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Post by Ginny Sulai on Jan 12, 2012 19:24:35 GMT -8
"What's your story?"
Ginny almost choked as she had just taken a sip of coffee. She snorted in a very unladylike way. Xaver showing her around must have looked very suspicious indeed.
A memory. Her apartment. Rain hitting the window in a surprisingly comforting way. Bodies entangled, hot breath. Whispers. Murmurs.
"Just met him. Said he was looking for a new secretary and asked if I'd like the job." Ginny gave a small shrug and watched the office gossip with a small smile. This woman would love to run and tell everyone the truth.
"I said I'd give it a try. That was before this." She nodded at her arm. "Thankfully, he said it wasn't a problem. I got pretty lucky!"
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Xaver Xian
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Post by Xaver Xian on Jan 12, 2012 19:57:15 GMT -8
"Mmmmhmm. Well. That's decidedly less magical than I was imagining."
Lynette took another large bite and eyed Ginny as she chewed, swallowing then giving a heavy, drawn out sigh.
"Mister Xian's always been a great boss. Dontcha know, he gave me this job when I got let go somewhere else. I had put in thirty years at that firm and when it went under... Well."
She took another bite and tugged her skirt down slightly over her trunk-sized legs.
"He's not been himself these past few days, you know," she said around chewing, "ever since his sister. OHmygawd, do you even know? Well, you're his new secretary, you ought to. You'll be neck deep in his business soon enough, anyway! If you aren't already.."
She watched unflinchingly, waiting for any sort of reaction to confirm her suspicions.
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Post by Ginny Sulai on Jan 12, 2012 20:08:35 GMT -8
The woman wanted badly some evidence of what she felt was going on. Ginny wanted to laugh and confirm the woman's suspicions, just to see the look on her face, Instead she tilted her head in polite curiosity.
"His sister?" She gave the woman a slightly confused but interested look.
"No, I hadn't heard anything."
She managed a glance at Xaver's door, as if making sure he wasn't about to come out and stop the gossip.
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Xaver Xian
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Post by Xaver Xian on Jan 12, 2012 20:23:55 GMT -8
Obviously disappointed at the redhead's answer, Lynette pouted and snatched a coffee, gulping down the remainder of her sandwich in one big swallow.
"Well," she twittered, "Gossip is as it comes. And, it comes to me that his sister was terribly injured in a local accident." The somber look she expressed as she shook her head only slightly belayed her excitement at such big, new news. "Rumor has it there have been a lot of non-human shootings lately, and if you didn't know, our boss isn't exactly human... Not at all, actually! Anywho, I guess his kid sister got caught up in a mess and was horribly disfigured. Isn't that terrible? He's been so touchy. Ugh. Not that any of us blame him, like. Even so... jeez, he can sure be scary. Just about jumped out of my skin when I heard him yell for the first time the other day!" She nodded fervently, green eyes wide and earnest.
Lynette had never known Xaver to be anything but cordial, and though indeed his loud tones had frightened her slightly, she had never truly seen him angry. A Fallen lord didn't yell in true fury.. though a normal, gossipy secretary surely wasn't apt to know that.
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Post by Ginny Sulai on Jan 12, 2012 20:37:57 GMT -8
Kid sister. That would be the sister he'd mentioned the other day at her place.
Ginny thought for few moments. Non-human shootings? Oh God, was Larus involved? She knew he had an unreasonable hatred for nons. For his sake, she hoped not.
She gave a small smile at imagining Xaver yelling at all. Even that night in the club, he had spoke evenly, darkly. It had been scary, but he hadn't yelled. She couldn't imagine him yelling.
"Well, I'm sure it's been really tough."
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Xaver Xian
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Post by Xaver Xian on Jan 12, 2012 21:08:26 GMT -8
"It sure has," she said stiffly. "To be honest, Mr. Xian-" "Has reached the limit of his patience with this nonsense? You would be correct, Lynette," Xaver's tones rumbled from the confines of his office, low and tired sounding.
The green eyed woman hopped off Ginny's desk with a huff, quickly swiping at the crumbs on her skirt. "Clearly I underestimated your hearing range, sir," she said with a sigh, unapologetic, shuffling off with a glance over her shoulder, a wink promising Ginny that their discussion was far from finished.
"It wouldn't be the first time," Xaver muttered into his desk, mopping his hands over his face and through his already unkempt hair. He grunted and sat back into his chair with enough force to roll it backwards slightly. Wind filtered through the open glass door that led to the balcony adorning his office and not for the first time, his blue eyes looked through it to the skies beyond with open longing.
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Post by Ginny Sulai on Jan 12, 2012 21:15:18 GMT -8
Ginny had to work to keep herself from laughing when Xaver called out. She waited till Lynnett had made it back to her desk before giving the office a glance and sliding out from behind her desk. She grabbed a notepad and a pen to make it look official and slipped into Xaver's office, closing the door most of the way, leaving a small crack.
"You ok?" She asked him in a low voice, noting he was gazing at the open door. Something deep within her wanted her to go to him. To rub his shoulders and neck, to kiss him softly and help him momentarily forget what was on his mind.
Ginny stayed by the door.
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Xaver Xian
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Post by Xaver Xian on Jan 12, 2012 21:59:50 GMT -8
He looked up at her question and for a moment, Xaver's eyes betrayed the hurt and wrath than manipulated him, a vulnerable tiredness that ached through him like poison. In a blink it was gone, withdrawn into the impenetrable walls he had created over centuries. Normally gone completely, though, the sharp lines of his handsome features were traced with hints of the unspoken darkness that hovered, unstable, beneath the surface.
"Yes," was the immediate, bland response. Then, after a pause,"...No."
Xaver sighed and jammed a hand through his thick raven locks, pushing to his feet and all but blurring to the window. His fingers twitched with the urge to paw at his shirt and free his true form.
"If-.. I-.. Well-... Ginerva, I need to ask of you a huge favor."
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Post by Ginny Sulai on Jan 12, 2012 22:04:43 GMT -8
"Yes."
Ginny raised he eyebrows.
"No."
She nodded and furrowed her brow as he asked a favour. "Of course."
She wanted to hold him. To erase that tension she saw, to chase away the darkness, to kiss away his fears. She wanted to make him feel better. She took half a step forward.
"What do you need?"
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Xaver Xian
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Post by Xaver Xian on Jan 12, 2012 22:24:45 GMT -8
Xaver rubbed a hand over his forehead as he let out a frustrated sigh, tearing his eyes from the clouds and bringing them back to Ginny.
"Close the door please," he said as he pushed the sliding glass farther open, allowing the air to better circulate in the large office. Fully opened, he leaned a shoulder on the edge of it and reached down to pull off a shiny black shoe. The other came after in the silence, followed by his socks. He was mindlessly fingering the lowest button on his dress shirt before his thoughts grounded again and his gaze flickered back to the pretty redhead behind him.
"I..." Xaver drew in a breath, letting it out with some of the pent up tension coiled within him. "I was a soldier and worse most of my life, I don't..." he said quietly, trying to explain. "I know women, but.."
He dropped his hands after being unsuccessful with the button, shrugging palms up and letting the laughter that had settled oddly bubble up. Shaking his head, he had to smile at the insanity of the situation.
How was he supposed to run a kingdom if he couldn't deal with a little girl's issues?
"My little sister just started her first womanhood bleed. I have no idea what to do."
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Post by Ginny Sulai on Jan 12, 2012 22:32:49 GMT -8
Ginny clicked the door shut, curious as to why he was so flustered.
"...monthly bleeds."
The laughter she had held in moments ago, while speaking to Lynnett, sprang forth in almost a snort. She tried to stop, but literally broke out into full on giggles.
Here was this man, a man who could terrify people with one simple look, and he was at a total loss over the simple biological functions of womanhood.
She calmed herself, "I'm sorry."
She was still smiling, shaking her head. "I suppose you want some help in getting the correct items and what-not?"
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Xaver Xian
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Post by Xaver Xian on Jan 13, 2012 0:01:45 GMT -8
She laughed, giggled really, and the tension that had built up somewhere in the confines of his chest eased at the sound. He hadn't slept since he'd brought Kylie's broken body back home, up all night to care and worry after her. Completely unaccustomed to company, let alone the love and complexities of a young female sibling, his feathers were all but bent out of shape over it all. Kylie still had no idea how close she'd actually come to leaving this world, which made it all worse. Now this..?
Xaver shook his head at her apology, finding relief in the humor and clarity in the ease of her smile. She was easy to talk to, she wasn't fucking afraid of him, and she could laugh off a situation that could easily have been awkward or stressful. It was almost as if his soul had breathed a sigh of relief at her presence - a response that had not gone unnoticed, but in the fade of his tired thoughts had been quickly sidelined for the time being.
He started for the balcony but paused mid-step, biting the inside of his cheek as he remembered that they'd have to visit a store of some sort, not just fly directly home. Chewing his lower lip, the ache at his back that started somewhere in his soul intensified, his blue eyes glancing back once more to the clouds, then to the city skyline. Much like a Vampire craved blood and a Werewolf needed sex, a Fallen was born to fly. Lore said a man or woman earth-bound for too long would go mad, that the magic within them that hid their wings from view would destroy them from the inside out. Xaver swore he could physically feel it, from time to time. The tingling sensation creeping over him, much like when a limb falls a sleep if you lay on it for too long. Numbing, hurting, overpowering, until you absolutely had to do something about it...
For a pause he warred with himself. Eventually, though, he bent and retrieved his shoes and socks, putting them back on in a decidedly defeated manner. He tucked the tails of his fine shirt back into his slacks, revealing glimpses of flat, golden flesh as he shifted around, then raked a hand through his thick hair.
"Please, if you would. I would be in your debt.."
Xaver glanced at her, blue eyes hardly shuttered to her. A small smile tipped his mouth, the corners of his eyes creasing slightly in a dazzling effect.
"Besides, Kylie has been dying for some female attention, she has told me."
The pun his little sister had made had been completely intended. Xaver hadn't found it funny, at the time.
He arranged a few select pieces of paper into a folder then tossed it into the appropriate rack, signing out of his log-in on the computer and shuffling a drawer of his desk shut with a hip. He ignored the coat on the back of his chair for it would have been too constricting right then, moving around it and toward Ginny with little more than a glance.
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Post by Ginny Sulai on Jan 13, 2012 20:07:20 GMT -8
Ginny noticed his longing gaze at the sky, the way he dejectedly put his shoes back on. Still, she gave him a smile.
"I bet she is. Brothers are not exactly the best sort of comfort for this sort of thing."
Ginny remembered her own brothers. They hadn't exactly been sympathetic to the discomfort she'd been having. In fact, they had giggled like 5 year olds.
She watched him as he came around the desk, admiring the way he held himself. Confidence and a sort of gentleness. It was indeed an attractive combination.
"What's the gossip gonna say if we leave together?"
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Xaver Xian
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Post by Xaver Xian on Jan 13, 2012 22:17:38 GMT -8
"Brothers are not exactly the best sort of comfort for this sort of thing."
Wasn't that the truth? Xaver was not accustomed to being ill-prepared for anything, but this... His young sister's arrival in it's entirety had thrown Xaver for a loop. Though, he really wouldn't have preferred it any other way. Kylie was his kid sister - he had pretty much raised her - and he would help and be there for her in whatever way he could. He was coming to learn, however, that there were some things he just wasn't cut out for.
Ginny's smile met him at the thought, stamping out the worry with an overpowering sensation he had no idea how to name. So, in typical fashion, he stowed it away for later.
"To hell with her and anyone who cares. You work for me, not them, and you, my pretty red-head, are my friend." The word had a pleasant enough taste to bring a small smile to Xaver's lips. "Fuck everyone else."
Xaver offered her his arm.
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Post by Ginny Sulai on Jan 15, 2012 18:16:44 GMT -8
Ginny gave a small laugh at his response, and slipped her arm through his.
"Whatever you say, Mr. Xian."
She led him from his office and stopped by her desk to toss down the notebook she had been holding. Wrapping her good arm around his again she gave him a small smile.
"Lead the way."
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