Bargains
| Bargains | |
|---|---|
Are you still mad? | |
| Players |
In which Arnaud reveals his mien and makes a Bargain with Five, and he promises to try to be friendly with vampires. |
It's an overcast night in Chicago but the moon is peeking through now and then. It's chilly but not too bad, the clouds keeping some of the warmth of the day in. Once Five and Arnaud is out of Fireside pizza, he walks alongside her with those pizza boxes but nudges her into an alley suddenly, and asks her to cling to his back tightly. The reason? He starts climbing fast up the wall like a lizard, the eight-story apartment building promising a nice rooftop and a decent view, away from the bustle of the streets and from people. It's like some sort of fog or daze that she's in as they head out of the pizza parlor, but Five easily follows along with her Changeling companion. Kind of on auto-pilot, she easily climbs onto Arnaud's back and up the side of the building they go! Slender arms remain wrapped around him as he scales the building, closing her eyes momentarily as she does her best to get better control of her senses. By the time they reach the roof, she seems to have a clearer head and sense of herself, but there's still some confusion that lingers in her gaze. Once Arnaud's feet are sturdy on the rooftop, Five gently climbs down from him. "Thanks," she tells him, glancing his way with an appreciative look. "That was... weird." That's all she can really muster to say about the situation. The rooftop is nicer than expected, one of those used by the tennants for barbecuing and relaxing. Arnaud makes sure Five is standing properly, hands on her shoulders for a moment, then he nods and pulls her along to a bench in front of a table. He sweeps away some dirt and puts his jacket down for her to sit on in an unusually chivalric act, pizza boxes on the table. "Come on, let's eat some," he suggests. "You've seen a lot in a short time, but guessing that was the weirdest so far," he says thoughtfully. "Maybe I shouldn't show you all the stuff I can do." Once she's seated, Five calms down even more. There's still thoughts lingering in her mind, but she's able to push them toward the back. For now though, she focuses on the food and on Arnaud. Picking up a slice, she takes a few bites before she speaks up again. "I've seen weird stuff though. I /am/ weird stuff to some people. And just..." She shakes her head gently. "I don't want you to think you can't be /you/ or have to hold yourself back because of me," she tells him, meeting his gaze for a few long moments. "Because then I'll have to wonder the same thing. And I like the idea of you being the person I trust most." Arnaud eats a slice too, slowly. He ate most of a pizza already and he's more interested in her eating right now. Food is always a healing force for him, so must be for everyone, right? Her response has him smiling wryly, and he tucks a lock of hair behind her ear under that hood of hers, meeting her gaze steadily. "The Lost are never showing their true selves unless making an effort to do so. Unlike werewolves or vampires, we don't actually look like what you see in our human forms. Though, one could argue that what is seen is our actual selves, and what is hidden is the monster we were turned into against our wishes." He shrugs helplessly. "There's no right or wrong answer. I like to think I am both. I embrace the monstrous part, but the human part is important too. The werewolves and vampires are like that too, I bet. They're monsters but they can't totally leave humanity behind." Those bright green eyes of hers flit between her friend and her pizza. Once she finishes one slice, she grabs another and starts in on that one! After he finishes speaking, she lets the silence linger for a few long moments, her brows furrowed gently as she considers something. "... I don't think you're a monster," she tells him, her tone gentle and quiet. Setting the half-finished slice, she lets her attention settle on Arnaud. "I don't like you calling yourself that. And I don't like you calling /others/ that. Sure, you guys aren't /human/, but, that doesn't mean you're a monster." A pause before she adds, "That thing we fought in the alley. That's a monster. Not you." Five makes sure to meet his gaze when she says this, even going so far as to reach out and give his hand a light squeeze. Then she pulls back, back to her pizza! "... what /do/ you look like then?" she wonders with a raise of her brow. Arnaud's amusement is obvious. It's warm and caring, a trait he rarely displays - in fact, he probably doesn't realise he's doing it right now. He takes her hand in his and lifts it up to look at it, lips pursing in thoughtfulness. "I don't think the word monster is bad in itself," he counters. "But alright. I'm not a monster - just a human with some anger issues," he jokes dead pan. He leans closer, meeting her gaze steadily. "I want to make a bargain with you. If you promise to give me some food once a month - it can be as little as a lolipop, and I promise to cook you a homemade meal once a week and that you can stay in the apartment without paying rent, for as long as I have the contract - then I can show you without risk. You don't have to agree, and I can still show you, but... we'd have to be quick about it and run away from here right away." Five doesn't set down the slice, instead just quickly stuffing the rest of it in her mouth to finish it off. A hint of red touches her cheeks as she glances toward their hands, completely focused on Arnaud now. "Monsters are bad, though. And even if you have anger issues and do things like call people blood-suckers," there's a look to let him know she's still upset about that, but at least she's not /angry/ about it at the moment, "You're not a monster." Five does her best to impart that upon the Changeling. Then her expression turns more curious, her brows raising. She's intrigued. "That sounds easy enough. How long is the contract?" she questions. Though she seems to jump blindly into danger, when it comes to promises, oaths, and things, she's just a tad more smart about it. Arnaud isn't usually touchy feely like this - a pat to her head, a nudge with his elbow, swat to her head or a hand on her shoulder and of course his bad habit of just grabbing her wrist. But this is the second time in a few days he's holding her hand, and now he squeezes it tightly. "Until someone breaks it. I would break it first if it comes to that though, cause I can not allow you to break it. Things change in life, and if there are changes that makes it impossible for you to keep your end of the bargain - I would break it instead." He stands up, and looks around. They're in relative shelter with some wind-walls set up around the seats, and no windows directly looking their way. Besides, it's dark, only light illumination from the moon. It's near instantaneous, the air rippling oddly around his head in particular, but also his arms and hands. The mask is ripped away and shows Arnaud as he truly looks like now; alabaster skin, long and uneven white hair that flutter in the breeze around two long horns that grow back over his head, the long ears, and the smaller horns on his forhead. His teeth are razor-sharp, lips a brown-gray in color. His eyes are those of a dragon, slitted pupils and yellow-red-orange irises. Claws - or talons - grow from his fingertips. Scales glitter on his shoulders and arms down to his hands, visible as he only wears a tank-top right now. "Do you want to seal our bargain still?" It's clear that Five doesn't like the idea of Arnaud once again putting himself in harm's way over her, but, that seems to be something they'll never come to an agreement about. Which, she doesn't mind. After all, she knows she'd do the same for him. When Arnaud stands, the mortal easily moves to her feet as well, continuing to keep her gaze on the Changeling. The mortal doesn't interrupt him, listening and focused on him completely. Then, he changes in front of her. Five's eyes go WIDE when the Changeling's true form is revealed to her. It's not fearful like when the werewolf changed in front of her, or when she saw him chomping on that monster weeks ago now. It's full of awe and fascination and wonder. Lifting up the hand held in hers, her free hand reaches over to very gently trace along his claws. It's only for a few moments though, before she peers up to meet his eyes with hers once more. "Yes," she tells him with a quick nod. Then her other hand reaches into her hoodie, pulling out the necklace he had given to her. There's a smile that touches her lips as she says, "I like this even more now." With his mask shed, the claws can also be felt, and everything else on his body. He is careful and doesn't move his hand. Maybe that also explains why he favors grabbing her wrist, and not touching a lot, because those claws are always there no matter if not visible. His lips curl into a small smile seeing her reaction, and he lets out air he didn't realise he was holding when her reaction isn't one of horror, and she agrees to the bargain. "I agree as well," he says. "Once a month, you will give me something edible. Once a week I will cook you a meal and you can stay in my apartment for as long as I have the contract for it, without paying any rent. It's your place as much as mine now." There's no magical glow or other fanfare once their Bargain is made, but the Wyrd knows. He looks down at the necklace, nodding at her. "I'm the dragon, you're the fire. I'm sorry to say I can't breathe fire... yet anyway. I can learn it, but I figure you got that part covered." He pauses. "I can actually turn into a dragon. A small one. Big enough to go flying with you though. Are you afraid of heights?" Five can't help but think there might be some big dramatic show of magic. When nothing seemingly happens, she even takes a glance around like she might have missed something! She goes off of Arnaud's own reaction and seems to accept that whatever magical deal was made was sealed in some way. She lets a finger run over the metallic dragon on the pendant, smiling at his words. "I can turn into fire. I /am/ fire. I've definitely got that covered," she agrees before she tucks the necklace back into her hoodie to help keep her most treasured possession safe. Sure, she enjoys her hoodies but those are easily replaced! The curious look returns to her face, a brow raising at him. "How small?" she wonders, clearly concerned about potentially hurting him. "I think we'd have to cut down on our rooftop meetings if I was afraid of heights," she teases, even letting out a light chuckle. There's a pause before she adds, "I know you like /all/ food, but you'll have to give me a list of your favorites or something." "About the size of a horse, with wings," Arnaud explains. "So it's fine, I can carry you when flying." He waves a hand, cause he's not going to do it /now/, and he's exposed his true self for long enough. He makes a bit of a show - snapping his fingers, and the Mask is back in an instant, back to regular human-looking Arnaud. Interestingly, some of the tattoos were still on his body in his 'dragon' shape, but not the ones on his arms. Now they are there, the mask just making scales appear as tattoos most likely. "Hey, it doesn't matter. Don't worry about the food, long as it's edible the Bargain works." He sits back down to finish the pizza, back to normal. However, there is one thing to cover still. "Are you still mad?" Blinkblink, she's a little caught off guard by how quick Arnaud is able to change his appearance back. Almost as if she doesn't believe what she just saw (though she totally does!), she lets her hand run over his in an attempt to carefully feel those claws again. Letting go of him, she rejoins him at the table. As she picks up another slice, her brows furrow at the question asked. The slice is set back down. It's clear the answer is 'yes', but she definitely seems waaaaaaay less angry than the night before. Five is quiet for a few moments, contemplating what exactly to say. "I didn't like the way you talked to Hal. And I don't understand why you talked to him that way. And I don't like the way you toss around the term 'blood-suckers' like... like some sort of insult," she eventually tells him. Although that anger does start to rise again in her tone, she manages to keep herself mostly in check otherwise. Logically she knows the claws are there now and it's possible she feels them just because she knows they are there, rather than actually feeling them. The Wyrd magic works in strange ways. Arnaud lets her do it, understanding the curiosity. The fact that she is still angry, and her explanation for why, makes him nod slowly and thoughtfully. "Haliburton - and other vampires - always got an agenda. Think about the way he speaks. To a human, it might not sound as anything odd, but he is challenging people with his comments. Warning us about staying away from a vampire you ran into. Warning us about his hunger and how dangerous he will become. Saying he 'saved my life', pretending he is friendly. As for the term blood-suckers, it's definitely to insult. Just my way of turning it back at them. They're looking for us to break the Accord, so the Lost will owe repairs. The Accorded aren't /friends/. We just have a very fragile truce, with the Accord. Faith wouldn't patch me up if I didn't pay a coin. Haliburton would try to use his 'saving my life' to make me owe a favor. They are not my /friends/." The look that takes over her face is something akin to disappointment. A small frown lingers on her lips as she listens to him, thought she doesn't pull her attention away from him. Not even to look at the pizza slice she's abandoned for now! Leaning back in her seat, she crosses her slender arms across her chest. "So, it's a bad thing for Hal to warn me to stay away from someone who was so blatant to have claws out in public?" Sure, the private room is safe but one has to go through the rest of the restaurant to get through it. "I've warned people to stay away from me because I can't always control my fire. Does that mean I have an agenda?" She tilts her head at him. "Why /should/ Faith patch you up for free if you call her a blood-sucker and don't consider her a friend? I consider her a friend and I still paid her for helping me out. What's wrong with that?" Five gently shakes her head, reaching up to brush some hair from her face. "They definitely saved us that night. Both of us were bleeding out pretty bad. Maybe /you/ could have survived that encounter. Maybe. But. I think that might be your ego talking." "It's the way they say and do it. They are much more powerful than either of us, and they know it. They will lord it over us, and never let us forget it, and use any excuse to be offended so they can use it against us," Arnaud says, shaking his head. "I didn't need saving. I could've easily ran, taking you with me. Them showing up and killing everyone was just making things easier in the long run. I was bleeding a lot, but I was not /dying/. You think I won't run if things get too bad, especially with you there?" He sighs and drops his pizza slice, running a hand through his hair as well. "It's fine. You're friendly with them. I won't start fights with them. Do I have to be friends with everyone you are friends with?" Five waits for a moment before leaning over to gently rest a hand upon Arnaud's. She gives a light squeeze to the dragon's hand, both of them finding some comfort in each other's touch. Letting her gaze drift to their hands, she tries to speak as softly as they can. "What if those people came after me when you weren't around? Isn't it a good thing that the vampires saw a threat and took care of it?" She lets out a slow sigh. "I don't expect to change your opinion of them in a night. But... they're better people than you give them credit for. I think your issues with people is carrying over to them." Another squeeze is given as a very light smile graces her lips for a moment. "I have lots of friends. I wouldn't even dream of torturing you with being friends with them all." Lifting her gaze, she watches him for a moment. "Some people are terrible, sure, but most aren't. Would you at least do your best to remember that?" Arnaud is stubborn and capricious. All this talking and reasoning makes him restless and fretful. At least he gave /reasons/ for his behaviour, so that's some sort of progress. "I sometimes have a near irreristable urge to jump them and bite their heads off, but to be fair, I have that for a lot of people. Not only vampires. So - part of it is just what I am." He takes a deep and calming breath. He pats her head and smiles lopsidedly at her. "Not you though. I guess you draw the best out of everyone. Including vampires." As usual, another smile appears on Five's lips at the pat. It seems like things are mostly settled, so she gives his hand another squeeze before letting go. Back to the pizza! She takes a couple bites before looking over at him. "Maybe that's the best advice I can give at the moment. Try and see people the way I do?" It's a suggestion, and as she stated already, Five is aware that such change doesn't happen in an instant. "If you ever /do/ feel like you're going to rip someone's head off that might not deserve it," Because she knows their definitions of such are probably different, "Call me or something... I've always got your back." "I will just hide behind you and remind them about the hazard of fire," Arnaud suggests, joking with a feral grin. He looks happy, because it seems Five isn't that mad any longer and that's all that matters to him in the end. Still, he sighs dramatically and sprawls out, staring up at the moon. "Fine. /Fine/. I will try." "That's all I ask," Five assures him, offering the Changeling a warm smile. She takes another minute or so to finish up the rest of the pizza with him. Once it's been demolished by the two, she peers over at him. "Ready to head... home?" she questions, unable to help but grin a bit more. "Sure, let's go." He stands up and offers a hand to her, to walk towards the edge and take the same route back down - scaling the wall, lizard-style. "By the way, I actually did make another friend yesterday. Dr. Solomon Jessup. I asked and he said he would be my friend, so we'll have dinners regularly - I'll cook, he's bringing dessert. You can join too, he promised to bring dessert for three." Taking the hand, Five easily climbs onto his back whenever he gives the signal they're going to take off. "That's great!" she genuinely exclaims, practically cheering for Arnaud. "Is he one of us?" she wonders, not wanting specifics of whatever he may be, only curious what sort of topics are on or off the table! "He's one of us. He knows you are too. It won't be awkward," Arnaud promises, and then when sure Five is holding on tightly, he swings over the edge of the building and climbs back down after a quick glance down below to make sure they won't be seen. They're off to new adventures in the night! | |