Xaver Xian
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_Fallen ]dreams[
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Post by Xaver Xian on Jan 29, 2012 1:21:12 GMT -8
It was a banquet of the highest standards, dressy, well-decorated, and filled to bursting with socialites of the highest class. From shiny tiles to an elaborately bejeweled high ceiling, little in the expansive, wall-to-wall windowed room wasn't sparkling or draped in sheer whites. Tables filled all walls and the middle was left as a dance floor, which by the end of the night had been stuffed with more ornate tables covered by intricate items for the silent auction as champagne sipping patrons milled about.
Xaver sat back most of the time and meandered aimlessly as the event proceeded, smiling and chatting with people he knew and acknowledging others, letting Callie do most of the work. Without falsity he did enjoy her company, glad that she was more or less taking the spotlight. However, as he sipped more drinks down and allowed himself to be pulled around the room, his thoughts roamed farther and farther from the high-rise ballroom and his mood grew more sullen. It was sooner than later that he'd excused himself from Callie and had slipped away from the large group, pushing through the crowd.
The tower was huddled in the middle of many other skyscrapers, the event hosted on the topmost floor and boasting huge views and a wrap-around balcony. He slipped outside to it then, grateful for the turn the weather had taken and turning his face up into the chilly rain with the first true smile that evening. Shutting the glass door behind him with a definitive slam, he ran a hand through his thick hair and padded across the wet concrete to the railing, half tempted to hoist himself onto it and let his feet dangle. Instead, he leaned a forearm onto the flat of the fine rail and raised his wine glass to his lips. Steady drinking since his encounter earlier with his brother had all but eliminated patience in his movements, and though each action was still smooth, elegance that was his norm simply eluded him. Not that he cared much, then; he'd thrown enough money at the charities present to earn himself at least that.
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Post by Callie McDaniel on Feb 19, 2012 17:32:30 GMT -8
After a few minutes, Callie noticed she hadn't spotted Xaver in a while. She looked around the rest of the room, scanning faces and spotted the door to the balcony, spotting a blurred shape behind the glass.
She excused herself and followed him out, surprised that it was raining. She bristled slightly. She wasn't fond of rain, it made her hair frizzy, and this dress was brand new. Nonetheless she stepped up beside Xaver.
"Hey."
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Xaver Xian
Administrator
_Fallen ]dreams[
Posts: 379
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Post by Xaver Xian on Mar 12, 2012 21:12:42 GMT -8
The opening of the sliding glass door jarred his wine-fogged mind from the solace of the night skies. He turned his head slightly to the side, irritably blowing out a breath as he lowered his glass. Her scent reached him before she did, though his eyes were no warmer when she finally stepped up beside him.
"Hey," he said back, low tones giving away little. "Aren't you too pretty to be out in this shit weather?"
Xaver himself loved the chill, and the dampness of the skies. He was more than tempted to spread his wings and disappear into the clouds for the rest of the night. The drizzle clung to them and began to drip down her throat, a lazy, slow line that caught his attention and gaze and kept him rooted for the moment.
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Post by Callie McDaniel on Mar 12, 2012 21:22:49 GMT -8
Callie saw his eyes focus on the drop of water she could feel running down her neck. It was cool on her warm skin. She liked the way his eyes stayed there a moment.
She placed a hand over his on the railing, "I couldn't let my gracious and wonderful host stand out here all by his lonesome."
She stood close to him, just across the invisible line where friends stayed. She was looking up at him, but not drastically so, she wasn't very short in general, and her heels made her closer to his height. Her eyes watched his face, and she was panicked by the lack of warmth in it. Was the chance to win him slipping through her fingers?
"What are you out here thinking about anyway?"
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Xaver Xian
Administrator
_Fallen ]dreams[
Posts: 379
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Post by Xaver Xian on Mar 26, 2012 22:31:36 GMT -8
He licked his lips as his gaze trailed down the slope of her shoulder, resting his drink on the railing as she settled her hand over his. He let his fingers fall away from it, having drunk enough over the course of the night to leave a tart and thick taste in his mouth. The liquids all but sloshing in his belly loosened his inhibitions enough that he pulled his hand from beneath hers and draped his arm around her shoulders. He hugged her close and let a smile cross his lips, tilting his chin toward the sky.
"You're never alone in the sky, silly angel," he murmured.
Xaver's blue orbs flickered slowly across the hazy skyline, his posture relaxed as he forced himself to calm and stow away his darkening thoughts.
"Fly with me?" he asked in low tones, head rolling to the side to look down at her with his bright gaze, decidedly ignoring her question with one of his own.
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Post by Callie McDaniel on Jul 14, 2012 19:02:00 GMT -8
She paused, for a long moment. It was raining, her dress and hair were already wet. And she hadn't flown in so long.
She stepped out from under his arm, pushing the sideways strap down a little so her dress wouldn't tear and unleashed her wings. They were strangely reminiscent of a spotter owls' wings, brown overlaid with whit spots. She shook them out, stretching the long unused muscles in her shoulders.
In a manner unusual for her, she kicked off her heels and perched on the railing, crossing her legs and letting her wings feel the air as she waited for him.
"Sure."
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Xaver Xian
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_Fallen ]dreams[
Posts: 379
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Post by Xaver Xian on Jul 14, 2012 20:07:22 GMT -8
Her pause was long enough that he had already come to the acceptance of her denial when she pulled away from him. Xaver's guarded blue eyes followed her fingers as she pulled down the strap of her dress, becoming molten as she released her wings. His gaze shot back to hers as a wolfish grin split his lips and he shrugged gracefully out of his jacket. In a breath his shirt was shredded and he was in front of her, his enormous black wings wide and shuddering away the remains of the magic that held them for altogether too long. One hand gave her knee a gentle, playful squeeze and the other in one easy, lithe hurdle, pushed him up and over the railing. His grin was full-blown as he plummeted down the side of the building, drawing his wings only when the call to be higher and in more open skies became too much. A few quick thrusts of his large wingspan and he was high again, almost to the rooftop and neither feigning the peace that came over him or the thrill of the pounding in his breast.
Xaver fell away and came back up to the rooftop within only a few breaths. As he shot up the length of the building he positioned himself bellow Callie, slowing and sticking out his arms at the last moment, snatching her from her perch on the balcony and into the cradle of his arms in a flurry of black feathers and low laughter, propelling them both high into the wet, evening skies.
"How long has it been, Cal, since either of us have seen the right side of the moon or the proper wind beneath our wings?" Xaver grinned suddenly, mischief in his dark blue gaze. "Too long, methinks." And with little ceremony, he dropped her fabulous, upside down ass.
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Post by Callie McDaniel on Jul 14, 2012 20:21:01 GMT -8
He lit over the side of the building, and looking over her shoulder, Callie watched his dive and subsequent gain of altitude. He plucked her up, in his arms and flew with her.
"Too long, methinks."
And then he dropped her. She fell a few yards before catching herself and with a powerful thrust came even with his flight path.
"It has been a long while." She said, now circling him. She hadn't flown in so long, weeks, almost months. She;d been busy, and trying to blend in. She, like all Fallen, adored flying. She adored the wind beneath her, the air propelling her, the strong muscles of her wings working.
Her blond hair flowed behind her, shining bright in the moonlight. The white spots on her wings seemed to match her hair, becoming luminescent in the moonlight.
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Xaver Xian
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_Fallen ]dreams[
Posts: 379
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Post by Xaver Xian on Jul 14, 2012 20:50:04 GMT -8
She circled around him and his dark gaze followed her, his huge wings beating in a gentle cadence that kept him almost still. The liquor that warmed his belly and strummed through his veins kept his crooked grin alight, his head tilted to the side slightly.
"Why for you?" he asked.
The stillness in him was nearly broken as she came fully around, his large wings beating almost impatiently, their large expanses becoming slick and reflecting the city lights with beads of rain that didn't seep into the thick sinews of feathers and flesh.
He tore off the remaining shreds of his shirt, tossing it onto the wet pile that was his jacket on the rooftop and sending shoes and socks quickly behind. Flying was, even after all these long years, so pure and animalistic for him. It was all he could do to not strip bare and call out to the heavens while flying through the night. His caveman heart still thundered proudly in his chest even as he subdued such urges, not having the will to keep down smiling about them.
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Post by Callie McDaniel on Jul 15, 2012 13:32:16 GMT -8
Callie gestured all around them, at the lights of the city that practically encompassed them. "It's not exactly safe, now is it?"
She knew what had happened to his sister. But she hadn't been flying since before that. Although her father had wanted to train her in combat, her mother hadn't allowed it after she'd become a teenager. Not lady-like enough. She was woefully unprepared of what to do if she were attacked by those who hated nonhumans.
She waited for him to direct their flight. He was her superior, and she wasn't sure where to go anyway.
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Xaver Xian
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_Fallen ]dreams[
Posts: 379
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Post by Xaver Xian on Jul 15, 2012 19:41:54 GMT -8
She motioned to the city below them, around them, as his smile slowly fell away. He tipped his head slightly in acknowledgement of her point, old horrors and worries and burdens coming back to full life.
"It's not exactly safe, now is it?" she said.
No, he supposed it really wasn't. It wasn't a safe time for nonhumans. Not safe for the Fallen people; not safe for young women like Callie, or Kylie as the case may be. His own kid sister had fallen to the mercies of the very evils that plagued this earth. Her wounds and the genuine fear that had been struck into her gentle soul had all but unhinged him. It had only been a few weeks since it had happened, and so Callie's words fell like another cold stone in the pit of his stomach.
"No, I suppose it is not," he said quietly.
A beat of his wings and he was off, the winds against them but gentle enough to make little bother as he pushed toward the sea. They flew for a long while, and not all in leisure, so by the time his pale toes sank gracefully into the sand there was a fine sheet of sweat covering his lithe form and his dark hair was wet and lush. Patches of his slacks stuck to damp skin beneath and his hairless chest rose and fell in a faster cadence than usual; he sucked in a breath of the salty air and looked around appreciatively at the deserted, quite desolate beach that was hidden away on the south end of the shore-lined city. Blue eyes that looked akin to the seas beside him flickered upward to Callie's form. They had chatted idly here and there, enjoyed companies, but had mostly flown. Enjoyed the skies...
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Post by Callie McDaniel on Jul 15, 2012 19:50:40 GMT -8
She landed gracefully beside him, her already skin-tight green dress sticking even tighter from the mix of sweat and mist that rolled off the waters before them.
Her hair, which had begun to frizz with the light rain back at the party was now limp. It no longer had the same luster as it had, but still shone with the water.
She looked sideways at him. This was the longest time they'd spent together in years. Life at home had been full of rules, for he was royalty, and she may be nobility, but the differences meant so much once they reached a certain age.
This was harder than she'd thought. Frilly and silly. As a young lady, she'd hated the lessons her mother had given her. She'd hated being told her worth would only be measured by whom she married. But that was how it worked. And her plan had always been to be with Xaver. He'd been so kind to her as a child, she was sure he'd be a kind husband.
It was late. She was tired. She'd been playing this game with him for years now, and this was the furthest she'd gotten. She sometimes entertained ideas of giving up, but now look. She was alone with him. Totally alone.
She saw down in the sand, digging her toes and fingers into it.
"So. How's life?"
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Xaver Xian
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_Fallen ]dreams[
Posts: 379
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Post by Xaver Xian on Jul 25, 2012 23:47:43 GMT -8
Guarded blue eyes followed her decent onto the sand, sliding once over her slender form then moving out over the water. Waves lapped in a continuous roar down the beach, hissing and sighing as the ocean pulled and fell onto itself in energetic nonrhythm, the weather having taken a turn for the sour and effectively churned up the bay. Low-lying clouds muffled all but the closest waves and shrouded the coastline in a ghostly, thick mist that swirled and clung to movement. The city was lost behind the noise of the swells and the impending storm, and suddenly to Xaver the world seemed young again - fresh and smaller, renewed.
"So. How's life?"
He blinked down at her and instinctually shrugged his large shoulders. He found the gesture to taste much like the lingering hints of wine on his tongue, however, and sighed at the bitterness of it, running a rough hand through the thick raven mess of his hair. He had known Callie too long to feel right about writing her off. There was definitely truth in that he had deliberately avoided her at times because he hadn't wanted to lead her on, but times being the way they were and having known her for so damn long...
"Things have been..."
His lips pressed into a thin line and he dropped his thumbs into his pockets, his large wings open wide behind him and cooling in the breeze. His feathers were as black as the hair on his head and just as damp, large enough to graze easily on the sand; someone had once said about one of his forefathers that the sight of black wings was the sight of the true devil, and he supposed the silly bard had been right if the churning in his own chest was anything similar in his ancestors.
"I'm sure you heard about Kylie," he said by way of explanation.
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Post by Callie McDaniel on Aug 13, 2012 5:02:25 GMT -8
Callie nodded. Everyone had heard about his sister. It had been used as a word of caution about flying in the city. The most recent attempt on nonhumans by, Callie supposed, jealous humans.
But how could they not be jealous? Humans had always longed to fly like the Fallen. At least, that's what she'd always heard.
"How is she?"
Callie knew Kylie only vaguely, she'd been a bit younger than them, and by the time Kylie was old enough to play with them, Callie's mom had forbade her from playing with boys anymore.
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Xaver Xian
Administrator
_Fallen ]dreams[
Posts: 379
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Post by Xaver Xian on Aug 13, 2012 5:20:46 GMT -8
Xaver hesitated, the anger within him swirling to the surface before he clamped it back down tight. She was hurting, he wanted to say, and he felt guilty as all hell because he hadn't been able to protect her. She was under his guardianship now and completely reliant upon him, and where had it gotten her? A bird too hurt and terrified to fly. My responsibility, his own words mocked him.
"Still rattled," he said, tones harsh. "She should be able to fly soon, though. The doctors have just given us the go-ahead. Now we just have to figure out how to get her out of her own head."
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