it was the linking of fingers that she was watching at first, not his eyes. her breath got very slow and quiet, like a moment was happening that was so fragile it would crack if she stirred too much. it wasn't until he called her margravine that her eyes shot upward. so her eyes were his when he made the imprint. low as it was, it had great effect. it had taken a girl who had just been doing the hokey pokey and made her as silent and still as a hiding shadow. when he drew her close, she didn't know where to put her other hand. it ended up on his upper arm, clasped there firmly to hold on. "this night will be interesting...as long as you trust me." it was what he'd said to her before he'd poofed her birthday gown. she spoke it softly, but really it was more for her benefit than his. like she was reminding her eyes as they closed.

Stories in books, the good stories where good conquered evil and everyone there lived in their precious 'happily ever after' always happened because of an event that happened at the end. Or near the end. That event was the kiss. It was also a pivotal event in any story that involved a Prince and a Princess. However they were neither of them at the moment yet he had given her a title. Her stillness only caused this moment to work better for the pair of them. As her eyes were closed the scenery about them started to drift away, the colors and sounds moving together as their bodies stayed still. As the colors moved and started to reform into the making of Donald's room Benjamin leaned in and did the thing she had asked him for months ago and what would put the ending to this story: a kiss. It was light and just the slightest of touches for it was all he was going to risk with her. And aside from removing the necklace and replacing it, this was one of the only ways to remove its power. Therefore, as his lips made contact with her a burst of energy would go forth, through their point of contact and over her body, inside and out. The warmth that surrounded her would intensify, especially around the spot on her neck where the object lay. Then she would feel an inward pull of something being taken, removed. He was removing himself from within her and it was a hard process especially since he was making sure that she didn't suffer any ill effects from it aside from a light headed feeling. Benjamin's hand that was upon her back balled up into a tight fist and the interlaced fingers grew tighter. The light headed feeling would leave her feeling drained and he was only glad that he didn't implant himself more firmly into her. As he was leaving her body the room came into focus and he broke the light kiss and the interlacing of the fingers. There was Donald, just like she had drawn, laying on his bed and Benjamin set his jaw and balled both fist now so that he wouldn't touch her with his hands - gloved or not - and laid her where she should be. Removing his hands he backed away from her, looking down at the scene. Reaching up he took off his top hat and set it on a chair. Behind him was the remnants of color that slowly settled down into the room. He spared the pair another look, and smiled at how Pris looked there still in her gown and shoes. Then Benjamin turned and with a brush of his hand in the air in front of him, he was gone, knowing that Pris might be a bit upset that he didn't verbally tell her good-bye. Good-byes were not something he was good at either.

pris was not expecting a kiss. even though her eyes stayed closed as he commanded, her eyelids stretched and those closed eyes went very wide. when the touch first came, she clenched the fingers of her hand that was on his upper arm a little tighter. her lips also responded to the touch, at first. they pressed forward, in a manner that made it clear that it was not the first time her lips had kissed anothers. but both the clench of her fingers and the press of her lips relaxed quickly, as soon as the pulling began. the heat was intense enough that it, when combined with the removal, made her feel like she was thirsty. until this moment, she hadn't realized there was anything to be removed. it was something she knew now, but she couldn't at this moment think about. when pris was lightheaded, it was never an easy thing for her to bear because of the precarious balance of her mind and body in the first place. parted as her lips were after the kiss not a single sound came out of them, because what was in her mind was a fireworks display of images that were more like dream symbols than anything concrete or linear. at the very most, all the breath she held in her lungs through the kiss and the steamroll of sensations was exhaled in a very deep, long sigh. he took his hand away from her hand. the hand on her back felt different. these were changes to the landscape and she still noticed them, just as she noticed the care he took in laying her in bed. still clad in the gown, pris' body sank into bed with the heaviness that came after a night of excitement, and even though her eyes were open now the lids were at half-mast as she watched him leave his top hat behind and smile at her. if she had the energy, she would have reached up and fluffed the air in front of her after he held up his hand. but that energy just wasn't coming, not yet. it was probably for the best, considering if she had that much energy she would have had energy enough to ask the dozen questions that were popping like corn kernels in her mind. but instead, as he made his departure pris sank her weight to the side that would turn her body towards donald, her cheek hitting the sleeping man's shoulder as she said one simple thing, "purr." it was the third panel of the painting.

[end of log!]

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