Temptation

[Galacia Tarin]

The grin that would have formed at his words did not blossom on her features. Instead she gave him the smile of a pleased parent, and squeezed his shoulder again. He would find his wine glass refilled and once more warmed and spiced. It was the dreaming, what was the harm?

"A bold move, Elliot. It will not be an easy feat, but when has that ever stopped you? What will be your plan then? Will you try to coax the darker edge back out of your Nova? Or try to capture the happiness of your Niall? "

Whatever it was, she would assist him where she could. Perhaps she would leave it at that and see what he made of it himself. She wanted to see where his mind would go. She wanted to ask what it was he wanted of them, but that would only confuse him further. Perhaps if he did not offer enough in response she would pry a bit deeper. He was young yet, perhaps he had not thought so far ahead as lovers, or wives. It was possible he was yet untouched by even such thoughts.

"It is a pity that you must report to Solena. I do understand your attachment to her though. I had a mentor once just after I became what I am. Eventually he killed me. It didn't work out the way I had intended."

She smiled and looked down at him, something that might almost be pride at the look his face. So confident, so passionate.

"I have a gift for you. You will find it with your pendants in your sleeping space when you awaken. I know you already have weapons, this one is special."

She drew it from the air, and held it in her palm in front of him. A small dagger, very small, perhaps slightly longer than his hand from heel to fingertip. The handle was almost simple, black with a sliver twist around it. The blade was different. If he was clever, and she knew he was, he would note the similarity to her own talons. An exactly match, in fact. Obsidian black and wicked sharp, it would never need sharpening.

"Use this whenever you have need. I will know you have used it. I will come if you need me. I have never before allowed something so personal to go into the waking world with a human. This is not a threat, Elliot, it is a promise. If you ever try to use this against me in any way, I will find you, and kill you. Though I know you are smarter than that. You are too clever to do something like that."

He would see the glitter of promise in her eyes, and he must know she said it only because it must be said. It was only fair to warn him the price of the gift.

"Now, back to your girls...what will you do?"

[Glenn]

Had he expect to be chastised? For his honesty? No, but neither had he expected to be encouraged. There it was, though. A bold move. He sipped of the wine, shutting his eyes. What would he do? What was his plan? Wasn't that why he had come here in the first place? To her? So she would help him devise such a thing. At the time, he barely understood why he came and now he understood things so differently. He understood everything differently.

So she'd receive no answer at first, which allowed her to continue talking. First of Solena. A shame. He was a fool, perhaps, but not a blind one, not in the midst of a talk such as this. Nova and Niall. Solena and Galacia. The first two were opposing poles, perhaps, but the second? The second two were far more complimentary. And certainly the Dreamwitch understood him clearly.

He wanted it all. If Solena was to kill him, she would have done it long before.

A gift. Another gift. The first had been for a more specific purpose. This though? This paralleled what he had received from Solena. A weapon. Sealed in violence. A weapon and a threat. The latter was almost comforting. He'd nod, but there'd be a glimmer there. A year ago, such a comment from a being such as her would led to fear, a paleness, a choking. Now, though? Now there was a glimmer of something startling: a thirst for danger? Ambition? The all too human desire to place one's hand into the fire, the fascination of drawing far too close. "I understand." His voice was breathless when he finally spoke. The blade was taken and he shifted it between his fingers, the idle skill of one trained in sleight of hand.

Questions had been deferred, but they could be no longer. What would he do?

When he spoke, finally, it was with renewed focus. "Nova wishes to do other things. We'll find other things to do." It had seemed so complicated before, but now it was so simple. They would do other things on top of his nightly excursions. Before he was only reluctantly tapping into that old, lost feeling of adventure. Now he'd embrace it. And if something more.. intimate came from that, well, it was only natural, no?

"Niall." She was far more difficult and he was now fully realized that. "It's a dance, between her and I." In the midst of this dream, after all they'd said, wearing Galacia's pendant, holding her weapon, he realized so much. "Closer to understanding each other, ourselves, closer to... feeling, especially for her." A long exhale as he stared the Dreamwitch straight on. "All I need do is keep walking down the path beside her. She's mine. I'm hers. It's our path. I just need make sure she does not stray and she does not stop." He bit at his lip, head arching slightly to the left. His voice was suddenly distant, focus fading, though it was impossible to say whether it be from the wine, from Galacia's presence, from the sheer mental exertion she'd put him through, or him finally giving in to some distant daydream in the midst of this pleasant nightmare. "If I do that, we'll get where we're going, won't we?"

[Galacia Tarin]

And his mind had opened to so many possibilities. He was beginning to realize she was not what people said she was. She was not some awful shadow that came in the night to drink children's dreams. She was a creature of purpose, of intent. She was pleased that he seemed to like the dagger, and was sure that he understood the danger. She smiled darkly as she watched him move it with such skill. It would serve them both well.

"Your plan is bold, and flexible. This is important, Elliot. Much like the other aspects of your life you must be prepared to change direction, to do the unexpected, should the need arise. Be fluid, flexible, but always with purpose, with a goal. Do this, and you will get where you are going. I will be there to help you find your way, should you find yourself wandering. "

"Now, go home, Elliot. Rest in your bed, and wake in the morning knowing that you are every bit the brave and bold man I know you to be. You know how to reach me should you have need. Rest well, my friend."

She pressed her lips gently to his forehead, and pushed him back toward the waking world.