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Post by Countess on Nov 11, 2024 22:25:53 GMT
Another sleepless night.
Sometimes they sneak up on the man, the memories and anxieties of lives long since dead making his dreams too difficult to bear. He wakes, drenched in sweat and fur trying to burst from underneath his skin. It is the Instinct in its way, working in ways it shouldn't. It cannot always tell dreams from reality, so here he is, breathing heavy and looking for a threat that isn't there.
Matias gets up from his bed, hand running down his face to feel the scrape of his beard. It drags across his callused hand, a weariness following it. He moves to the balcony of his hotel room, the Intercontinental. Just another hotel, he is careful to change where he stays. Best to be careful about these things, right?
His room has a view of the channel, the smell of salt water grounding the haunted man.
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Post by Nomz on Nov 11, 2024 22:50:29 GMT
Another sleepless night.
Felicia would rather be sleeping, tucked away in her New York apartment and warm under her covers. The breeze picks at the loose strands of her hair as she watches the balcony far below her. A long trail of tangled luck, good questions, and downright criminal snooping has brought her to the hotel Matias is supposed to be resting in. She wonders if he'll startle awake again when she gets near.
There is always the choice, the option of returning to her room and not playing with fire in such a way.
Her thoughts scurry away like leaves caught in the wind as she hears movement. Even her breath stills. Below her, she watches Matias come out onto his balcony, the pale night lighting giving her little detail other than his bare shoulders. Carefully, she lowers herself down from her perch. Every shift of her body is calculated to cause as little noise as possible until her foot reaches the balcony he rests.
The only thing she can hear outside the muted sounds of a sleepy city is her own heart hammering in her chest with excitement. Unlike the last time they were together, she has forsaken her thief's outfit in favor of soft joggers and a tank top. Hopefully, he won't kill her for this.
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Post by Countess on Nov 11, 2024 23:00:56 GMT
Movement. Matias reacts before he can think, the Instinct still wrapped up in dreams and heartbeats. He turns, not completely knowing the person he is attacking before it is too late. His hand goes to Felicia's throat, propelling her up and against a wall without thought or strain. His eyes are golden, slitted, gleaming like a cat in the dark... but it fades into the eyes of a man with regret, this one among many.
"Gatita," Matias breathes, immediately letting her go. Instead, his hands go to her shoulders, gently lowering her, careful. His eyebrows knit together in concern. "I didn't know-" he starts. Something feels different. What is it? "-that it was you. Are you okay?" he says, truly remorseful, but now a touch wary. How did she find him? What is she doing here? Is this a dream, too?
".... What are you doing here?" he asks, tone even.
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Post by Nomz on Nov 11, 2024 23:40:04 GMT
She realizes her error as a strong hand closes around her throat, lifting her without effort. Her eyes are wide first with surprise and she swallows against his palm instinctively. Suprise fades to confused sadness, her brows pulling together and up. Matias seems to come back to himself and lets her go, those hands softer as they go to her shoulders. Felicia can't stop looking at his eyes and her mouth opens to ask where the gold went.
"I suppose that's a 'no' on the 'cup of sugar'," she quips out of nerves. It is a piss-poor habit she's picked up from somewhere. Her gaze drops to his chest and one of her hands raises to trail where had held her life in his hands. She lets her other hand reach out to touch his wrist, grounding herself for a moment.
"I thought of knocking, but it felt like a shame to break tradition," she tries, voice steadier as she meets his gaze looking for what is no longer there. If she didn't have Aladdin's words, she would almost assume she had imagined it. "Art show in town. I knew you were here and thought I'd pop in."
"I'm sorry I startled you." And she means that with all the sincerity in her heart. Felicia does not like the regret in his features or the remorse. "Your-" She bites her tongue, gaze flicking down to his chin. Maybe she shouldn't ask about his eyes.
"I happen to have a gift for you, if you want it. It's in my pocket."
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Post by Countess on Nov 11, 2024 23:55:01 GMT
Despite it all, Matias lets out a laugh. "Shit, you could ask me for anything right now, I would try damn hard to get it," he says. There is so much regret in him. He didn't want hurting her to be one of those. It will be a nightmare not in this life, but the next. The Instinct will come too late, too harsh, too... too much. His heart breaks a little for her, and for him. Haunted man, indeed.
Matias lets her touch him, uncaring. When her hand goes to her throat, he flinches and looks away. He should be better, know better.
"I am glad to see you... though I wish I had greeted you better," he says. "I am so sorry, Gatita," Matias says, willing and able to apologize. Still- something is off. He can feel it. Why? "You need not apologize. I am the one to blame. I should have better control," he says, not making excuses. He is a man who lets his emotions show, even those that might have others think him weak.
Matias laughs again. This woman... "A gift? I do not think I deserve it any longer. If you disagree... I won't rebuke it. Come in?"
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Post by Nomz on Nov 12, 2024 0:45:25 GMT
"I accept your apology, though I must insist there is some blame on my end. I did surprise you in the dead of night in an unfamiliar place." Felicia squeezes his wrist just a little in reassurance and she lets her other hand drop to her side. There is no blame or fear or resentment as she looks up at him. Just a fond little smile as he laughs again.
"Oh, I went to such lengths for this gift, Matias. You must not rebuke it. I had to steal a pendant from a pair of brutish thieves," the cat starts her tail as she walks into the hotel room, eyes lit with the good humor of a storyteller. "-And I lifted the pendant into my hands once I had gotten away, cleaning off some grime from the gem's face. Then, suddenly, a djinn was standing before me."
She tells the tale so that she can distract him. She tells the tale because it is the truth despite the theatrics she is bringing to it. She tells the tale because she hopes she can hear him laugh again.
"The djinn granted me three wishes and I asked for three gifts. One of those is your gift," she continues with a sly little grin, uncaring as she drops on the edge of his bed. Felicia is too entertained by her own story and she looks up at him with curious little grey eyes. "Do you want to see your gift, Papi?"
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Post by Countess on Nov 12, 2024 1:25:34 GMT
Matias lets it go, all of it. He will still regret- but that will be his burden. Not hers. She didn't see the fear in her eyes when he lifted her against the wall... Some things cannot be erased.
"Well... that certainly is a tale," Matias says, weak humor in his tone. He wants to move on- he doesn't think she is lying. He would smell it, sense it, something. If that is what she thinks happened, then... so be it. "Wishes, and you used one on me?" he says, raising an eyebrow. What would he do with wishes? Something large, something drastic, something for his Gods. She either cares about him a great deal... or cares little about much else. He isn't sure which.
"Are you my gift?" he asks, chuckling. This must be a story of some kind- so he will simply play along. "I hate to tear the wrapping," he continues, laugh turning husky. Once again, she has caught him at night, barely dressed. He wonders if this is on purpose at this point.
"What else did you wish for?" he asks. He needs to ask it. The Instinct demands. Why? She already wished something for him once... would she really waste another on him?
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Post by Nomz on Nov 12, 2024 1:44:27 GMT
Her head tips like a cat's watching him as he asks his first question, "Of course, I used my first on you. How could I not?" And it occurs to her that he does not know that her pool of people to rely on is nearly nonexistent. There aren't many others for her to make wishes for and she is not nearly so clever to risk a large wish. Not when they could backfire so severely.
"Me," she asks playfully, clearly catching on to the meaning he seems to be gathering. It isn't the correct one, but she is content to play along a little. She leans back on her elbows, watching him with something not unlike challenge in her gaze as she looks at his now familiar scars. "I don't believe you've ever asked nicely enough."
Felicia does not wait to see if he'll accept the challenge and she reaches into her pocket. Clasped between her fingers is a golden bangle with a small gap in it. It is clearly meant to be slipped over his wrist rather than his whole hand. She holds it up, but not quite out to him.
"This is the gift I wished for," she's brushing off his last question entirely, bringing the conversation to the gift and only the gift. Some of the playfulness melts into sincerity as she smiles at him. "Gold is your color, I think. Here."
Her hand extends to offer her gift.
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Post by Countess on Nov 12, 2024 2:00:46 GMT
Gold. Does she know? It is sacred to him, so very... very sacred.
It is an idle thought as he accepts the gift. Matias reaches out to it, if she will let him take it. He knows it to be magic, and that it is... safe. There are no warnings, no alarms in his mind. "Thank you," he says, hand going to her wrist, instead. He takes it to his lips, kissing the inner part. It is not sexual, but intimate all the same. A true, and honest, thanks.
Though, he does note that she avoided his question.
"You are playing games, and I don't have the patience tonight," Matias tells her, honest in this. "I have had nothing but dreams of my failures, my regrets, in this life and others," he says, somehow knowing he can be honest with her. Why? Something changed- what? It is driving him mad, like a thorn in his side, and he worries at it.
"If I asked you nicely, sweetly, with the reverence only bestowed upon those I hold in the highest of esteems... what would you grant me, Gatita?" Matias asks, voice low, just for her and this room. "I have done so little, and you grant me a magic bracelet. What if I gave you more? What if I gave you everything?"
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Post by Nomz on Nov 12, 2024 2:20:53 GMT
His gift is just that: his. She plays no games when he reaches out for it and she does not flinch when he grasps her wrist. Her eyes are soft and warm as he kisses her in thanks. If he knows it or not, he is one of hers and Felicia fights for what is hers. She is good to what is hers. She won't lose someone again in her haste.
She nods in understanding as he speaks of little patience and the haunts of past failures and regrets. While she does not have many lives to pull on, there are more than enough to bring her nightmares to life with the vibrance color of reality. Her fingers reach out to touch the side of his face, thumb brushing under his eye. Something will be made stronger or destroyed entirely tonight.
"You are spilling pieces of knowledge, Papi," she murmurs softly, not to dodge his question but perhaps to show him what he is doing. Does he mean to tell her so much? She has no instinct to guide her. Nothing except for that tiny seed of faith that has taken root. Felicia's words come soft and slow, mindful of his reactions. "I would grant you all that I have, all that I can. You just need to ask for it, B'alamijin."
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Post by Countess on Nov 12, 2024 2:29:32 GMT
B'alamijin.
She knows.
Matias fights the urge to strike, to pounce, to crush her head in his jaws, to taste her blood and bathe in her scent. That first night, she had felt fear when he confronted her. It is back, leaking out of him in small waves. His eyes flash gold, a little twitch to his body as he fights for control. He knows himself, his limits, and she is... pushing them. Gods, she is dousing them in gas and lighting them ablaze. She doesn't even know. How could she?
Slowly, so slowly, he bows before her, lips touching the ground. If he were outside, he would bring dirt up to his mouth in a kiss like he had so many lifetimes ago. It is alien to her, but reverent to him.
"Where did you learn that name? Do not say it again."
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Post by Nomz on Nov 12, 2024 2:41:16 GMT
Felicia holds still, not daring to move an inch. Despite her name and the way she plays, there is that natural switch deep in her soul- the one that triggers when she is confronted with a predator. Running now would only end in blood. So, Felicia freezes as much as she can, not daring to move or even blink.
Would he still go to great lengths to protect her? Even from himself? How true are Aladdin's words?
She follows him as he moves down, bowing on the floor under them. Felicia blinks, biting her cheek in worry until he speaks. Just a question and a demand.
"I won't," she is quick to answer, heart beating not unlike a rabbit's in her chest. Felicia stays in her reclined position, looking down and over him. "A djinn grants three wishes. You have seen the results of two of them. My first was for the bracelet, something to aid you when needed most. The second was to know parts of you. I have, of course, not shared this information, nor do I plan to."
A pause.
"What will you do now?"
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Post by Countess on Nov 12, 2024 2:51:33 GMT
"We have played games for a long time, Gatita. You know my truest name. What is yours?" Matias asks. She is wise to be still. If she had ran... well, he cannot rightfully say what he would do to her, but he knows the results. It has happened all too often in his life. It is good she keeps looking at him, the predator in him quiet and waiting.
Matias ignores her question, just as she had ignored his before. "Tell me everything you learned," he commands. There is an itch in her to obey, something near the same place as the fear he instills. He is a leader, through and through, and meant to be obeyed. She doesn't have to, of course. It is not anything that overrides her own personal wants, needs, desires, autonomy...
Matias just doesn't leave room for no sometimes.
"If you share this name, I will kill you. I will kill you, I will kill the people you told it to, I will kill the people you care about, I will kill the people they care about," he says, a fact. A promise. "I have kept this secret... for so long. If it gets out, you must understand, I have enemies. I have obligations. I am but a cog in a machine that has been turning long before you were born. This is not just about me, but about a faith. About Gods. About sacrifice. About genocide. About justice. About retribution. I do not mean to scare you right now, it simply... is a part of me. That part of me. You said its name. You summoned it. It will fade, give it time. Do not say its name."
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Post by Nomz on Nov 12, 2024 3:06:23 GMT
"Felicia," she answers without pause and her name feels odd on her own tongue. It is hers and it is something she says least. "Felicia Sara Hardy."
Though Black Cat and Cat are the names she hears most, he has asked her truest name, then one she will always answer to no matter who calls it and she has given it to him. A name, she's heard, has power. She opens to obey the command.
"You have 3 identities. You know that I know two. I know of your reincarnation and the God you serve. I know that you are Matias. I know that you are Agent-X of the Godkillers. I know you lied when you said I was 'on my own.'" Short. Simple. Steady.
She does not feel steady.
He promises to kill her and for a horrible moment, she's not in the room with him anymore. All she can hear is the screams of a man being dragged along the pavement in Hammerhead's grasp after a kick from Scarlet Spider. The smear left on the pavement. The body dropped like a marionette with cut strings. Felicia finds her way back to him, using his voice as an anchor and she looks at him with tears beading in her eyes, but she makes no move to remove them.
She wets her lips, "I won't." It is an assurance. A promise. A vow.
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Post by Countess on Nov 12, 2024 3:45:50 GMT
The Instinct is... satisfied. She isn't lying, not now. That can change, however, but for now... it is appeased. Things start to settle. Danger passes. Things are not so dire. "Felecia... luck," he says, then give a low chuckle. How lucky is she, to have run into him?
The fear effect starts to wane somewhat. Matias is getting a hold of it all.
"... do you have questions?" he offers her. It is an olive branch as he moves back up to her. He pus his hands on either sides of her thighs, not touching her, but the indents on the mattress making it so very close. "Come back to me, Felicia. You went somewhere. That isn't now. Here is now..."
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