inaclovenpine | (no subject)

"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."

Understanding dawns.

"Such creatures go by many diff'rent names. And older creatures are to be more feared."

Matt nods.

There are a few different directions he could go in, but he feels like he's done a lot of talking: he waits to see if Ariel will say anything more.