Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

She turned her head to catch a glimpse of Vincent’s face when he shared the comments made by the baker’s wife. “If that woman sends any of her female customers to you, you just tell them to talk to me,” she said. Her voice was just a little too deadpan to know for sure if she was joking.

As Vincent returned to his bedroom, Sabine slid into one of the stiff-backed chairs at the kitchen table and rubbed her eyes. No matter how hard the Priestesses tried, they would never be able to make her into a morning person.

Though if she began receiving gifts every morning, she might start looking forward to them a whole lot more.

Sabine ran a hand over the slim, rectangular box that Vincent placed on the table before her. After giving him a small smile, she opened the box to reveal a bright blue feather. “Perfect for sky,” she said. Her thoughts were already running over with ideas. Perhaps she could use it for a bookmark, or to bring colour to her room at the Inn? Except as her eyes ran along the length of the feather, she came to notice a silver chain and charm attached to its shaft. Her face betrayed her question when her gaze lifted to meet Vincent’s, though his quick answer told her all she needed to know.

She immediately lifted the feather from the box and brought it to her head, fiddling with the hair she had plaited just bits earlier. After a short struggle, she managed to affix the charm rather clumsily to the end of her already-messy braid. She grinned unabashedly and blew him a kiss from across the table.

“I love it.”
Later that trial, long after Sabine had left for the Cathedral, a small knock would occur at Vincent’s door. It would continue on for a while, sending Cloud into hiding under the bed. If Vincent was not home, a package would be left for him just outside his apartment.

But if he was home and answered the door, he would be greeted by a young courier – a pimple-faced boy of about fourteen arcs – who held out a rather heavy cloth bag.

“Delivery for Vincent Gray.”

Inside the bag, Vincent would find, to no one’s surprise, a bottle of white wine. It would likely be a familiar bottle - one he had no doubt seen at bars and taverns across Rharne. It was, after all, one of the cheapest and most popular wines in the city: 'Ashan’s Twilight'.

A small card accompanied the gift.

I got in late, so they’ve got me making up the time tonight.
Here’s a little something to help drown your sorrows.
Save some of it for me, will you?
-S.

PS. Let’s do a repeat of last night. Soon.

Vincent opened the door to a young man standing there with a cloth bag in hand. "Delivery for Vincent Gray." The lad said as he held out the bag.

"Thank you." Vincent said, before pulling out two silver to tip the boy with before closing the door and pulling the object out of the bag. A bottle of white wine, Ashan's Twilight, and a small note with sharp, neat, hand writing he had come to recognize, almost as easily as his own, as Sabine's.

I got in late, so they’ve got me making up the time tonight.
Here’s a little something to help drown your sorrows.
Save some of it for me, will you?
-S.

PS. Let’s do a repeat of last night. Soon.

Vincent shook his head, a small smile on his lips as he set the bottle on the dining table.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vincent found himself waiting in the tavern area of The Harpy Inn for Sabine, a small glass a whiskey in his hand, and another resting on the table in front of him. Again Vincent couldn't help but think of the changes the Thunder Priestesses had brought about in Sabine. It was still humerus for Vincent to think that Sabine, the untameable woman that she was, had joined voluntarily. Though, at the same time that Vincent found humor in the situation, he was also proud of her for doing it, sticking with it, and doing it well, despite how much she vented to him, Vincent could tell it was something she wanted.

After a few more bits of sitting there sipping on his drink alone, Sabine finally entered the tavern and after taking a quick look around spotted him sitting alone, with an extra glass sitting in front of him. As she sat Vincent smiled warmly, until she reached for the glass. When she did Vincent would playfully swat her hand away. "That's mine." He said teasingly. "Though, I think I'd be willing to part with it for the low price of say... a kiss?" Vincent said, a questioning quirk raising his eyebrow.

If she complied, Vincent would gladly give her the glass.

Timestamp: 60th of Zi'da, 716

Sabine stood just inside the entrance of the Harpy Inn, swathed in her gray fur cloak and Novitiate robes. She had already spotted Vincent, thanks to her inner compass that always seemed to swivel his way, but she had chosen to hang back. She was in an odd mood, one that floated in the space between whimsical and pensive, and had spent most of the trial volleying between introspection and lighthearted jokes. Introspection had caught hold of her the moment she’d walked through the door, and she couldn’t help but consider exactly how far Vincent had come from the man she’d met in Andaris.

When they’d first met, she couldn’t have imagined it would ever be possible for them to be friends, let alone lovers. He’d been so broody, so serious. She could barely remember him smiling, let alone laughing, and he had been entirely focused on a single goal: to find the people who had murdered his family.

He was still focused on that goal, though they had talked about it less and less in recent trials. The difference was, now he smiled. He smiled nearly every time he saw her, unless she’d done something particularly irritating. And oh, when he laughed… It still surprised her when she made him laugh, but somehow the rarity only made her like it more. It wasn’t that his broodiness had gone away, exactly. It was more that he had relaxed - at least around her. After everything they’d been through together, he seemed to have finally given up on trying to hide himself from her.

Not that he ever really could.

She unclasped her cloak and folded it over her arm before tucking away her thoughts and moving to meet Vincent at his table.

He smiled.

Sabine offered him one in return and slid into the empty chair across from him, reaching for the second glass. Her eyebrows shot up as he swatted her hand away.

“Oh? That’s how you want to play?” she asked. Her hand rose to summon the server. “I have my own nel, you know.”

If he gave in and handed her the glass, she would grin triumphantly and reward him with the requested kiss. But if he stayed stubborn, so would she - ordering a whiskey of her own when the server came by and shooting him a smug look when it was brought to the table.

Rather than asking him about his trial, Sabine got right to the point. Her fingers had been dancing nervously over her pocket for the past break, unsure of her gift and even less sure he would understand it. It was best to just rip the bandage off and get on with the evening - where she could, of course, drown her feelings in alcohol.

“So, this is for you,” she began, and pulled a small cloth bag from her pocket. Before she handed it over, she glanced at him with a mixture of seriousness and embarrassment. “This isn’t what you might think. It’s not a proposal or a promise or anything. It’s just… well, open it.”

When Vincent opened the bag, he would find a ring and a leather cord. Should he ask, Sabine would go on to explain that he could choose to wear the ring on his hand or around his neck.

“I bought it in the market and the man said…” She trailed off and her cheeks reddened. “Don’t laugh, okay? He said it represented ‘eternal life’. He said that it would give the man who wore it a second chance. At what, I’m not sure, but… that’s a nice idea, isn’t it? A second chance?”

If he looked at her, it would be obvious what she was thinking. Weren’t the two of them on their second chance, after the disaster that was Vhalar? Hadn’t they come out of the wreckage stronger as a pair?

Even if she still gave him hell for it every now and again.

Sabine bit her lip. “Do you like it?”

Vincent smiled as Sabine took her seat, but that smile shortly slipped from his face and he lunged to pull Sabine's hand down. "You win, you win." Vincent whispered as he slid the glass in front of her. "I swear, you never let me have any..." Vincent began say, but was cut short by Sabine's lips as they met his. With a wry grin Vincent shrugged in surrender.

Though right after Sabine, began to talk. Her words spilling from her mouth, each seeming to out pace the other. As she finished and handed him the small leather pouch. With a curious glance at the pouch and another at Sabine, Vincent pulled open the top, and the reason for Sabine's awkward embarrassment was answered. A stone ring, and a leather cord sat in the pouch. Sabine's explanation of the ring supposedly giving the wearer eternal life, didn't really make much since to him, but her talk of second chances really struck a cord. His survival of the fire, his battle on the plains outside of Triedhart, and then his relationship with Sabine. His life seemed to be nothing but second chances.

"It's fitting," Vincent replied to Sabine's askance if he liked it. "and, I do like it. Though I think I'm going to wear it around my neck for now. At least..." Vincent said as he dropped the leather cord with the ring on it around his neck. "Until I get a real answer from you." he finished with a soft smile.

"As for your gift..." Vincent said taking her hand gently. "Would it be possible to go somewhere more... private?" he asked his tone low. "It's not something I want to give to you in front of so many people." He finished.

“A real answer.”

Sabine responded with only a nod of acknowledgment as her gaze dropped to the table. He was right. She had yet to tell him what she wanted, to let him know if this relationship they were playing at would turn into something real.

Something true.

She knew almost instinctively that he wouldn’t let her treat him the way she had treated Bram - with non-answers and half-promises and a partnership that began and ended in the bedroom. Vincent had, after all, given her his heart. To force him to continue existing in the gray area between friend and lover was cruel - even if, on some base level, it was the easy choice that the coward in her wanted.

So she would give him his answer.

Eventually.

For now, however, there were more pressing matters that called for her attention.

“Private?” Her eyes began to light up once more as they shifted from the wooden table to his earnest face. A slow, sly smile crawled across her lips. “A gift that can’t be given here, hm? I think I have just the place.” She drained what remained of her whiskey and slid off the chair. “Come on.”

Sabine’s hand would tighten around Vincent’s as she half-pulled him from the room and led him through the passage connecting the tavern to the inn. It took them what felt like trills to climb the creaky stairs to the second floor and make their way to the door of her rented room, though their progress stalled when Sabine found herself fumbling with her key before she was able to let them both inside.

The closed door was a poor barrier for keeping out the noise from the tavern crowd, but it did succeed in its most important task: getting them alone.

She tossed her cloak on the wooden table next to her bed and dropped her bag on the floor before turning her full attention on Vincent. If he let her, she would pull him closer and shoot him a wicked grin. “Go on then.

“Give it to me.”

Vincent's eyebrows rose as Sabine downed the last of her whiskey and slipped out of her chair, almost dragging Vincent from his. He let himself be led down the hallway, and up the stairs. Soon he stood there, a small smile on his face as she fumbled with her key and eventually got the door open.

As the walked into her room, she dropped her cloak on the back of a chair and her bag on the floor beside it. Afterwards she turned back to him, and pulled him close. “Go on then. Give it to me.” She whispered as she looked up at him, a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

Vincent stared down at her and felt his pulse begin to quicken. With a deep breath, Vincent focused on what he had to do before he fell pray to the more base urges that threatened to overwhelm him. Bending down Vincent placed a soft kiss on Sabine lips. "That's not your gift." Vincent said, a bit of humor in his voice. "This is." He continued, taking her hand and closing his eyes.

Slowly a band of light formed around his left forearm. The mark that had been bestow upon him by the immortal Qylios seasons ago. As he focused the light that the band gave off grew, until it went from barely visible to almost beacon like. Then, the band shimmered and split forming two rings. One stayed where it had formed, but the other moved its way down his arm to their joined hands. As it passed between their hands, a small awareness sprung up in the back of his mind. He could feel Sabine standing there in front of him, even with his eyes closed he was aware of her.

Opening his eyes he looked down at her. "There." Vincent said, before once again leaning down to kiss her. This time though, the kiss was more urgent and primal. His arms wrapped around he and pulled her as close to him as he could. Eventually he leaned down and picked her up, and playfully dropped her on the bed. "Was there something else you wanted?"

While Vincent’s eyes closed, Sabine’s own eyes widened as she watched the band of light shimmer into existence around his arm. It began like moonlight, but grew brighter and brighter until she was finally forced to look away. Soon, her fingers tingled as the ring split into two – one of which began to move towards her and passed from Vincent’s forearm to her own in one slow, smooth movement.

Qylios.

The name came to her the moment the light touched her skin. The thought was followed by another, one of knowing, somehow innately, that the Immortal ruled over leadership, light, courage, and bonds.

Bonds – like the bond that had just been built between Vincent and herself.

Sabine didn’t speak or question or argue. Instead, at last, she closed her eyes. Somehow, thanks to this gift, she could feel Vincent’s presence in her mind. Not because he was holding her hand or standing mere inches away, but because there was a part of her that just knew he was there.

Him.

Her partner.

His mouth crushed against her own. She returned the kiss hungrily, urgently, grabbing for his back, his neck, his hair, for anything to bring him closer and make him hers. Her cheeks grew flushed and she couldn't keep the desire from her lips, murmuring promises to him in soft moans and quiet sighs. The grin that followed when he picked her up was uncontrollably wide, and was made more evident when he dropped her on the bed with a cheekiness that she hadn’t known he’d had.

Sabine slipped out of her Novitiate robes, pulling them over her arched back and heated skin without stopping to think. The garment was thrown carelessly on the floor as her hair fell in waves across her chest. Beneath them both, the music and tavern chatter seemed to fade as she hesitated and looked up at him through dark lashes.

Her hand reached for his belt.

“You know what I want,” she whispered, and pulled him in.

Timestamp: 61st of Zi'da, 716 17th Break

Vincent smiled as he walked the streets of the Glass Quarter. The events of the night prior playing over in his head, but it wasn't the physical connection that had kept the smile on his face for the better part of the trial, though he had enjoy that. It was the connection that the Bond of Celarion had given him and Sabine that had kept his mood light. Though most of what it gave him were only small glimpses of feelings and brief flickers of insight, that connection was still there.

They had woken that morning, limps entangled and again found it hard to part for their own respective daily duties. Vincent already knew he could make an easy habit of waking up next to Sabine, but there was a question she had to answer for herself before they could truly move in that direction.

By this point Vincent had finished with the few tasks he had planned for the day, and had only to wait until Sabine finished with her chores at the Cathedral before they met up again. Earlier that morning they had agreed to meet once again at Vincent home to do the final exchange of gifts, but as the break drew closer to the time of Sabine's release from his Noviate duties, Vincent found himself waiting on the stairs that led from the Sky Quarter up to the Cathedral, Sabine's gift in his pocket, and a still slightly warm pastry wrapped in paper that he had picked up on the way.

Gray clouds stretched overhead like pillows used to smother a bedmate. They left a deadening effect on the world below, muting the city’s colours and quieting the usual gaiety that one might find on the streets of Rharne during the last of the 12 Trials of Zi’da.

But the cheer in Sabine’s heart could not be silenced, and the halo around her forearm could not be subdued. Both shone brightly, an antidote to the drizzle and downcast gazes that pervaded the streets that evening.

She had forgotten how good it felt to get laid.

Still, while that did, admittedly, carry the most blame for her mood, that wasn’t the entirety of it. It was also the connection she’d felt to Vincent since he’d bonded her with his mark.

She had felt glimpses of his emotions throughout the trial and, rather than finding it intrusive, she’d found it surprisingly comforting. He didn’t seem at all regretful or angry or sad about what they’d done - at least, not if she was interpreting his emotions correctly. Instead, he seemed… peaceful.

Buoyant.

Happy…

Her lips twitched as Sabine walked further away from the entrance to the Lightning Cathedral. It was the strangest thing. It wasn’t only his feelings that she was aware of; she could also sense that Vincent was near. Not well enough to know exactly where he was, but like a beacon, the closer Sabine moved in his direction, the stronger the sensation got.

She tightened her grip on the large, wrapped gift she held tucked beneath her arm and quickened her pace. She didn’t know what she wanted to say when she saw him, but she did know she wanted to see him.

And soon.

His face appeared as she neared the steps that lead from the Lightning Cathedral to the Sky Quarter, and her own face broke into a grin.

“You’re here,” she said dumbly, glancing from his eyes to his lips and back again. “What happened to meeting at your place?”

Vincent's grin widened as he caught sight of Sabine and moved to meet her on the steps.

"You're here, what happened to meeting at your place?" She asked, a large smile across her face.

"I thought it would be nice to walk together." He replied, "Oh, and I thought you may be a bit hungry after your day, so I got you this." He continued as he slightly unwrapped the pastry and handed it to her. As the continued down the stairs Vincent watched Sabine beside him. "So another busy day in the life of a Novitiate, huh? I'm not sure if I've told you this, I'm proud of you for continuing with it. Not that I ever thought you wouldn't make it, but I know you're not that big on being given orders. Though I think the Thunder Priestesses are a good fit for you, and I'm sure you'll do amazing things for both them and this city."

With that Vincent reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of polished silver metal about the size of his palm. Turning to Sabine he stopped and smiled. "May I?" He asked showing her the piece. When she looked at it she would see a polishes silver circle with a vibrant blue cyanite gem set in the center and four lightning bolts radiating out from the gem. "It's a clasp for you cloak." Vincent said, watching her face as she eyed the clasp.

If she allowed him, he'd fasten the clasp at the neck of her cloak, then would step back and admire it and her. "Beautiful." He'd comment after a trill.

If she didn't he wouldn't push, and would simply hold the clasp out for her to take.