Always Waiting for the Night [m]

[Draconian]

Dropping the blanket she held out her hands , "I didn't mean to make you feel bad. I just meant... You could wait until you're more comfortable around me. You seemed hesitant. I don't want you to feel ashamed of something you can't help."

[DaGlobster]

"I think I'll wait..."

He took her hands again, smiling.

[Draconian]

Now she was just curious. Someone bolder would probably start undoing his shirt. As it was, Gardenia was not bold and simply looked down at their hands before she yawned loudly and flopped back onto her bed. "I find myself quite sleepy. If you have no further questions, Sir Varian, I think I might sleep now." Gardenia bit her look and looked away, flushing slightly, "you could stay here if you've no where to go tonight."

Mostly because she thought he was a lonely homeless guy. No one could say Gardenia wasn't a kind girl.

[DaGlobster]

"Oh, I'd rather not inconvenience you..." Varian said,

"Then again..."

He sat himself back down on the bed.

"I guess there's no harm in staying."

[Draconian]

Gardenia offered a sleepy smile, seeing no problem in inviting someone to sleep with her in her bed.  So, she curled herself up on her side and snuggled into the plush pillow. "Have sweet dreams, Varian." And then she was asleep.

[DaGlobster]

Varian shrugged his coat off, using his magical concealment to make him look normal with his undershirt and breeches. He slipped into Gardenia's.

He laid down on his side, facing Gardenia.

He smiled, something which turned into a mad, wide-eyed grin, another windo to the frothing insanity within him.

The grin quickly passed, however, and Gardenia wouldn't notice. He just laid his head to sleep.

[Draconian]

Sometime during the night she'd rolled over and  shuffled closer to the other source of warmth. Which was Varian. Still curled up, her back pressed against him, the sounds of birds greeting dawn. The cool morning breeze.

Hm, she'd forgotten to shut the door to outside. Her odd eyes shot open and she stared at her bedroom door. Which was closed, thankfully. Slowly turning her head she spoke in a whisper, "are you awake?"

[DaGlobster]

Varian stirred against her. His arms had come to be wrapped around her waist during the night, his face nestled behind her neck.

He looked over her shoulder, into her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm up."

[Draconian]

"Good! You should leave!" Gardenia carefully removed herself from his grasp and looked at the door nervously before she stumbled out of bed, getting her foot wrapped around the blanket and landing on the floor with a grunt. Not her most graceful.

"Before the maid sees you! I'll be grounded for the rest of my life." She motioned towards the open door to outside while she stood and held the hem of her nightgown in one hand, ready to whip it off and change as soon as he was out of the room. Every few moments she looked over her shoulder at the door, dreading the ceremonial two-knock door open that happened every morning she was home.

[DaGlobster]

Varian was up in a flash, whipping his coat back on and taking his hat. He knelt by her to make sure she was alright, before quickly taking her hand.

"I'll see you soon, Gardenia. If you ever need to see me, just whisper my name to the stars. I'll be there..."

He kissed her hand, and started out of the room. If she had something to say to him, this was her chance.

[Draconian]

The kiss on her hand got a sleepy laugh out of her but she simply smiled, "Thank you, Varian." Ah, that was delightfully cheesy, whisper his name to the stars. Sure it'd probably work, he seemed super magical. For the time being, her being a werewolf was the farthest thing from her mind, because it wouldn't happen for another month or so.

So once he was out of sight, she simply went about her business and got ready for the day of lessons and mundane teenage girl things. He was an interesting man and waking up with someone against her back had been an interesting experience. It was times like these she wish she had a mother, as it was, her personal maid would have to do and Gardenia couldn't wait to give her tid-bits so they could gossip and come up with strange unlikely scenarios that involved white horses and knights.

[DaGlobster]

Varian didn't stop, although he acknowledged her words with a little chuckle of his own.

He was out of the room and over the railing in a mere second, disappearing as suddenly as he had appeared the last time he showed up.

In reality, he wasn't going far.

Varian usually had other ventures to manage, but this one... this one came at a time when he was most unusually unoccupied. He felt both willing and able to devote plenty of time to observing Gardenia, even if she wasn't particularly aware of it.

So he remained close by, studying her invisibly from the shadows and pockets between space and time.

Waiting for her to call out to him yet again...

[Draconian]

It would be a while before she called for him. At least a week. Reading one of her novels - she had a maid smuggle it in - Gardenia jerked up and stared at the patio door. Her own door was closed, the sunlight was slowly fading and it occurred to her that she hadn't seen Varian. Maybe he wasn't going to come visit unless she actually called for him?

Of course part of her waited. Not wanting to bother someone who could have so much to do.

A week was good, right?

Gardenia closed her book, setting it on the table beside the chair she'd been sitting in. Still in the dress she'd worn that day, her black hair back in a pretty blue headband. Stepping out onto the patio she looked up at the sky. He said to whisper to his name to the stars. There were none, not until the sun went down completely.

"Varian?" It was quiet, and she felt silly calling out the name. Maybe she'd try when the sky was dark and the stars were out. There was no one here but her, and while she would have enjoyed some sort of... Ability to not be a monster anymore perhaps she was just a passing interest to the man. Not that she could blame him.

[DaGlobster]

At first, her call to the stars was met with silence. Despite the fact that they weren't visible, they were still out there. However, the clarity of night allowed for a more seamless response.

There was a whisper, carried softly down the wind, followed by a familiar whoosh of wind behind her. Before she could turn around, Varian's hands were on her shoulders.

"Oh, Gardenia... It's been too long..."

[Draconian]

Yup, that was still weird.

Gardenia jumped slightly at the hands on her shoulders and turned around to face him. "It hasn't been that long," she scuffed her shoe against the floor and looked everywhere but the companion she'd called upon. Finally she smiled at him, "I figured you were busy, so I left you alone." Her hands went to clasp in front of her waist, "Have you made any progress? With my problem, I mean."

[DaGlobster]

Varian nodded excitedly.

"My only cause for busyness has been researching your particular problem. Please, feel free to call on me anytime, Gardenia."

He carried a tome under his arm, dusty, old, and written in some ancient tongue. He motioned to the inside, still smiling.

"I've made considerable progress, yes..."

He took his coat off, remembering to place some magical concealment on himself again. he folded it and hid it behind her dresser, in case a servant came in and he needed to hide. A coat like his was hardly befitting of a lady, and would no doubt look amiss to her servant. He re-approached her.

"Lycanthropy is a blood curse, so only another tinge of the blood can override it. I've been studying this book, trying to develop a suitable 'curse'. However, transmission is an issue. I must give the curse to myself, and then pass it on to you. Ritual magics must be used, and the whole thing will be overtly complex...but..."

He reached down and gently took up one of her hands.

"... You just may be cured yet."

[Draconian]

Her hand trembled in his, wide eyed she stared at him until she gave a happy noise as flung her arms around his neck, planting a kiss on his cheek. "That's wonderful news!" But then the rest of his words sunk in and she pulled away. "Curse yourself?" Her hands pulled in and she pressed them to her cheeks, "I don't want you to put yourself at risk for me!"

[DaGlobster]

"Oh, no. You misunderstand, Gardenia," Varian said, and he idly rubbed his cheek. He placed his hands on her sides and scooted in a bit closer.

"The blood curse will exist solely to wipe out lycanthropy. I'm not a lycanthrope, so it'll have absolutely no effect on me. Everything will be fine!"

He got more and more excited with every word, but he stayed quiet, remembering how crucial it was.

"I've almost cracked it. Just a few more days now."

[Draconian]

A few more days? Gardenia blinked, tilting her head. Then her grin spread and she wrapped her arms around Varian again. "Oh, thank you." The word were muffled against his shoulder and she let go, leaning back to just smile at him.  "How... How will you pass it onto me?" She looked down at her wrists, "something to do with blood?"

[DaGlobster]

"Well, lycanthropy, your strain in particular, is a picky disease. The strains that turn their victims into slavering beasts is adapted to transmit through bites. Your strain, however, was passed down, er... through heredity."

Varian's tone was slightly awkward, but he managed to maintain all pretenses of seriousness as he looked into her eyes.

"Do you know where I'm going with this?"