[html]  She had passed along the outskirts of Chinatown only once or twice that she could recall. Just enough to be vaguely aware of its place in the sprawling landscape of her packless territory, while never breathing in its atmosphere. And oh, it was a particularly beautiful atmosphere--a decayed exotic, flash-frozen with decorations and displays in better tact than her familiarized corners of the Concrete Jungle. A whim, like all of the others that took her from one place, one person, one sight to another, she found herself in the belly of this oceans-away town. She had befriended a seadog a year ago who had known South-East Asia. And they had told her of the Paper (or Fairy, that had corrected for her context) Lanterns when they discovered her fancy for such things. They had not been wrong to elaborate on that small, pretty detail, Poe was quite certain now.
The kimono she wore was too large for the girl's tiny frame, and certainly not wrapped closed in the fashion it was meant to be, but the fine, gold-threaded design that reached up over the dark blue fabric was too stunning for her to leave behind. So it dragged behind her every step and hung off her dark shoulder, disgracing one aspect of this forgotten niche while trying to bring life to another. A narrow street behind her was dancing with light despite the very late (or maybe early, now) hour. With a bag of dirty tea lights, and a box of softened matches, Poe preened each paper lantern then carefully placed a lit candle inside, often with the aid of her kimono sleeve to dust, and a nearby crate to get her there. |
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Nice post.
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It was the very first time Mantra Dhvani had "transformed" in Bleeding Souls territory and she felt, well, a mixture of very different emotions. She hadn't liked feeling so vulnerable in her wolf form but now that she was a were Mantra knew she had to be especially careful. Just like with every illness (that was what she liked to refer to her condition as, a sickness) there were side-effects; Mantra's was a proclivity for sometimes being violent, rash, and impulsive -- quite a turn around from her normally reclusive, soft spoken behavior. She'd chosen the time of day carefully - dead of night, so that the chance of running into others was slim - and had taken to staying mostly in shadows just as a precaution. Right now, however, Mantra was feeling particularly calm and so she'd revealed herself for what she repeatedly told herself would only be a short time; nonetheless, she stalked through Chinatown as a reclusive ghost would - warily.
The footsteps of another made Mantra freeze in her tracks, turquoise eyes burning brightly now with a mixture of fear and curiosity; to advance or not advance... there was so much she had to take into consideration, for example, how prevalent her desire for violence was at this point in time. Whatever, screw that. With swift, agile steps Mantra quickly intercepted the path of the stranger so that she was neither too close nor too far from the other; "Hello," she greeted the other calmly, "I heard you nearby and thought I'd drop in." [/html]
[html] The D'Angelo moved with the ease and comfort of a well-worn, well-loved body in a landscape considered home. Neither side of this impression was entirely true, but this lady was too confidant in the foggy borders of imperfection to act anything but entirely in place. Her heavy hips and slight shoulders balanced each other on an angle, and her toes pushed her further to set a finicky flame and wax on top of a candle that had hardened as a sloppy puddle a long, long time ago, when a soft footfall piqued her focus. Apparently, she had taken notice of another much later than vice versa, as she glanced over her shoulder to find a pale figure coming to a halt nearby. Poe's breath caught for an instant, a half-frightened, half-hopeful thought of someone else. But these eyes mimicked a different gemstone, and were not half-lidded and sultry, nor were their brows waggling. No, not Luz, but this uneasy figure was striking in her own right. Poe's yellow-green eyes studied the stranger's turquoise in simple, blatant interest for a few beats after she had spoken.
"Hey," she replied once she was satisfied with her survey. A small, nearly childish smile pulled back the corners of her lips, and she stepped off of the crate. "Dropping by is good," she said, walking straight towards the stranger and stretching an empty hand out--a human gesture of meet-and-greets. "I'm Poe D'Angelo. The temporary grounds keeper for this block. Or street, I haven't really decided my perimeters yet." |
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"I'm Mantra Dhvani, pleased to meet you." She grasped the other female's hand in her own and shook it gladly, pleased to find that she'd been met with humbleness rather than hostility. This place was oddly beautiful at night (or, as some would have it, in the dim hours of morning). The many empty lanterns with obscure markings on them baffled her, and the way they spun like tiny tops in the harsh winter wind gave off of an eerie sort of impression; however, Mantra liked eerie on most occasions, and so the place suited her. This garb that Poe was wearing, it was unusual and yet beautiful in a unique way that reminded the Luperci of something foreign. It's glossy, silky sheen caught the moonlight perfectly and reflected off it shimmering light that made Mantra's eyes grow wide with envy, especially once she noticed the almost flawless embroidery that detailed countless orchids as if the very thing were pasted right in front of her.
The wind's incessant howling brought her focus back to Poe, and it was then she noticed her companion had been in the midst of doing something before she'd rudely interrupted. Mantra craned her head to look at the candles lined up high above their reach. It appeared that Poe had been in the process of lighting them when she'd made her presence known. She felt foolish now for intruding, sure that - despite the other's humble introduction - her counterpart had been less than thrilled to realize a stranger was nearby and even less so when said stranger arrived on the scene. Good going, Mantra. "Sorry if I disturbed you or something, I honestly had no idea you were busy..." She shrugged sheepishly, indicating the candles with a small inclination of her head. Leaving sounded good right now. Probably to both creatures involved. "I can go, if you'd like. Although I would prefer to stay." She grinned. There wasn't any use in hiding how she truly felt and she didn't want to make it seem as if she would have preferred leaving to conversing with Poe. [/html]
[html] "Mantra Dhvani," she repeated, tasting the unusual name from the back of her tongue. It sounded like the sort of name that had been given with reason, a prophecy or hope of a newborn daughter. If that had been Misery's intention (as surely her grandparents had in giving her mother such a name), what did that mean of herself? A struggling storyteller with dark tales, a sad life and an uncertain death. Unlikely, but this daughter had never been able to read her mother's strange ways very well. Her thoughts were aiming for full-circle, but Mantra began to look uncomfortable and offered a soft apology for reasons that took Poe a moment to grasp. The lady before her gestured to let her know--the candles that she had been lighting along the way, her pet-project for one more night of procrastination--although it was not a very consuming task, seemed enough to rile up guilt. Mantra had a very soft edge to her, a nearly flustered concern that Poe had not come across in quite some time. This place hardened even the gentlest of souls with swollen bruises and thick scars all too quickly, she thought, immediately assuming then that Mantra was not a born resident.
"No, no, of course not," Poe said quickly, trying to cut off the pale one's words. "You aren't interrupting me, unless you're shoving me off this box and stealing my candles," she said with a firm little nod, then hopped off the crate. She was extremely short for a werewolf, the fault of both nurture and nature, and without a crate for her kimono to fall off of, at least a foot of it dragged on the ground. Grime had already begun to build up on the beautiful fabric. "And anyway, I'd prefer you to stay, too. Company's a damn good thing to keep, especially in all of these haunted bits of 'Souls." She had not heard the stories of the area, but with the rejection of religious faith, the air on these grounds could only be deemed haunted. So she nodded for Mantra to come along side her as she shuffled closer to the town core, and onto the next lifeless lantern. "What were you going out here? It's kind of out of the way from any packs in these parts." |
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