|
Post by shinigami on Jul 22, 2008 21:28:27 GMT -8
Valentine can't say anything against self defense. And he's not a pacifist. Not completely a pacifist, anyway. He can handle himself, and handle himself well, if it gets to be physical, depending on how practiced his opponent is.
He smiles, slow. Lopsided. Laugh-lines around his silvery eyes spring into relief. Around his mouth, too. "Personality, huh? But it's ugly as sin, I know. Every dent and scratch have a story. The big one on the passenger side is from the time my sister took my brother driving out in the desert. He was nine."
Val unlocks the driver's side first, gets in, leans over, unlocks the passenger door, opens it for Lily. "C'mon; we might as well drive." Then he turns around and starts rummaging through the backseat for a sweatshirt that'd fit her. His car is a jumble mess of stuff, but it's all ... Clean. No fast food wrappers. Only a couple beer bottles.
|
|
|
Post by lily tomlinson on Jul 22, 2008 21:37:32 GMT -8
"Well, if it has stories, it can't be considered ugly, but experienced," Lily said with certainty, sliding into the passenger seat. "Everything has it's character."
She crossed her legs beneath her, buckling the seatbelt around her before tilting her head to the side to watch him search for a sweater. And then she reached through the items of the backseat, sliding her arm beneath it all and felt a piece of fabric. Victorious, she pulled out a sweater and waved it at him. "Found one!"
|
|
|
Post by shinigami on Jul 22, 2008 21:45:09 GMT -8
"Wait, wait," Valentine says, in alarm, straightening so fast that he bumps his head against the ceiling of the car. "Not that -- "
Too late. The fabric in Lily's hand is already revealed to be not a sweater but somebody's bra. Somebody's sexalicious bra, even.
|
|
|
Post by lily tomlinson on Jul 22, 2008 21:49:20 GMT -8
Lily finally sees just what is in her hand, and her face turns the brightest shade of red. "Oh. Oh. That's um... well..."
She quickly dropped it back into the pile of stuff. "Ew."
She crossed her arms over her chest, and scooted as close to the passenger door as she could. "I'm not touching anything in your car ever again."
|
|
|
Post by shinigami on Jul 22, 2008 22:19:59 GMT -8
Val tries not to laugh. He tries. He tries really, really hard. But he doesn't manage it. It's her face; the way she leans close to the door. At first, he's all wide-eyed and consternation again and biting the inside of his lip, and then the smile, grinny good humor, is threatening to break through -- light through storm clouds.
"It was clean," Val says. "But, uh, that's probably a good idea. Here's my sweater." It's a University of Las Vegas sweatshirt, and will be far too big for her, and smell of boy and spices.
And then he can't stifle his laughter anymore, and his lips quirk up. "Sorry. I forgot Peridot left that..."
|
|
|
Post by lily tomlinson on Jul 22, 2008 22:23:06 GMT -8
Lily shook her head in resignation, throwing the sweater on. "Men,"she muttered.
She'd found a pair of panties in Xerx's trunk the other day. What was it with guys and the hoarding of female underthings. Ew.
|
|
|
Post by shinigami on Jul 22, 2008 22:32:32 GMT -8
"Hey now," he says, gaze twinkling. "Say rather 'women'. You'd think such an important article of clothing wouldn't be left behind."
And he starts the car, pulls out. There's a pause. Then: "There might be a dress back there if you feel like you need to change."
Hastily: "Not a girlfriend's, one of my sister's or my mom's. I keep a spare for Bea and I think there's some drycleaning... Maybe that's in the trunk."
Val keeps his eyes on the road. A responsible driver! Although Lily might notice that hanging from the rearview mirror is a thing-of-power, and she can feel the power emanating from it -- fixing something in place. It feels... Safe, and warm.
|
|
|
Post by lily tomlinson on Jul 22, 2008 22:47:21 GMT -8
"Uh huh," Lily said. It wasn't that she disbelieved him, but merely she was quite wary of clothing in the car now after the bra. "I'm good. My clothes'll dry eventually. And if I catch a cold, that just means I get an excuse to skip school."
Man, and she really needed one too. She didn't want to go to the same school with Fire. Yipes.
|
|
|
Post by shinigami on Jul 22, 2008 23:19:00 GMT -8
"Try not to get a cold," Valentine says, and for a measure, there's just silence. He drives; she sits. There's a red light. He says, "So what are these Old Powers like?"
He says it pretty much in the same tone somebody who didn't believe in Jesus Christ or Heaven or Hell would say so what's this 'Heaven' and this 'Hell' supposed to be like? Not mean, not full of doubt, but ...
|
|
|
Post by lily tomlinson on Jul 22, 2008 23:50:46 GMT -8
Lily grinned, somehow not offended by his lack of belief. She didn't blame him. They were nothing but legend to the Nightworld anymore. "Well, Rui, he was Air," she said, "He's... well, he's pretty composed. He's not much of a PDA kind of guy. Gets irritated easily, but he's also really protective of me, that hasn't changed much. Apparently he's the jealous type too, because he really doesn't like guys hitting on me around him. In the past... he wasn't really different. He was nice to me, but everyone else, he'd give the cold shoulder to. He's not really someone you'd want to make angry. Er, he was my brother in the past life.
"Water, well, he's called Domyouji now. In the past, he was very sweet and gentle, very understanding of everyone's emotions, and a pacifist. Now, he's kind of... well, Domyouji is a character. He's very pushy, thinks he's top of the world, rich, snobby, arrogant. And he has no problem attacking someone to get what he wants. And he's more emotional himself than understanding. It's odd.
"Fire, well, I don't know her name in this life, but she's still the same. She's still pure evil, still wants to kill me, and steal Air. She was obsessed with power, and Air in the past life. She killed me back then, and then out of anger, Air and Fire killed each other. And she's out to do it again.
"I haven't met the others in this life, except for Dark. I don't know what to make of her yet, since I only met her once, but I wasn't ever uncomfortable with her. She was helpful, and blunt. Contradictory in senses, like... you'd think she would have been Light, with how bright she looks, but it's more like the darkness sucking in all the light. But it wasn't something I was scared of. She was a comfort, unlike Light. I never liked him. He was very, into himself. Everyone loved him, and he always put everyone down because he thought they were too weak, or too untruthful. Thank heavens I haven't met him yet. I'd be tempted to kick him.
Life, she was pretty flighty. But whenever she was aroudn, she made things more.... alive. No pun intended. Dead flowers would spring back to life, and the births would always go without complications. Stuff like that. And she always was a fun one, and another one who was easy to talk to. Well, unless all the females were in sync... You know, that time of the, er, month. Heh. Death, her cousin, she scared me. Everywhere she went, things would just drop dead, and I tell you, she just wasn't right in the head. I hope I don't meet her in this life. Nothing against her, but I'm absolutely terrified of dying again.
"Other than that... well, if there were any others, I didn't know them. The temple and village I lived in was pretty secluded. Other than the ones who lived there: Air, Fire and Water; I only met those that passed through."
|
|
|
Post by shinigami on Jul 23, 2008 0:15:08 GMT -8
Valentine listens to Lily's story with close attention. By the time she's done, they're at the TexMex joint. It has a spanish name and it's something akin to a miracle that the restaurant is open this early, in these hours just after dawn washes the sky and city free of (most of) last night's grime and cheapness. He parks, the car grumbles, and then Valentine comes around the front of the car to offer Lily a hand out. Chivalry becomes Val. It really does.
"Very complex. And you remember all of this perfectly? What do you want to do with all the Old Powers? Rule the world?" This last is a joke, clearly. Because he smiles in that way Val has, completely comfortable, easygoing and slightly serious. "And I thought Fire was only supposed to be evil in the hands of those who'd use it wrongly."
|
|
|
Post by lily tomlinson on Jul 23, 2008 0:31:01 GMT -8
"Well, I don't want to rule the world," Lily said, taking his offered hand and getting out of the car. "I may have power, but that doesn't mean I need to misuse it. I just want to live my life, that's all. And maybe, well, this may sound stupid, but I hope one day I'll at least have enough power that I can help heal the parts of the earth that people's carelessness has killed. Heh. But I don't want anyone to get hurt, and I don't want to control anything. Just help."
|
|
|
Post by shinigami on Jul 23, 2008 0:37:10 GMT -8
This is big. This is huge, if it's true. And why wouldn't it be true? He can name a few reasons. But Lily didn't seem as if she was lying; he even looked at her through a net of power, erected with a gesture, and couldn't detect a lie. A lie'd stand out, shining, of course. He'd feel it.
"Well," he says. Then: "That's good. ... Do any of the Old Powers want to rule the world?"
|
|
|
Post by lily tomlinson on Jul 23, 2008 0:48:21 GMT -8
"Besides Fire?" Lily asked, shuddering. "She's scary enough. She could do it too with the right people. And if she got Domyouji on her side, I think he'd kill to have everyone following his beck and call. He's already started it in Japan, from what I've heard."
|
|
|
Post by shinigami on Jul 23, 2008 0:59:50 GMT -8
"Domyuiji," he says, thoughtfully, holding the door open for her. There is a choice of seats, and inside it's very open; feels like a green house, light falling on the floors like latticework, smell of hot spices in the air, sizzling cheese and onions. "I know that name; it's a family name. Yes, out of Japan. I had heard the son was something of a... trial."
|
|