inaclovenpine | (no subject)

Matt frowns up from under his hood, not entirely sure where to direct his reply.

"Is something happening?"

The thunder lets out a frustrated grumble.

"Are you all deaf? Or simply fools that will not heed advice?"

"Arguably yes, to the fools thing."

(He could try to scan the storm to read its energy, but by now he feels he's got a decent inkling.)

"But, um ... lightning's not gonna hurt me, if that's why I should go."

Helpfully, a glowing amber bubble surrounds him, gently illuminating his face.

All right, that's interesting enough to distract the storm a moment. The rain bouncing off the bubble lessens a little more.

"I'd not harm thee, even if that I could."

The slight emphasis on thee suggests that others might be up for debate.

Matt pushes the parka's hood back; out here in the warmer weather, it's starting to feel suffocating.

"Good to know," he says, amiable.

Another frown.

"Whatever it is, is there anything I can do to help?"

A wind swirls around him, picking up sprays of sand, and when the voice speaks again it sounds smaller and closer to Matt.

"What makes a person crave to be in bonds? Who cherishes like gold a chain and lead?"

Oh.

Matt's frown deepens.

"That's a big question."

"I cannot answer it," Ariel says, sounding distressed. "I cannot understand. Is every person so?"

"No," Matt replies emphatically, and then gentler, "no. Definitely not. And I mean I ... I forget what I ever told you about my own situation."

"When thy will, too, was bound unto another? I remember."

He nods.

"Do you remember what I told you about it? It's sort of a blur for me."

"Thou told'st me first that thou gavest consent, and to escape thy bonds" -- the voice alters slightly, to an imitation or echo of his own -- "'I'll have to want to.'"

The rain is down to a steady patter, now, not the bruising downpour of a few minutes ago.

"But then he let thee go. I know not why."

Matt winces faintly; after a moment to process the story, he nods.

"I have some perspective now I didn't have then. I did give consent--technically. In words. It was, um, what he did to get me to say those words that was the problem."

Ariel is silent; even the wind dies down a little, listening.

Matt hesitates a moment, then unzips his parka. May as well get comfortable for this part.

"He bewitched me. Put me in thrall. And I thought I had choices, or the idea of having choices didn't make sense to me; something like that." A shrug. "But deep down, I believed he'd kill me if he wasn't getting something he wanted. So I gave it to him."

"Such bonds are brittle," Ariel says. "They won't hold, if strain'd. I . . . I think. It seems. An oath forged so, in fear, in force -- is it not empty?"

"I think so."

Matt nods slowly.

"But it wasn't really an oath, so much as a relationship. You know, like--falling in love?"

"And what is love so forged?" Ariel asks, sounding a little lost.

He shakes his head.

"My theory is, that's why he let me go. Because one way or another, it wasn't going to hold. I mean, I wasn't in thrall all the time, but that was how it started, so--there was no place good to go."

"And he -- who held you -- wanted something strong?"

Matt shrugs.

"To an extent, I'll never really know. But what I think is, he wanted to remember what it was like to fall in love. It had been a long time since he'd been anything close to human; he'd spent so long just--consuming."

He'll never forget that bloody field, or the face of V's wife. Those things are part of him now, for better or worse.

"And being what I am, I could help him with that: because of my magic, and because I ... was just strong enough to stand up for myself. That caught his attention; maybe it made him think I was more worthwhile than other people."

"What was he, if not human?"

"Oh, uh--a vampire."

Did he really never tell her this part? Sheesh.

Ariel finally manifests enough of a human form -- flickering like a flame in a high wind, but there in front of him -- to give him a blank look.

He crooks a smile at her intermittently-present face.

"They drink human blood. In my world they're basically people with weird dietary restrictions who sunburn easily, but other places, they're more like monsters. I don't know exactly what kind of vampire V was, but he felt very old, and very powerful, and--dark."